Language Trainers Blog

Textbooks for learning languages tend to be quite serious and few include much language play – puns, jokes, rhymes and so on. This can make the process of learning a language somewhat lacking in excitement.

It doesn’t have to be like that – you can take even very dull phrases and sentences and play around with them to make them more interesting and memorable.

For example,  you could take a sentence like “The pen is on the table” and maybe start by changing the nouns – “The elephant is on the chair”, then adding more detils – “The blue elephant is on the green chair”. You could also change the tense, add more elements to the sentence, make it into a question – “Was the blue elephant standing on the green chair scared of the enormous orange mouse?”, and much more.

This kind of thing is a good way to practise manipulating the language, if you use unusual combinations of objects, situations, actions, and so on, you’re more likely to remember not only the words themselves, but also the grammatical patterns and sentence structures.

Books for children in the language you’re learning are a good place to find language play like this, as well as made-up words and ways of writing sounds.

This is just one way to make your studies more enjoyable, and will probably help you to remember what you’re learning better and to look forward to studying, rather than seeing it as a necessary but perhaps dull activity.

False friends or false cognates are words that sound and/or look the same in two languages but different meaning. There are many words in Welsh that have been borrowed from English, or which share a common root, but not all familiar sounding or looking words in Welsh mean the same as they do in English.

The following Welsh words look and/or sound like English words but have different meanings:

• At = to (at = am, ar, wrth, ger, yn)
• Bad = boat (bad = drwg)
• Ban = beacon (to ban = gwahardd; a ban = gwaharddiad)
• Barn = opinion (a barn = ysgubor)
• Bore = morning (to bore (make a hole) = tyllu; to bore (tire) = blino; bore (diameter/calibre) = tyllfedd; bore (boring person) = bôr; bore (wave) = eger)
• Brain = crows (a brain = ymenydd)
• Call = wise (to call = galw; a call = galwad)
• Ci = dog, but sounds like key (key = agoriad / allwedd)
• Cuddle = hiding place (cuddle = cwtsh)
• Dim = zero, nothing, not (dim (stupid) = twp;; dim (blunt) = pŵl; dim (unclear) = aneglur)
• Faint = how much/many? (to faint = llewygu)
• Hen = old (a hen = iâr)
• Hurt = stupid (hurt = dolur, niwed)
• Main = thin, slender (main = prif)
• Man = place (man = dyn)
• Moron = carrots / moron
• Mud = mute (mud = mwd)
• Nod = aim (to nod = amneidio; a nod = amnaid)
• Pan = when (pan = padell)
• Pant = hollow (to pant = dyhefod)
• Pen = head / pen
• Pig = beak (a pig = moch)
• Pump = five, but sounds like pimp (a pump = pwmp)
• Sail = base, foundation (a sail = hwyl; to sail = hwylio)
• Tŷ = house, but sounds like tea (tea = te)

There are also a number of false friends between Welsh and Mandarin Chinese, including:

• cau = to close / closed – sounds like 開 [开] (kāi), to open / open
• gwan = weak – sounds like 關 [关] (guān), to close / closed
• bwgan = bogey – genie, ghost or goblin, sounds like 不敢 (bùgǎn), to dare
• gwe = web – sounds like 鬼 (guì), ghost

Milieu is used both in English and French. In the former it refers only to a social environment, while in the latter it has many others meanings. These include:

milieu = middle / centre
- couper qch en son milieu – to cut sth down the middle
- je prends celui du milieu – I’ll take the one in the middle
- tener le milieu de la chaussée – to keep to the middle of the road

au milieu de = in the middle of, amid, among, in the midst of, amidst
- elle est au milieu de ce groupe – she’s in the middle of that group
- au beau milieu (de) / en plein milieu (de) - right in the middle (0f), in the very middle (of)
- au milieu de la nuit – in the middle of the night

milieu = middle course / way
- un juste milieu – a happy medium
- le juste milieu – the happy medium, the golden mean
- tenir le milieu – to steer a middle course

milieu = environment, set, circle, background
- le milieu familial – the familiy circle
- je ne me sent pas dans mon milieu – I don’t feel out of place, I don’t feel at home
- s’adapter à un nouveau milieu – to adapt to a new environment

le milieu – the underworld

So this is a useful word in French that has lost almost all of it’s original meanings in English. This is quite a common occurence when words are borrowed from one language to another.

Learning idioms in foreign languages is a fun way to acquire new vocabulary and to get insights in the thought processes and culture of people who speak those languages. Today we have a selection of animal-related idioms from a variety of languages.

The Portuguese equivalent of ‘his bark is worse than his bite’ is cão que ladra não morde (the dog that barks doesn’t bite). In Spanish it’s perro que ladra no muerde, which means the same as the Portuguese, or perro ladrador, poco mordedor (a dog that barks rarely bites). These idioms are used to indicate that someone with a fierce or threatening appearance or manner isn’t a fierce or violent person. It can also be used more literally when talking about dogs. Related idioms in English include a barking dog never bites, all bark and no bite, and all mouth and no trousers.

