Babel

Category: Sonki Recommends

Sonki Recommends

  • Londoners: a great way to understand London without necessarily visiting it

    I must say that London has become my third favourite city in the world (after Targu-Mures my hometown and Bucharest which both started in times immemorial). There is something about it that either makes you fall in love on the spot now matter how hard your life is, or you hate it and don’t know how to escape from it.

    I found a really interesting book, with a cover-long title that would make people know, understand and love London even more (or just understand it if you are one of the London-haters): LONDONERS – The Days and Nights of London Now – As Told by Those Who Love It, Hate It, Live It, Left It, and Long for It by Craig Taylor.

    The book is basically a series of interviewswith various Londoners, from the lady who gave her voice to the London Tube, to tourists, immigrants, people who became Londoners, who were Londoners all their lives and those who are no longer Londoners.

    (more…)

  • Jay Chou Rulz! Listen to Mama's Words. ^^


    曲: 周杰倫
    Qu: Zhou Jie Lun
    Music: Jay Chou

    詞: 周杰倫
    Ci: Zhou Jie Lun
    Lyrics: Jay Chou

    Translation: eminemjamesuk & Ling – www.jay-chou.net

    小朋友　你是否有很多問號　為什麼
    Xiao peng you, ni shi fou you hen duo wen hao, wei shen me
    Little children, do you have a lot of questions, why

    別人在那看漫畫　我卻在學畫畫　對著鋼琴說話
    Bie ren zai na kan man hua, wo que zai xue hua hua, dui zhe gang qin shuo hua
    When other kids are reading manga, I am learning to draw and learning to communicate with the piano

    別人在玩遊戲　我卻靠在牆壁背我的ABC
    Bie ren zai wan you xi, wo que kao zai qiang bi bei wo de ABC
    When other kids are playing games, I am leaning on the wall memorizing my ABCs

    我說我要一台大大的飛機　我卻得到一台舊舊錄音機
    Wo shuo wo yao yi tai da da de fei ji, wo jue de dao yi tai jiu jiu lu yin ji
    I said that I wanted a large airplane, but I got an old recorder

    為什麼　要聽媽媽的話　長大後你就會開始懂得這種話
    Wei shen me, yao ting ma ma de hua, zhang da hou ni jiu hui kai shi dong de zhe zhong hua
    Why should I listen to mother’s words? When you grow up you will understand what I am saying

    長大後我開始明白　為什麼我跑的比別人快　飛的比別人高
    Zhang da hou wo kai shi ming bai, wei shen me wo pao de bi bie ren kuai, fei de bi bie ren gao
    After I got older I started to realize why I run faster than others and fly further than other people

    將來大家看的都是我畫的漫畫　大家唱的都是　我寫的歌
    Jiang lai da jia kan de dou shi wo hua de man hua, da jia chang de dou shi wo xie de ge
    In the future, people will be reading my mangas and all the songs they sing will be written by me

    媽媽的辛苦　不讓你看見　溫暖的食譜在她心裡面
    Ma ma de xin ku bu rang ni kan jian, wen nuan de shi pu zai ta xin li mian
    Mother’s hard work isn’t seen by others. She knows the warm recipe by heart

    有空就多多握握她的手　把手牽著一起夢遊
    You kong jiu duo duo wo wo ta de shou, ba shou qian zhe yi qi meng you
    When you have time, hold her hand and sleep dream together

    聽媽媽的話　別讓她受傷　想快快長大　才能保護她
    Ting ma ma de hua, bie rang ta shou shang, xiang kuai kuai zhang da cai neng bao hu ta
    Listen to mother’s words, don’t let her get hurt. You want to grow up quickly so you can take care of her

    美麗的白髮　幸福中發芽　天使的魔法　溫暖中慈祥
    Mei li de bai fa, xing fu zhong fa ya tian shi de mo fa, wen nuan zhong ci xiang
    Beautiful white hair, growing inside happiness. Angel’s magic benevolence within (her) gentleness

    在你的未來　音樂是你的王牌　拿王牌談個戀愛
    Zai ni de wei lai, yin yue shi ni de wang pai na wang pai tan ge lian ai
    In your future, music is your key to success, use it to get into a relationship

    唉　我不想把你教壞　還是聽媽媽的話吧　晚點在戀愛吧
    Ai wo bu xiang ba ni jiao huai hai shi ting ma ma de hua ba, wan dian zai lian ai ba
    Sigh, I don’t want to teach you to be a bad kid. Why don’t you listen to what your mother says and get in a relationship later

    我知道你未來的路　當媽比我更清楚
    Wo zhi dao ni wei lai de lu, dang ma bi wo geng qing chu
    I know your future path, but your mother knows it even better

    你會開始學其他同學在書包寫東寫西
    Ni hui kai shi xue qi ta tong xue zai shu bao xie dong xie xi
    You will start imitating friends and write things on your backpack

    但我建議你最好寫　媽媽我會用功讀書
    Dan shi wo jian yi ni zui hao xie, ma ma wo hui yong gong du shu
    But I suggest you better write: Mom I will put in my best effort to learn

    用功讀書　怎麼會從我嘴巴說出
    Yong gong du shu, zhe me hui cong wo zui ba shuo chu
    I will study hard, how does that come from my mouth?

