May 29, 2019

Book review: Neither here nor there. Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson

Love it or hate it, it’s definitely an interesting read (especially since it was written in the 90s – that’s almost pre-Internet era!). Neither here nor there by Bill Bryson, an American-British writer and traveller, takes us on a tour around well-known European cities. The book is written with a great sense of humour, so be careful, you may burst out with laugher, unexpectedly and hysterically (in my case: I woke up my husband and my baby girl, as it was impossible for me to stop laughing!). It’s inspiring, funny, occasionally politically-incorrect, retrospective, and today we would say that it represents slow-travelling since the author travels mostly by train!

I highly recommend it for those planning their European holidays or looking for some good laughs!

BTW, the writer finds Austria more European than the rest of Europe and in his view Sofia is the most European of all the cities (interesting!). Which country/city do you find more European?

Kinga Macalla

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May 22, 2019

Italy: Florence – Pisa – Torre del Lago

My travelling destination in Italy was Tuscany, and while there I visited Florence, Pisa and Torre del Lago. Today, I’d like to share with you my observations of those towns and what impressed me most.

Florence

Architectonically, it’s a true gem, breathtakingly beautiful. You can just wander around the town the whole day long and admire its architecture. I was surprised at how crowded the town centre was, there were many tourists. That also meant that the queues to various places, like the galleries or the main cathedral, were very long. Even though the ticket and entrance system is a bit chaotic, we decided to visit the main gallery, Galleria degli Uffizi, which contains paintings by Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci and Caravaggio, among many other masterpieces. The building itself, with its painted ceilings, is worth your attention and so are the window views. We also walked around the town to see the many famous squares, but we couldn’t miss a cup of decadent hot chocolate in the Caffè Rivoire or a cup of the creamiest ice-cream in the galetaria Grom.

Pisa

I have always treasured those “first time” moments, such as when I first saw Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower, and this time was the same with the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I was moved when I had my first glimpse of this monumental tower and yes, it’s very, very slanted! Pisa was much less crowded than Florence, but every time we went to Pisa, it always rained, even if it only lasted 5 minutes. We also visited the botanical garden, which dates back to 1543 and was the first European university botanical garden. Our visit to Pisa wouldn’t have been the same without a scoop of the tastiest ice-cream (read my ice-cream post here).

Torre del Lago

This tiny seaside town is mostly famous for the Puccini Opera Festival which is held here in July-August and is the only festival fully dedicated to the composer Giacomo Puccini. Torre del Lago also has a long sandy beach which we enjoyed almost every day. Its long main street is crammed with many small shops, delis, bakeries, groceries and cafes. For me, it was so nice to see so many Italians cycling to work or to the beach (with the kids being placed everywhere on the bike!). I could definitely slow down and relax here, through walking on the beach, tasting the food, reading books or simply by dolce far niente.

What are your impressions of Tuscany and its beautiful towns? Let me know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

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May 8, 2019

On Languages: Greek

This blog post is about Modern Greek, its background, grammar and alphabet.  The Greek language has an important place in Western literature, science and religion, with Western canonical texts like the Iliad and the Odyssey, many foundational texts in science and Western philosophy and the New Testament of the Bible being written in Greek.  Many Greek words have been borrowed by other languages, including English: “mathematics”, “physics”, “astronomy”, “democracy”, “philosophy”, “athletics”, “theatre”, “rhetoric”, “baptism”, “evangelist”, etc.  Greek words are also used to invent new words, mainly for use in science: “anthropology”, “photography”, “telephony”, “biomechanics”, etc.  Lots of English words are of Greek origin.

Background

Greek (ελληνικά (elliniká)) is an independent branch of the Indo-European language family.  It has the longest history of any living Indo-European language, with written records going back 3000 years.  The Greek alphabet, itself derived from the Phoenician alphabet, became the basis for the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and other writing systems.

Modern Greek is the official language of two countries, Greece and Cyprus, a recognised minority language in seven other countries and is one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Greek is spoken by at least 13.2 million people in the world, in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, Romania, Ukraine, the United States, Canada and Australia.  Varieties of Modern Greek include Demotic (Standard Modern Greek), Katharevousa, Pontic, Cappadocian, Mariupolitan, Southern Italian, Yevanic and Tsakonian.

Grammar

This is a very brief selection of some aspects of Greek grammar.  A more complete summary can be found here.

