My Language Notebook

My Language Notebook is a fantastic little tool for language learners. I was asked to review the software and after a few days of playing around with it, I feel I should recommend it to anyone who enjoys making notes when learning from a textbook or online course. I created a few “projects” earlier this week using news articles from the BBC Chinese website. The notes feature was particularly handy for explaining unknown characters and giving certain background information on political figures or places mentioned in the articles.

The software is very simple to use and has a user-friendly interface. I have to admit that I was a little confused about categories and entries when I first started using the software but you’ll soon get the hang of it if you play around with the features or check out the Help section. Entries can be added and edited easily and the software seems to support most languages and scripts so it’s certainly not limited to languages using the Roman alphabet (I’ve used similar software in the past which did not have support for Chinese or Japanese text). You can also add audio files if you so wish (I didn’t use this feature as I don’t have a microphone for this laptop).

Here’s a screenshot of the “new entry” screen. I had to copy this from the My Language Notebook website as I’m currently having problems with my image editing software. As you can see, it’s extremely easy to add an entry with accompanying translation and notes. If you aren’t copy/pasting text from another source, you have the option to type everything in. You can choose from various character input sets, including Arabic, Georgian and Tibetan (personally, I found it much easier and quicker to use the Microsoft IMEs I normally use).  Editing entries is also very straightforward.

One final feature I wanted to mention is the option to download and share projects with other MLN users. You need to create an account if you want to share any of your projects online but anyone can download projects from the website. There aren’t very many projects available on the website at present but you can find resources for some of the less-commonly studied languages, such as Manx and Breton.

If you would like to test the software for yourself, you can download it for free from the website. Please note that free downloads are for home use only.

The Green-Eyed Monster Strikes Again?

I watched the series final of University Challenge on BBC2 last night after reading about Gail Trimble, the leader of the Corpus Christi team and the woman who many believe to be the cleverest contestant ever to take part in this long-running show. I used to watch University Challenge every week until I moved to the Netherlands. BBC2 is part of the television package we subscribe to but my partner doesn’t enjoy watching UC so I rarely get the chance to watch it (he’s away on business this week so I seized the opportunity to watch this woman in action).

Anyone who has been watching UC for the past few months will know that Gail Trimble has shown herself to be an extremely knowledgeable woman, one who should be proud of being a positive role model in a Britain which seems to be more interested in Big Brother and WAGs than in academia and intelligence. What I find extremely disappointing, almost depressing, is that many people seem to despise her intellect and are quick to remark that her knowledge is useless in the “real world” and assume that she’s lacking in social skills simply because she is a PhD student specialising in Latin literature. The Sun newspaper seemed to be proud of the fact that Gail had flunked a pop culture quiz that they had prepared for her. I don’t know about you but I’d be a lot more impressed with someone who can recite Latin poetry or name the capital city of Burkina Faso than with someone  who knew who won the last season of Celebrity Big Brother. Gail has been labelled as “arrogant” and “cocky” by some, while others criticise the way she looks and the way she would flick her hair behind her ear whenever she got a question right. Part of me wonders if  she would be subjected to such vitriol if she had been a man…

I’ve seen this sort of thing happen in language learning forums, where people seem to be intent on undermining other people’s achievements. One incident that immediately comes to mind is a thread accusing Ziad Fazah of being a fraud and of not being the talented polyglot that he claimed to be. I don’t know him and I have to admit there’s surprisingly little information about him on the Internet but I can’t see why the man warrants such hatred. The mere fact that it’s hard to find information about his linguistic prowess could be a sign of modesty on his part. I saw a few clips of him being tested on his knowledge of several languages, including Mandarin and Russian, which saw him stumble and make mistakes which people felt a talented polyglot shouldn’t be making.

Unfortunately, the videos have been removed from Youtube so I can’t link to them but my initial thoughts when watching them for the first time was that maybe the man was nervous and made silly mistakes under pressure. As I’ve said before, I don’t know him so I cannot vouch for his abilities as a polyglot, but I can sympathise with him if he’s the type of person who hates being the centre of attention. I certainly fall to pieces when I feel I’m being quizzed on my knowledge of a language and am prone to making silly mistakes when I’m feeling nervous. I’m quite a shy person by nature and will rarely take the chance and start a conversation in a foreign language with a complete stranger. This lack of confidence is a real obstacle for me as a language learner and is the reason why my spoken language skills are so dire. I don’t know if this is the reason for Ziad Fazah’s apparent fall from grace as the world’s most talented polyglot but it can certainly explain why some people can learn to read and understand a language well and still find it difficult to have a conversation with a native speaker.

