May 9, 2018

Top 5 tourist places in Saint-Petersburg (part 1)

The Venice of the North, The Northern Palmyra. Leningrad, Petrograd… This city has so many names but it is indeed unique in its beauty and atmosphere. This city is Saint-Petersburg.  What is unique about Saint-Petersburg? Saint-Petersburg is living history. It combines the atmosphere of the Tsar’s Russia and Soviet times. Famous writers and musicians made their masterpieces here.

In this city you can never get bored: it has everything one needs. If you are a Russian history fan you can easily get lost in the numerous historic museums. Fans of the arts will be impressed by both the famous classic art collections and the contemporary art galleries and museums.

In this article I have collected the top places and things to do, which, in my opinion, you have to experience whilst in Saint-Petersburg.

 

The Hermitage

The Hermitage is considered to be the main museum of art in Saint-Petersburg. One cannot go to Saint-Petersburg without visiting the Hermitage.  This pearl of Baroque style is located on the main square in Saint-Petersburg – Palace Square – and was created by the Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli, a favourite of Catherine the Great. Being already a piece of art from the outside, the Hermitage includes one of the biggest collections of art in the world. Here you can enjoy the paintings of such famous artist as Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt. Moreover, for those who are interested in modern art, it will be a pleasant surprise to explore the rich collection of XX and XXI century art in the contemporary art block.

https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage?lng=en

The Hermitage from the Palace Square

The Palace Square in winter

 

Church of the Saviour on Blood.

While walking down Nevskiy prospect, it is impossible to miss the breathtaking view of the Church of the Saviour on Blood from Naberezhnaia Kanala Griboedova. Without doubt, this church is considered to be a masterpiece of mosaic art.

The word «blood» included in the name of the church refers to Emperor Alexander II, who was mortally wounded in March 1881. After the tragedy the decision was taken to build a church as a memorial right on the spot where the Emperor was killed. Funding of the church was provided by the Royal family and private donors.

It is fantastic how one building can combine so many types of materials and techniques and look so harmonious at the same time! During the construction, marble, granite, enamel and copper were used, but what really astonishes every visitor is the fact that the church contains over 7 500 square metres of mosaics.

http://eng.cathedral.ru/spasa_na_krovi/

Mosaic top of the Church of the Saviour on Blood

 

St. Isaac`s Cathedral

Located in the heart of Saint-Petersburg, St. Isaac`s Cathedral is the biggest Russian Orthodox cathedral in the city. It took approximately 40 years for the cathedral to be constructed under the French-born architect Auguste de Montferrand’s direction and, in 1858, the church opened its doors for the public. Now it is a museum and impresses visitors with its monumental decoration. The interior combines all types of materials and techniques: you can see mosaic icons, paintings, and sculptures made of malachite and lapis lazuli.  Even the locals passing by the Cathedral are still amazed by the massive red granite columns which weigh 114 tons  each.

Do not miss the opportunity to enjoy the city from the top of St. Isaac’s Cathedral! It is definitely worth climbing the 300 steps up to the Cathedral’s colonnade to be impressed by  the breathtaking views of the city.

http://eng.cathedral.ru/

St. Isaac’s Cathedral in winter

View from St. Isaac’s Cathedral’s Colonnade

 

Peterhof.

If you are in Saint-Petersburg in summer, one of the greatest activities for you will be visiting Peterhof. To the south west of the city, Peterhof is mostly famous for its Imperial Residence, also known as the “Russian Versailles”. Peter the Great, while visiting Europe, was so inspired with Versailles that he decided to found the residence outside the city as well. Now Peterhof is a fabulous ensemble including palaces and a world-famous fountain system. It will take you a while to recover after your first look at the amazing and luxurious Great Cascade. You will see more and more wonderful things:  designed fountains like Chess Mountain and Golden Mountain, statues of Adam and Eve, and even a special invention of Peter the Great; hidden fountains which can suddenly turn-on (making you both surprised and wet!).  With this in mind, you should be careful, or at least have a change of clothes with you!

Now Peterhof is considered to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

http://en.peterhofmuseum.ru/

Peterhof Grand Cascade Fountain

 

Pushkin ( Tsarskoye selo)

If you want to experience the atmosphere of Imperial Russia, Tsarskoye Selo is the right place for you! Tsarskoye Selo is the amazing residence of the Romanov Family, with a great park and palace complex.  Currently, there are two imperial palaces; the baroque Catherine Palace and the neoclassical Alexander Palace.