Pronouns denote person (1st (I), 2nd (you) and 3rd (s/he)), number (singular and plural) and gender (masculine, feminine, and neuter).  Pronouns can be dropped if it is clear who or what is being talked about.

Modern Greek has four cases: Nominative (Ονομαστική), for the subject of sentences; Genitive (Γενική), to mark possession; Accusative (Αιτιατική), for objects (direct and indirect) of sentences and Vocative (Κλητική), for calling (usually people, but every object has a vocative case).

The most commonly used word order is subject-verb-object, but word order is quite free and so verb-subject-object and other orders can be used too.  Adjectives describing the noun go before the noun (e.g. το μεγάλο σπίτι, (to meˈɣalo ˈspiti), “the big house”), but possessive adjectives follow the noun (e.g. το σπίτι μου, (to ˈspiti mu), “my house”).

Verbs agree with their subject.  There is no infinitive; a type of infinitive is formed using subjunctive verb forms (e.g. θέλω να πάω, (ˈθelo na ˈpao), literally “I want that I go”, i.e. “I want to go”).

Modern Greek has stressed and unstressed syllables, similar to English.  Where the stress falls is indicated by a stroke (΄) over the vowel to be stressed.

Alphabet

Greek has been written in the Greek alphabet since the 9th century BC.  The word “alphabet” itself comes from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet: άλφα (alpha) and βήτα (beta).  The Greek alphabet has 24 letters, each with an uppercase and lowercase form. The letter sigma has an additional lowercase form (ς) used at the end of words.  Words are pronounced as they are written.

Here is the alphabet with the name and  pronunciation of each letter:

Α α = alpha = “a”

Β β = vita (beta) = “v”

Γ γ = gamma = “y” / “gh”

Δ δ = thelta (delta) = “th” (as in “there”)

Ε ε = epsilon = “e”

Ζ ζ = zita = “z”

Η η = ita = “ee”

Θ θ = thita = “th” (as in “through”)

Ι ι = iota = “ee”

Κ κ = kappa = “k”

Λ λ = lamtha (lambda) “l”

Μ μ = mu = “m”

Ν ν = nu = “n”

Ξ ξ = xee = “x” / “ks”

Ο ο = omicron = “oh”

Π π = pi = “p”

Ρ ρ = ro = rolled “r”

Σ σ / ς = sigma = “s”

Τ τ = tau = “t”

Υ υ = upsilon = “ee”

Φ φ = phi = “f”

Χ χ = chi = “ch” (like the sound an annoyed cat might make, but softer)

Ψ ψ = psi = “ps”

Ω ω = omega = “or”

Where Can I Learn More?

The BBC website and the Turquoise Collection have some useful phrases that you can use on holiday but if you want to go deeper, there are extensive guides here and here.  Wikipedia has a fairly comprehensive guide to Modern Greek grammar.  For a comprehensive overview of the Greek language, including its history, you can read this very informative webpage.  You might also want to book a language course in a Greek-speaking country.

Suzannah Young

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April 24, 2019

Book review: The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben

“A walk in the woods will never be the same again.” [cover]

Why read about trees when you’re learning a new language?

First, for pleasure, as it’s a fascinating read. Peter Wohlleben presents many interesting scientific facts about trees: he talks about some mysterious truths (why deciduous trees drop leaves in winter), beautiful truths (the cycle of a tree life) and surprises (trees can count!). Peter Wohlleben’s passion, knowledge, wisdom & understanding towards the trees is truly impressive.

Secondly, the book explores the topic of communication and is interested to know if trees can communicate and, if yes, what ‘language’ they use to pass information. Peter Wohlleben mentions scent signals, visual signals, chemical signals and sound signals (e.g. cracking roots communicating with grass). Understanding the communicative signals of trees might be an important component in getting to know them better, but this hasn’t been deeply researched yet. So for the time being, “if you hear a light cracking the next time you take a walk in the forest, perhaps it won’t be just the wind…”. [p.13]

Thirdly, while and after reading the book, you’ll be inspired to go for a walk in the forest. Don’t hesitate, go! – especially since “[e]very walk in the forest is like taking a shower in oxygen.” [p. 224]

What’s your current read? Let me know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

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April 17, 2019

Happy Easter!

