What is it like growing up bi-lingual?

Growing up bi-lingual is significantly different from someone who has grown up with one language. We live in two different kinds of worlds and often have to deal with things that mono-lingual people wouldn't have to deal with. I was born and raised in Scotland to my Persian parents and here is my experience. 

1. Helping your parents 
English isn't my parents' first language so being the only native speaker in the house I'm often bombarded with tasks such as proof-reading my parent's texts or emails. In addition to English not being their first language they live in Scotland of all places, where English is hardly even spoken properly, so I often find myself giving Scottish slang lessons when I get home from work or uni.

2. Getting asked a lot of stupid questions 

The two most common questions I would get asked as a child are "what language do you dream in?" and "what language do you think in?" to me, the answer is obvious - if I speak both languages fluently then why would I not dream and think in both languages just like in real life? I also had people who thought I was French because they would mix up "Persian" with "Parisian". Some people even look at me and say "Persian?, isn't that a cat breed?"

3. Twice as many presents
In the UK, we have Christmas, Easter, Halloween. But in Iran we have NOROOZ which is undoubtably my absolute favorite time of the year. Orginally a Zoroastian celebration, It is essentially our version of new year as the word norooz translates to "new day". This usually takes place on the first day of spring to symbolise a new life as this is the time of year animals are born and flowers are blooming. Gifts are normally exchanged and the whole family gathers round for a huge meal, followed by a picnic on the 13th day after Norooz.

4. Mixing the languages up 
If you live in a multilingual household, you know that it is VERY HARD to stick to one language and you will inevitably mix the two languages up. In my household we have Penglish, and in my friend's household there's Greeklish, Franglais, Denglisch and so on...

5. Your name is always pronounced wrong
Always.
I've been called Say-ah, Sara, Serah, sa-yeh, funnily enough, only foreign people get my name correct the first time which is "Sa-yah"


There's a lot more that I can add to the list but this is all we have time for Today.
This is my final blog post so if you enjoyed this have a look at my other blog posts on the right hand side of this page.

Saya

Living Abroad to Learn a Language

You're now further along in your language learning journey and you're considering living in the country to completely submerged yourself in the language and culture.
Maybe you're a student who is about to have a year abroad and scared of what might come.
Or maybe you now unexpectedly live in another country and need to learn the language fast.

Whatever your scenario, this blog is filled with tips for you.

During my first year of Univeristy, I decided to apply for a life-changing internship to work in a 5 star camping site in Lacanau-Océans, which is around 30 mins West of Bordeaux, where I spent 4 months. I was given the daily task of accompanying clients to their designated pitch or cottage and assisting in their queries and problems in their language. This was either in English, French and even German!
A year later I then spent 1 incredible month in Strasbourg doing a summer business course with students from all around the world, from Mexico and the US all the way to Cyprus and Hong Kong! Here is what I have learned...

All the girls in Strasbourg summer school

1. Don't expect results fast 
learning a language will not come overnight, even if you are completely submerged. For me, I noticed significant differences in my language skills after each month.


2. Don't stop studying 
Although you will inevitably pick the language up by ear, I recommend mixing studying vocabulary & grammar at home with then applying it into your everyday life in this new country rather than just relying on your ears to do all the work. This speeds up your learning process and it's an opportunity you don't have back home so you might as well make use of it now while you can!

Meeting new friends in Strasbourg!

3. Don't be picky with friends 
It's good to have friends who can speak English but make sure you befriend those who can't speak English as well so you are forced to speak their language. This means that if there's a word you don't know you are then forced to explain what you mean instead of just simply saying the English and thus further improve your language skills.

The people I worked with in Lacanau

4. Get to know the culture 
Listen to all the popular songs and music in the country you're living, and definitely learn what artists are cringey to avoid all embarrassment (a lesson I had to learn the hard way - do not admit you listen to Kendji Girac if you're in France, you will get slaughtered).

