May 2016

Learn to Speak French

Learn French / By

Learn to Speak French French (français) French is a Romance language spoken by about 338 million people. It is the third most spoken language in Europe, after German and English, and is also spoken in parts of Africa, North America, South America, Asia and Oceania. The French alphabet (l’alphabet français) A a          B b          C c          D d         E e          F f           G g         H h         I i             J j            K k          L l            M m [ɑ]          [be]       [se]        [de]       [ə]          [ɛf]         [ʒe]        [aʃ]         [i]            [ʒi]         [ka]        [ɛl]          [ɛm] N n         O o         P p          Q q         R r           S s           T t           U u         V v          W w       X x          Y y          Z z [ɛn]        [o]          [pe]       [ky]        [ɛʀ]        [ɛs]         [te]        [y]          [ve]        [dubləve]            [iks]       [igʀɛk]   [zɛd]  

Subject Pronouns / Les pronoms sujets

je /ʒə/ I nous /nu/ We
tu /ty/ You (informal) vous /vu/ You (formal and plural)
il elle on /il/ /ɛl/ /ɔ̃/ He She One ils elles /il/ /ɛl/ They (masc.) They (fem.)
Il and elle can also mean it when they replace a noun (il replaces masculine nouns, and elle replaces feminine nouns) instead of a person’s name.  Ils and elles can replace plural nouns as well in the same way.  Notice there are two ways to say you.  Tu is used when speaking to children, animals, or close friends and relatives.  Vous is used when speaking to more than one person, or to someone you don’t know or who is older.  On can be translated into English as one, the people, they, you, in the indefinite sense, and it is often used instead of nous to mean we. Je is reduced to j’ before a word beginning with a vowel sound in both formal and informal language. Tu is reduced to t’ before a vowel sound in informal language only. Tutoyer and vouvoyer are two verbs that have no direct translation into English. Tutoyer means to use tu or be informal with someone, while vouvoyer means to use vous or be formal with someone.

Object Pronouns In French:

 

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Sprechen Sie Deutsch ?

Classroom - German, Learn German / By

In an effort to reach out to those desirous to learn and improve their language skills in German on behalf of Lingua World one of the best institutes in Coimbatore for learning foreign languages we are planning to introduce German to the people visiting the forum in a small way.

