Author: Simon

I am a linguist, web developer and musician. I live in Bangor in Wales and run Omniglot - the online encyclopedia of writing systems and languages, as well as making the Radio Omniglot Podcast.

Ffordd wahanol

By Simon

Yn ystod yr wythnosau diwethaf, dw i wedi bod yn arbrofi gyda ffordd wahanol o ymarfer fy ieithoedd. Cyn hynny gwrandais ar radio yn y Wyddeleg a’r Aeleg yr Alban bob bore, ac ar Radio Cymru yn y prynhawn. Bellach dw i’n gwrando trwy dydd ar y Wyddeleg a’r Aeleg yr Alban ar ddydd Llun, Mercher a Gwener, ac ar Gymraeg ar ddydd Mawrth, Iau a Sadwrn. Yn y hwyr dw i’n darllen nofelau neu canu caneuon yn yr ieithoedd hyn. Dw i’n ceisio dysgu tipyn bach o Tsieceg, ac i ymarfer y gitâr a’r chiwban, bob dydd hefyd.

Slí éagsúil

I rith na seachtainí seo caite, bím triail a bhaint as slí éagsúil mo chuid teangacha a chleachtadh. Roimhe sin, bhí mé ag éisteacht le Raidió na Gaeltachta agus Radio nan Gaidheal achan mhaidin, agus le raidió as Breatnais achan tráthnóna. Anois éistim le raidió as Gaeilge agus Gaeilge na hAlban ar an Luan, an gCéadaoin agus an Aoine, agus le raidió as Breatnais ar an Máirt, Déardaoin agus an Satharn. Sa tráthnóna bím ag leamh úrscéalaí nó ag canadh as na teangacha sin. Bhain mé triail as giota beag Seicis a fhoghlaim, agus an giotár agus an fheadóg a chleachtadh, achan lá chomh maith.

Teacher shortages

By Simon

According to an article I found today, the numbers of students studying Arabic at colleges in the USA has been increasingly significantly since 9-11. At the same time, there hasn’t been a corresponding increase in the numbers of qualified teachers of Arabic. In some areas, potential students of Arabic have been turned away due to the lack of teachers.

Many colleges are hiring native speakers of Arabic with little or no teaching experience or qualifications. That set up sounds familiar – much of the English as a Foreign Language teaching seems to be set up along similar lines.

Elsewhere, due to popularity of Gaelic-medium education in parts of Scotland, there is a shortage of qualified teachers. There’s also a shortage of Manx-medium teachers in the Isle of Man, of Welsh-medium teachers in Wales, and of Irish-medium teachers in Ireland.

Mandarin learning – a fad?

By Simon

Is the current craze for learning Mandarin Chinese a misguided fad? An article in The Economist I found today suggests that it might be.

Mandarin is now taught at over 400 secondary schools in the UK, and the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust would like to see it made part of the national curriculum. Around the world there are some 30 million people studying Mandarin at the moment, and the Chinese government expects that number to rise to 100 million by 2010.

The article argues that for most people, a knowledge of Mandarin is unlikely to result in a better career. A number of factors are put forward to support this statement: the difficultly of learning Mandarin when compared to most other languages, especially European languages, which means that very few who study Mandarin attain a high level of competence in the language. The lack of regard among British employers for languages skills is another factor. Finally the fact that the Chinese are busy learning English means that British people doing business with China are unlikely to need a knowledge of Mandarin.

The article concludes with a comment from a representative of a Beijing employment agency, who says that:

whereas the value of compensation packages for expat executives has been shrinking over the past ten years, the number of Chinese-speaking foreigners she handles has been rising. Better language skills, she reckons, are a product less of market demand than of a general enthusiasm for China. Reason enough, perhaps, to learn the language.

By the way, I don’t agree with the article myself. Learning any language is a worthwhile endeavour, even if you only acquire the basics. While a knowledge of Mandarin might not automatically lead to a job, learning it certainly isn’t a waste of your time and effort.

