Leslie's Omnibus: language

Showing posts with label language. Show all posts

World Tour

Kenya? Now there's a new visitor to the Omnibus! Karibu Omnibus ya!

Kenya has an ethnic population of more than 40 different ethnic groups, including Bantu, Kikuyu, Swahili, Luo and Masai. The predominant languages are English and Swahili.

Great recipes here and here. (Mango ice cream with pineapple rum sauce -- YUM!)

Unique to Kenya's geography...

"the Kenyan Highlands comprise one of the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa; glaciers are found on Mount Kenya, Africa's second highest peak; unique physiography supports abundant and varied wildlife of scientific and economic value"

The population of Kenya has a higher than average life expectancy (58.33 men/59.32 women) than most of Africa, owing in large part to it's very low AIDS rate (6.7% est.).

The second largest industry after agriculture is tourism. A magical array of terrains and wildlife provides some of the best safari tourism in all of Africa.

Rules of the Road

There's a difference between "serving" someone and "servicing" someone. Be sure you know which one you really mean before opening your mouth to a reporter.

serve [surv] Show IPA verb,served, serv·ing, noun

–verb (used without object)
1. to act as a servant.
2. to wait on table, as a waiter.
3. to offer or have a meal or refreshments available, as for patrons or guests: Come early, we're serving at six.
4. to offer or distribute a portion or portions of food or a beverage, as a host or hostess: It was her turn to serve at the faculty tea.
5. to render assistance; be of use; help.
6. to go through a term of service; do duty as a soldier, sailor, senator, juror, etc.
7. to have definite use: This cup will serve as a sugar bowl.
8. to answer the purpose: That will serve to explain my actions.
9. (in tennis, badminton, handball, etc.) to put the ball or shuttlecock in play with a stroke, swing, or hit.
10. to be favorable, suitable, or convenient, as weather or time.
11. Ecclesiastical. to act as a server.

serv·ice [sur-vis] Show IPA noun, adjective, verb,-iced, -ic·ing.

–verb (used with object)
32. to make fit for use; repair; restore to condition for service: to service an automobile.
33. to supply with aid, information, or other incidental services.
34. (of a male animal) to mate with (a female animal).
35. Finance. to pay off (a debt) over a period of time, as by meeting periodic interest payments.

See? BIG DIFFERENCE. (Especially if you're referring to your relationship with your daughter, which one memorable article quotation did recently.)

Out of another head-scratching combination of daily visitors, I bid welcome to a newcomer from Lao People's Democratic Republic. I couldn't find an online translator, but I did find this delightful young man to help you learn a little of the Lao geography and language.

(Don't you feel smarter already?)

Here's a little traditional dance and song from some tiny charmers:

World Tour

Vanuatu??? Alo!

With a population of less that a quarter of a million people and half a world away from where I live, with only 1,023 internet hosts (as of 2009)... and someone from Vanuatu found my blog. This is what makes the intarwebs so endlessly fascinating to me.

We can thank the Bunlap people of Vanuatu for bungee jumping:

World Tour

Sudan. Wow.

The first civil war ended in 1972 but broke out again in 1983. The second war and famine-related effects resulted in more than four million people displaced and, according to rebel estimates, more than two million deaths over a period of two decades.

If these statistics don't break your heart, you have no heart:

Median age:

total: 19.1 years
male: 18.9 years
female: 19.2 years (2009 est.)

More than 40% of the population is under the age of 15.

While I usually skim the CIA World Factbook, this entry I read start to finish. You should, too.

I don't kid myself -- a good many of the people who find my blog find it because they're looking for cat pictures or funny animal pictures. I hope that's why someone from Sudan came here. And I hope I made them laugh.

قد وجه الله تألق عليكم ، يا صديقي.

World Tour

Macedonia! Која земја!

While economically behind the rest of Europe in many ways, Macedonians use cell phones over land lines by a ratio of 5.47:1. TV knocks radio right out of the park, 76 TV broad cast stations to 69 radio stations. There were approximately 847,900 internet users as of 2008, and at least one of them found my blog. How cool is that?

Just for you, a little Macedonian Mashup:

А ман!

Heh.

World Tour

India! (Usually I try to do a greeting in the principal language of a country... but India has 61 languages: Adi, Aka, Angami, Ao, Apatani, Assamese, Balti, Bengali, Bhutia, Chakhesang, Chang, Dadri, Digaru-Mismi, Dogri, English, French, Garhwali, Garo, Gojri, Gujarati, Hill Miri, Hindi, Idu-Mishmi, Jeseri (Dweep Bhasha), Kannada, Kashmiri, Khamti, Khasi, Kokborak, Konkani, Konyak, Kumaoni, Ladakhi, Lepcha, Limbu, Lotha, Mahal, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Miju-Mishmi, Miji, Mizo, Monpa, Nepali, Nicobarese, Nocte, Nyishi, Oriya, Pahari, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Sangtam, Sema, Sherdukpen, Tagin, Tamil, Tangsa, Telegu, Urdu, Wancho -- I know because I went state by state (28) and province by province (7) to collect 'em all. Among the principal languages? English, Gujarati, Hindi, Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil, Telegu and Urdu -- take your pick.)

Pakistan! (While significantly smaller in area, Pakistan also has a variety of languages: Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashtu 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English (official; lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8%)

Since Urdu seems to be a common denominator, "khushaamdeed esteemed dostein!"

*Rubs hands together with glee*

India and Pakistan have been bashing at one another since 1947, primarily over an arbitrarily written boundary drawn by a British attorney before Britain did a bunk and had catastrophic consequences on both countries.

Wagah is the only road crossing the India/Pakistan international border, and is famous for the "lowering of the flag" and gate closing ceremony each evening. It is fascinating, as the military uniforms differ little except for color and the marching and posturing has all the color and aggression of a cock fight:

Fascinating!

(Who knew that a daily spin through my site meter stats would turn out to be so much fun and educational?)

World Tour

Canada! (Beautiful day, eh?)

Interesting fact:

Buffeted by the global economic crisis, the economy dropped into a sharp recession in the final months of 2008, and Ottawa posted its first fiscal deficit in 2009 after 12 years of surplus. Canada's major banks, however, emerged from the financial crisis of 2008-09 among the strongest in the world, owing to the country's tradition of conservative lending practices and strong capitalization.

In Canada, "hoser" is an insult; "homo" is not.

When people my age think of Canadian cultural icons, we think:

When people my daughter's age think of Canadian cultural icons, they think:

What can I say?

_____

Update: Other bits of nostalgia leading to my generation's understanding of our neighbors to the north:

And...

Savoir Fare is EVVVVVV-rey where!
_____

One good thing Canada has given us here in Chicago? Poutine!

World Tour

Albania! (Çfarë një vend!)

Everything I know about Albania I learned from Dorothy Gilman's "The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax," and my knowledge ends before the end of the Cold War. (Go see the movie with Rosalind Russell here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.)

But what of the culture in modern Albania?