In the Catherine Palace, designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli, you will find the mysterious and famous Amber room which was destroyed by Nazis during World War II. After the War, reconstruction began on Tsarskoye Selo and now it has been renovated and opened for the public.

Moreover, here you can follow the steps of Alexander Pushkin – the world-renowned and, arguably, greatest Russian poet – by visiting the museum in the former Imperial Lycee, where he was schooled.

http://eng.tzar.ru/

Catherine Palace in Pushkin

Marble Bridge in Pushkin

 

A little bit about transport.

Transport in Saint-Petersburg is quite cheap and fast. We have a very convenient underground and it is better to buy a card called “Podorozhnik” and put money on it.  You will save some money this way because every trip will be cheaper.   However, the metro also operates on one-use-only coins called ‘zhetons’.  Buses are cheap as well and go every   5-10 minutes. Another very convenient way of getting around is by “Marshrutka” (mini bus) which is much faster than the bus but can be more expensive.

 

Tours

If you enjoy walking, and want to see all the most famous attractions in one day, you can take a free tour:

http://petersburgfreetour.com/free-tour/

If you have a limited amount of time or don’t have the energy to walk from one attraction to another, you can use the hop-on hop-off red bus.

https://citytourspb.ru/en/

 

Boat Trip.

If you are in Saint-Petersburg in mid-spring, summer or mid-autumn, it’s absolutely worth taking a boat trip where you can see the city from the water. You can find boats everywhere in the city centre and the price is usually the same for all of them. I would recommend to take a boat on a sunny day or, even better, during the legendary White Nights where you can see open bridges from the water. It is an absolutely fantastic view! Overall, summer is the best time to go to Saint-Petersburg because you can get the chance to see the legendary, captivating White Night, and the city that never sleeps. At the same time, summer is the busiest time for tourists, and the prices can rise dramatically so plan your trip carefully.

View on St. Petersburg from Griboedov canal

View on St. Petersburg from Neva River

To be honest, it is impossible to count all the good places in Saint-Petersburg, there are so many of them! I hope you will have the chance to visit this beautiful city one day, and will fall in love with Saint-Petersburg from the first minute because this city simply cannot leave you half-hearted. It charms with its romantic canals, open bridges and legendary White Nights.

St. Petersburg White Nights

Anna Petrova

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May 2, 2018

Translation tips: How to improve your own translation

As well as language lessons, BLS offers a translation service.  We also encourage our students who are interested in translation as a career to have a go at it.  In this blog post, Suzannah, one of our translators, shares tips from her experience on how to translate texts effectively.  Suzannah translates into English from French, Italian, Dutch and Spanish and has been working as a freelance translator since 2015.  She has a DipTrans IoLET and is currently studying public service interpreting too.  We hope her tips will help our readers who want to try their hand at translation to find their feet and improve as translators.  Please let us know what you think and if you have any other tips you would like to share!

Know Your Text Type

When you study translation, you are advised to read any text you have received all the way through before translating it.  This can be useful when you are starting out because it gives you a feel for the types of texts you will be translating but becomes impractical when you are working as a translator and have deadlines to meet – imagine reading a whole report or even a whole book, cover to cover, before you start to translate it.  You just wouldn’t have time.  You would also be itching to translate what you are reading and most likely won’t be able to resist the urge to do so before reaching the end.  Some jobs also require a sight translation to be done so you would definitely not have the opportunity to read all the way to the end without starting the translation in those cases.

Don’t worry though, because there are ways to prepare yourself for translating a text even without knowing its full content before you begin.  For example, clients asking you to do a translation for them may tell you the field the text covers in the translation brief they send you – or, failing that, you can usually tell what field you are dealing with by casting your eye over the first few lines of the text.  You will also likely know the type of publication that the text was published in and which the translation is going to be published.  These hints will alert you to the type of vocabulary, register, style and format that you will need to use in your translation.

Keep Glossaries

If you translate similar texts regularly (or even if you don’t), it is likely that you will come across the same words or turns of phrase with some frequency.  It is helpful to keep a record of how you have translated a particular word or expression previously so that you can remind yourself if you come across that word or phrase again (especially helpful when you find the perfect translation for a term or phrase you were stuck on before).  You will find that your lists will improve over time as you will have more time to think about a particular translation and come up with alternatives.  You can also keep glossaries of terms used in certain fields that you can prepare in your spare time between translations and go to them when you need that vocabulary.

