Language Trainers Blog

Our North American neighbor, Canada, is often the butt of American jokes. I’m no better than my countrymen when Canadian relatives visit and their slang evokes pure hilarity. Fortunately, my relatives and most Canadians could care less about American’s poking fun at them. Because French and English are the two official languages, Canada has it’s very own slang:

Here are a few popular slang terms Canadians use:

Aboot: Canada’s pronunciation for the word “about.” - “What’s all your hollering aboot?”

Canuck: a nickname for Canadians. - “I have only love for my fellow Canucks.”

Washroom: bathroom without a bath in the room. -“Excuse me, can I use your washroom?”

Loonie: Canadian dollar coin. As a hilarious accompaniment, Toonie is their two dollar coin. - “Since my cookie cost just one loonie, I decided to purchase a second with a toonie.”

Eh?: you’re a true Canadian when this word is added to the end of a sentence. It means “don’t you agree?” - “Americans are quite crazy, eh?”

Pop: soft drinks like Coke or Pepsi. - “Waitress, I’d like a pop to drink please.”

Hydro: electricity - “No lights today so the hydro is probably off.”

Serviette: napkin - “I spilled a glass of pop all over me, so a serviette would be helpful!”

Most slang originated from Canadians speaking both English and French. In Toronto, a city in the province of Ontario, Canadians fluent in French benefit from the mix of slang terms because those who solely speak English can understand them easier. Why not try some English classes the next time you visit Toronto? Canucks will surely appreciate your ability to understand their slang!

During my travels abroad, I have immersed myself in many different cultures, dined on unique and exquisite foods, enjoyed meeting people of different ethnicities, and shared a global hate for all things to do with fanny packs! Fanny packs are the bane of my existence in the world of travel. In case you’re not familiar with said item, here is the official definition:

Fanny pack: a small zippered pouch suspended from a belt around the waist.

Fanny packs were once acclaimed as a helpful security measure for travelers, offering protection for passports and money. Thieves were deterred because the packs weren’t easy to pull and run off with. (I personally believe thieves were deterred because of their ugliness) Also, travelers found an ease in accessibility for their money or personal items during trips.

Unfortunately, locals were able to spot a tourist from miles away because of their fanny pack fashion choice.

My most memorable experience of fanny pack shunning was in Spain. As I walked down Las Ramblas in Barcelona, a group of teenagers began laughing hilariously at a few old timers walking down the Boulevard. Immediately I knew why: fanny packs. Some of the teens even yelled “riñoneras tontos,” the Spanish words for silly fanny packs, as they pointed to the group of seniors. Luckily the kids weren’t mean spirited and just wanted to poke fun at the silly waist purses. The seniors never noticed, and walked down the Boulevard confident and proud of their fanny packs. After the Spain incident, I decided to learn how to say fanny pack in different languages along with a few other words: silly, ugly, and hideous. Why don’t you take the fanny pack language challenge and learn how to say it in different languages as well? Click here for more information.

During my recent trip to China, I met a few seniors who redefined the terms direct and humorous by asking several personal questions. While strolling through a park in Beijing, a curious group of old timers were eager to strike up a conversation with me.

Here are a few questions they asked:

1. Have you been to Disneyland? 

2. How old are you?

3. Why aren’t you married?

4. How much money do you make?

5. Do you own a gun?

Conversation topics often deemed too personal are actually considered a norm in China. Questions of this nature aren’t intended to be rude or off-putting. Personal questions like these are socially acceptable ways of getting to know people. Try to answer as tactfully as possible and when all else fails, throw in a little humor. The Chinese rarely pursue questions if they feel you are not comfortable discussing it. Luckily, the group of Chinese seniors questioning me was distracted by an impromptu dance performance in the park.

To make your trip easier, why not try Chinese lessons when in Toronto?

Game of Thrones is an epic fantasy series on HBO based off George R.R. Martin books. What’s even cooler than the books being adapted to a television series is the creation of a made-up language called Dothraki. Thanks to the brilliance of David Peterson, a language creator for the Language Creation Society, Dothraki came to life in the Game of Thrones television series.

Dothraki, although a made-up language, has a dictionary with over 3000 words. In the dictionary, readers cannot only learn words but the proper way to form sentences and phrases. This might be quite helpful if you’re trying to pen a Dothraki love poem to someone special or send a unique birthday greeting.

Want to take a try at Dothraki? Here are some popular phrases:

Aena shekhikhi! Good morning!

Asshekhqoyi vezhvena! Happy birthday!