Ziad Fazah is not the only polyglot who has been ridiculed or criticised. Steve Kauffman and Professor Argelles are other popular targets and there are also a few language learners whose Youtube channels are constantly flooded with comments about how their pronunciation “sucks” (constructive criticism at its best).  I really wonder if these people have nothing better to do with their time than spout their envy and hatred in this way. While I’m always a tiny bit skeptical of people’s language abilities, I admire those who make the effort to use the language as much as possible and who show a real passion for learning languages. Perfect pronunciation and grammar are worthless if you don’t get to use the language. If only I had Steve’s confidence or Dashan’s amazing command of the Chinese language…

EU Needs More English Translators

I came across this article on the BBC website yesterday. The article highlights the lack of native English speakers pursuing careers as translators and interpreters within the EU institutions. As a result, the EU has launched a recruitment drive for linguists from English-speaking countries as they need to recruit around 300 conference interpreters within the next ten years.

This isn’t the first article I’ve read which highlights the failure of the British education system to produce top-rate linguists. I remember reading somewhere that the EU was having to rely on non-native English speakers to fill the vacancies that British translators and interpreters should be filling. Sadly, the growing trend of using English as a lingua franca and the British education system are partly to blame. Language teaching in the UK is in desperate need of a shakeup as children often don’t learn a foreign language until they reach secondary school. I feel that British children should be taught foreign languages from an earlier age (the younger, the better) and, even more importantly, an interest in learning foreign languages and learning about other cultures needs to be instilled in them or else any efforts to expose children to foreign languages will be wasted. It also doesn’t help that language departments have been scaled down (or closed down) at some universities.

The British education system’s attitude towards languages and language teaching certainly need to be addressed before this becomes a serious problem. English may be the “international language” of today but who knows what tomorrow will bring? It’s also a shame to think that there may be children whose gifts for language learning are not given the same chances that many children in mainland Europe have (e.g. most Dutch children have the opportunity to learn three foreign languages at school). Self-study is certainly an alternative for the most determined of students but it will always have mixed results as some people need the structure and guidance that can only be provided in a classroom setting. It will be interesting to see how this all pans out.

On a slightly different note, the article also mentions a lack of interpreters from Malta. Malta is one of the EU’s smallest member states, home to just over 410,000 Maltese. How many interpreters could one small island nation possibly produce? And how many of those would be able to interpret between, say, Latvian and Maltese (or even English)?

Please note that this a blog about language learning written by a language enthusiast. Any requests for translation work or more information about the EU’s recruitment policies will need to be addressed to the relevant authorities or agencies.

Teppanyaki and the Passé Simple

I mentioned in an earlier post that I’m currently reading Christine Arnothy’s J’ai quinze ans et je ne veux pas mourir as my foreign language book of the month. One of the things I’ve learnt from reading this is the passé simple. This may sound odd but I wasn’t aware of this form until I started reading J’ai quinze ans. I certainly don’t remember learning it at school and this is the first time I’ve come across it in a French-language novel, though having said that, I’ve only read four French-language books in recent memory.

I won’t go into too much detail about the passé simple as my knowledge of French grammar is quite patchy. All I know is that it’s the literary equivalent of the passé composé and it can be identified quite easily (nous and vous forms end in âmes/îmes and âtes/îtes respectively). A quick introduction to this verb form can be found here and here.

My partner and I treated ourselves to an all-you-can-eat teppanyaki (鉄板焼き) buffet this evening, which included a lot of sushi and tempura, even though neither of these are cooked on the teppan (鉄板) itself. I wonder if this would be the correct way to say what we did this evening..

Ce soir, nous allâmes au restaurant japonais et nous mangeâmes des sushi et du tempura.

Well, folks, that’s all for the time being. I’m still feeling very full so I’m going to do what the Dutch do when they’ve eaten way too much : uitbuiken*.

* uitbuiken - the best way to describe this is “unbuttoning or loosening your trousers or jeans to make yourself more comfortable after a heavy meal”. Or more simply, “to let your belly hang out” (buik is the Dutch word for “stomach” or “belly”).

