Languages and books  
  

Babels torn
"Congratulations" in French?

What is the German "Die Lichtmaschine" in English? Oh, generator!

Count to 10 in Icelandic (einn tveir þrír fjórir fimm sex sjö átta níu tíu)!

Books on travels?

Please, help yourself to interesting sites from a small part of our virtual library!

Please click on the pictures >>>
Wordlists New & second hand books
The mother tongue Must-read-book
Books on travels - Spain Books on travels - France Books on travels - U. K. About Mystery books

Word books on-line
Language Dictionaries - m-a-n-y links and many languages
Free translation - made by a computer!
Numbers in Over 4000 Languages - 7 in Japanese?
Congratulations! in many languages - Beware of the pop ups! Or scroll down this page >>>>>
AltaVista's Babel Fish Translation Service - well, the grammar ...!

American·British - British·American Dictionary

 

Books on-line

Second hand books
Antiquarian Books (Scandinavia) - and a search on Google gives you many sites to browse, also at Amazon-sites

Tips! For a constant reader - the Bookworm -- a book blanket is perfect! Order it On-line. It is a perfect present to yourself or to a friend, together with a good book! :-) A warm, soft blanket with sleeves - indeed, very clever!

Real bookshops are a nice thing
all over the world. Second hand bookshops too, and THE town of such shops is Hay-on-Wye in the U. K. Do not miss it if you are in Wales or Hereford! Perhaps you'll find a long lost book from your childhood! There are more book-towns like that since we first wrote this homesite, in Scotland, Sweden ...
Going on vacation? See if there is a book-town there > International Book Towns Movement

Children and books
Most children love books, and if they get used to read and if somebody reads for them at an early age, they will keep the feeling for reading and for books their whole life. Most books for children are worn out by all that reading and handling, they are often hard to find in second hand book shops.

It is a good thing that the best books have new editions again, and again, and again! And translated to many languages for the joy of many children!

" When I am king, they shall not have bread and shelter only, but also teachings out of books, for a full belly is little worth where the mind is starved"
- The Prince and the Pauper
Mark Twain
Sara och Karin läser om Totte

The mother tongue

Mark Twain about LANGUAGE

"But language is a treacherous thing, a most unsure vehicle, and it can seldom arrange descriptive words in such a way that they will not inflate the facts--by help of the reader's imagination, which is always ready to take a hand and work for nothing, and do the bulk of it at that."
- Following the Equator



Links
to handling Swedish, the Nordic languages and English ("plain language" and the use of English in different parts of the world )

"We (the British and Americans) are two countries separated by a common language."
G. B. Shaw

Quotes from United Kingdom English for the American >>>

CHEERS phrase. 1. Good bye. 2. A typical English drinking toast. 3. Thanks.

You may also hear CHEERIO used as "Good bye". WHAT CHEER (pronounced whatcha) is sometimes used as a greeting. This originates in the phrase "WHAT CHEER are you in?" New Zealanders say HOORAY instead of CHEERS.

JUGGERNAUT n. 1. A very large LORRY, probably from the CONTINENT. The difference between a LORRY and a JUGGERNAUT will be immediately apparent if you should meet each of them on a narrow road. Note: JUGGERNAUT is an INDIAN (i.e. from India) god.

JUMBLE SALE n. 1. Garage sale. This is typically not held in a garage since the garage would be too small. Oddly enough, one finds these are often held in church halls.

JUMPER n. 1. Sweater.

KEEP YOUR HAIR ON phrase. 1. Phrase used to calm someone down, similar to "Keep your shirt on".

KEEP YOUR PECKER UP phrase. 1. Keep smiling, be happy (Honest folks, its true!).

etc, etc.

Have a nice time at "Effingpot" as well -> The Very Best of British - The American's guide to speaking British...

English as the Mother Tongue - links galore!

Hobbits?www.engrish.com

 

The love for books

Those who love books, old or new ones, bought, inherited or gotten - they will find the charming little book "Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader " by Anne Fadiman very enjoyable.

Books before and on travels

To SPAIN
"Once upon a time in Spain there lived a little bull named Ferdinando ..."

Munro Leaf , author and illustrator of dozens of children's books, is best remembered for his signature character, Ferdinand, the Spanish bull who preferred smelling flowers to fighting in a ring in Spain.

One Sunday afternoon in 1935, Leaf decided to write a children's story so that his close friend Robert Lawson (a relatively unknown illustrator) could show his talents. In less than one hour, Leaf composed the beloved 800-word story as it stands today, nearly 70 years later.

