Win a Trip to Learn Spanish in Argentina

The makers of Bueno, entonces…, a new Spanish language learning software, are trying to build their Facebook cred by reaching 10,000 Fans by March. If they get there, one lucky fan and a friend will win a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, for 10 days of intensive Spanish lessons, a chance to meet the cast and crew, and of course, have way too much fun.

From now until March 12th, Bueno, entonces… is offering a series of contests on the Facebook Page, which offers free daily Spanish phrases, words and grammar lessons. 100 participants will be chosen as Finalists from the series of contests and will be entered to win the Grand Prize Trip. The complete contest details are posted on the Bueno, entonces…Fan Page.

example photo for the competition

Starting today (January 28) there is an easy-to-do photo contest. To enter, just snap a picture of yourself holding a sign saying “I want to win a trip to Argentina” and post it to their Facebook wall. Then get your friends to ‘like’ and comment on it. The TEN finalists with the most ‘likes’ will be selected next Friday (February 5). So polish up your tango shoes and hurry and go check it out.

About the program:
Bueno, entonces… is like Rosetta Stone meets The Simpsons – the program is comprehensive, but at the same time hilarious and really engaging. Just released last year, it has been already featured in the iTunes App Store and on the Daily Candy website. To see more, check out their Learn Spanish website.

This post is brought to you by Bueno, entonces…

Word of the day – ortzikara

Today’s word, ortzikara, is Basque and means “time when a storm is brewing” or in Spanish “tiempo amenazado por la tormenta”. Do any other language have a single word to express this meaning?

This word comes from a book I’m reading at the moment – Mother Tongues – Travels through Tribal Europe, by Helena Drysdale, in which the author and her family travel through Europe visiting people who speak minority languages such as Basque, Occitan, Sami and Corsican.

Related words include ihortziri (thunder), tximista (lightning), truxu (light rain), euri (heavy rain), bisuts (torrential rain), zara-zara (heavy rain), ortzadar (rainbow), haize (wind), elur (snow) and bisutsa (light snow). In fact there seems to be quite a lot words in Basque for different kinds of weather.

Eunys chiaulleeaght

Yn çhiaghtyn shoh chaie hoshee mee coorse chiaulleeaght “Eunys chiaulleeaght” (Joy of Singing) lesh stiureyder yn kior chohellooderys gagh moghrey Jelune. Ta jeih jin ayn, as ta mee goaill taitnys mooar ass.

Áthas amhránaíocht

An seachtain seo caite thosaigh mé cúrsa amhránaíocht “Áthas amhránaíocht” (Joy of Singing) leis stiúrthóir an cór pobail gach maidin Luan. Tá deichniúr againne ann, agus bhainim an-sult as.

Plesur wrth Ganu

Yr wythnos diwethaf mi nes i dechrau cwrs canu “Plesur wrth Ganu” (Joy of Singing) efo arweinydd y côr cymunedol pob bore Llun. Mae deg ohonom yn y dosbarth, a dw i’n ei fwynhau yn fawr.

De bouche à oreille

Last night we were discussing how to encourage more people to come to the French conversation group and we concluded that word of mouth is probably the most effective way – all the posters we put up around Bangor last Saturday have yet to bring hordes of new recruits. We also thought that the French version of word of mouth, de bouche à oreille (from mouth to ear), seems to be more logical then the English. Another way to say word of mouth in French is de vive voix (of live mouth).

Word of mouth in Chinese is 口耳相傳 (kǒu ěr xiāng chuán) or “mouth ear mutual spread” or 口口相傳 (mouth mouth mutual spread); in Dutch it’s van mond tot mond (from mouth to mouth) and it’s the same in German, von Mund zu Mund. In Japanese it’s 口コミ(kuchikomi) or “mouth com(munication)”, and in Spanish it’s boca a boca (mouth to mouth) or boca a oreja (mouth to ear).

What about in other languages?

Slaapverwekkend

The Dutch word, slaapverwekkend, means mind-numbing, sleep-inducing or soporific. It comes from a site I found today – Dutch word of the day, which looks like a useful resource for learners of Dutch.

The site discusses a different Dutch word each day; provides details of their pronunciation, including recordings, as well as examples and related words. Elsewhere on the site you can find information about Dutch pronunciation, declining adjectives (no, I won’t take that adjective!), and other useful tips for learners. Not slaapverwekkend at all!

Çhellveeishaghyn

Ta çhellveeishaghyn y cuirrey kiaull Woza Moya ry-gheddyn ec YouTube nish. Ta arraneyn as Zulu, Baarl as Bretnish ayn, as shoh yn chied cheayrt ta mee er vakin yn kior er çhellveeishagh – cha nel shin ro olk!

Físeáin

Tá físeáin an ceolchoirme Woza Moya le fáil ar YouTube anois. Tá amhráin Súlúise, Béarla agus Breatnaise ann, agus seo an chead uair a bhaca mé físeáin an cóir – níl muid ró olc!

Fideos

Mae fideos y gyngerdd Woza Moya ar gael ar YouTube rwan. Mae caneuon Sulu, Saesneg a Chymraeg arnynt, a dyma y tro cyntaf i mi gweld fideo y côr – dydan ni ddim rhy ddrug!