Use the Internet

An internet search engine is an extremely useful tool for the translator.  If you are unsure of the translation of a term, you can look it up in online dictionaries that may also have example translations from existing texts where the term features.  You can also search your chosen translation to check if the way you have written it is correct (good for idiomatic expressions and cultural references).  You can even find whole texts written in the field you are translating in so you can check the types of vocabulary used – and, if you are lucky, you may find an existing bilingual glossary for that field.

Come Back to It

If you cannot decide which of a variety of possible translations you want to use, put them all down and then make the decision when you are rereading your translation – go with the one that works best in the target language.  If you are unsure of a translation, but don’t want to interrupt your flow, mark the unknown word and come back to it later.  When you have finished, go back to the beginning – you should always read through your translation to make sure it flows and reads well as a coherent text in the target language.

Get Plenty of Practice

As with all things, practice makes perfect – so the more texts of different types you translate, the better you will become.  You don’t have to wait to be asked to do a translation – you can practise for fun as well.  Experiment with different fields.  If you can, also read other people’s translations to get an idea of how they translate certain things.

Read Widely

Read all kinds of texts – whatever you can get your hands on – in your source language(s) (the language(s) you are translating from) and your target language(s) (the language(s) you are translating into).  You need to have a good understanding of source texts in all different genres but you also need to have a very good grasp of the target language and write well and accurately in it.

Enjoy What You Do

The best way to get better at something is to enjoy doing it – so, if you love translation, keep doing it because you clearly have a flair for it and will be interested enough to keep improving.  Have fun!

Suzannah Young

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April 25, 2018

Travelling corner: Brussels with kids

Brussels offers many interesting ideas for kids to have fun. We didn’t spend much time in Brussels, as we travelled to other Belgian cities, but here is a taste of what you can do in Brussels when travelling with kids.

There are many places where children will have great time: a large aqua park called Océade, the architectural symbol of Brussels, Atomium, parks, theatres and museums. So, where did we go? We often walked through the park Parc de Bruxelles, so our daughter played in the playground there. We went to the museum Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique to see the old masters, Pieter Bruegel and Peter Paul Rubens among others (probably more attractive for older children, aged 3+). You can also go to the puppets’ theatre when visiting Brussels; we went to Le Théâtre Royal du Peruchet to see “Three little pigs”. The passion and enthusiasm of the performance was contagious. We loved the performance and the little tour around their puppets’ museum.

Have you visited Brussels with your children? What are your recommendations?

Kinga Macalla

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April 4, 2018

It’s the way you say it… How to improve your pronunciation in a foreign language

Getting pronunciation right in the language you are learning helps you feel at home in that language.  It also helps you be understood by speakers of the language.  Below are a few tips on how to improve your pronunciation in a foreign language.

First things first

Learning a bit about phonetics will help you pronounce your new language better.  It is a good idea to learn (or keep a handy copy of) the international phonetic alphabet (IPA).  The IPA can be used to represent all the phonemes (the smallest possible units of sound) of human speech, so is a reliable guide to pronunciation.  Wikipedia has IPA charts for most languages.  Language textbooks also often have a pronunciation key at the beginning if the book and these are represented with the IPA (or sometimes with approximations in the reference language, e.g. the ‘j’ in Spanish is said to be like the ‘ch’ in the Scottish word ‘loch’. These are just approximations though and it is best to bear this in mind as they can be misleading.)

The spelling of many languages (not English!) represents the way they are spoken, so, if you are learning those languages, you know that when you read a letter or combination of letters, it will always be pronounced in the same way, e.g. ‘ui’ in Dutch (‘huis’ (‘house’), ‘tuin’ (‘garden’), ‘ui’/’ajuin’ (‘onion’)) will always sound the same, a bit like ‘oh’ in English (but not quite).

Communication is key

As we have been saying in many of these blog posts, you don’t have to do everything perfectly right from the beginning; what is important is making yourself understood.  This goes for pronunciation too.  Correct pronunciation does not necessarily mean having a flawless accent and sounding like a native speaker.  As long as you are following the right pronunciation rules and reproducing the sounds, you will be able to communicate.

Break it down

Break words down into vowel and consonant sounds, especially if there are ones that don’t exist in your own language, and say them separately, then together.  If you speak slowly at first, this will help you distinguish the sounds and pronounce similar-but-slightly-different words correctly (see minimal pairs) without getting them mixed up, such as ‘capello’ (‘hair’ (singular)) and ‘cappello’ (‘hat’) in Italian.