Disney made a popular film with this little bull as the hero, and followed the illustration made by Robert Lawson rather closely. But the book is still to find in second hand book shops and well worth looking for!

In crisscrossing the Spanish landscape, preferably in the south of the country, suddenly a big black bull pops up behind a small hill, but he is not charging and his name is Osborne. A clever logotype for Sherry from Andalucía. If you come across a flock of black bulls with a shepherd and dogs it is time to use your camera!
Bulls WITHOUT a shepherd must be avoided!!!

To change the Scottish winters for those on Mallorca may be a dream for many people. Peter Kerr and his family moved to an old farm in the mountains and has written two books about it. Very funny and entertaining! "Snowball Oranges" and "Mañana Mañana", etc
We recommend you to buy the paperback edition if you have a glass of Sangria in your other hand, because you will laugh loudly and you may spill the beverage over the pages in the book!

The musician and sheep shearer Chris Stewart moved to Andalucía and Las Alpujarras, south of Granada. "Driving Over Lemons" and "A Parrot in the Pepper Tree" are good as vacation books too. Happy reading!
 

M på solsemester, La Palma 2001   Margareta reads Snowball Oranges on La Palma

Mañana mañana, Peter Kerr

To FRANCE:
Old and new writers have described the French country and its people in many books, in many languages, and if you want to read about the French way of living, the nearest book shop or library will gladly help you!

Georges Simenon's books about Maigret are in a way still useful on a trip to Paris. If you have read them together with a map over Paris, the city will feel familiar to you once you are there. A nice feeling!

Peter Mayle's books about Provence are coming in new editions almost every year. Reading paperbacks on the journey is very nice when waiting for you flight in an airport lounge, and Peter Mayle's books are a good company in the hand luggage. Some food specialties from the south of France are mentioned too! Could be nice to know about them in the Bistros!

The classics Alfonse Daudet's "Letters from my Mill " and "Tartarin from Tarascon"...

Marcel Pagnol's books, as films as well, we do recommend>>>>>

Ur Pagnols film Nyckeln till Provence del 1
Exercise your French by reading ASTERIX® - this link has other languages too!
 

To Great Britain

"B&B - All over England and the rest of the UK you will see signs outside people's houses with B&B on them. These are bed & breakfasts and are the cheapest kind of accommodation available here. Quite the opposite of American B&Bs as I found out in California. I was amazed to find that the house had been done out like a Laura Ashley shop and cost the earth to stay at. In the UK B&B basically consists of a room in someone's house and a good cooked breakfast. Don't forget the black pudding!"
From The Very Best of British - The American's guide to speaking British... A very useful knowledge indeed!

Bill Bryson's "Notes from a Small Island" is about the U. K., and his book "Down Under" about travels in Australia.

Compton Mackenzie's "Whisky Galore" for Scotland. Past times but still entertaining!

Friends of Mystery Stories
who don't mind a whiff of food in the reading:

George Simenon's books about Maigret , of course! La douce France - in times past! Madame Maigret's Recipe Book will help you to cook Lamb with Lentils.

Commissario Montalbano, on Sicily, by Andrea Camilleri. Montalbano is a policeman who thinks with his heart sometimes and likes good food, too, especially if the mother of the unhappy little crook happens to cook the very best rice croquettes in Italy. Both Montalbano and the crook attend the New Year Party!

Commissario Brunetti by Donna Leon lives in Venice, so if your journey goes to that part of Italy - put some of her books in your luggage! Paperbacks are not heavy and can be left behind. And in the taverns you can try specialties like Pasta con le vongole and other dishes from the Brunetti books.

Chief Inspector Morse, by Colin Dexter, is a nice guide in a way for Oxford and Thames Valley. ("A pint of the Pub's Best Bitter, please!") Do you remember the TV-series with John Thaw and Kevin Whately? Videos for a rainy day and nothing else to do and a cold in the head!

Maigret på semester

Margareta, a reader of many Mystery books and a former catering cookie baker, found the "Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder" on the Internet by Joanne Fluke with the sleuth Hannah Swensen. Hannah Swensen lives in a small town in Minnesota, U.S.A. and is the owner of a Coffee-Shop. Her roots are Scandinavian, she likes black strong coffee (Swedish plasma) and quite often stumbles over "bodies" hit by blunt instruments. The books always have some yummy recipes (naturally!) not hard to follow! A tin box or jar of Molasses Crackles or Twin Chocolate Delights are the best gift to a friend with a sweet tooth!

