June 5, 2019

Breaking the ice: greetings in 12 different languages

What’s the first thing you say to someone in any language? It’s usually “hello” – but do you know the deeper meanings behind the ways to say “hello” in your chosen language?  And how do you say “goodbye”?  It’s not always that straightforward and sometimes it is quite poetic!  Here is a list of greetings in the languages you can study at BLS.  You might want to learn another – now you have the first word!

Arabic

In Arabic, there is a way to say “hello” or “hi”, which is مرحبا  (marhaban),[i] but the most common greeting in Arabic, which also has a religious connotation, is السلام عليكم (as-salāmu ʿalaykum), which is commonly translated as “peace be upon you” or “peace unto you” (“peace be with you” would be ok too but literally “upon” is correct because على (’ala) is “on”).  The response to this is وعليكم السلام (wa ʿalaykumu as-salām), “and upon you, peace”.  This can also be used for “goodbye”.  You can also say “good morning” صباح الخير (sabah alkhyr), “good afternoon/evening” مساء الخير (masa’a alkhayr) and “good night” الخير تصبح (tsbah alkhayr).  The replies are صباح النور  (sabah an-noor) and النور مساء (masa’a an-noor) (“morning/evening of light”).

There are several ways to say “goodbye” in Arabic.  The most common one is مع السلامة (ma’a s-salama) – “(go) with peace/(go) without fear”.  At night, you can say تصبح على خير (tsbah ’ala khayr, literally “(may you) awake to goodness (or health)”).  Another way isوداعا   (wada’an), which is like “farewell” (the reply is the same).   إلى اللقاء (illa al-liq’a), literally means “to/until the encounter,” but is used like “so long” or “until next time”.

Chinese

The informal way of saying “hello” in Mandarin Chinese is 你好 (nǐ hǎo), literally “you good”.  You should reply with 你好 (nǐ hǎo) to be polite.  The formal way to say “hello” is 您好 (nín hǎo) and is used with strangers, older people or people in authority.  On the telephone, you can say 喂 (wèi).

There are many ways to say “goodbye”, most of which are detailed in this blog post.  We will give you a few of them here.  The most common phrase you’ll encounter is the transliteration of “bye”, 拜拜 (bài bài), which is a very casual phrase.  再见 (zài jiàn) is a more formal way to say “goodbye” but is used less frequently than 拜拜 (bài bài).  It literally translates as “again to see”, so its meaning is closer to “see you again”.  再会 (zài huì) is similar to 再见 (zài jiàn), but is often used in business situations. You can also say 下次见 (xià cì jiàn), which means “see you next time”, 回头见 (huí tóu jiàn), “see you soon”, 明天见 (míng tiān jiàn), “see you tomorrow” and 慢走 (màn zǒu), which is translated as “take care” but the literal translation is more like “slowly leave” or “take your time”.

Czech

“Ahoj” is the Czech equivalent of “hi”.  Commentators think it came from English seafarers’ use of “ahoy” as a greeting, and see it as a sign of Czech humour that this word became popular in a landlocked country!  Another word for “hi” is “čau”, which comes from the Italian “ciao” (see below). “Hi” for use with closer friends is “nazdar”, which comes from the phrase “na zdar”, meaning “for luck/success”.  “Zdravím” or “zdravím vás” is a more formal way of saying hello, and it literally means “I greet you”.  “Dobrý den” is also a formal greeting, meaning “good day”.  To say “hello” on the phone, you would use “halo”.

There are a few ways to say “goodbye” as well.  The phrase “Na shledanou”, means “until we see each other again” and is shortened to “nashle” as an informal farewell.  Quite common amongst friends is “měj se”, which is close to “take care” in English.  If you want to say “goodbye” to someone you don’t expect to see again, you could use “sbohem”, literally meaning “with God”.  This may be used ironically.

Dutch

Dutch has many greetings that often start with “good”.  “Goede(n)dag” is like “good day” in English.  Also used are “goedemorgen” (“good morning”), “goedemiddag” (“good afternoon”) and “goedenavond” (“good evening”).  These are all formal greetings.  They can be made less formal by changing the pronunciation by substituting the “d” for and “i”, making “goeie(n)dag”, “goeiemorgen”, “goeiemiddag” and “goeienavond”.  Other informal greetings are “hallo”, “dag” and “hey”.

