Thursday 31 December 2009

2009...


... is over!
Its wishes, hopes (fulfilled or not), feelings are past, and so ready for the new year to come.
Ready with our memories of what this year was (everything, nice or not because what we don't like could help us anyway!), with good intentions for the new year, with everything we've learnt so far!






HAPPY 2010!

Monday 14 December 2009

About love

image taken from here
original text taken from here:


Eine Kleinigkeit
(für Catherine)

Ich weiß nicht was Liebe ist
aber vielleicht ist es etwas wie das:

Wenn sie
nach Hause kommt aus dem Ausland
und stolz zu mir sagt: »Ich habe
eine Wasserratte gesehen«
und ich erinnere mich an diese Worte
wenn ich aufwache in der Nacht
und am nächsten Tag bei der Arbeit
und ich sehne mich danach
sie dieselben Worte
noch einmal sagen zu hören
und auch danach
dass sie nochmals genau so aussehen soll
wie sie aussah
als sie sie sagte -

Ich denke, das ist vielleicht Liebe
oder doch etwas hinreichend Ähnliches





A littleness

I don't know what love is
but perhaps
it is something like this:

when she
comes back from abroad
and proudly says to me: "I've
seen a water rat"
and I remember these words
when I wake up at night
and the day after at work
and I miss that
these very words
once more I hear her saying
and again and again
exactly seeming
as they seemed
when she said them

I think that perhaps it is love,
or at least something very similar to it.


translation is mine, any advice is welcome.

Saturday 5 December 2009

Dictionaries and co.

Foto from Flickr
If you study languages, or are interested in language learning one of your best friend is called dictionary. I often use online dictionaries, because it's quicker than turning pages. You just type in a word and wait.
Doing my german homework I've found a couple new sources that deserve mention in this blog. The first is the online version of SANSONI provided by the italian newspapaer "Corriere della Sera", which is a really good dictionary and of great help. But one of the greatest problem when you study German is the possibility of creating new words that could generate confusion in the reader, and here the second source could be of great help. Bab.la is something more than a dictionary, because provides you the meaning of the words, but also an example of use. But the thing that deserves mention is this: whenever you cannot find there the word you need you can look for it in another source (so far, quite obvious)and then put it there. It will be checked, but in the meantime it is available with the red writing "non verif." (not checked).
That's great for a basic reason, language is something alive, then changes and enlarges itself, so obviously a living dictionary is a great advantage.
Of course there is the negative aspect that we always find talking about online sources: reliability. But as always the solution is to take it as a starting point and not as a universal truth. To have an initial meaning (the most unprecise it could be) it is better than wondering without knowing.