With this post I’m carrying on from my post Sign Language and how to learn it, where I wrote about British Sign Language and other sign languages, and showed photos of some random signs. This time I’m showing a joke in BSL. It’s the sort of joke that makes everyone groan, but it shows something…
Language
English on the ‘phone
We Brits are well known for being indirect – “I’m sorry…” “I’m afraid…” “On this occasion you have not been successful” “It seems that….” “It looks like…” and so on. We try to “soften the blow” even more on the ‘phone because the other person has only our voice to go on. We say “I’m…
Sign Language and how to learn it
On my travels on trains and on station platforms I sometimes see deaf people signing to each other. I’ve been a teacher of deaf children and used to sign all day every day, so although I’m a bit rusty I try to understand what the people are saying to each other. I find it fascinating…
How to sneeze in French or German
Do you know how to sneeze in anything other than your native language? I don’t mean the equivalent of “bless you”, I mean the actual noise you make when you sneeze. It’s different in every language. There are other sounds we make, too, which mean something although we don’t consider them to be actual words. …
Working like an ant – idioms
I keep hearing about “mindfulness” and how it helps you relax. One idea is that as you’re walking along you notice things you can see, hear, smell, feel and taste. This draws your attention to the present and stops you from worrying too much about the past or the future. It’s worthwhile but it takes…
French idioms for Brexit (2): we’ve got the cockroach
Well, it’s 4 days since the EU referendum now and after that shocking result we have certainly got the cockroach (“on a le cafard”) at our house. In fact, it feels like we’ve got a whole plague of them. This cartoon is from the book “101 French Idioms” I wrote about in my last post,…
French idioms for Brexit (1): we’re pedalling in the semolina
I wish this EU Referendum wasn’t happening. Here’s what I think we’re doing: ….and don’t let’s put our fingers into our eyes: ….we’ll have to pay for the broken pots, in all sorts of ways, if we leave the EU. The above cartoons come from the book “101 French Idioms” by Jean-Marie Cassagne, which gives…
I’ll tell you what I want….
I’ve just been looking at some old journals and reading about how my daughter was able to let me know what she wanted right from being a small baby. A friend with older kids had advised me: “Write down what she says. You think you will remember but you don’t.” But it isn’t just about…
Dartmoor in Spring: English bluebells and German conversations
We’ve just spent the May half-term week on Dartmoor, enjoying the sunshine while it poured with rain back home in London. I think the month of May is the best time of year to go to Devon, because of the hedgerows full of wild flowers and the carpets of English bluebells. Funny that as a…