Words for “goodbye” differ depending on region.  A shared word is “dag”, which is pronounced with a long “a”.  Belgians often say “da da” or “jo” (“yo”).  “Doei” is used in the Netherlands.  Dutch speakers also have a number of ways of saying “see you again”, which also depend on region.  Belgians may say “tot sebiet” (“see you very shortly”), “tot zo” (“see you then”), “tot binnenkort” (“see you soon”), “tot de volgende (keer)” (“see you next time”), “tot snel”, see you soon (“snel” = “quickly”), “tot ziens” (“until we see each other again”), “tot later” (“see you later”).  Dutch readers please correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s my understanding that “tot sebiet”, “tot zo” and “tot snel” are only used in Belgium but the other expressions are used in the Netherlands.  Another word starting with “goed”, is “goedenacht” or “goeienacht”, and is mainly used to say “goodbye” at night time, or “goodnight”.

French

“Hello” in French is “bonjour” (“good day”) or “bonsoir” (“good evening”).  “Hi” is “salut”, which is also the word for “salvation” and probably comes from the same root as the Italian “salve” (see below) or the Italian “salute”, meaning “health”.

“Bon après-midi” means “have a nice afternoon” and is used when saying “goodbye”, as is “bonne nuit” (“goodnight”).  “Bonne journée” means “have a nice day” and “bonne fin de journée” means “have a nice rest of your day”.  “Bonne soirée” is “have a nice evening”.  These expressions are not technically “goodbyes” but they are commonly used when taking leave of someone.  French speakers also commonly make reference to the next time you will see the person you are speaking to when saying “goodbye”: “au revoir”, the most common way of saying “goodbye” means “until the seeing again”.  Also commonly used is “à la prochaine”, “until next time” (it refers to the “prochaine fois” (“next time”).  “Salut” is also used to say “bye”.  Some people will say “ciao”, like in Italian, but it is not as common as the other expressions.  If you say “adieu” (literally “to God”, this means that you don’t expect to see the person again but is really reserved for poetry or irony.

German

In German, “hello” can be “Guten Morgen” (“good morning”), “Guten Tag” (“good day”), “Guten Abend” (“good evening”) or “hallo”.  In northern Germany, “moin” is used.  In southern Germany and Austria, people say “grüß Gott” (literally “greet God”).

To say “bye” “tschüß” is used, which comes from the earlier for “adjüs”, from the French “adieu”.  A more formal farewell is “aufwiedersehen” (“until the seeing again”).  On the telephone, “auf wiederhören” is used, and means “until the hearing again”.

Italian

In Italian, “hello” is “buongiorno” (“good morning/good day”) or “buonasera” (good afternoon/evening” (used from 12pm onwards!))  “Hi” is “ciao”, which originates from the Venetian word “s-ciào”, meaning “slave”: speakers would say that they were their interlocutor’s “slave”, to say that they were “at their service” – a gesture of goodwill rather than a literal statement.  (See “Servus” in Polish).

To say “goodbye”, you can also use “ciao” (or “ciao ciao”), or “arrivederci” (“to see each other again”).  Italians also make reference to the next time you will see each other, such as “alla prossima” (until next time (“la prossima volta”), “ci vediamo” (“we (will) see each other”), “a dopo” (“see you later”), “a più tardi” (“see you later”), “a presto” (“see you soon”), “a tra poco” (“see you shortly”). “Buonanotte” means “goodnight” or “goodbye” at night time.

Japanese

To say “good morning” in Japanese, you would say お早うございます(ohaio gozaimasu), which literally translates as “it’s early”.  The most common greeting in Japanese is 今日は(konnichiwa), used like “good day” or “good afternoon” and short for今日（こんにち）はご機嫌いかがですか (konnnichi wa gokigen ikaga desuka), which means “how do you do today?”.  Good evening is 今晩は (konbanwa) which is like (今日は) but asks “how do you do this evening?”

On the phone, people say申し申し (moshi moshi) when they pick it up. It’s the humble form of 言います(imasu), which is one of the Japanese verbs meaning “to say”.  People often say 失礼します (shitsurei shimasu) at the end of the conversation, which means “sorry for disturbing you”.

