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When I got my Blackberry Pearl earlier this year, one of the first applications I installed on it was Google Maps Mobile. This application is very handy for checking traffic on the go, and that is my primary use for it. Imagine my disappointment when I switched my phone’s display language to Spanish, and suddenly there is no longer a way to check traffic in Google Maps.

Take a look at these screenshots:

Translation of Spanish phrases in the screenshot:

Mi ubicación - My location
Buscar en el mapa - Search in the map
Cómo llegar - How to arrive (i.e. Get Directions)
Vista satélite - Satellite view
Borrar resultados - Remove results
Favoritos - Favorites
Zoom - Zoom
Ayuda - Help
Salir - Exit

Keep in mind that this is the same install of the application, not two different installs of Google Maps. All I did was to change the language setting on my phone. I can’t figure out a reason why there is no traffic option in Spanish and I couldn’t find any information about this from Google.

Does anyone know of a workaround?

I’ve mentioned before that I’m raising my son to be multilingual in English, Japanese and Swedish.  That’s changed a little bit as Swedish is becoming too difficult to fit in all the time.  So really I’m now aiming to raise my son bilingual in English and Japanese with some exposure to Swedish thrown in for fun.

One game that just about every parent plays with their children is “peek-a-boo”.  Everyone should know this game, but just in case you don’t, here’s how you play:

1. Cover your face with your hands or some other object.
2. Say to your baby “Where’s Daddy (or Mommy or whatever)?”
3. Reveal yourself and say “Peek-a-boo”.

Once kids get older and smarter, they can cover their faces and do it to you too.

Naturally kids love it. Not just kids in English-speaking families, but all over the world. So I learned how to play Peek-a-boo in Japanese and Swedish. It’s really easy.

Japanese

In Japanese, Peek-a-boo is called いない、いない、ばぁ！ (inai, inai, ba!). You play like this:

1. Cover your face with your hands
2. Say “inai inai, ba!”, revealing your face on “ba”

“Inai, inai” means something like “not here, not here”. And “ba” just means “boo”.

Here are some videos of random Japanese kids playing Inai Inai Ba!:

Now you can play with your kids too!

Swedish

In Swedish, peek-a-boo is called “Tittut”. You play like this:

1. Cover your face with your hands or some other object
2. Say “Var är Pappa (or Momma)?”
3. Reveal yourself while saying “Tittut!”

“Var är Pappa/Momma?” means “Where is Daddy/Mommy?” “Tittut” means something like “Look!” (from the verb “titta” I think).

Here are some videos of random Swedish people playing Tittut:

How about in your language?

I have a favor to ask. I want to know how to play peek-a-boo in more languages and share it with everyone else. If you speak, or are learning to speak, a language other than English, Japanese or Swedish, post a comment and tell us how to play peek-a-boo in your language.

I’m about to head out the door to take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, level 2.  Wish me luck!

It is said that the best way to learn a foreign language is through total immersion. So why should your shower be any different? Someone who was Christmas shopping for me found this wonderful shower curtain, which contains 250 Spanish words and their English definitions. It’s also available in French.

Honestly, I’m awestruck.

Have you seen other odd language learning material? Leave a comment to tell us about it…

Do you know the difference between Japanese snowmen and the snowmen we are used to?  Check out this picture of Japanese snowmen:

The main difference is that Japanese snowmen are made from only two snowballs instead of three. They also tend to be much smaller than our snowmen, although that’s not always the case.

The Japanese word for “snowman” is 雪だるま (yuki-daruma).  雪 (yuki) means snow.  だるま (daruma) does not mean man though.

Daruma is the Japanese form of dharma, a Sanskrit word that you may have heard before.  It shows up a lot in Buddhism and Hinduism.  Japanese actually borrowed daruma from Bodhidharma, which is the name of the monk who brought Zen (Chan) Buddhism to China from India. Here he is:

So why are snowmen called “Snow Bodhidharmas” in Japanese? Check it out.

Japan has these things called Daruma dolls, which look like this:

People use these to make their wishes come true. You make a wish and color in one of the Daruma doll’s eyes. Then you wait and when your wish comes true, you color in the other eye. Japan is full of one-eyed daruma dolls.

Apparently yuki-darumas (snowmen) are meant to resemble these dolls (though I think they more resemble the painting above). That’s why they don’t use three big snow balls.

If it snows this year, you can bet your hat that I’m going to be making some Snow Bodhidharmas.

