This video is about learning language through music and how it can help the survival of dying languages such as Ladino Spanish. This woman talks about how music is one of the best ways to learn languages because music connects with you emotionally, and activates more areas in your brain.
I can relate to this, although not with the dying languages so much but to the fact that music helps teach language. I know so many phrases in Spanish, Swedish, Japanese and Korean just from listening to songs from those countries. Its insanely helpful. And if it works for major languages, why wouldn't it work for dying ones as well?
So here is the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUdCToPPK5A
Enjoy!
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Blog 7: Oy Vey I Need Some Shmear for my Lox and Bagel!
Yiddish is a language that is derived from Hebrew, German and a few other languages. It is regional depending on where you learned it and is very popular in the Jewish community (or Tribe as I like to call us).
Yiddish can be used either as a full language to converse with other people or just as slang that can be slipped into conversation at random times. Hence the title of this blog. My great grandmother used to speak solely in Yiddish to her Russian cousins when they came to visit because it was the one language both of them knew. It was always interesting to hear her speak Yiddish and when I was younger I could recognize more of the words.
Now I use random Yiddish words to make jokes and use my "Jewish Voice" which is basically me, sounding like my grandmother (who is from Philadelphia) and saying things like "Oh honey you are looking thin. Do you want something to eat?" or "It's so hot in here I'm shvitzing!" Which is always good fun when you actually hear it (its also funnier when you actually have Jewish moms or grandmas because these are real things they say).
Any who, in the spirit of the fourth night of Passover, I have decided that this blog will be dedicated to the lovely language/slang of Yiddish.
Enjoy this lovely Brit talking about one of the more hilarious and fun languages I have ever had the fortune to know (since I never bothered to learn Hebrew).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dQioXm5Pbc
Yiddish can be used either as a full language to converse with other people or just as slang that can be slipped into conversation at random times. Hence the title of this blog. My great grandmother used to speak solely in Yiddish to her Russian cousins when they came to visit because it was the one language both of them knew. It was always interesting to hear her speak Yiddish and when I was younger I could recognize more of the words.
Now I use random Yiddish words to make jokes and use my "Jewish Voice" which is basically me, sounding like my grandmother (who is from Philadelphia) and saying things like "Oh honey you are looking thin. Do you want something to eat?" or "It's so hot in here I'm shvitzing!" Which is always good fun when you actually hear it (its also funnier when you actually have Jewish moms or grandmas because these are real things they say).
Any who, in the spirit of the fourth night of Passover, I have decided that this blog will be dedicated to the lovely language/slang of Yiddish.
Enjoy this lovely Brit talking about one of the more hilarious and fun languages I have ever had the fortune to know (since I never bothered to learn Hebrew).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dQioXm5Pbc
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Blog 6: Whiskey
Do you ever mispronounce a word? Or use too much emphasis on the wrong sound? Well then this is the video for you! Especially if you find that sort of thing funny and do it on purpose (Much like the "Cool Whip" thing in Family Guy).
Alright, so some of you probably saw the Andy Sandberg movie Hot Rod right? If not, let me tell you something: 1) You should because it is freaking hilarious and 2) it is basically about a guy who wants to be a stunt man and his friends who work as hit pit crew.
Now I know what you must be thinking: How on Earth does this greatly hilarious sounding film have anything to do with the sounds of language?
Let me tell you. There is a scene in the movie where Rod (the stuntman wannabe) is getting ready for one of his stunts. He tells them the safe word, and pronounces it in a very particular manner.
So sit back and relax and enjoy this very short video about a man and his stunt gone wrong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh2WcxP4XU8
Alright, so some of you probably saw the Andy Sandberg movie Hot Rod right? If not, let me tell you something: 1) You should because it is freaking hilarious and 2) it is basically about a guy who wants to be a stunt man and his friends who work as hit pit crew.
Now I know what you must be thinking: How on Earth does this greatly hilarious sounding film have anything to do with the sounds of language?
Let me tell you. There is a scene in the movie where Rod (the stuntman wannabe) is getting ready for one of his stunts. He tells them the safe word, and pronounces it in a very particular manner.
So sit back and relax and enjoy this very short video about a man and his stunt gone wrong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh2WcxP4XU8
Monday, March 9, 2015
Blog 5: Le Singe Est Sur La Branche
So for this blog I chose the subject from Chapter 4, Lexical Semantics.