The people I met during my time in Strasbourg

5. Enjoy yourself 
You're in a new country so take this opportunity to visit all the best bars, museums, restaurants, clubs, everything to make the most out of your time. The last thing you want is to regret all the things you didn't do when you return back home.

Amazing beer in Petite France, Strasbourg 

I hope some of these tips come in handy for you!
My next blog is about what its like being bilingual.

Saya

How to Learn a Foreign Language

Most people think that learning a language is difficult, time-consuming and expensive. However, this is far from the truth. As someone who has been passionate about language learning since 15 years old, I have tried pretty much every app, book, website there is out there and I've even travelled abroad to learn a language! I have compiled a list of my favourite resources which are easy, excellent for even the busiest of people, and cheap or even free!

After viewing this list, you have no excuse not to learn that language you always wish you could speak.

1. Duolingo

Type in "duolingo" in the app/play store.
This is probably the most well known resource in this list but it's only ONE of the best.
FREE

Strengths: Excellent for daily 5 minute lessons for when you're short on time but need to update your knowledge.

Weaknesses: There is a limited choice of languages and it's not the best for when you're learning a language with a different alphabet.

2. Memrise

Type "memrise" in the app/play store
FREE

Strengths: Gives you puns, Gifs, memes, riddles etc to help you remember vocabulary and has every language you could think of. The cool thing about this app is that when you learn a new word, you 'water' a plant, and when you revise a word you are "growing" the plant. Once the plant has bloomed the word has entered your long term memory.

Weaknesses: Can be repetitive on certain words.

3. Coffee Break podcasts

Type "Coffe Break Language you want to learn" in Podcasts
FREE

Strengths: Amazing app for when you're super busy and the only spare time you have are those 20 minutes wasted on commuting. This podcast is by a Scotsman so dont be taken aback by the accent. Excellent for teaching the 'every day spoken' language along with useful Grammar and cultural points.

Weaknesses: Only available in French, German, Spanish and Italian, although more languages may be added in the future.

4. Languages For Dummies

Available in various book shops.
Around £10-15 depending on where you purchase.

Strengths: Has excellent Grammar points, cultural knowledge and even teaches you slang and idioms which most resources don't teach you! This book doesn't just teach you a language the class room way. It actually shows you how the language is really spoken by the native speakers so you don't sound like a fool.

Weaknesses: Can be a little time-consuming.


5. Learn Language Apps by Greg Vick

Type in language of choice in the app/store
FREE

Strengths: Has a huge list of vocabulary in every topic you could think of. Also excellent for when you're busy and commuting. You can test yourself through listening, spelling, pronunciation, or vocabulary

Weaknesses: Has many bugs but still one of my favourite language apps out of the many I've tried. Also has no grammar explanations.




I guarantee you, use one of these resources and you will be asking yourself why you didn't start learning a language earlier. They're so easy to incorporate into your busy life and you learn a lot from it for no money.
If you use any of the items I've mentioned in this list and it changes you're life, I'd love to hear about it!

My next blog post will be about my experience living in France and giving advice on living in the country of your target language.

Saya

xx

Funny idioms in different languages

In my last post I remained pretty local with the topic of Scottish slang. But there's a whole world out there with thousands of different ways people communicate. So, in this post I want to take you to a journey around the world where we will discover unique popular phrases together that make no sense to us but perfect sense to the people saying them.

1. The first train stop is France, where they say:

"Le petit Jésus en culotte de velours" 

which literally means

"It's the little baby jesus in velvet pants" 

This means that the wine is good. It's used for wine that is silky and delightful. (I can't believe I found a picture of baby Jesus wearing velvet trousers either).


2. Now we're going to take a mini boat ride from France to Greece, Mamammia style, where in Greece people say:

"Στο πούτσο μου λουλούδια και γύρω γύρω μέλισσες"

This literally means

"there are flowers and bees around my manhood"

When a Greek person says this to you, they are trying to tell you that they dont care. This is probably one of my favorite phrases.