How do you say snowman in your language (native or study language)??  Please leave a comment and tell me!

I came across an interesting word in the Japanese novel I’m reading.  The word is おてんばさん (otenbasan).  It means tomboy.  It has kanji too: お転婆さん.  This makes it look like the actually word is 転婆 (tenba) with an honorific o- prefix and honorific -san suffix.

But this is not the case.  This word is actually a loan word.  Normally loan words with kanjis in them come from Chinese.  Most non-Chinese loan words are written in katakana like “hamburger”: ハンバーガー.   But お転婆さん (otenbasan) doesn’t come from Chinese.

It comes from Dutch!  From the word ontembaar, which according to online dictionaries means “indomitable, never-say-die, unsubduable“.   Not hard to see how it could come to mean “tomboy” in Japanese.  But why does a Dutch word get kanjis?  I don’t know the answer for sure, but I’d guess the word was borrowed a long time ago, like back in the 1700s when a bunch of Dutch people were hanging out in Japan.  Using katakana for loan words is kinda new (I think).

Another word that does this is 天ぷら (tempura: Japanese deep-fried food), which comes from the Portuguese word tempero, meaning (again, according to an online dictionary) gravy or meat drippings.  There were some Portuguese guys hanging out in Japan back in the 1600s.  I don’t know for sure, but I would guess this word was borrowed into Japanese back then and that’s why it gets a kanji.

Anyway, back to otenbasan - “tomboy“.  The “-san” suffix here is honorific, like the “-san” you add to peoples’ names.  But the “o-” here is not the honorific prefix “o-”. The Dutch word has the “o” too.  So why isn’t there a kanji for the “o”?  No idea!

Do you know any other European words that get kanji in Japanese?  If so, please let me know!

While celebrating my youngest son’s birthday earlier this week, I was enjoying a can of my favorite drink from México: Del Valle Néctar de Guayaba de concentrado (guava juice nectar from concentrate) when I realized I had just found the source for my next Frases en Español post! Conveniently the text on the can is bilingual so I did not need to do the translation myself, although I try not to look at the English text normally.

Some handy advice from the side of the can:

Agítese antes de abrir
Shake well before opening

Una vez abierto consérvese en refrigeración
Refrigerate after opening

Disfruta, haz deporte, tomalo bien frío
Enjoy, exercise, drink cold

This is on the banner in the lower part of the can in the picture:

Buena fuente de vitamina C, sin conservadores
Good source of vitamin C, without preservatives

From the ingredients:

puré de guayaba a partir de concentrado
guava puree from concentrate

Here’s a language learning tip that has worked really well for me: read children’s books.  I’m talking books intended for children aged 0-5. Even if you aren’t a beginner. Here’s why:

1. They are easy - This is as easy as reading material comes. Even if you are a complete beginner, if you have a dictionary around you will probably be able to grind your way through a ten-page board book for babies.
2. They are fast - You can breeze through these books. It’s a very little investment in time, especially once you’ve read it a few times and “learn” the book. I’m talking 2 minutes or less.
3. They are meant for native speakers - Parents that are real native speakers of your target language really read these books to their children. The language will be completely natural, native Spanish (or whatever).
4. They are meant to be read aloud - Nobody sits hunched over a library desk late at night in the dark with a reading light and a six-pack of Red Bull taking detailed notes on “Where’s Spot?”. They read them out loud in funny voices to their kids. You will read them out loud too. Your mouth will get used to forming the words in the books. Many children’s books are very repetitive:
   

   Who’s hiding behind the door? It’s a mouse!
   Who’s hiding under the bed? It’s a lion!
   Who’s hiding inside the box? It’s a giraffe!
   etc.

   Reading books like this out loud will get you really used to saying simple sentences in your target language, fluently and without effort. It just rolls off your tongue.

