The United Kingdom – Main Symbols (“Union Jack”, “God Save the Queen”., “Britannia”, “Three Lions” etc) • The flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Flag (commonly known as the "Union Jack"). Created from the superimposition of the flags of England (St George’s Cross) and Scotland (Saint Andrew’s Cross); the Saint Patrick’s cross, representing Ireland, was added to this in 1801. • The national anthem of the UK is God Save the Queen. • Britannia is a personification of the UK, originating from the Roman occupation of southern and central Great Britain. Britannia is symbolized as a young woman with brown or golden hair, wearing a Corinthian helmet and white robes. She holds Poseidon’s three-pronged trident and a shield, bearing the Union Flag. Sometimes she is depicted as riding the back of a lion. In modern usage, Britannia is often associated with maritime dominance, as in the patriotic song Rule Britannia. • The lion has also been used as a symbol of the UK; one is depicted behind Britannia on the 50 pence piece and one is shown crowned on the back of the 10 pence piece, it is also used as a symbol on the non-ceremonial flag of the British Army. Lions have been used as heraldic devices many times, including in the royal arms of both the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Kingdom of Gwynedd in Wales. The lion is featured on the emblem of the England national football team, giving rise to the popular football anthem Three Lions. • The bulldog is sometimes used as a symbol of the Great Britain. • Britain is also personified as the character John Bull. Source: http://londra.mae.ro

Top 10 Words for Valentine's Day

1: Romantic

Definition: marked by expressions of love or affection; conducive to or suitable for lovemaking; a person of romantic temperament or disposition (noun) About the word: We associate this word with sweetness and love, but it emerged from the conquering powers of the Roman Empire. The expansion of ancient Rome created various dialects of Latin called "romans." (These evolved into Italian, French, Spanish, and others – the Romance languages.) "Romans" were used to write popular stories involving chivalric or courtly love, and such tales became known as romances. If we describe Rome today as a "romantic" city, we’re using a word that has travelled a long way to come home.

2: Valentine

Definition: a sweetheart chosen or complimented on Valentine's Day; a gift or greeting sent on this day About the word: Christianity has more than one martyr named Valentine, and the one, true Valentine is uncertain. Romantics favor the tale of the third-century Roman physician and priest Valentine. Supposedly, Valentine had fallen in love with his jailer's daughter, and shortly before his death sent a letter to her "from your Valentine."

3: Amour

Definition: a usually illicit love affair Example: "[T]he story of John Tschirhart is one that you would only expect to see in a compelling, haunting movie about romance, amour, passion and heartbreak..." – Dorian de Wind, The Huffington Post, Nov 9, 2010 About the word: In 2010, a poll of linguists rated amour – the French word for "love," simple and sweet – the most romantic word in the world. In English, the word gains drama and loses innocence.

4: Adonis

Definition: a very handsome young man Example: "[T]he cool new crop of models at agencies like Major [are] guys closer to the Ivy League Adonis ideal of yesteryear....” – Guy Trebay, NYTimes.com, July 21, 2010

5: Aphrodisiac

Definition: something that excites; an agent that arouses or is held to arouse sexual desire Example: "To me, one of the most successful attributes of an aphrodisiac meal are colors, aromas, tastes and textures that wake up the palate and challenge the mind." – Amy Reiley, quoted by Sarah Kershaw in NYTimes.com, February 9, 2010 About the word: Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love (who was infatuated with Adonis) gave the Greeks the words 'aphrodisia' (heterosexual pleasure) and 'aphrodisiakos' (a gem with aphrodisiac powers).

6: Infatuation

Definition: foolish or extravagant love or admiration Example: "And you are infatuated, which is a very different thing from love. Infatuation is like a roller coaster ride – crazy, scary and somewhat fun, while love is something more down to earth, less exhilarating, less dramatic but more real." – letter to Salon.com, January 6, 2011 About the word: An infatuation, by definition, is an emotion that shouldn't be taken too seriously. The word's etymology makes the same point. It traces back to the Latin for "foolish" or "silly," as does another insulting term: fatuous.

7: Casanova

Definition: lover, especially a man who is a promiscuous and unscrupulous lover Example: "In stepped [Justin] Bieber, with his mop of hair and an impish personality that seems to be part Dennis the Menace and part teenage Casanova." – Andy Downing, Chicago Tribune, March 25, 2010 About the word: In the 1700s, Giacomo Girolamo Casanova was a spy, a clergyman, a gambler, and apparently a man of charm. He was also a writer. His autobiographical musings about his more than 100 lovers made his name a byword for a man who loves too much.

8: Unrequited

Definition: not reciprocated or returned in kind Example: "Moreover, a good solution for unrequited love is, of course, new love." – Lucinda Rosenfeld, Slate.com, Nov 16 2010 About the word: Where there's unrequited, there's requited. So what does requite mean? To requite (a somewhat quaint term) is to give or do something in return for something that another person has given or done. So 'unrequited love' suggests an imbalance: too much love paid out and too little paid back.