Basic German Phrases  
Guten Morgen goot-en mor-gen Good Morning Guten Tag goot-en tahk Hello/Good Day Guten Abend goot-en ah-bent Good Evening
Gute Nacht goot-eh nakht Good Night Tag / Hallo / Servus tahk / hah-loh / sair-voohs Hi / Hello / Hi & Bye (Southern Germany & Austria) Auf Wiedersehen owf vee-dair-zayn Goodbye
Grüß dich / Grüß Gott! Hello! / Greetings! (Southern Germany & Austria) Tschüs / Tschau tchews / chow Bye! Gehen wir! geh-en veer Let’s go!
Bis später biss shpay-ter See you later Bis bald biss bahlt See you soon Bis morgen biss mohr-gen See you tomorrow
Bitte bih-tuh Please Danke (schön / sehr) dahn-kuh shurn/zair Thank you Bitte schön bih-tuh shurn You’re welcome
Es tut mir leid. ehs toot meer lite I’m sorry Entschuldigen Sie ehnt-shool-dih-gun zee Excuse me Verzeihung Pardon me
Wie geht es Ihnen? vee gayt es ee-nen How are you? (formal) Wie geht’s? vee gayts How are you? (informal) (Sehr) Gut / So lala zair goot / zo lahlah (Very) Good / OK
Schlecht / Nicht Gut shlekht / nisht goot Bad / Not good Es geht. ess gate I’m ok. (informal) Ja / Nein yah / nine Yes / No
Wie heißen Sie? vee hie-ssen zee What’s your name? (formal) Wie heißt du? vee hiesst doo What’s your name? (informal) Ich heiße… ikh hie-ssuh My name is… [I am called…]
Es freut mich. froyt mikh Pleased to meet you. Gleichfalls. glykh-fals Likewise. Herr / Frau / Fräulein hair / frow / froi-line Mister / Misses / Miss
Woher kommen Sie? vo-hair koh-men zee Where are you from? (formal) Woher kommst du? vo-hair kohmst doo Where are you from? (informal) Ich komme aus… ikh koh-muh ows… I’m from…
Wo wohnen Sie? vo voh-nen zee Where do you live? (formal) Wo wohnst du? vo vohnst doo Where do you live? (informal) Ich wohne in… ikh voh-nuh in I live in…
Wie alt sind Sie? vee alt zint zee How old are you? (formal) Wie alt bist du? vee alt bisst doo How old are you? (informal) Ich bin ____ Jahre alt. ikh bin ____ yaa-reh alt I am ____ years old.
Sprechen Sie deutsch? shpreck-en zee doytch Do you speak German? (formal) Sprichst du englisch? shprikhst doo eng-lish Do you speak English? (informal) Ich spreche (kein)… ikh shpreck-uh kine I (don’t) speak…
Verstehen Sie? / Verstehst du? fehr-shtay-en zee / fehr-shtayst doo Do you understand? (formal / informal) Ich verstehe (nicht). ikh fehr-shtay-eh nikht I (don’t) understand. Ich weiß (nicht). ikh vise nikht I (don’t) know.
Können Sie mir helfen? ker-nen zee meer hell-fen Can you help me? (formal) Kannst du mir helfen? kahnst doo meer hell-fen Can you help me? (informal) Natürlich / Gerne nah-tewr-likh / gair-nuh Of course / Gladly
Kann ich Ihnen helfen? kahn ikh ee-nen hell-fen May I help you? (formal) Kann ich dir helfen? kahn ikh deer hell-fen May I help you? (informal) Wie bitte? vee bih-tuh What? Pardon me?
Wie heißt ___ auf Deutsch? vee heist ___ owf doytch How do you say ___ in German? Wo ist / Wo sind… ? voh ist / voh zint Where is / Where are… ? Es gibt… ess geept There is / are…
Was ist los? vahs ist lohs What’s the matter? Das macht nichts. dass makht nikhts It doesn’t matter. Das ist mir egal. dass ist meer eh-gahl I don’t care.
Keine Angst! ky-nuh ahngst Don’t worry! Ich habe es vergessen. ikh hah-buh ess fehr-geh-sen I forgot. Jetzt muss ich gehen. yetz mooss ikh geh-en I must go now.
Ich habe Hunger / Durst. ikh hah-buh hoong-er / dirst I’m hungry / thirsty. Ich bin krank / müde. ikh bin krahnk moo-duh I’m sick / tired. Ich habe Langeweile. ikh hah-buh lahn-guh-vy-luh I’m bored.
Ich möchte / Ich hätte gern… ikh merkh-tuh / ikh heh-tuh gairn I’d like… Das gefällt mir. dahs geh-fehlt meer I like it. Prima / Toll / Super! pree-mah / tohl / zoo-pair Great / Fantastic!
Gesundheit! geh-soont-hyt Bless you! Herzlichen Glückwunsch! herts-likh-en glewk-voonsh Congratulations! Sei ruhig! zy roo-hikh Be quiet! (informal)
Willkommen! vil-koh-men Welcome! Viel Glück! feel glewk Good luck! Schauen Sie mal! / Schau mal! show-en zee mal / show mal Look! (formal / informal)
Bitte schön? Yes? / What would you like to order? Was darf’s sein? What can I get you? / How can I help you? Sonst noch etwas? Anything else?
Bitte schön. Here you go. (handing something to someone) Zahlen bitte! The check, please! Stimmt so. Keep the change.
Ich bin satt. I’m full. Mir ist schlecht. I feel sick. Es tut mir weh. It hurts.
Ich liebe dich. ikh leeb-uh dikh I love you. (informal) Du fehlst mir. I miss you. (informal) Alles ist in Ordnung. Everything is fine.
Wie wäre es mit … ? How about…? Was für ein…? What kind of (a)…? Nicht wahr? [general tag question]
Ich is not actually pronounced ikh, unless you are speaking a northern dialect of German. If you are speaking a southern dialect, then it is more like ish. There is no equivalent sound in English.  In standard German, it is somewhere between ish and ikh. Technically, it is a voiceless palatal fricative and its voiced counterpart is the y sound in yes.