Dear Readers,

We would like to wish you all a lovely Easter break. Whether you’re going travelling, visiting family or practising your language skills, we hope you have a great time and we’re looking forward to seeing you soon!

BTW, we’re starting our SPRING language term very soon, on Monday 29th April 2019. If you haven’t enrolled yet, join one of our language courses now and register here!

We hope we’ll see you on one of our language courses soon.

HAPPY EASTER!

BLS Team

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April 10, 2019

Travelling Corner: Picture-Perfect Spot in Croatia

It was my first time in Croatia and I fell in love with its people, nature, food and culture. My stay in Croatia was amazing and it surprised me in many ways. Today, I want to share with you my picture-perfect spot in Croatia (I have also written a more general article on Croatia, here).

Town

Where is this perfect spot? It’s Nin, not far away from Zadar and around a 2-hour drive from Split. It’s a small town, partially an island, with an archaeological museum and a salt museum. There are pubs, restaurants, bakeries and shops. You can also hire bikes. If you’re after fresh bread or fruit & veg, I would recommend going even more locally and buying from the stalls by the road. They have fresh products, often from their own gardens and orchards which are definitely cheaper than in supermarkets.

Beach

There are mountains behind the sea, healing mud, a calm sea shore, sand and a beach café. Perfect! The beach is quite long, but narrow. I trust that in July and August it can be quite crowded, but in September it was perfectly comfortable. The sea is warm and shallow (perfect for the children) and I couldn’t stop admiring the view of the mountains. Mud baths are also great fun: you can feel the excitement when you touch and play with the mud (by the way, the mud is apparently beneficial for your body & skin)!

Campsite

The campsite is fantastic, because you have a private route to the beach and beautiful views from the site all day long. The campsite has varying reviews on Google, but we had a very good deal and enjoyed our stay there (so no complaints here!). The campsite is relatively small, simple and clean. It has toilets and shower rooms (please see below my recipe for the quickest shower ever!) and Internet (but only in the reception area). The only thing I thought was lacking were picnic tables, as most campers come in their own cars or a camper-vans so it isn’t necessary to provide them. And we couldn’t get a gas canister to cook our meals, as the majority of travellers bring them in their cars! Apart from that, we enjoyed our stay at Ninska Laguna Camping!

A recipe for the QUICKEST shower ever!

The shower rooms don’t have doors, but a wall on one side, so it makes showering (or rather un-dressing) a bit tricky. You need to pay for hot water. Undress, place everything strategically, your shampoo, towel & clothes. Insert coins and quickly shampoo your hair, wash body and rinse, rinse, rinse! Hot water gone. Now the pleasure (or necessity) of finishing off rinsing with cold water. Dry your hair & body, put clothes on. Done! (I think it took longer to write about than to actually take the shower!)

Weather

The weather surprised us the most. Perhaps because of the mountains, we had a whole range of weather: from beautiful blue-sky to light rain, heavy rain, downpours and storms. Fortunately, most of the extreme weather happened at night, but one day we had to stay in our tent for 6 hours because of the storms. One piece of advice: explore the nearby areas, as sometimes a 20-minute drive away may mean a beautiful and sunny day!

What is your favourite spot in Croatia? Please share your recommendations in the comments below.

Written by Kinga Macalla

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April 3, 2019

Where can I practise my language-speaking skills in Bristol?

So you have been learning a new language for a while now and you are making a lot of progress, but you feel like something is missing.  You can practise reading and writing and listening… but where can you practise speaking?  This post looks at where you can practise speaking your chosen language with native speakers and other language enthusiasts in Bristol.  You may also find conversation opportunities online, such as Skype-type language exchanges, but this post focuses on what you can find on your doorstep and encourages you to get out there and meet people – because that remains the best way to practise your language skills!  It is arranged by language.

I have personally tried and tested the Dutch and French Meet Up groups and am hoping to start the Arabic group soon.  The Dutch group especially is very active.  The French group is looking for new organisers so you could put yourself forward if you are interested.   I found out about the others through the recommendations from other people and research.  If you have any others to add, please let us know!

Arabic

Bridges for Communities is a Bristol-based organisation that connects people from different cultures and faiths, enabling them to build friendships and grow in their understanding of one another.  They have a project called RefuLingua that links Arabic speakers with other Bristolians wanting to learn Arabic.  They run a conversation club in Easton on a Monday night.  Please get in touch with Bridges for Communities if you want to know more.