9: Saccharine

Definition: overly sentimental; mawkish; unpleasantly sweet Example: "A clever central conceit, a series of amusing gags, a modicum of drama, and a heartwarming but not too saccharine conclusion." – John Swansburg, reviewing "How I Met Your Mother," Slate.com, March 23, 2010 About the word: Boxes of candy covered with cupids and hearts might, for some people, have a saccharine quality – both in sentiment and taste. For others, romantic and sugary excess is essential to Valentine's Day. Either way, saccharine comes from saccharum, Latin for "sugar." The word dates back to the 1600s. The calorie-free sweetener saccharin (without an e) arrived a couple hundred years later.

10: Sweetheart

Definition: darling; one who is loved About the word: The Greeks and Egyptians believed the heart was the center of the emotions. English speakers borrowed the idea, and sweet + heart has been a term of endearment – particularly for romantic love – since the Middle Ages.

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/top-ten-lists/top-10-words-for-valentines-day/romantic.html

Tips and Techniques on How to Learn French Language

Knowing various tips and techniques on how you can easily learn French language can increase your ability to absorb and really understand the language. There are many basic learning techniques taught in classrooms and from independent programs that can help you memorize and retain the information.

One way to effectively retain the information you have acquired from a French language lesson is to apply it into your daily life. There is no such thing as a "magic formula" when trying or wanting to learn French language or any other foreign languages. What it really requires is time, patience and willingness to learn. Incorporating it with the right training and simple techniques, you will be able to learn French language or any other language more efficiently and quickly. 

Having a language journal upon starting your French language lessons can be very helpful.

You can even blog about the things you have learned by trying to compose mini sentences using the new words or phrases that you have acquired from your lessons. Aside from your classroom lessons on French language, you can also use an online French lesson or manual that can be found on the internet. There are various websites who are giving out manuals or audio downloads that can definitely help you learn French language. 

When learning French language or any other languages, it is natural for your brain to get tired of studying. When such situation occurs, it is recommended for you to take a break by engaging in various games such as vocabulary games and mind-benders which are available on the internet as this can help you relax your mind. If you force yourself to learn French language even if you are already too tired to do so, you might end up quitting even before you knew how to speak longer phrases in French. So it is essential to learn it one step at a time.

 If you have already learned a lot or you are already an advanced student, you can try finding games on the internet that uses the French language. This way, you can improve your skills in speaking French in a fun way. Unlike learning math, history or other subjects where memory is important, learning French language requires practice so that you can improve your diction and pronunciation, and to be more familiar with the use of the terms. Knowing and memorizing the entire French language vocabulary is useless if you are unable to use it. You can also try recording your voice while speaking in French to see if there is an improvement on your pronunciation, accent and diction. 

If you want to learn French language during your free time, there are various websites that can provide you online tutorials or lessons. Some of them might require you to pay for a certain amount, so if you are learning French just for fun, find a website that provides a free tutorial instead of wasting money on paid classes that you cannot really attend to. Try to look for feedbacks or reviews from previous students to know more about the online tutor you are to enroll for.   

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/languages-articles/tips-and-techniques-on-how-to-learn-french-language-3571721.html#ixzz1BeITOkNp  

 

Is French Easy To Learn? 

When you surf the web, you come across many websites like French Course Angel that offer online course to teach you French language. You may be wondering why learn French and whether it is an easy language to learn. Learning a new language is always an exciting experience.

To start with, an additional language provides a person a lifelong skill to communicate with more people on the globe. Apart from instilling a thrilling feeling, knowledge of an extra language can throw up more job opportunities. People who have flair to learn more languages not only have a deeper understanding of their own culture, but also have a feel of the background and philosophy of other cultures and civilizations. So why not join the cause of an intellectual exercise that can considerably enrich your life? 

What are the benefits of learning to read, write, and speak French? 

*The number of people speaking French either as first, second, or foreign language worldwide exceeds 200 million.*Nearly 25 countries today have French as one of their official languages.

*Despite the popularity of English, French language still plays an important role in international relations. Many key institutions like the United Nations, the European Economic Community, the International Red Cross and the International Labor Bureau have French as the official working knowledge.

*It is the second most widespread language on the web. This is a primary reason why so many websites like French Course Angel teach French online. Once you have opted to learn French, the easiest and the most convenient way to learn is via an online course. Whichever way, is this language easy to learn? The answer to this question depends on many factors. For example, how many languages you have mastered in the past, your willingness and enthusiasm to learn a new language, and of course your aptitude. Picking up a book from a store is definitely a help. But a good book may not help you  speak French properly because you need to hear the accent and how the words are pronounced the correct way. The best bet is to learn via an online tutorial by French Course Angel. An online learning course has many advantages. 

*You can learn anytime and from anywhere.

*A good tutorial, for example, French Course Angel, can be interactive as it has student-centered teaching approaches.

*Learning is accessible 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

*Online chat rooms provide an informal platform for free and frank discussions.

*These days many online qualifications are recognized as at par with classroom programs.