German Nouns and Cases

All nouns have a gender in German, either masculine, feminine or neuter.  You must memorize the gender of each noun: 1. Male persons or animals, the seasons, months, and days are all masculine, as are nouns ending in -ant, -ast, -ich, -ig, -ismus, -ling, -or and -us. 2. Female persons or animals, and numerals are all feminine, as are nouns ending in -a, -anz, -ei, -enz, -heit, -ie, -ik, -in, -keit, -schaft, -sion, -sis, -tät, -tion, -ung and -ur. 3. Young persons or animals, metals, chemical elements, letters of the alphabet, hotels, restaurants, cinemas, continents, countries and provinces are all neuter, as are nouns that end in -chen, -icht, -il, -it, -lein, -ma, -ment, -tel, -tum, and -um.  Nouns referring to things that end in -al, -an, -ar, -ät, -ent, -ett, -ier, -iv, -o and -on, as well as most words with the prefix ge- and most nouns ending in -nis and -sal are also neuter. All nouns in German are capitalized in writing. All nouns (as well as pronouns and adjectives) have a case depending on what function they serve in the sentence.  These may seem strange, but remember that English uses cases also; however, we would say direct object instead of accusative, or indirect object instead of dative.  Although these cases may make learning new words difficult, they actually help with word order because the position of words in a sentence is not as fixed in German as it is in English.  And the reason for that is because words can occur in these four cases:  
Nominative subject of the sentence The girl is reading.
Accusative direct objects We see the mountain. I bought a gift.
Dative indirect objects We talk to the guide. I gave my mom a gift.
Genitive indicates possession or relationship The book of the girl. The dog’s tail.
The nouns you look up in a dictionary will be in the nominative case. The first Step in German (ERSTE SCHRITTE DEUTSCH) Die Familie vorstellen (Introducing the family) Wen aus eurer Familie möchtet ihr vorstellen? Euren Bruder, eure Schwester … – hier lernt ihr die deutschen Bezeichnungen. Die Familie Vorstellung
  • die Familie – family
  • die Mutter – mother
  • der Vater – father
  • die Eltern – parents
  • die Großmutter – grandmother
  • die Oma – grandma, granny
  • der Großvater – grandfather
  • der Opa – grandpa
  • die Tante – aunt
  • der Onkel – uncle
  • die Schwester – sister
  • der Bruder – brother
  • die Ehefrau – wife
  • der Ehemann – husband
  • das Kind – child
  • die Tochter – daughter
  • der Sohn – son
  • There are three genders in German unlike English.
  • Der—Masculin
  • Die—Feminine
  • Das—Neutral
One has to learn the Genders along with the noun. ERSTE SCHRITTE DEUTSCH Sich begrüßen – sich verabschieden (Greetings and Parting) Hier lernt ihr verschiedene Formen der Begrüßung und Verabschiedung kennen.
  • Sich begrüßen – sich verabschieden
  • sich begrüßen – to greet (each other)
  • Guten Morgen! – Good morning!
  • Guten Tag, Frau Steller! (formell) – Hello, Ms. Steller! (formal)
  • Guten Abend, Herr Richter! (formell) – Good evening, Mr. Richter! (formal)
  • Hallo! (informell) – Hi!/ Hello! (informal)
  • sich verabschieden – to say goodbye
  • Auf Wiedersehen! (formell) – Goodbye!(formal)
  • Tschüss! (informell) – Bye! (informal)
  • Schönen Tag noch. – Have a good day!
  • Gute Nacht. – Good night.
  • Schlaf gut! – Sleep well!
ERSTE SCHRITTE DEUTSCH Um Hilfe bitten (Asking for help) Hier lernt ihr, wie man auf Deutsch um Hilfe bitten kann.
  • Entschuldigung. – Sorry.
  • Können Sie mir helfen? – Can you help me?
  • Ich habe eine Frage. – I have a question.
  • Ich spreche nicht gut Deutsch. – I do not speak German well.
  • Ich verstehe das nicht. – I don’t understand that.
  • Was heißt das? – What does that mean?
  • Wie bitte? – I beg your pardon?
  • Sprechen Sie bitte langsam. – Please speak slowly.
  • Wie heißt das auf Deutsch? – What does that mean in German?
  • Können Sie das bitte wiederholen? – Could you please repeat that?
  • Vielen Dank! – Thank you very much!
ERSTE SCHRITTE DEUTSCH Wie geht es Ihnen?  (How are you?)
  • Wie geht es Ihnen? (formell) – How are you? (formal)
  • Sehr gut. – Very well.
  • Wie geht es dir? (informell) – How are you? (informal)
  • Mir geht es super. – I’m doing very well.
  • Mir geht es gut. – I’m fine.
  • Mir geht es nicht so gut. – Not so well. / I’m not so well.
  • Mir geht es schlecht. – I’m not doing well. / I feel bad.
  • Mir geht es beschissen. (umgangssprachlich) – I feel crappy. (colloquial)
  • Ich bin müde. – I’m tired.
  • Ich bin krank. – I’m sick.
  • Ich bin erkältet. – I have a cold.
  • Ich bin gestresst. – I’m stressed out.