Yer zheanae (sekke). You’re (very) beautiful

So good luck with your Dothraki and please let us know how it goes by adding a comment below. If you fancy a challenge that will actually be useful for you one day (apart from just impressing your friends and yourself), why not try Arabic lessons instead?

Speaking and understanding different languages can be complex.  Luckily, there are a few words that seem to sounds familiar no matter what language you speak. One of those words is “mom.” So, how many ways can you say mom?

English – Mom

French – Mere

German – Mutter

Spanish – Mamá

Although all are spelled differently, they’re quite similar sounding.

Most languages like French, English, German and Spanish have Latin or Germanic roots. Because of this, some words are very similar in pronunciation and spelling. Language is ever evolving, and as words like “internet” and “computer” become standard for most languages, similarities will continue to arise with other popular words and phrases.

Perhaps taking some English lessons in New York can help you learn more words and phrases similar in other languages.

eBooks written in foreign languages have been selling like hotcakes. Amazon reported a seventy percent rise in eBook sales during 2012 both within the United States and international markets. Foreign language eBooks offer readers the opportunity to read popular books translated in various languages, and often at a lower price than the print version.

Authors gain a wider audience due to accessibility. Notable examples include JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series translated to La Collection Complète des eBooks Harry Potter or Bram Stoker’s Dracula in French. If you would like to challenge yourself and read a foreign language book, why not take French classes in New York to get started.

Look at the Jobs Market

Do you want to earn a bigger salary? Of course you do, we all do. One of the best ways of increasing your earning power is by picking up more skills. One of the skills which could most help you in your career is the knowledge of a second language. Even if you haven’t yet started studying a foreign tongue then a quick look at a careers website should be enough to show you how good an idea this could be in the long term. If you find yourself wondering where to find a great place to take Chinese lessons in Toronto after doing this then the thought of improving your career can be your motivation to go ahead and do it.

Make It Great Fun

Who said that learning a second language had to be dull? There is absolutely no reason for this to be the case. If you would be best motivated by playing games, watching TV shows or doing something else in your new tongue then this is what you should do. We are all driven on by different things and as long as you are learning and having fun this could be all the motivation you need to keep going. By studying with a firm of professional language experts like Language Trainers you can get the basics right without taking any of the fun out the process.

Learning a second language is something which should be fun. In fact, you will probably enjoy the process of learning but you may also come across a few low points in which your resolve is tested.

This kind of issue happens to everyone who learns anything new over a long period of time and if you want to keep up the good work then you might want to consider some of the following secret motivation techniques.

Plan a Trip

There are few better incentives for improving your current pace of learning than the thought of a trip to somewhere they speak the tongue you are studying. Can you imagine how good it will feel to chat to the locals and to feel right at home speaking a foreign language in a place where others speak it as their mother tongue? The good news is that it might not even involve a long and costly trip abroad if you don’t want it to. For example, you could practice your Spanish taking classes in Miami! With a bit of imagination you could have a great time and put your lessons into practice without spending a fortune.

Talk More

One of the reasons why we don’t always progress with a second language in the way we would like to is that we don’t always talk enough. This is a vital part of the process but one which can be difficult to start. You might be worried about making a mistake but mistakes are part of the learning process and simply can’t be avoided. At some point you need to pluck up the courage to start talking more. The sooner you do this the better and you will find that working with a native speaking teacher from Language Trainers helps you build up your confidence quickly in this respect. Once you get into the habit of speaking a lot in your second language nothing will stop you from improving your linguistic skills.

Try a Different Approach

If what you are doing isn’t working then it might be time to try something else. This sounds like a fairly obvious piece of reasoning but it is something which can really hold back your progress if you don’t consider it early on enough. Maybe you need to adopt a more hands on approach, for instance. It might be that you are learning on your own with a book or on the internet and need to think about taking at least a few more formal classes to get started. If this is the case then you could get started by asking something like; where can I take Chinese classes in Toronto? You might be surprised to see how easy it is to get classes on just about language in just about any city in North America.

 When they plan to learn a foreign language most people probably don’t fully appreciate that this is the start of a lifetime of learning. One of the great things about studying a second language is that you can carry on picking up new words and phrases while having fun long after you have learned the basics.

However, the hardest part of all may be at the very beginning, when you might get frustrated at what you see to be a lack of progress on your part. If this is the case then here are some tips to see if you can increase your learning speed.

Take a Trip

Ideally, you will have the chance to take a trip somewhere you can speak your new language with the locals. Clearly the language you are studying and where you live are the two factors which are most going to influence whether this is possible or now. Having said that, a bit of lateral thinking might help you come up with interesting solutions even when this appears to be impossible. For example, if you can’t go to Latin America then you could practice your Spanish taking classes in Miami!