3. Next we're going a little to the West side of Europe where in Spain people say:

"Estar en la edad del pavo"

Literally meaning

"To be in the age of turkey"

This phrase is used by Spaniards to explain that awkward stage of life we all know as being a teenager.

4. We're going to travel back to the south now where we find Italy in which the people say:

"Cavoli risaldati"

which says 

"Reheated cabbage"

This expression is used to represent a failed attempt of reviving a relationship. Much like how you cannot reheat a wilted cabbage. 

5. Finally, we're travelling all the way to the Middle East, where the Persians say:

"من کبد شما را می خورم"

which says 

"I would eat your liver"

Don't be alarmed if a Persian says to you they want to eat your liver. You should actually be flattered because this means I love you. The idea behind this phrase is that you love someone so much that you would do anything for them. 

Congratulations! You have completed this journey around the world with me and now we can go back home where we can put the kettle on.

If you found this post interesting, look out for my next post which will be about learning a language.

Saya

What does grafting mean? and 10 other Scottish slang explained

The English language is hard enough to learn as a second language, and the Scots have successfully managed to make this task even more difficult by adding in all sorts of phrases and Scottish slang that leave our foreign friends standing with a blank expression and having no clue what has just came out of the Scotsman's gob (mouth). The majority of Scottish people who use these slang don't even know where it all comes from. Lucky for you, I, being a person Scottish myself, have managed to compile a list of some of funny Scottish words and explaining the origins.

Some of them are actually quite fascinating!

1. Chunder

Example: "A cannae down more Sambuca, am gonae chunder".

Meaning: To vomit.

Explanation: In the old days, sailors who became seasick would pop their heads out the porthole and scream "watch down under" to warn the fellow sailors at the lower cabin of the vomit that is coming ahead. 

Overtime this has slowly evolved to today's word "Chunder". "Whitying" and "spewing" are other popular slang used in Scotland to define the action of vomiting.

2. MWI

Example: "Here, I'm game for getting mwi tonight".

Meaning: Abbreviation for "to get Mad Wae It", meaning to get drunk.

Explanation: Just to make it clear, you don't literally pronounce this "mwee" and you don't spell out the letters either. You simple just say the words "Mad wae it" when wanting to use this phrase. The true origin of this word is unknown. However, it is very popular especially amongst the younger Scottish generation. 

Since we are known to love our drinks and get drunk all the time, of course we would have many words to describe this concept: Steaming, wrecked, mortal and the list goes on...

3. Simmer Down

Example: "Simmer down Sheila, a only wanted the one tattie scone"

Meaning: To calm down.

Explanation: The idea behind this phrase is simmering down pasta from hot boiled water down to cold water, much like cooling down somebody's temper. "Take a chill pill" is also another popular phrase with the same definition. 

4. Grafting

Example: "He is pure on the graft, look at him firing through aw the burds"

Meaning: To flirt with someone. 

Explanation: The original word 'Graft' is actually a technique used by gardeners. This is when they try and join the stem of two separate plants together to join then and stimulate the growth of one plant. Much like someone trying to stimulate a potential relationship to become one with an individual of interest through the technique of flirting. 

This is a very popular phrase used in Scotland, but it is also widely used in Irish and English areas.

5. Patter

Example: "That guy's patter wis pure magic"

Meaning: Banter, humour, mannerism. 

Explanation: The original meaning of 'Patter' is the speech that a magician gives before he performs his tricks. It also means the speech that a comedian or other entertainer give in order to attract attention. This is similar to today's meaning of being witty and funny so that other people enjoy your presence. 

Coincidentally enough, this is also the slang word for "boobs" in Danish. 

Now you know what does grafting mean. Of course there are plenty more slang words used in Scotland with fascinating origins. I hope this blog has been useful to you in some way whether you wanted to travel Scotland and see what it’s like, or if you're a Scot wondering why our dialect is so unique. 

Check out my other about idioms in foreign languages!

Saya