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Let's Learn Spanish

Learn Spanish / By

Beginner Level Nouns in Spanish Unlike English, Spanish has only 2 genders. All nouns are either masculine or feminine. Nouns like ‘book’ which are considered to have no gender in English (neuter gender) are either masculine or feminine in Spanish. When you learn a new word in Spanish it is important to learn what gender it is as well. For example when you learn that ‘mesa’ means table, try to remember it as ‘la mesa’ so you also remember that it is a feminine noun. It is hard to memorize the gender of every single word you learn so here are some general rules that will help you.  GENERAL RULES FOR GENDER IN SPANISH  In general, nouns ending in –o are masculine and nouns ending in –a are feminine (although there are some exceptions).

Masculine
El muchacho The boy
El chico The boy
El perro The dog
El gato The cat
El hermano The brother
El tío The uncle
El abuelo The grandfather
El libro The book
El plato The dish
El vaso The glass
El carro The car
El pollo The chicken
El toro The bull
Now some examples of feminine nouns in Spanish:
Feminine
La muchacha The girl
La chica The girl
La perra The dog
La gata The cat
La hermana The girl
La tía The aunt
La abuela The grandmother
La playa The beach
La plata The silver
La mesa The table
La puerta The door
La silla The chair
La casa  The house
‘El’ and ‘La’ are the Spanish definite articles. The Spanish indefinite articles are ‘un’ and ‘una’. El libro – the book Un libro – a book La playa – the beach Una playa – a beach El toro – the bull Un toro – a bull La casa – the house Una casa – a house There are some exceptions to the rule above. The following are some exceptions to the previous rule:
Masculine
El problema The problem
El sistema The system
El clima The climate
El tema The theme/subject
El día The day
El programa The program
El mapa The map
El agua The water
 
