Features and courses
Lars works as a Russian course editor for Babbel. Having lived half of his life in Russia and half of his life in Germany, he understands and appreciates the endearing idiosyncracies of both cultures. Here, he gives us an insight into one of the many traditional celebrations in Russia.
My name is Fideniz Ercan. I’m the Turkish language project manager at Babbel. As my name suggests, my parents are from Turkey. And you’re about to learn what Turkish names give away besides just origin.
Turkish names are found in all aspects of life. These are often everyday words such as love (Sevgi), wish (Dilek), luck (Uğur), hope (Ümit) and free (Özgür). This is an especially big plus for those learning Turkish. Because when they discover the meaning of a name, they can immediately add another word to their vocabulary.
…then you’re probably all caught up in Polish idioms right now. It’s not so bad – idioms are fun and they “get to the heart” of the matter.
Of course we aren’t doing away with vocabulary and grammar entirely, but in Babbel’s first beginner’s course for Indonesian, you’ll also learn about the country and its people, and maybe even catch the bug to go there yourself!
Babbel is releasing two courses with a focus on winter traditions: Swedish winter holidays and celebrations and Holidays and celebrations in Russia, where you can discover the Swedish relationship to mys, who ‘Lucia‘ is, how Russians celebrate the new year, and much more. But why do so many of these celebrations and feasts take place in the winter?
Matthew Youlden, editor in our Didactics department (pictured here with senior project manager Maren Pauli) and one of our favourite polyglots, has created a new Babbel course about British and Irish food. He tells us why food from his country has such a bad reputation, what to do with old bread, and why he has to choose whiskey from Ireland over Scotland. (more…)
The challenge in bringing Babbel’s new Russian course to life was to find a way for users to type Cyrillic letters using a standard Latin keyboard. Content Project Manager Barbara Baisi from the Didactics department gives us the lowdown.
Can you please tell us a little about yourself?
I come from Italy and I’ve been working at Babbel since the very beginning in 2008. At that time it was a little smaller [laughs]. Now I coordinate Italian and Russian. I’ve been working on Russian since January. It was a big deal for all the departments in the company.
Babbel’s new course, American Slang, teaches you the most useful American expressions and phrases. It got us wondering: why is something that’s easy ‘a piece of cake’?
Here are some of the (possible) origins of some classic American expressions. Take them with a grain of salt!
broke – to have no money, or to be bankrupt
Many banks in post-Renaissance Europe gave their customers small porcelain tiles, with the person’s name, credit limit, and the bank written on them. Think credit cards, only heavier. The customer brought the tile with him when he wanted to borrow money, and if he was past the limit, the teller ‘broke’ it.
This month Babbel focuses on grammar, with a range of healthy new courses. There are also new pronunciation courses, in-depth Italian, and false friends.
Poor old broccoli, pariah of the vegetable world. Despite the fact that it’s extremely good for you and US President Obama has declared that it’s his favourite food, broccoli is still reviled by children all around the world – and a fair few adults.
A bit like grammar. Years of being forced to conjugate verbs or grapple with textbooks the size of telephone books have left many of us bruised, battered, and wondering if it’s all worth it.
But grammar doesn’t have to be intimidating. The trick is to prepare it properly.
‘Turkish delight’ by Dewet / CC 2.0
Babbel’s Turkish Delights course, full of useful phrases and everyday expressions, is out now.
You are in a shop in Istanbul. You thank the shopkeeper for giving you such a great discount on that rug you really can’t afford, and say goodbye.
“Laughing, laughing,” he replies.
Turkish is filled with these kind of small idiosyncrasies. If people want to thank you for your physical labour, they say ‘health to your hands’. The correct response to someone who sneezes is ‘live long,’ and the reply roughly translates as ‘you see it too’ (i.e. I hope that you live long enough to see my long life).
Babbel’s new course, Typical phrases and useful expressions, is available for both German and English users.
It’s perfect for those who already know a little Turkish, and want to learn the little phrases and expressions that are so helpful in everyday life – whether you’re in Istanbul or Berlin.