To say “goodnight” when you’re going to bed, you would say おやすみなさい (oyasumi nasai).  “Goodbye” is さようなら (sayonara), which literally means “if that’s the way it is”.

Polish

In Polish, “hi” and “bye” are “cześć”, which comes from a proto-Slavic word for “honour”.   “Hello” is “dzień dobry” (“good day”) “dobry wieczór” (“good evening”) or “dobranoc” (“hello” at night) or “Servus” (from the Latin for “servant”, used to mean that the speaker is “at your service” and used in other parts of central and eastern Europe too (see Italian “ciao”). “Witam” (“(I) welcome (you)”) can also be used.

To say goodbye, you can say “Do widzenia” (formal) or “Do zobaczenia” (informal) (literally “until the seeing”).  On the phone, “do usłyszenia” is used (literally “until the hearing”).  “Do zobaczenia wkrótce” is an informal way of saying “see you soon”, “Do jutra” is “see you tomorrow”, “na razie” is “bye for now” (literally “until/to the time”) and “pa pa” or “pa” are like “bye bye”.  “Dobranoc” can also be used like “goodnight”.

Portuguese

In Portuguese, “hello” is “olá” (its etymology is disputed but if you are interested you can look it up and make up your own mind).  “Bom dia” is “good morning”/”good day” and “boa tarde” is “good afternoon”/”good evening”.

To say “goodbye”, you could use “boa noite” (“goodnight”) or a number of expressions meaning “see you again”: “até logo” (literally “until later”), “até mais” (literally “until more”), “até mais tarde” (“until later”), “até logo mais” (“until later more”), “até breve” (“until brief” (“see you shortly/very soon”)), “vejo você de novo” (“I will see you again”), “a gente se vê” (literally “people see each other” and used to say you will see someone at an agreed event).  An informal goodbye is “tchau” (from the Italian “ciao”) and a formal one is “adeus” (literally “to God”).

Russian

Здравствуйте (zdravstvujte) is the most common way to say “hello” in Russian.  It is used in formal situations.  Здравствуй (zdravstvuj) is the informal version of the same word, used with friends or with children.  Both words come from the verb здравствовать (zdravstvovat’), which means “to be healthy” or “to live long”.  Привет (priviet) (“greeting”) is a common informal greeting, equivalent to “hi”.  There are also “hellos” based on the time of day: доброе утро (dobroye utro) “good morning” (used until noon), добрый день (dobryy den’) “good day”/”good afternoon” (used throughout the day) and добрый вечер (dobryy vecher] “good evening”.  There are a lot of other greetings too, which can be found in this blog post. Most people know до свидания (dasvidaniya), but there are other ways of saying “goodbye” in Russian too.  An informal “goodbye” is прощай (proshchaj).  To make this formal or to use it with more than one person, you would say проща́йте (proshchajte).  You can also say до скорого (do skorogo) (“see you soon”) or всего хорошего (voego horosego) (“all the best”), similar to “take care”.

Spanish

“Hello” in Spanish is “hola”, and like the Portuguese “olá”, its etymology is disputed.  “Buenos días” is “good day”, “buenas tardes” is “good afternoon”/”good evening” and “buenas noches” is “hello” at night time, and “goodnight”.  You can also say “buenas” as a catch-all word for all of these.

Spanish speakers like to make reference to the next time you will see each other and if you say “adios” (literally “to God”), they will tell you not to use it, because it means that you will never see each other again!  Instead, used “hasta luego” (literally “until later” but translated as “see you later”), “hasta pronto” (“see you soon”), “hasta prontito” (jokingly “see you very soon”), “hasta más tarde” (“see you later”), “hasta la próxima” (“until next time”).  You can actually say “see you later” with “nos vemos luego” (“we will see each other later”) or simply “nos vemos”, “we will see each other”.

Do you have any more to add?  Please put them in the comments!

Suzannah Young

[i] This word comes from the root ب – ح -ر – RHB (“wide”), and so means something like “welcome to a wide/open place”, implying that “there’s room for everyone” or “you are welcome here”.

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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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