Someone  who is very clumsy or rude, especially in delicate situations, could be described as being like a ‘bull in a china shop’.  In French they say such people are like ‘an elephant in a porcelain factory’ (Un éléphant dans un magasin de porcelaine). In Danish the equivalent is som en elefant i en glasbutik (like an elephant in a glass store), in Russian they say Слон в посудной лавке (An elephant in china shop) and in German it’s wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen (like an elephant in a porecelain shop). The Dutch equivalent, als een olifant in een porseleinkast, means the same as the German and Russian.

If someone is a bit crazy, you could say that they have ‘bats in the belfrey’ or that they have ‘have kangeroo loose in the top paddock’. In Croatian you could say vrane su mu popile mozak (Crows have drunk his brain), while in French they that such as person has  a spider on the ceiling (une araigneé au plafond). Having little monkeys in the attic is the Portuguese equivalent - tem macaquinhos no sotão – and in Spanish such a person is said to be crazier than a goat (más loco que una cabra).

The standard greeting in Thailand is the wai (ไหว้), which involves bring the hands together in front of you with the fingers pointing upwards and bowing gently. How much you bow depends on you status relative to the person being greeted. You don’t usually use this greeting with children or employees in shops and bars though as doing so indicates that you are of lower status.

When you go into homes, temples and some shops in Thailand, make sure you take off your shoes. Not doing so is considered rude, as is showing the soles of your feet or shoes to other people or nudging people with your foot to get their attention.

Everyday at 8am and 6pm the Thai National Anthem is played on the TV and radio. At these times everyone in Thailand stops what they’re doing and stands to attention. By doing the same you will be showing respect, which will be appreciated.

Losing your temper in public is frowned on in Thailand, as is raising your voice or boasting about yourself or your country. It’s better to be polite, modest and respectful of others. Being kind and generous will also be appreciated. Make sure particularly that you show respect to monks, and never touch them or their robes, unless they invite you to do so.

When visiting temples, never walk in front of someone who is praying.

Thais tend to dress quite conservatively and visitors are expected to dress in a similar way. In business situations make sure that you are wearing smart, clean clothes in good condition.

Thais usually eat with a fork and spoon – the spoon in the right hand and the fork in the left hand. Noodles are often eaten with chopsticks, and sticky rice, which is popular in northern Thailand, is often eaten with the right hand. Meals are usually served as buffets or with the a number of communal dishes in the middle of the table. You can start eating as soon as you have been served, and leaving a little food, but not rice, on your plate shows you’re full. One thing to avoid is licking your fingers, which is considered uncooth.

What do the words in the title of this post have in common?

The answer is that they are all English words that come either directly or indirectly from Dutch.

Avast, a nautical term meaning “hold!” or “stop!” is probably a contraction to the Dutch phrase houd vast (hold fast).

Aloof comes from the Dutch loef (the lee or weather side of a ship) via the Middle English loof (weather gauge / windward direction). It was originally a nautical instruction to keep a ship heading into wind.

Aardvark comes from Dutch via the Afrikaans aard (earth) and varken (pig). It means literally “earth pig”.

Other English words of Dutch origin include:

• Bazooka, from the Dutch bazuin (trumpet)
• Bumpkin, from the Dutch bommekijn (little tree or barrel), or from the boomken (shrub, little tree)
• Blink, from the Middle Dutch blinken (to glitter)
• Booze, from the Middle Dutch busen (to drink to excess)
• Brandy, from the Dutch brandewijn (burnt wine)
• Cookie, from the Dutch koekje or koekie (biscuit/cookie)
• Deck, from the Dutch dek (covering)
• Easel, from the Dutch ezel (donkey)
• Iceberg, from the Dutch ijsberg (ice mountain)
• Maelstrom, from the Dutch maalstroom (grinding/stirring current)
• Poppycock, from the Dutch pappekak (soft dung)
• Santa Claus, from the Dutch Sinterklass (Saint Nicholas)
• Slim, from the Dutch slim (bad, sly clever), which meant “bad / crooked” in Middle Dutch
• Trek, from Dutch, via Afrikaans, trekken (to march / to travel)

A significant number of the Dutch words in English have a connection with sailing, boats or trade.

False friends or false cognates are words that sound and/or look the same in two languages but different meaning. There are some Russian words that have the same roots as English words and sound similar, including сестра (sestra) or sister, and география (geografia) or geography, and also many English loanwords, including такси (taksi), ресторан (restoran) and телефон (telefon). However not all familiar sounding words in Russian mean the same as they do in English.