The first book about Hannah Swensen was "Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder" but there are three more in our shelf now, and a new one to be released in March 2004. The link is to the writer's own home page, with information about the books and the writer. The plots are like the cookies - tasteful! Not so much blood and odd behaviours!
 

Another favourite is Tony Hillerman and his Navajo police force. The stories take place in the Four-corners area in USA and you can follow the policemen's lives at work and at home through many books. Besides, you learn a lot about customs and traditions among the different tribes. Ethnography in an easy way!

Famous Sleuths and Their Creators - useful link if you argue about who's who

A Guide to Classic Mystery and Detection

Classic Whodunit

Book Promotion - Murder They Write: 100 Masters of Crime

The Mysterious Home Page

Mysteries Set in Italy - plots all over the country!

JURY- a Swedish Crime and Mystery Magazine ("I read JURY, anything else would be criminality")>>>

JURYs logotyp

    "Happy Birthday" (Hipy papy bthuthdy... Winnie- the-Pooh)

AfrikaansGelukkige verjaarsdag!
AlbanianGëzuar ditëlindjen!
AmharicMelkame yetewlede kene! Melekam ledet!
ArabicEeid milad sa'aeed
ArmenianShenorhavor Dzenentyan Or!
Asturian¡Bon nataliegu!
AzerbaijaniAd Gününüz mübaræk!
BasqueZorionak!
BengaliShuvo Zanmo din!
BosnianSretan Rodjendan!
BretonDeiz ha Bloaz Laouen!
BulgarianChestit Rojden Den! (= ChRD!)
Cantonesesaang yat faai lok!
CatalanFeliç aniversari!
CornishPennbloedh Lowen!
CreoleKontan ou pa-w jou nesans!
CroatianSretan rodyendan!
CzechS^t^astné narozeniny!
DagaareNé fo dO!góó dááré yááné !
DanishTillykke med fødselsdagen!
DutchGefeliciteerd!
EnglishHappy Birthday!
EsperantoFeli^can datrevenon! Feli^can naski^gtago!
EstonianPalju õnne sünnipäevaks!
EurishDio natana beatea !
FarsiTa'va'lo'dat Mo'ba'rak
FinnishHyvää syntymäpäivää!
FrenchJoyeux anniversaire!
FrisianFan herten lokwinske mei dyn jierdei!
GalicianFeliz Aniversário!
Georgiangilotsavt dabadebis dghes!
GermanAlles Gute zum Geburtstag!
GreekHro'nia Polla'
GujaratihApi barthde! janmadin ni vadhaaee!
HawaiianHau`oli lá hánau!
HebrewYom huledet same'ach!
Hindijanmadina mubaarak ho
HolooeSen-jít khoài-lók
HungarianBoldog születésnapot!
IcelandicTil hamingju með afmælið!
IdoBona/felica nasko-dio!
IndonesianSelamat ulang tahun!
InterlinguaFelice anniversario!
Irishbreith lá sona duit
ItalianBuon compleanno!
JapaneseTanjoubi omedetou!
KoreanSeng-il-ul Chuk-ha-ham-ni-da
LatinBeatum Diem Natalem (tibi precor/exopto)
LatvianDaudz laimes dzimsvanas diena-!
LithuanianSveikinu gimtadienio proga!
Luganda[Happy Birthday!]
Malaysianselamat harijadi
Mandarinsheng- rì kuài lè!
MarshalleseJeramon ilo rainin am!
NorwegianGratulerer med dagen!
Occitanbon aniversari!
PolishWszystkiego najlepszego z okazji urodzin!
EuroportugueseFeliz Aniversário! Parabéns!
PortugueseFeliz Aniversário!
Quecha??
RomanianLa mult'i ani!
RussianS dnem rozhdeniya!
SerbianSrecyan rodyendan!
SesothoKe ho lakaletsa letsatsi le monate la tswalo!
SlovakVs^etko najleps^ie (k narodeninám)!
SlovenianVse najboljsxe za rojstni dan!
SpanishFeliz cumpleaños!
SwahiliHongera!
SwedishGrattis på födelsedagen!

Tagalog

Tamil

Maligayang kaarawan!

PiRANda-nAAL VAAzhtugal
Thaisook-san-wan-kert!
TswanaOgole!
TurkishDo-gum günün kutlu olsun!
Ukrainianz dnem urodyn! z dnem narodzhenya!
VietnameseChúc mù*ng sinh nhâ.t !
WelshPenblwydd Hapus i chwi!
Wolof[Happy] besi judu
XhosaImini yokuzalwa emnandi!
Yiddishmazl-tov
Zulusikufisela inhlanhla elangeni lakho lokuzalwa