Get the mechanics right

Feel which part of your mouth (and sometimes nose) you are using when you try to pronounce each sound and, if you’re struggling, read pronunciation guides that tell you which part of your mouth you should be using (e.g. lips, teeth, throat) (or that tell you whether or not you should be using your nose, e.g. for the nasal sounds ‘en’, ‘an’, ‘un’, ‘in’ and ‘on’ in French).  Also read or observe where you should be putting your lips.  I will never forget my wonderment when I discovered that I could make a French ‘u’ sound by trying to say an English ‘e’ with my lips pursed!

Read aloud

Read everything you can get your hands on in your chosen language, and read it aloud.  This will help you get your teeth and tongue around the difficult words, as you can read the same passage again and again, fast or slow, broken down into chunks or single words, loud or soft, until it feels natural and flows.  You could read a play in this way to help you practise pronunciation with written sentences that mimic speech.  You can also try reciting poems and stories or singing songs.

Listen out for intonation

Languages have their own rhythms and stress patterns, a little like music.  Following these patterns will make you sound more like a native speaker.  Listen to the radio and watch films and television in your chosen language and pay attention to the intonation people use when speaking.  Repeat what you hear and try to match the stress patterns.  Ask a native speaker you know to help you; get them to pronounce words slowly for you to mimic and ask them to speed up the words and phrases as you get better at pronouncing them.  If you like, you can record yourself and compare the recording to native speech.  If you don’t know any native speakers, you can find a language partner online or through a local educational institution.

Immerse Yourself

Listen to your chosen language as often as you can.  Listen to it actively or passively but do it regularly.  Without you even realizing it, your accent will improve as you get more used to the sounds in the language.  This is similar to when children learn to speak: they are surrounded by the language and spend a long time listening before reproducing the sounds themselves.

Resources

There are some great online and mobile resources to help you practise pronunciation.  Two websites, Forvo and How to Pronounce are online pronunciation dictionaries.  You can search for any word and hear it pronounced by a native speaker.

Apps can also help you train your pronunciation. Duolingo judges your pronunciation on how close it is to the original, and allows you to play around until you get an authentic sound.  Listen & Speak also has this feature.  These two apps give you full sentences to pronounce, whereas the How to Pronounce app gives you single words or phrases.  It can slow down words to help you hear each part of the word you should be pronouncing.  Languages pronunciation is similar to this.

Have fun practising!

Suzannah Young

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March 28, 2018

HAPPY EASTER!

Dear Readers,

We would like to wish you all a lovely Easter break. Whether you’re going travelling, visiting family or simply stuffing your face with chocolate (we approve of your choice), we hope you have a great time!

Please don’t forget that our spring language courses start soon and it’s not too late to join them!

HAPPY EASTER!

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March 21, 2018

Travelling corner: Weekend in South Devon

We booked this weekend completely and entirely spontaneously! We decided to go to South Devon which is only 2 hours away from Bristol, UK. We stayed in the small village of Malborough, just minutes away from Salcombe. In terms of walking, I recommend a coastal walk from the centre of Salcombe towards the beaches: North Sands and South Sands. On the opposite shore, there are beautiful bays with tiny beaches. In this area I also recommend exploring Hope Cove, Thurlestone Sands and Bantham Sands. If you have more time, you may want to go to Burgh Island accessible on foot at low tide and by tractor at high tide. I’m not going to say any more, just look at the pictures below!

What are your memories from South Devon? Let me know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

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March 14, 2018

Travelling Corner: Tavira – Charming Little Town in Portugal

This charming little town is located in the South of Portugal. It doesn’t have its own beach, but you can easily go by boat to the nearby island Ilha de Tavira. I’ve visited the town on many occasions and below you’ll find my favourites of this place.

Cafes

Bica, galao, meia de leite… the Portuguese love drinking coffee and there are many cafes in Tavira to try them. My favourite café is the middle one on the main square. I go there every time I’m in Tavira. I so enjoy sitting outside, observing life going by and sipping espresso, perfect!

Fado

Fado is traditional Portuguese music. There are also Fado concerts in Tavira performed 3-4 times every Saturday (please check their website or FB page for the latest updates). I went to my first (ever!) Fado concert one Saturday and it was a very emotional and intense performance which impressed me hugely.