日本語を勉強する

I thought I’d share some links to some Japanese learning resources I discovered recently. I’ve been studying Japanese on and off for the past two years so I’m always on the look-out for new resources.

Here are some of the websites and blogs I’ve stumbled upon :

Surasura : A Text for Intermediate Japanese – An online reader and grammar text for intermediate students. I find the grammar notes particularly useful, though I haven’t been able to get the audio files to work..

Learn Japanese Online : Intermediate Japanese Grammar List – Not a learning resource per se but it’s a good way to see what grammar points I still need to cover.

Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words - A great resource for anyone wishing to read or write haiku. It’s a shame that the site only uses romaji..

U-Biq Online Japanese Study – A fairly good beginners course. A lot of grammar points and sentence structures are covered and hiragana/katakana are used throughout the course. My only complaint is that kanji are not used in the example sentences, though you can find the kanji for most of the new vocabulary along the side of the page.

The Daily Yo-ji - A bit of a misnomer but this blog is a good resource for learning advanced Japanese grammar and expressions. It seems to be aimed mostly at people working towards the JLPT levels 1 and 2 so it might not be of much use to anyone who’s just started learning Japanese.

Japanite - Another blog for advanced learners. The author makes use of articles to teach grammar and vocabulary and you can find some useful posts on conversational Japanese.

The JapanesePod101 Blog - I’m not a big fan of the JapanesePod101 podcast lessons but I think its blog is one of the most useful resources around for learning the Japanese language. I really enjoy the Kanji Curiosity articles as they’re jam-packed with new vocabulary.

Coming Soon…

I haven’t disappeared off the face of the Earth, in case you’ve been wondering! I’ve spent most of my evenings translating documents so I haven’t had much time to write or work on my languages (with the exception of Chinese, of course). Since it’s already quite late and I have a busy workday to look forward to tomorrow, I thought I’d just give you all a quick update on what you can expect on the blog in the next few days.

• A review of MyLanguageNotebook software.
• A podcast review (I still haven’t decided which one to review. Any recommendations?)
• Links to some Japanese learning resources.
• An article about some of the challenges I face when translating from Chinese into English.

That’s all for now, folks.

On the Spot – Liz

Apologies, dear readers, for the lack of posts over the past few days. Translation assignments and my day job have kept me rather busy so I haven’t really been in the mood for writing my usual rants.

I thought I’d take the opportunity to post Liz’s language learner interview, the last in the series (for now). Liz is an avid language learner and a  writer for Pocket Cultures, a site and series of blogs devoted to world cultures, travel and expat life.

I would also like to point out that an archive of all of the language learner interviews posted on this blog can now be found by clicking on the Interviews tab above.

As always, click on the Continue Reading link if you want to read the full interview.

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Which languages are you learning? What level of conversational and reading ability to do you have in each of these? (I’ve avoided using the term ‘fluent’ here for reasons that will become clear below)

I speak and read French, Spanish and Italian fairly proficiently – I can say pretty much everything I need to say and read comfortably (although I’m still quite slow at reading Italian). I’m also learning Turkish and Arabic. By now I can have a conversation in Turkish and read simple newspaper articles. My Arabic level is still very basic.

How long have you been learning foreign languages? What was the first foreign language you learnt or were exposed to?

I studied French and German in school (aged 11 to 18) but I only really learnt to speak French well when I went to live there during university (I did an Erasmus exchange). The other languages I learnt more recently.

What attracted you to the language(s) you’re learning?

All for different reasons! At my school French and German were the only languages offered so no choices there. I wanted to learn Spanish because it’s such an important world language, and once I knew French and Spanish it seemed like a good opportunity to learn Italian because it is so similar. I learnt Turkish because I wanted to live in Turkey. My husband’s family speak Italian and Arabic so that is now my main motivation to learn those languages.

Which languages would you like to learn in future? What are your reasons for choosing these?

Well, for the near future I want to concentrate on Arabic. I’ve always wanted to learn Japanese, but I don’t know how useful it would be in practice given the amount of effort it would take and the little opportunities I would get to use it. Also Mandarin would be useful I think, but it must be very difficult.

On the Spot – Emmanuelle

Today’s interviewee is Emmanuelle, author of the Winning Away Expat Tips & Resources blog. Emmanuelle provides expat coaching services for expat, diplomats and their partners and is a keen student of Middle Egyptian. You can learn more about her services and career by visiting her website, Winning Away.