Sounds familiar

By Simon

As I mentioned last week, I’ve been learning the Polish version of Silent Night (Cicha Noc). While trying work out how to pronounce the Polish, I noticed that some of the the Polish consonants are similar to those found in Mandarin Chinese.

For example:

  • Polish c [ts] = Mandarin c, as in 次
  • Polish ć & c+i [ʨ] = Mandarin q, as in 七
  • Polish cz [tʂ] Mandarin ch, as in 吃
  • Polish sz [ʂ] = Mandarin sh, as in 十
  • Polish ś & s+i [ɕ] = Mandarin x, as in 西

Comparing the pronunciation of one language to another isn’t always helpful and can be misleading. In this case though, it gives me a better understanding Polish phonology.

podictionary

By Simon

podictionary – the podcast for word lovers, is a blog I came across today which provides “a word, dictionary etymology & story daily”.

The site covers one word a day and provides details of its meaning, etymology and tells a story related to the word. There is also a podcast of each post. Today’s word, for example, is vicious, and the story is about Sid Vicious and The Sex Pistols.

There are links to some other interesting word-related sites on the links page.

Ble mae’r swyddfa?!

By Simon

Ddydd Mercher, y dydd ydw i’n gweithio yn y swyddfa, adawais y tŷ fel arfer ond es i yn y cyfeiriad yr hen swyddfa. Sylweddolais fy nghamgymeriad yn y diwedd, a brysiais i ffwrdd yn y cyfeiriad dirgroes. Pan cyrhaeddais yn y swyddfa newydd, gwrthododd y drws i agor achos roedd problem gyda fy ngherdyn adnabod, ac roedd rhaid i mi aros am rhywun arall gyda cherdyn sy’n gweithio.

Yn y hen swyddfa, doedd dim desg neu gyfrifiadur fy hun ‘da fi – defnyddiais ddesgiau pobol eraill pwy oedd i ffwrdd. Dyma’r prifresym ydw i’n gweithio gartref. Yn y swyddfa newydd, mae desg ‘da fi, ond does dim cyfrifiadur ‘da fi eto. Felly eisteddais at desg fy rheolwr, pwy oedd ar ei ŵyl tadolaeth. Gobeithio bydd cyfrifiadur ‘da fi yr wythnos nesaf.

Cá bhfui an oifig?!

Dé Céadaoin an lá a bhím ag obair san oifig, d’fhág mé an teach mar is gnách ach chuaigh mé in aird an sean oifig. Thuig mé mó bhotún faoi dheireadh, agus bhrostaigh mé in aird os comhair. Nuair bhain mé amach ag an oifig nua, bhí fadhb le mó chárta aitheantais agus dhiúltaigh an doras a oscail dom. Bhí orm ag fanacht ar duine eile le cárta i bhfeidhm.

Sa sean oifig, ní raibh deasc nó ríomhaire dom féin agam – bhain mé úsáid as deasca daoine eile a bhí imithe. Seo an príomhréasún a bhím ag obair sa bhaile. San oifig nua, tá deasc agam, ach níl ríomhaire agam go fóill, agus shúigh mé ag deasc mó shaoiste – bhí sé air a shaoire atharachta. Go dóchasach beidh ríomhaire agam an seachtain seo cáite.

Where’s the office?!

On Wednesday, the day I work in the office, I left home as usual but set off towards the old office. When I eventually realised my mistake, I turned round and hurried off in the opposite direction, the right one this time. On arriving at the new office, only a few minutes late, I was unable to get in as the door refused to open when I swiped my ID card over the scanner. Fortunately someone else came along with a card that worked and I slipped in behind them.

I didn’t have a permanent desk or computer in the old office and usually used the desks of people who were away. That’s the main reason why I work at home most of the time. In the new office I have a desk but no computer yet, so I used the boss’s desk, who was away on paternity leave. With any luck there will be a computer for me next week.