5. They have lots of pictures - this ties in with #2: being fast, but pictures also give you hints about what a word might mean. This can save you dictionary time on your first read through.
6. They often contain slang/shortened language - No textbook sentences here. Native speakers often omit words, run words together or otherwise take shortcuts in their language. The only way to learn these rules and tricks is to be exposed to them. Children’s books do this alot.
7. You can catch up on culture that you missed by not being raised in the target language - Do you know how to say “Ready, Set, Go!” to start a footrace in your target language? Do you know how to play Hide-and-seek? Peek-a-boo? Do you know the cutesy names for animals (kitty, fishy, birdie)? Do you know how to say “whoopsie-daisy” and “uh-oh”? Guess what. Every native speaker DOES! Children’s books are easy and fast (see points #1 and #2). It won’t take long to catch up.
8. You learn sound words - Do you know how to say “splat”, “splash”, “zoom”, “bonk”, “crash”, “whoosh”, “squish” in your target language? How about “woof woof”, “meow”, “moo”, “oink”, “cluck”, “quack” and “roar”? How do you describe the sound a watermelon makes when you smash it open? Many of these are words that people use on a daily basis even as adults. This is a great way to learn them.
9. They usually have a specific theme or topic - animals, body parts, relative directions (under, over, in, on, behind, in front of), vehicles, fruit, vegetables, family members. Learn all your animals at once, in repetitive setences (see point #4). You will learn them without even trying.

That’s just the tip of the ice berg too. You can learn a lot with very little time or effort. Here’s how to do it:

1. Find a children’s book in your target language. Good places to check are the library, the used bookstore, and google (for foreign bookstores).
2. Read it out loud. Try to guess the meaning based on the pictures. Use a dictionary for stuff you have no clue about.
3. Read it again.
4. You’re finished. That took about 5 minutes. Now do it again tomorrow. In a couple days, you’ll be able to recite the book without opening it (but do open it! Seeing the pictures will help reinforce everything for you).
5. Back to step 1. Find another children’s books. Get a little collection going.

If you have a baby or a kid that you can read it too, even better (that’s how I stumbled upon this tip).

Try it. It works.

Do you have any language learning tips? Post them in the comments.

I recently discovered that I could switch my phone’s display language from English to Spanish, and in doing so I was blown away by the new vocabulary that I hadn’t seen elsewhere. This, along with an excellent series of posts from Ramses, has inspired me to help others by sharing what I have learned.

This is the first post in what may become a semi-regular series from me, called Frases en Español. In this series I will give you several sentences or phrases in Spanish from a particular source. These phrases will ideally introduce you and me to new vocabulary, and are ideal for adding to your SRS study.

By their nature, mobile phones have small screens, so the phrases found here are pretty short. Future posts in this series will contain longer phrases so that new grammar can be shown with the new vocabulary.

Here are the phrases I found:

El dispositivo de bolsillo está bloqueado.
The handheld device is locked.

Bloqueo del teclado
Lock the keypad

Hacer una llamada
Make a call

Números de marcación rápida
Speed dial numbers

Libreta de direcciones
Address Book

Mis tonos de llamada
My ringtones

If you have other mobile phone related phrases, or wish to correct my phrases (I’m a beginner after all), please comment below!

Here’s a language learning tip that has recently worked really well for me: start a translation project!

Here are the steps:

1. Find something in your target language that hasn’t been translated into English before. It could be a novel, a comic book, a children’s book, a movie, a TV show, a cereal box, a magazine, a blog, advertisements for a specific product, whatever. Any material will work, but the most important thing is that it should be something you are interested in. You should feel pumped about translating whatever it is you are doing.
2. Find an audience. Someone who will read/follow your work. Preferably an online audience. Forums devoted to a specific topic are good. Starting a blog is a good idea too. Having an audience is important because it will make you accountable. Knowing that people are waiting to read your next installment will help motivate you to work on your project in a timely manner. Also, if people are commenting on your translations, telling you “good job” and “thank you for doing this for us”, you will get a warm fuzzy feeling inside and want to translate more and more.
3. Translate in small chunks. For example, I’m doing a novel and I translate a couple pages at a time (usually 2-5 pages). This is workable and allows me to post/publish my translation at least once a week (often more). I also translate advertisements and previews for a Japanese video game that will be released next year. These tend to be short (1-4 pages) with lots of pictures, so I can usually pop them out as they come.
4. Add words that you want to remember to your SRS. I usually don’t have to enter whole sentences for my translation projects. This is because I’ve gone over the material so many times during the translation process that seeing the word will instantly bring up the context. Often I don’t even need the SRS, because the words will come up again and again. Writers tend to reuse language, so you’ll run into the same words over and over again. My video game previews also repeat a lot of words.
5. Go back and reread the original. After you translate something into English, wait a week or two and then go back and read it in the native language. Surprise, you don’t need a dictionary anymore and you have full comprehension! What the hell?  It worked!

Do you have any language learning tips? If so, please share them!