With Lexical Semantics, the book says, "All the speakers of a language share a basic vocabulary...Each of us knows the meanings of thousands of words. This knowledge permit us to use words to express our thoughts and to understand the thoughts of others."
In regards to the video I found, this quote says to me that if given an opportunity, we can understand what someone is saying in another language if we allow ourselves to be open to it. I think that even if we do not know a language, the way the sentences are set up as well as how it is spoken and which words are emphasized, we can comprehend the language as if we knew it.
Eddie Izzard is a popular comedian and actor. And in this clip from a show he did here in America, he sets up his ending joke so that the audience can understand it completely in French. Now, I have seen this twice already and I have to say the first time I was too distracted and I became absolutely lost and confused. The second time I focused on his body language and allowed my mind to open to what he was saying and PAYED ATTENTION. It was hilarious. You can understand what he is saying although it is almost entirely in French.
I chose the longer video of this so that the set up to the joke is better and allow you guys to get in the zone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hJQsvoY6VU
Enjoy!
P.S. the title in English means "The monkey is on the branch." It's in the video, it will make sense if you watch it. Promise.
With Lexical Semantics, the book says, "All the speakers of a language share a basic vocabulary...Each of us knows the meanings of thousands of words. This knowledge permit us to use words to express our thoughts and to understand the thoughts of others."
In regards to the video I found, this quote says to me that if given an opportunity, we can understand what someone is saying in another language if we allow ourselves to be open to it. I think that even if we do not know a language, the way the sentences are set up as well as how it is spoken and which words are emphasized, we can comprehend the language as if we knew it.
Eddie Izzard is a popular comedian and actor. And in this clip from a show he did here in America, he sets up his ending joke so that the audience can understand it completely in French. Now, I have seen this twice already and I have to say the first time I was too distracted and I became absolutely lost and confused. The second time I focused on his body language and allowed my mind to open to what he was saying and PAYED ATTENTION. It was hilarious. You can understand what he is saying although it is almost entirely in French.
I chose the longer video of this so that the set up to the joke is better and allow you guys to get in the zone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hJQsvoY6VU
Enjoy!
P.S. the title in English means "The monkey is on the branch." It's in the video, it will make sense if you watch it. Promise.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Blog 4: Size Matters
This video that I have posted is by a Norwegian comedy group called Kollektivet. You can find their stuff on YouTube, they have songs in English and Norwegian as well as funny comedy sketches. They are better and came before Ylvis, just saying.
Anyway, I chose this video because 1) I wanted to have posted at least 1 Kollektivet video on this blog. And 2) it teaches you the vowels in the Norwegian alphabet in a fun way. I know all the lyrics to this song (sadly?) and I now can pronounce the vowels at least semi-properly. So hopefully after seeing this you can too.
ÆØÅ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f488uJAQgmw
I hope this video has given you (or will give you) more interest in learning Norwegian like it gave me. Or any Scandinavian language for that matter.
Except Finnish...that one is messed up and confusing.
...Just kidding.
.............Not really.
...............................................I mean honestly, it sounds nothing like the other Scandinavian languages and Mämmi looks like poop....
Anyway! Enjoy the video!
Anyway, I chose this video because 1) I wanted to have posted at least 1 Kollektivet video on this blog. And 2) it teaches you the vowels in the Norwegian alphabet in a fun way. I know all the lyrics to this song (sadly?) and I now can pronounce the vowels at least semi-properly. So hopefully after seeing this you can too.
ÆØÅ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f488uJAQgmw
I hope this video has given you (or will give you) more interest in learning Norwegian like it gave me. Or any Scandinavian language for that matter.
Except Finnish...that one is messed up and confusing.
...Just kidding.
.............Not really.
...............................................I mean honestly, it sounds nothing like the other Scandinavian languages and Mämmi looks like poop....
Anyway! Enjoy the video!
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Blog 3: Jag älskar att fika
Now I can't explain this video without destroying the hilarity of it. But what I can say is this was my first introduction to Swedish culture as well as Scandinavian humor.
Imagine being in high school and hearing your friends say things like "You, me, fika, now." or "I want to fika so bad right now." As we all recall from our high school days, that was a time when our minds were in the gutter and something as simple as a yo mama joke could make us bust up laughing. That was what this video was to me.