You can read the full interview by clicking on the Continue Reading link below.

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Which languages are you learning? What level of conversational and reading ability to do you have in each of these? (I’ve avoided using the term ‘fluent’ here for reasons that will become clear below)

Currently, the only language I am actively learning is Middle Egyptian. My level is beginner/intermediate at best.

How long have you been learning foreign languages? What was the first foreign language you learnt or were exposed to?

I have been learning foreign languages since I was a very young child. The first foreign language I was exposed to was Flemish, while visiting my mother’s family in Belgium. Even though I never learned Flemish myself, being exposed to different sounds and sentence structure opened my mind to the concept of foreign languages from a very young age. It also made it easier for me to pronounce certain phonemes when I did start learning foreign languages in earnest.

What attracted you to the language(s) you’re learning?

A passion for Ancient Egypt and a desire to be able to work on the original texts without relying on translations.

Which languages would you like to learn in future? What are your reasons for choosing these?

I would mostly like to brush up on Spanish, which I used to speak fluently, and Arabic (Lebanese and Egyptian dialects), as I travel to the Middle East frequently. There are several other languages that I started learning out of interest for the country and its culture (Swedish, Armenian and German) and that I would like to maintain as well.

Working as a Volunteer Translator

It’s the weekend again and the end of another slightly chaotic week at work. I’ve been given some more translation work to do so posts may be a little sporadic over the next few days. I have two new language learner interviews to post on the blog, one of which will probably be posted later tonight or tomorrow, and I think it’s high time for another podcast review…so watch this space.

As I may have mentioned, I don’t work as a freelance translator any more due to financial reasons and the desire for (relative) job stability but it certainly is a profession I would love to return to when the conditions are right. All of the translation work I do at present is on a voluntary basis. I may not get paid for doing it but it’s something I enjoy doing and is a great way to keep my Chinese language skills alive. You’d be amazed how quickly you can forget words and characters when you’re not exposed to the language on a daily basis…

I wrote a brief article about volunteer translation work for my translation blog, Kelly Translates, some time ago. I’m currently debating whether to delete that blog or give it a new lease of life by starting from scratch, so I thought I’d post that article here for posterity’s sake. Aspiring translators may find this quite useful.

Translating documents or web pages on a pro bono basis is something that some professional translators enjoy doing and something that other translators feel can be detrimental to the profession. Charities, educational organizations and NGOs often recruit volunteer translators to help them reach a wider audience.

There are numerous reasons for and against offering translation services for free. Aspiring translators and those who are hoping to re-enter the translation market will find that volunteer work will help them build up a portfolio, gain valuable work experience without the pressures of strict deadlines, and may even see it as an opportunity to specialise in a certain area (e.g. environmental issues, medical care in the developing world, rural education). Others, however, see it in a different light. Some believe that the time spend translating for free could be better spent on an assignment that actually pays, while some feel that offering translation services for free would prompt companies to offer work to the lowest bidders and jeopardize the translation market.

As someone who has had to take on job which is unrelated to translation in order to make ends meet, volunteer translation work is a good way for me to hone my translation skills and gain experience in my speciality fields. I intend to re-enter the translation market in the not-too-distant future so it is important for me to keep my skills sharp and prove to my future clients that I can offer quality service. Volunteer work gives me the chance to grow professionally and it allows me the flexibility to fit translation work into my busy schedule.

On a more personal level, volunteer work allows me to combine my translation skills with my hobbies and interests, which makes the whole experience fun and educational. I am currently helping the staff at the Institute of Archaeology (China Academy of Social Sciences) translate staff biographies and news articles in order to flesh out their English-language site. I have a personal interest in Chinese archaeology so this work allows me to learn more about the subject area as well as gain a deeper understanding of the terminology used in this field.

Volunteer translation work isn’t for everyone but I would certainly recommend it as a way for junior translators to learn more about their chosen profession, develop the skills that they will need to succeed as professional translators, and contribute to a good cause. If you are looking for volunteer work, feel free to check out the sites below :

• Ashoka
• China Dialogue
• International Children’s Digital Library
• Kiva
• Translations for Progress
• Translators for Kids
• Translators Without Borders

Book of the Month – February

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to read at least one foreign-language book a month. In January I read China : Centrum van de Wereld, a Dutch-language book on contemporary Chinese society written by Dutch Sinologist Garrie van Pinxteren. I’ve decided to choose a French book for February and found a copy of a Christine Arnothy’s J’ai quinze ans et je veux pas mourir, a tale about the author’s life and escape from Budapest during the Second World War.