Castle, garden & camera obscura

Climbing up the stairs from the market square to the castle ruins, garden and camera obscura can be quite tiring on a hot day, but then the views are completely worth the effort. When I was walking in the garden this year, there were musicians playing and singing Portuguese music, an ideal accompaniment to the colourful flowers & trees.

Museums

If you had enough of the very hot weather, you may want to go to a museum to cool down and to learn something interesting. Tavira Municipal Museum is the main museum in Tavira where you can learn about the town’s history, architecture & art. You can also visit the science museum Centro Ciência Viva de Tavira to do some fascinating experiments, especially since the staff members are so kind and will make your visit truly amazing!

Main square

Tavira is very musical and festive. Every time I visit, there seem to be celebratory events with accompanying performances and concerts. The main square is at the heart of the festivities and I would highly recommend attending some of those events as they’re free and great fun!

Bus, train & boat

You can plan many little trips when you’re based in Tavira. There are good bus connections to many towns & cities. This year I tried to travel by train more often and I was amazed at how comfortable they are (wide train cars, air-conditioning and cleanliness). You can travel by train as far as Lagos or Lisbon and the timetable is available online. Boats are available for tours and also to the islands, e.g. to Ilha de Tavira.

What is your favourite Portuguese town or city? Please leave your comment below.

Written by Kinga Macalla

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March 7, 2018

Learning a Language: Learn Russian with BLS online & FREE!

As you remember, we introduced a new series of blog posts (see Spanish, French & German) where we teach you some useful phrases in different languages. Sounds amazing? And it’s RUSSIAN today!

Are you planning your ski holiday in Sochi? Do you travel frequently to St Petersburg? Do you dream of exploring Russian-speaking Ukraine or Georgia? If so, we would like you to taste & learn some essential Russian first. Below you’ll find a list of useful phrases in Russian (greetings, polite phrases, closed question words, numerals and simple questions & sentences). We also video recorded Anna, our Russian tutor, to help you with reading, pronunciation and accent (also available on YouTube). We hope you enjoy this series and that you’ll come and learn Russian with us! Good luck!

Which language would like you like to learn next? Let us know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

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February 28, 2018

Travelling Corner: 50 shades of blue. Cornwall in winter.

Those who follow my travelling stories know that I often visit Cornwall (at least once a year) and I’m a huge admirer of the Cornish coast. My most recent visit to Cornwall was in winter and it was spectacularly beautiful. I experienced all kinds of weather which changed from minute to minute, so good shoes for muddy paths is a must (especially if you plan to do some hiking). But this was completely compensated for by the views of the ocean and lots of fresh air. We walked on the South West Coast Path in the areas of Gylly Beach, Swan Beach and Meanporth Beach.

Do you visit the same place every year? Please let me know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

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February 21, 2018

The Language Journey – Suzannah’s Story (in 6 Languages)

Hello, my name is Suzannah and I’m a linguist and freelance translator.  In this video, I answer questions about my journey to speaking 6 languages. I give one answer in each of the languages I speak: French, Dutch, English, Polish, Italian and Spanish. Firstly, in French, I talk about how I discovered I had a talent for the language and almost accidentally ended up spending some time in France and eventually studying French at university, which opened the door to me learning other languages – something I never imagined I would be able to do when I was a shy, quiet teenager. Then, in Dutch, I talk about the story behind why I started to learn other languages – mainly out of curiosity and thanks to friendships I made, as well as having the opportunity to live and work abroad.  I then give away a few tips on how to learn a language – or at least I explain what works best for me and how I have gone about learning each language – in English. After that I explain (in Polish) why I chose to learn Polish, my latest language: it came down to friendships again; plus, it was/is a fun challenge for me.  Then, in Italian, I talk about the advantages of speaking and learning different languages and what I like best about being able to speak other languages. Finally, in Spanish I reveal how I keep up my language skills and what I do to practise every day so I don’t forget them!  Bon visionnement! Veel kijkplezier! Happy watching! Bawcie się dobrze! Buona visione! Disfrutéis de la película!

Suzannah Young

We need your help! Suzannah, our multilingual student speaks 6 languages and we’ve recorded an interview with her speaking them (available on YouTube). But, we need your help with translations from Dutch, French, Italian, Spanish and Polish into English.

Leave your translations here below our blog post and we’ll then add them to our video as subtitles! Good luck 🙂

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