    不想你輸所以要教你　用功讀書
    Bu xiang ni shu suo yi yao jiao ni, yong gong du shu
    I need to teach you because I don’t want you to lose. Study hard

    媽媽織給你的毛衣　你要好好收著
    Ma ma zhi gei ni de mao yi, ni yao hao hao shou zhe
    The sweater mother gave you, you have to keep it safe

    因為母親節到時我要告訴她　我還留著
    Ying wei mu qin jie dao shi wo hui gao shu ta, wo hai liu zhe
    Because on Mother’s Day, I want to tell her, I still have it

    對了　我會遇到了周潤發
    Dui le, wo hui yu dao le zou ren fa
    Oh yea, I will meet Zhou Run Fa*
    *Zhou Run Fa is a famous actor (Yes…He is Chow Yun Fat)

    所以你可以跟同學炫耀　賭神未來是你爸爸
    suo yi ni ke yi geng tong xue xuan yao du shen wei lai shi ni ba ba
    So you can show off to your friends, “The God of Gambling will be your father”

    我找不到童年寫的情書　你寫完不要送人
    Wo zhao bu dao tong nian xie de qing shu, ni xie wan bu yao song ren
    I can’t find the childhood love letter. Don’t give it away after you write it

    因為過兩天你會在操場上撿到
    yin wei guo liang tian ni hui zai cao chang shang jian dao
    Because you will find it on the playground two days later

    你會開始喜歡上流行歌　因為張學友開始準備唱吻別
    Ni hui kai shi xi huan shang liu xing ge yin wei zhang xue you kai shi zhun bei chang wen bie
    You will start to like pop music because Jacky Cheung is about to sing Kiss Goodbye*
    *(Kiss Goodbye is a famous song that was a hit in the 90s)

    聽媽媽的話　別讓她受傷　想快快長大　才能保護她
    Ting ma ma de hua, bie rang ta shou shang, xiang kuai kuai zhang da cai neng bao hu ta
    Listen to mother’s words, don’t let her get hurt. You want to grow up quickly so you can take care of her and protect her

  • Bira-bira Kanzashi

    Bira-bira kanzashi is a type of traditional Japanese hair ornament worn nowadays mostly by maiko (apprentice geisha), oiran and tayuu impersonators and other women embracing the traditional ways and have hair long enough to pin the bira-bira, or just a smaller one for short hair. Bira-bira can be stylish (and dangling) addition to your outfit, perhaps even the little thing that separates you from the crowd. Plus, they’re really cute!

    this is a classic bira-bira worn most likely by a maiko (from here)


    some cool bira-bira ideas

    this is a maiko wearing a bira-bira among other ornaments – can you spot it? (from here)


    an idea how to modernize bira-bira (from here)


    a very interesting home-made (and modern) bira-bira (from here)

    a modern way of seeing bira-bira in Japan (from here)


    Hope y’all like this little addition that can make the difference and make a dull hairstyle not only trendy but, as they say in some commercial – I don’t remember which, and I don’t really need/want to – with the (dangling) wow effect. I’m waiting for ideas and suggestions related to bira-bira and maybe pictures with your own ideas. 😀

  • Help Rebuild the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo

    Sarajevo Bosnian National Library
    Image by Zarathustra_83 via Flickr

    Bosnia’s National Library was destroyed, thus amputating a crucial component of Sarajevo‘s (and not only!) cultural life. Books for Vijecnica is a site dedicated to the rebuilding of the library by collecting books (as donations) from all over the world. I think donating even a book or two to mend this real tragedy could be a more than noble gesture, especially now, around the Winter Holidays.