There isn’t currently an Arabic “Meetup” group in Bristol but if you would like to create one, a skeleton group already exists.

The Bristol Erasmus Student Network holds regular Language Tandem events at Zerodegrees bar in central Bristol.  Check their Facebook page for details of the next event.

Chinese

Bristol Mandarin Chinese Meetup group gives you an opportunity to meet Mandarin Chinese speakers and practise your speaking skills.

The Bristol Erasmus Student Network holds regular Language Tandem events at Zerodegrees bar in central Bristol.  Check their Facebook page for details of the next event.

Dutch

There is a Facebook group for Dutch speakers in Bristol: Dutch in Bristol/Nederlanders in Bristol.  You can access conversation opportunities through this group – you will find more information on the group’s page.

There is a Dutch language Meetup group in Bristol that meets on Tuesday nights in central Bristol.

The Bristol Erasmus Student Network holds regular Language Tandem events at Zerodegrees bar in central Bristol.  Check their Facebook page for details of the next event.

French

You can join the two Facebook pages for French speakers in Bristol: Français à Bristol and Alliance Française de Bristol to access conversation opportunities in French.

There is a very active French language Meetup Group which meets in various locations across Bristol, so French speakers from all over the city can practise their language skills.

The Bristol French Circle/Cercle français de Bristol offers an opportunity to meet and speak French every other Thursday from October to May.  The meetings start at 7.30pm at BAWA health and Leisure club in Filton.  The Circle also organises other activities such as trips to French restaurants or to the cinema to see French-language films.

There are a lot of French conversation groups in many different locations organised by U3A (University of the Third Age) – have a look on the website for a location near you.  Joining U3A comes with an annual membership fee of £20.

The Bristol Erasmus Student Network holds regular Language Tandem events at Zerodegrees bar in central Bristol.  Check their Facebook page for details of the next event.

German

Conversation tables are a very German tradition and Bristol has its very own “Stammtisch” too, every first Tuesday of the month at the Bavarian Beer House in central Bristol.

There is a Facebook group for German speakers in Bristol, “Deutsche in Bristol”, where you can access conversation opportunities.

The Bristol Anglo-German Society offers conversation groups too.

There is also a German conversation group that meets twice monthly on Monday afternoons from 2-3.30pm at the Harbourside, organised by U3A (University of the Third Age).  Joining U3A comes with an annual membership fee of £20.

The Bristol Erasmus Student Network holds regular Language Tandem events at Zerodegrees bar in central Bristol.  Check their Facebook page for details of the next event.

Italian

There is an Italian conversation group on Wednesday afternoons and another one in the evening in Fishponds organised by U3A (University of the Third Age). Joining U3A comes with an annual membership fee of £20.

There is a Meetup group for people wanting to practise Italian.

Internations offers an opportunity to meet native speakers of Italian and converse with them.

The Hunter Language Exchange group on Meetup offers Italian among its languages.

The Bristol Erasmus Student Network holds regular Language Tandem events at Zerodegrees bar in central Bristol.  Check their Facebook page for details of the next event.

Japanese

The Bristol Japanese Language Meetup Facebook group offers an opportunity to practise your Japanese language skills.

There is also a Japanese language group on Meetup.

The Bristol Erasmus Student Network holds regular Language Tandem events at Zerodegrees bar in central Bristol.  Check their Facebook page for details of the next event.

Polish

You could join the Facebook group “Polacy w Bristolu, Bath I okolicach” for Polish speakers in Bristol, Bath and surrounding areas, to give you an opportunity to meet Polish speakers and practise your language skills.

The Hunter Language Exchange group on Meetup offers Polish among its languages.

The Bristol Erasmus Student Network holds regular Language Tandem events at Zerodegrees bar in central Bristol.  Check their Facebook page for details of the next event.

Portuguese

To find Portuguese speakers to speak to, you could look at the Facebook groups “Brasileiros em Bristol”, “Let’s Speak Portuguese Bristol” and “Portugueses em Bristol UK”.

Internations also offers an opportunity to meet native speakers of Portuguese.

The Bristol Erasmus Student Network holds regular Language Tandem events at Zerodegrees bar in central Bristol.  Check their Facebook page for details of the next event.