The following Russian words sound similar to English words but have different meanings:

• Аккуратный [akkuratnyj] = neat, punctual (accurate = правильный [pravilnuj], точный [tochnyj])
• Артист [artist] = actor (artist = художник [khydozhnik])
• Аудитория [auditorija] = audience (auditorium = зал [zal])
• Бог [bog] = god (bog = болото [boloto])
• Декорация [dekoratsija] = setting (decoration = украшение [ukrashenie], убранство [ubranstvo])
• Интеллигентный [intelligentnyj] = cultured (intelligent = умный [umnyj], разумный [razumnyj])
• Комплекция [komplektsija] = constitution (complexion = цвет лица [tsvet litsa])
• Магазин [magazin] = shop (magazine = журнал [zhurnal])
• Новелла [novella] = short story (novel = роман [roman])
• Оператор [operator] = cameraman (operator = механик [mekhanik], машинист [mashinist]; связист [sviazist], радист [radist])
• Проспект [prospekt] = avenue (prospect = вид [vid], перспектива [perspektiva])
• Сок [sok] = juice (sock = носок [nosok])
• Фабрика [fabrika] = factory (fabric = ткань [tkan])
• Фамилия [familija] = surname (family = семья [semia])

To help remember these false friends, you could make associations between their meanings and the words they resemble. For example, you could imagine yourself drinking juice through a сок [sok].

If someone talks in an incomprehensibly way or in an unknown language, you might say that they’re talking double Dutch, nonsense, gibberish or rubbish. The reference to double Dutch dates back to the 17th century, when the English had a low opinion of the Dutch and their language due to the hostilities between England and the Netherlands, according to this site. A term related to double Dutch is apparently used in the world of IT is reverse Polish. Another way of indicating that something is incomprehensible is to say that it’s all Greek or Chinese to you.

The Dutch equivalents of talking double Dutch are Dat is Chinees voor mij (That’s Chinese for me) and Dat is Latijn voor mij (That’s Latin for me).

In Italian incomprehensible speech is compared to talking Ostro-Goth (parlare ostrogoto) or that it’s Arabic to you (per me è arabo).

The Czechs compare unintelligible language to a Spanish village – Je to pro mne španĕlská vesnice ((It’s a Spanish village to me).

In French they say such language is like Chinese, Hebrew or Javanese – C’est du chinois (It’s Chinese), C’est de l’hébreu pour moi (It’s Hebrew to me), Pour moi, c’est du javanais (For me, it’s Javanese).

In German they compare such language to  Chinese – Spreche ich etwa chinesisch? (Am I speaking Chinese?), Bohemian villages (Böhmische Dörfer), or Chinese – Das ist Chinesisch für mich (That’s all Chinese to me).

Turkish speakers think of incomprehensible language as French – Olaya fransız kaldım (I am French to the conversation/chat).

False friends or false cognates are words that sound and/or look the same in two languages but different meaning. Not all familiar sounding words in Portuguese mean the same as they do in English.

The following Portuguese words look and/or sound like English words but have different meanings:

• Assistir = to watch (to assist = ajudar)
• Batom = lipstick (baton = cassetete)
• Bife = steak (beef = carne bovina)
• Cândido = innocent, naïve (candid = sincero)
• Casualidade = chance (casualty = vítima de acidente, baixa, perda)
• Designar = to appoint (to design = projetar, criar)
• Educado = polite, well-mannered (educated = instruído)
• Êxito = success (exit = saída)
• Genial = brilliant (genial = afável, aprazível)
• Injúria = insult (injury = ferimento)
• Livaria = book shop (library = biblioteca)
• Notícia = news (notice = aviso, nota)
• Parentes = relatives (parents = pais)
• Particular = personal, private (particular = específico, exato)
• Pasta = paste, folder, briefcase (pasta = massa)
• Piedade = pity (piety = devoção)
• Pretender = to intend, to plan (to pretend = fingir)
• Puxe = to pull but sounds like push (to push = empurre)
• Realizer = to carry out, accomplish (to realize = notar, perceber)
• Tenente = lieutenant (tenent = inquilino)
• Taxa = rate, fee (tax = imposto)
• Turno = shift, round (turn = vez, volta)
• Viola = guitar (viola = violeta)

People who speak foreign languages are considered more intelligent and sexier according to a survey of UK dating agencies. So that’s quite a good reason to learn languages, if that’s the kind thing that

Another good reason to learn languages is that it helps your employment prospects and earning potential. The report in which the above survey is mentioned as found that companies are more likely to employ applicants with language skills than those without such skills. They are also willing to pay employees who speak foreign languages between 12%  and 20% more. Over a lifetime that works out as between £145,000 and £423,000 more than people without such skills.

Not only could you earn more money if you speak languages, you could also work in different countries, for foreign organisations,  or for organisations that do business or have links with foreign parts in your own country. There is also perhaps a greater variety of jobs available to those with language skills, and more interesting jobs as well.

In the UK languages are useful in many different fields, especially in sales, customer services, IT, market research, and finance, and the languages most in demand are French, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch. Increasing numbers of companies are keen to do busines with China, so a knowledge of Mandarin or another variety of Chinese is handy.

If you’re an EU citizen you have the right to work anywhere within the EU. A knowledge of several European languages will make you much more employable if you decide to work abroad, and will also help you settle in to a new country.