Feminine
La mano The hand
La radio The radio
Some nouns change their ending depending on whether they are masculine or feminine:
Masculine
El maestro The teacher
El profesor The teacher/professor
El bailador The dancer
El mesero The waiter
El camarero The waiter
El actor The actor
Feminine
La maestra The teacher
La profesora The teacher/professor
La bailadora The dancer
La mesera The waitress
La camarera The waitress
La actriz The actress
Some nouns remain the same whether they are masculine or feminine:
El periodista La periodista The journalist
El socialista La socialista The socialist
El pianista La pianista The pianist
El dentista La dentista The dentist
El piloto La piloto The pilot
El novelista La novelista The novelist/writer
El artista La artista The artist
  Spanish Words, Common Phrases, and Grammar  
English Spanish Pronunciation
Good morning. Buenos días. booEHN-os DEE-as
Good afternoon. Buenas tardes. booEHN-as TAR-dehs
Good evening. (greeting) Buenas noches. booEHN-as NO-chehs
Hello, my name is John. Hola, me llamo Juan. OH-la meh YA-mo Wahn
What is your name? ¿Cómo se llama usted? KOH-moh seh YA-mah oos-TEHD
How are you? ¿Cómo está usted? KOH-moh ehs-TA oos-TEHD
I am fine. Estoy bien. ehs-TOY bee-EHN
Nice to meet you. Mucho gusto. MOO-choh GOOS-toh
Goodbye. Adiós. ah-dee-OHS
See you later. Hasta luego. AHS-ta looEH-go
I am lost. Where is the restroom? Estoy perdido. ¿Dónde está el baño? ehs-TOY pehr-DEE-doh. DOHN-deh ehs-TA el BAH-neeo
Excuse me. Con permiso. OR Perdóname kohn pehr-MEE-soh OR pehr-DOH-nah-meh
Please. Por favor. pohr fah-VOR
Thank you. Gracías. gra-SEE-ahs
I’m sorry. Lo siento. low see-EHN-to
Bless you. Salud. sah-LOOD
You are welcome (it was nothing). De nada. deh NA-da
How much does it cost? ¿Cuánto cuesta? kooAN-to KWEHS-ta
How many are there? ¿Cuántos hay? kooAN-tohs eye
There are many. Hay muchos. eye MOO-chohs
Do you want to buy this? ¿Quiere comprarlo usted? kee-EHR-eh kohm-PRAR-loh oos-TEHD
What time is it? ¿Qué hora es? keh OR-ah ehs
How do you say maybe in Spanish? ¿Cómo se dice maybe en Español? KOH-mo seh DEE-seh maybe ehn ehs-pahn-YOL
Yes. Sí. see
No. No. no
I do not understand. Yo no comprendo. yoh no kom-PREN-doh
Would you speak slower, please. Por favor, habla mas despacio. pohr fah-VOR, AH-blah mahs dehs-PAHS-ee-oh
Who? ¿Quièn? kee-EHN
Why? ¿Por què? pohr keh
  Spanish Resources]]>

How to Learn Chinese

Classroom - Chinese, Learn Chinese / By

Interested in learning Mandarin Chinese? You’re not alone. Mandarin is one of the most popular languages for business, travel, and pleasure.Learning to speak Chinese isn’t rocket science. There are some things you can do to make it painless or nearly so. Many people think that learning Mandarin Chinese is difficult. There is no doubt that it is definitely challenging to learn Chinese characters  that can take years to master. Learning to speak Mandarin Chinese, however, is fairly simple because there are none of the verb conjugations that are found in many Western languages. Tonal Language Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language, which means that the pitch of a syllable can change its meaning. There are four tones in spoken Mandarin: high; rising; falling and rising; and falling. These kinds of tones are also used in English for emphasis or inflection, but Mandarin tones are entirely different. The tones are the most difficult part of spoken Mandarin, but once the concept is absorbed, Mandarin vocabulary and grammar is surprisingly easy. Mandarin has four distinct tones which are used to clarify the meaning of words. Proper use of the tones is essential for speaking and understanding the language. Tones should be practiced right from the beginning of your Mandarin study. When learning new vocabulary you must memorize the proper tone, otherwise the word is only half-learned. Pinyin Most people hold back learning Chinese characters until they have at least a basic understanding of the spoken langauge. Fortunately, there is an alternative way of reading and writing Mandarin that is based on the Western (Roman) alphabet – Romanization.   Romanization transposes the sounds of spoken Chinese into the Roman alphabet so that learners can read and write the language. There are several systems of Romanization, but the most popular is Pinyin.      ]]>

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