Russian

UWE and Bristol University have Russian language-exchange Facebook Groups.

There isn’t currently a Russian language Meetup group in Bristol but if you would like to create one, a skeleton group already exists.

The Bristol Erasmus Student Network holds regular Language Tandem events at Zerodegrees bar in central Bristol.  Check their Facebook page for details of the next event.

Spanish

There are lots of Spanish-language Meetup groups in Bristol so you can take your pick.

North Bristol Community Project holds a conversation club in Bishopston on a Thursday from 7-9pm.  It comes with a cost of £10 per session or £80 for 10 sessions, which includes soft and hot drinks.

U3A (University of the Third Age) organises a Spanish conversation group on Wednesday mornings in North Bristol.  Joining U3A comes with an annual membership fee of £20.

There are many Bristol-based Spanish-language Facebook groups, such as “Argentinos en Bristol”, “Chilenos en Bristol”, “Ecuatorianos en Bristol”, “Españoles en Bristol”, “Bristoleños” and “Mexicanos en Bristol”, where you can access conversation opportunities.

The Bristol Erasmus Student Network holds regular Language Tandem events at Zerodegrees bar in central Bristol.  Check their Facebook page for details of the next event.

And finally…

Don’t forget to check Gumtree and My Language Exchange for individual language exchange opportunities as well.

Suzannah Young

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March 27, 2019

Travelling corner: 3 family-friendly beaches in North Cornwall, UK

For our family, when travelling to Cornwall, we need to have plenty of walking options as we like to be outside to enjoy the views, fresh air and some exercise. Since becoming a family of 4, we take our younger daughter in a sling (3 months old) and our older daughter (4 years old) walks by herself (very often with walking sticks). The below three beaches are located close to each other.  Their coast paths have beautiful sea views and are fairly easy, even for younger kids. The photos come from our various trips to this part of Cornwall (including our recent one in February).

Sandymouth Beach

Beautiful long sandy beach: at low tide you can take a beach walk up to Bude. There is National Trust parking and a café with outside sitting and views of the ocean. We really enjoyed walking the coastal path, as the landscape was spectacular.

 

Summerleaze Beach, Bude

Very popular with tourists and locals. Plenty of options: you can go for a beach walk, take a coastal path, swim in the sea pool or have a walk by the river Neet.

Widemouth Beach

Beautiful long beach to walk, surf, swim or explore. Breathtaking views from the coastal path.

What are your favourite family-friendly beaches in Cornwall? Let me know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

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March 20, 2019

Book review: The Atlas of Happiness by Helen Russell

What makes us happy? Money, success, family, friends, surroundings, weather? The more I read about happiness, the more I think that happiness comes from inside, from our attitude towards what happens in our life. Would you agree?

This recent publication by Helen Russell (who now lives in Denmark – consistently one of the top 10 happiest countries in the world – and is the author of The Year of Living Danishly) takes us around the world to search for happiness in as many as 30 countries! The author uses humour, modern language, her own experience & beautiful illustrations to awaken our imagination to understand happiness better. We learn about this positive emotion through concepts — phrases which might be seen as key ingredients to understanding happiness in different countries.

We read about the known concepts, such as the American homeyness, Brazilian saudade, Canadian joie de vivre, English jolly, Hawaiian aloha, Italian dolce far niente, Japanese wabi-sabi, Spanish sobremesa and Swedish lagom. But also lesser-known ideas (at least to me!): Chinese xingfu 幸福 (“the state of being happy”, the term refers to “a good life that is sufficient, sustainable, and has meaning”), Syrian tarab (“musically induced ecstasy or enchantment”) or Welsh hwyl (“a strong, stirring feeling of emotion, enthusiasm and fervour”).

The concepts that made me smile most come from Scandinavian countries (I know I need to start exploring Scandinavia!). First is the Danish arbejdsglæde (“happiness at work”, something that’s essential to living the good life for Danes). The Danish have shorter working days, a casual dress-code and more flexibility at work, time for hobbies, and they “expect to be happy at work”. [62] I know it sounds so perfect that you immediately want to move to Denmark!

The Icelandic concept can uplift our spirits (and make us happier), because it shows that our attitude matters and that reading is important (I agree!). The concept is called þetta reddast and means “it will all work out”, whether that’s a financial crisis, harsh weather conditions (in Iceland: sub-zero temperatures, snowstorms or dark winters) or day-to-day challenges.