    This is the letter found on the project‘s webpage homepage:

    Welcome to the official site of the BOOKS4VIJECNICA action project, initiated by Humanity in Action Senior Fellow Network in Bosnia and Herzegovina . The purpose of this project is raising awareness about the National Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina – VIJECNICA. Our initiative is to re-establish the destroyed book collection of Vijecnica. During the four-year long Serb siege of Sarajevo , from 1992 till 1995, Vijecnica was repeatedly shelled by the Yugoslav and afterward by the Serbian army. On the fatal date, the 26th of August 1992, the library building was in flame. Around 80 percent of the book collection, around 2 (two) million publications and more than 6000 valuable rare items and documents as well as the interior of the Library were completely destroyed in the fire. From April to August 1992, in an unforeseen set of events, the Library staff evacuated parts of Library collection to various locations in the city – atomic shelters, basement rooms, university buildings or other cultural centers. Inadequate and “temporary” premises, barely sufficient to accommodate retrieved publications, performed all the tasks of the national library. Not much has changed since then. There have been initiatives in repairing the Library building, though not many have been taken in restoring the book collection. Therefore, we, a group of young enthusiasts from SFN BIH, started this action. We believe it is important to restore the destroyed book collection and make Vijecnica the centre of scientific work and teaching in the institutions of higher education in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

    PLEASE READ OUR LETTER, and help us in reinstating the book collection of VIJECNICA! I warmly welcome all your questions, ideas or opinions you would like to share with us.

    THANK YOU !!!

    Sincerely,

    Jasmin Hasic

    and HIA SFN BIH

    jasmin.hasic@books4vijecnica.com

    If you think you can help, send the books to the following address:

    University of Sarajevo – Campus
    Nacionalna Univerzitetska Biblioteka
    Zmaja od Bosne bb., 71000 Sarajevo
    reference to Mr. Muris Rahmanovic, librarian
    Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Other contact information:

    Official project e-mail: bosnia@humanityinaction.org

    Project coordinators:
    Miss Elma Mahmutović  elma.mahmutovic@books4vijecnica.com
    Miss Dajana Džindo  dajana.dzindo@books4vijecnica.com

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  • Learning New Languages And Improving Skills You Already Have

    Map showing the distribution of language famil...
    Image via Wikipedia

    Ever since human beings have joined in social groups, eventually forming societies and cultures, information exchange has been a key element in every-day life and not only. The archetypal need of communication and the wide variety of languages and dialects may not always go hand in hand peacefully, but, especially in a global world as the one we live in now, the messages emission and decoding has even a greater impact.

    There are major languages, minor languages, languages close to extinction and dead languages. Of course, somebody coming from an Anglo-Saxon or Latin (here I include any Romance language) background will find it easier to communicate in his/her native tongue, than a person from Hawaii or Iceland. In any case, even if more and more people speak such “official” languages as English, French, German or even Chinese, that does not mean all other languages (including mine!) are doomed.

    I’ve learned from my past experiences that if you want to understand people from different cultures or regions than your own, you must understand their idiom– be it a version of a known language (pidgin, creole, regional dialects, jargon, etc.) or an unique language in itself, even if there is only a handful of people actually using it in daily life.

    Therefore, language acquisition is important for those who truly want to understand how the world works and efficiently communicate with people who may or may not have access or knowledge of your speech and ways.

    Below I listed five of many possibilities for you to acquire and/or improve your foreign language skills. Of course, they are no rules, one could work, they all could work. Please take whatever suits your personality, but at least try them all and share the results – if applicable.

    1. Learn the basics. Of course, a very important step in learning a new language is understanding the basic grammar and vocabulary. It’s not very hard, and you can build the rest from there.

    2. Learn about the culture. Read about the country (or countries) that particular language is used in, read something about their history. You can watch documentaries, movies, read books, online texts, anything that is not biased (we all know that the current political situation in many areas of the planet is not exactly peachy, so it’s best to learn from neutral, objective sources) or written with obvious marketing intentions. You can watch movies, TV shows, listen to the music of the culture, etc.

    3. Watch movies without subtitles. Obviously, this could be really hard if you’re new to the language, but as soon as you’ve hit the intermediate level, leave the subtitles for the ones who don’t understand it at all! You’ll see in a few years that your understanding and language skills are much improved due to this effort to adapt to more difficult situations. This is very helpful especially if you intend to travel in that respective part of the world.

    4. Listen to music. Get as much local (traditional or not) music and listen to it, maybe you’ll even find a new musical interest! Even though you’re not actively learning, you’ll subconsciously digest the information and you’ll pick up the melody of that particular language. You can learn accents, better your prononciation without even noticing it!

    5. Interact with natives. If you cannot actually meet natives or speakers of that particular language you’re learning, then you can use the internet. There are various pen-pal sites that have special sections dedicated to language learning (like Interpals), you can write letters, e-mails, chat, etc. It all helps.

    Remember, the best way to learn a language is to understand why it is the way it is, who are the people using it, how they use it and make connections with things that you already know.

    Good luck!!!

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