This is singularly a great benefit. The French language is growing in popularity, so why not learn it online? Today language-learning modules are customized for children and adults. French Course Angel understands that children and adults do not learn a language the same way. For children the focus is on simple words of objects, whereas for adults the spotlight is on teaching the learners complete sentences. Language teaching methods have made great headways these days, so learning French language is definitely far simpler than what it was years ago. 

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/k-12-education-articles/is-french-course-easy-to-learn-3972723.html#ixzz1BeJ9fUiM

 

GERMAN TRANSLATION

There are a couple of things to be taken into consideration when it comes to German translation.

A lot of companies want to localize their website or marketing material for the German market. To have a German translation of all texts is a first step.

 For this, you should keep in mind that the German translation of your Romanian/ English text will probably be quite a bit longer than the original, due to the specific properties of the German language.The outcome of a German translation done by a machine can be horribly wrong, so make sure to have it checked by a professional translator, in order not to offend your German speaking customers.Another thing that you need to think about when you do German translation is the type-setting: German has the “umlauts” as well as the letter ß, which might come out wrong when using the German translation of your texts in your usual text processing software.If you produce or sell software and are looking to expand to the German market, remember that the German keyboard looks somewhat different. Thus it is important to have not only a German translation of the words and texts, but also to localize all applications for the German local conditions.

If you are not only looking to sell in Germany, but also in other German speaking countries such as Austria or Switzerland, make sure to have  the German translation done by an expert who knows the local varieties of the language in these areas.

Source: www.articlesbase.com.

  

 

 Indiferent de varsta, fiecare dintre noi asteapta cu multa emotie seara de 5 decembrie. Este seara lui Mos Nicolae, seara care ne aduce zambete cat pentru un an. Toti ne lustruim repejor ghetutele si asteptam sa se intample… minunea, pentru ca pe Mos Nicolae nu l-a vazut nimeni niciodata!

Dar cine este Mos Nicolae? Mos Nicolae este un minunat ... poliglot... El cunoaste toate limbile pamantului, putand sa inteleaga dorintele copiilor  de pretutindeni...

El cunoaste, de exemplu,  limba romana. La noi, a preluat numele si data de celebrare de la Sfantul Nicolae, cel mai popular sfant din Ardeal. In popor se spune ca iarna incepe la Sf. Nicolae. De ziua lui se fac vraji, farmece si pronosticuri meteorologice. Mos Nicolae este batran si are barba alba, iar in aceasta zi isi scutura barba, deci trebuie sa … ninga!

De asemenea, Mos Nicolae vorbeste si limba .... franceza!  In Franta, Sfantul Nicolae este asteptat de toata familia, pe 6 decembrie, cand bunicii le spun copiilor povesti despre mosul cel darnic. Exista insa si ipostaza negativa a lui Mos Nicolae, care, in loc de cadouri, in cazul copiilor neascultatori, vine cu nuielusa ca sa ii pedepseasca. Dimineata, copiii gasesc ghetutele pline cu ciocolata si prajiturele speciale, dar si ... cateva nuiele.

Italienii au un personaj mai aparte, numit Belfana, excelent vorbitor al limbii italiene, desigur,  care ar fi refuzat sa ii indrume pe magi la Bethleem, si astfel a fost blestemat sa mearga din casa in casa pentru a-l gasi pe pruncul Iisus.

 Iubitor si al limbii germane, Sfantul Nicolae  merge in fiecare iarna si in Germania, unde este ajutat de un aghiotant care poarta nume diferite. Copiii lasa la fereastra scrisori cu ce isi doresc ei sa primeasca si morcovi pentru caii mosului. Mos Nicolae vine la miezul noptii si aduce dulciuri, fructe si nuci copiilor cuminti. Ceilalti primesc cate o nuielusa si cartofi. Toate faptele copiilor sunt “contabilizate” intr-un caiet, pentru anul viitor.

Nici limba maghiara nu i-a scapat Mosului! In Ungaria, el vine insotit atat de un inger care imparte daruri copiilor cuminti, cat  si de Krampus, un drac care le lasa copiilor rai cate o nuielusa. Sfantul Nicolae este celebrat in scoli si gradinite, unde se organizeaza serbari.

Apetitul sau de poliglot l-a impins sa invete si alte limbi frumoase din lumea larga, cum ar fi si  limba olandeza. La sfarsitul lui noiembrie, in Olanda, televiziunile anunta venirea Sfantului Nicolae. Sinterklaas intra in oras pe un cal alb si este primit de insusi  ... primarul locului!

In Republica Ghana, mosul vine din jungla, iar in Hawaii coboara din barca, va puteti imagina...!

Indiferent insa care ar fi limba utilizata in oricare dintre locurile in care minunatul Mos Nicolae ajunge, un lucru este cert: in seara magica de 5 decembrie,  pretutindeni se vorbeste limba .... bucuriei, Mos Nicolae reusind – an de an – sa depaseasca toate barierele lingvistice!

Echipa A_BEST