ESEN Translation Services

Wazza Word for the week of May 7th

ESEN Translation — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:02:21 +0000

This week we’ll talk about Quichua. And, I’ve asked for help from those who are learning Quichua. So, this is from a friend in the northern part of Ecuador, Otavalo, who has contributed this week’s word:

RINRI

She says that she likes this word because when you say it, it sounds like a telephone. And, that helps you to remember its meaning: EAR. But, the challenge is to say it the way that the Indians say it, with a unique sound to both ‘R’s. It’s not a rolling “R”, rather one that sounds almost like a Spanish “sh” or a “ch”, but it’s not really like either one of them. You’ve got to listen carefully to get it!

And, the learning quote, from Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.:
“Man’s mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions”. Keep your mind stretched!

Words for April 18th

ESEN Translation — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:42:42 +0000

Taxes wait for no man, woman or words. That’s why I’m late this week with Wazza Words. Thankfully, I had until April 17th this year…

Okay, here’s a Spanish vocabulary question that I’ll let you decide on:

What’s the difference between these three words: JURÍDICO, JUDICIAL and LEGAL? What do you Spanish native speakers say? Please post your replies, so that the rest of us can learn from you.

And, the learning quote of the week comes from Ralph Waldo Emerson:
We learn geology the morning after the earthquake.

Ta-ta!

Wazza Words for March 26th

ESEN Translation — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 01:39:48 +0000

Here’s an all-English post, thanks to a previous Dictionary.com post:

What do the words CLOWDER, MURDER, MURMURATION and SLOTH have in common?

They’re collective nouns. What do I mean? Well, you can have a CLOWDER of cats, a MURDER of crows, a MURMURATION of starlings, and a SLOTH of bears. And, while doing a Google search on the word MURMURATION, I found this absolutely breathtaking, amazing video, courtesy of theatlantic.com: http://www.theatlantic.com/video/archive/2011/11/a-murmuration-of-starlings/247878/.
(This video is on other sites, too.)

And, the quote for this week has to do with our minds:

“All the world is a laboratory to the inquiring mind.” – Martin H. Fischer

Quichua Wazza Words…

ESEN Translation — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 02:35:06 +0000

For the next few Quichua word sessions, I’ll be using words submitted by Quichua language learners. The first set is from a friend in Ecuador who is a cancer survivor, and wanted to learn a new language in order to do more volunteer service. She says that she likes the words MASHI, TANTANAKUY, SHIMI AND SUMAK. What do they mean?

MASHI – FRIEND
TANTANAKUY – MEETING
SHIMI – MOUTH, LANGUAGE, WORD
SUMAK – BEAUTIFUL

And, instead of a learning quote, here’s a quote about my hometown, New York City, which made me chuckle:

“[New York] always kills me — dazzles, dizzies — astonishes, confounds, and overpowers poor little me.”

Recent comment by someone who makes occasional visits to the Big Apple? Nope; it’s from about 100 years ago, and it was written by an otherwise formidable figure of history: Harriet Beecher Stowe. The quote is taken from the book “The Great Bridge”, by David McCullough. I’m in New York for a few months, and getting all the books out from the public library that I can read!

New Wazza Words for the beginning of March…

ESEN Translation — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:42:41 +0000

Yes, yes, I’ve been remiss! But, I was getting ready to head back to the States from Ecuador, so lots of stuff to do.

Okay, here’s a Spanish word for you: SESGADO. It interested me because I came across it the same week that I had happened upon SEISED. SESGADO means “biased, slanting, bias, askew”. A seamstress used it when we were talking about her profession.

And, yep, I’m going to start with the learning quotes again. Here’s one from the director of the University Conference Bureau, Edward Scannell:
Retention is best when the learner is involved.

Got a new list!

ESEN Translation — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:16:21 +0000

I’m compiling a list of Wazza Words and phrases, so that I have posts ready for every week. If you have any ideas for topics, words or phrases, please feel free to drop a line!
This week, let’s talk about the difference between SEISED and SEIZED. I was translating a law document and came across the word SEISED. There are dictionaries that associate it with the word SEIZED. One of the more common phrases using this word is “the court first SEISED”, which means “the court that first started receiving the evidence”.
Next week, a Spanish word that reminds of “SEIZED”, but that has nothing to do with the act of SEIZING…

Wazza Words is back!

ESEN Translation — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:30:13 +0000

I’m going to do better with Wazza Words! But, I’ll try to vary the content more this time around. For this first Wazza Words entry of 2012, I’d like to submit the English word OBFUSCATE. I love this word; to me it sounds like what it means: “to make obscure”.

Do you use Google Translate?

ESEN Translation — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 02:28:21 +0000

Then, you’d better read this post: http://aqtext.com/blog/google-translate/#more-454

Now for Quichua…

ESEN Translation — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:27:39 +0000

One of the many reasons I enjoy the Quichua language is learning about its subtleties and ‘technical’ jargon. Since the Quichua culture has many agricultural roots, the jargon has to do with farming. For instance, the words “MISHA” and “MISHAYUG” are among my favorite words. “MISHA” refers to the sole blue kernel of an otherwise uniformly white or yellow ear of corn. Is there such a specific word in English or Spanish? And, yet the same word can also be translated as ‘WART”.
Context is everything!

What’s involved in learning a foreign language?

ESEN Translation — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:45:56 +0000

While reading the November issue of GLANJO, the monthly journal of the Global Language Association, I came across this quote on page 3:

“To learn a foreign language, one
must hear it and to know how to listen
to it, that is, to be capable of enumerating
it, appreciating it, analyzing it in all
its parameters, its modulations, its inflections.
One must be able to hear the
stresses, the fading, the slackening of
its sounds, the cadence of its phrases,
its frequential sequences. To enter such
a subtle linguistic universe, one must
also enter into the psychology of the
person who is invested in it, to resound
to the accent of her or his soul.”

Dr. Alfred Tomatis

The more you learn, the more interesting it gets…