The Norwegian concept can be linked with the positive value of being close to nature. The term friluftsliv means “free air life”, the physical and spiritual well-being uplifted after spending time in remote locations. Norway’s geography helps; their landscapes formed of mountains, forests, fjords, waterfalls and coast are spectacular. And in the evening, you can be inspired by Slow TV and watch live transmissions, e.g. of “fjords out of the window during a seven-hour train journey”. [175]

Do you already feel calmer, more relaxed and happier? Me, too.

Have you read The Atlas of Happiness? Which concept resonates most with you?

Kinga Macalla

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March 13, 2019

Spring Has Sprung – The Origin of “Spring” in 12 Different Languages

Although we have had some uncharacteristically warm weather recently, the season on its way in March is actually spring, and the observant among you will have noticed the spring flowers starting to poke their heads above the ground.  To celebrate this new beginning, this blog post looks at the word for “spring” and the origins of these words in the languages you can study at Bristol Language School.  This means so you will be able to talk about the new season in your chosen language and impress your speaking partners with your knowledge of etymology, the origin of words.  As usual, the post is arranged by language in alphabetical order.

Arabic

The Arabic word for “spring” is “الرَّبيع” (al rbye), from the root “ر ب ع‎” (r-b-ʿ). “ربع”‎ means “quarter”.

Chinese

In Mandarin Chinese, “spring” is “春天”, (chūntiān).  It comes from the phono-semantic (mixture of sound and meaning) compound, “形聲”, (tʰjun), made up of “艸” (meaning “grass”), “屯” (the sound duːn, tun, for “sprout, begin to grow, geminate”) and “日” (meaning “sun”).

Czech

In Czech, “spring” is “jaro”, from the Proto-Slavic forms “jaro”, “jarъ”, “jarь”, “jara”, which in turn come from Proto-Indo-European “yōro-” or “yeh₁ro-”, meaning “year, spring”‎.  It is a cognate with the English word “year”, the German “Jahr” ‎(“year”‎), the Latin “hōra” (“hour, time, season”‎) (and many Romance languages have similar words for this), and the Ancient Greek “ὥρα” ‎(hṓra), meaning “year, season”‎.

Dutch

Dutch speakers call “spring” “de lente”, which comes from the Middle and Old Dutch words “lentin” or “lenten”, which in turn are from the Proto-Germanic “*langatīnaz”, a compound of “*langaz” (“long”) + “*tīnaz” (“day”).  It is a cognate with the English “Lent”.  Sometimes “voorjaar” is used too, which literally means “beginning of the year”.

German

In German, “spring” is “die Frühling”, from “früh” (“early”) +‎ “-ling” (“-ness”).  “Lenz” is also used, which is from from the Old High German “lenzo”, itself from Proto-Germanic “*langatīnaz” from “*langaz” (“long”) + “*tīnaz” (“day”) (see “de lente” in Dutch and “Lent” in English).

French

The French word for “spring” is “le printemps”, which is from the Old French “printans”, from “prime tans” ‎(“first time, first season”‎), in turn from the Latin “prīmum tempus”.

Italian

The Italian term for “spring”, “la primavera”, comes from the Vulgar Latin word “*prīmavēra”, which came from the Latin “prīmus” (“first”) + “vēr” (“spring”).   It is similar in Spanish, Portuguese, and other Romance languages.

Japanese

The Japanese character “春” has the same etymology as the Chinese character explained above.  It is pronounced “haru”.

Polish

The Polish word for “spring”, which is “wiosna”, derives from the Proto-Slavic word “*vesna”, meaning “spring” and coming from the name for the Slavic goddess of spring, birth and renewal.

Portuguese

The Portuguese word, “a primavera” is like the Italian, “la primavera”, which comes from the Vulgar Latin word “*prīmavēra”, made from the Latin “prīmus” (“first”) + “vēr” (“spring”).

Russian

The Russian word, “Весна” (vesna) comes from the Proto-Slavic goddess of spring, birth and renewal, “*vesna”.

Spanish

The Spanish word, “la primavera” is like the Italian, “la primavera” and the Portuguese “a primavera”, which all come from the Vulgar Latin word “*prīmavēra”, made from the Latin “prīmus” (“first”) + “vēr” (“spring”).

Suzannah Young

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