It made me want to know more about Sweden and Scandinavian humor. Which is, in my opinion, one the dirtiest and funniest forms of dry humor I have ever seen.
These commercials were popular in the last year or so. This one is the original, the one that never aired in America and has since been taken off YouTube. So some of you may be familiar with the punch line to this long standing joke, but for those of you that aren't, you are in for a treat.
Imagine being in high school and hearing your friends say things like "You, me, fika, now." or "I want to fika so bad right now." As we all recall from our high school days, that was a time when our minds were in the gutter and something as simple as a yo mama joke could make us bust up laughing. That was what this video was to me.
It made me want to know more about Sweden and Scandinavian humor. Which is, in my opinion, one the dirtiest and funniest forms of dry humor I have ever seen.
These commercials were popular in the last year or so. This one is the original, the one that never aired in America and has since been taken off YouTube. So some of you may be familiar with the punch line to this long standing joke, but for those of you that aren't, you are in for a treat.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Blog 2: How to speak...
There are a series of different videos floating around Youtube called "How To Speak___". They are pretty funny most of the time (and make for good trivia questions to look cool in front of friends).
The two videos I am posting are great because they show different dialects of a language according to region or culture.
How To Speak Northern: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbB-eFgOEX8
I like this one because the words are just hilarious and also English accents are the most beautiful sounding thing in this universe. But it is really cool how different words are used in certain areas of the same country. Kind of like in America how Midwestern and some southern people say "Y'all".
Twin Twinks Learn Gay Slang: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT07IMqYEdE
This video always makes me laugh because they are all just so damn adorkable. Jack and Fin are gorgeous and Tyler is a cutie pie. Also I find "gay slang" really fun and interesting. Different takes on common English words as well as some made specifically for that community.
Anyway these videos are funny and awesome and you people should definitely check out more by these Youtubers. Particularly Danisnotonfire and Tyler Oakley. Jacksgap is good too, mainly because they are attractive English twins (swoon), but they are also just all very funny. So yup.
The two videos I am posting are great because they show different dialects of a language according to region or culture.
How To Speak Northern: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbB-eFgOEX8
I like this one because the words are just hilarious and also English accents are the most beautiful sounding thing in this universe. But it is really cool how different words are used in certain areas of the same country. Kind of like in America how Midwestern and some southern people say "Y'all".
Twin Twinks Learn Gay Slang: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT07IMqYEdE
This video always makes me laugh because they are all just so damn adorkable. Jack and Fin are gorgeous and Tyler is a cutie pie. Also I find "gay slang" really fun and interesting. Different takes on common English words as well as some made specifically for that community.
Anyway these videos are funny and awesome and you people should definitely check out more by these Youtubers. Particularly Danisnotonfire and Tyler Oakley. Jacksgap is good too, mainly because they are attractive English twins (swoon), but they are also just all very funny. So yup.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Blog 1:
This is a link to one of my favorite comics. They are usually written in English, but this one isn't. I picked it because it shows several different languages at once: Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Icelandic, English and Chinese. What I found interesting about the comic was just the different languages and it made me curious to know those languages as to know what they are talking about. And to also explain why they had that stuff on their heads. It may not effect the world, but I just thought it was funny and hoped some other people would look at this wonderful comic sight. The artist does a lot of informative comics that talk about different issues in the world in a satirical way.
It's great, trust me (Even if you can't understand this one comic). =)
http://satwcomic.com/not-english
It's great, trust me (Even if you can't understand this one comic). =)
http://satwcomic.com/not-english
Monday, January 19, 2015
Introduction
My name is Jessica O'Cheltree, I am 20 years old. I enjoy reading and writing and because of this I am studying to become a book editor and author. I spend my time with my friends, my sister Teri, reading and writing. The only language I am fluent in is English, but I am being taught Swedish by one of my closest friends who is from Gothenburg, Sweden. Also I took four semesters of Spanish in high school, unfortunately very little stuck with me. I am taking ENG 213 because I thought it would be beneficial for my major which is English/Creative writing. I also am taking it because it sounded interesting. My experiences with language are stated above but I will repeat them: I have a friend from Sweden who is teaching me Swedish as well as having taken Spanish in high school. I also know a few words in Italian and French.
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