I only managed to read two pages of the book so far as I fell asleep shortly afterwards. This isn’t a comment on the quality of the writing, rather on my stupid decision to start reading a new book after midnight. I’m not sure whether I can manage to read the whole book before the end of February, given that February is a short month and that I’m also doing a distance-learning course on classical archaeology. Still, there’s certainly no harm in trying and I’ve been meaning to return to my French studies for some time now.

I’m planning on reading Il nome della rosa in March so I’ll have covered Dutch, French and Italian before April. After that, I’ll be concentrating on Spanish, Chinese and Japanese. Does anyone have any recommendations for books in these languages?

On the Spot – Geoff Barto

Here’s today’s language learner interview. Today’s interviewee is Geoff Barto, author of the Confessions of a Language Addict blog (one of the longest running language blogs around) and editor of the Multilingua.Info website. Here are his tips and thoughts on learning foreign languages.

Click on the Continue Reading link below to read the full interview.

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Which languages are you learning? What level of conversational and reading ability to do you have in each of these? (I’ve avoided using the term ‘fluent’ here for reasons that will become clear below)

Right now I’m learning – i.e. actively studying – Latin, Breton and Uzbek. In Breton and Uzbek, I know enough for the barest of necessities. I’m just getting back to Latin after years away.

I’m actively avoiding studying Mandarin, though I’ll get back to it eventually.

Languages I’ve studied in the past and maintained are: French (still good for a non-native), Spanish (everyday conversation) and Italian (functional for everyday situations).

How long have you been learning foreign languages? What was the first foreign language you learnt or were exposed to?

I was first exposed to French at an early age. My parents had studied it in college and used the odd phrase around the house. I started studying it seriously in high school at 14.

What attracted you to the language(s) you’re learning?

French, Italian, Spanish and Latin are all entry-points into understanding our culture, especially through literature: Hugo, Dante, Borges and Ovid…

I lived in Bretagne and Breton offers a way of reconnecting with its idyllic countryside and Celtic and Arthurian lore.

Registan.net links introduced me to Uzbek pop music and I started wondering what they were singing about. (Mostly love and destiny, it turns out.)

Which languages would you like to learn in the future? What are your reasons for choosing these?

Ancient Egyptian: There’s a fascinating worldview there and I’d love to be able to see it more through their eyes.

Persian: Rumi and the Rubaiyat

Lost in Translation

I’m afraid there will be no new posts from me today (and possibly tomorrow) as I’m tied up with some translation work. I have one more language learner interview to post later this week and I hope to get back to regular posting within the next couple of days.

For now, I’d like to share a link to a random video archive that I stumbled upon during the weekend : CNC Max. It’s nowhere near as big as Tudou or Youku but it has plenty of interesting videos with Chinese subtitles. Perfect for anyone who finds it hard to follow spoken Mandarin.

On the Spot – Ramses

One final language learning survey for this week (or the first one of the week, if you considering Sunday the first day of the week!). Today’s interviewee is Ramses, author of the Spanish Only blog, who has decided to share this thoughts of learning Spanish.

As always, you can read the full interview by clicking on the Continue Reading link below.

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Which languages are you learning? What level of conversational and reading ability to do you have in each of these? (I’ve avoided using the term ‘fluent’ here for reasons that will become clear below)

I’m currently learning Spanish, but just began with Papiamento as well. In Spanish I have a high-intermediate to advanced level regarding conversation skills. I guess I’m advanced when it comes to reading (input is always easier than output at this stage).

As I’ve just began studying Papiamento, my speaking ability is pretty much non-existent. I can understand a lot though, both spoken and written, because it shares a lot with Spanish.

How long have you been learning foreign languages? What was the first foreign language you learnt or were exposed to?

The first foreign language I was exposed was English, but I never really studied it and got my current level by input and speaking it with family members in Australia.

Then, years later, I wanted to learn Russian because of Georgian and Russian friends. I never got far and only learnt the basics.

Then, I started majoring Spanish in college. That was about one and a half year ago. Since then I’ve been studying it/immersing myself in it each and every day.