My new store on Ecrater

Hello Hello... Bonjour...Salut

Here is my new store on Ecrater. All of these products are handmade by me...yours truly.

Carte des langues de France

For a better illustration of French Languages, click on this link

http://www.lexilogos.com/france_carte_dialectes.htm

http://e-gli.com/vivaro-alpine/

Getting bored with a language.

Moses posted a great video today about getting bored with a language. I think we have all been there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KicquyUrsM&feature=feedu

Language Maps of South Africa Namibia and Botswana

Language Maps of South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. Afrikaans and Zulu appear to be two of the most common spoken languages in South Africa. Botswana is English.

SOUTH AFRICAN LANGUAGES 2001LanguageNumber of speakers*% of total

Afrikaans  5 983 42013.    35%

English   3 673 2068          .2%

IsiNdebele  711 8251.        59%

IsiXhosa   7 907 14917     .64%

IsiZulu    10 677 31523.       82%

Sesotho sa Leboa   4 208 9749.          39%

Sesotho   3 555 192              7.93%

Setswana    3 677 010        8.2%

SiSwati    1 194 433             2.66%

Tshivenda   1 021 761           2.28%

Xitsonga   1 992 201          4.44%

Other       217 2910           .48%

TOTAL44 819 777100%

Live Mocha and Baby Updates

Hello everyone,

I dropped into my Live Mocha account today. For those of you who did not know this, Live Mocha is a Seattle based language learning social network. I was addicted to it when I was pregnant with my son. Since his birth, my internet activity has changed drastically. Six weeks ago, son number two was born. His birth posed a threat to my life. Let me put it this way, in most c-section births there is only one surgeon performing the operation. I needed THREE surgeons! So in this post I will write about two things, the birth of my third child and Live Mocha.

There was so much scar tissue that my entire abdominal cavity was not visible. The doctor could not tell where exactly my bladder was, or my ovaries, or anything. At the last minute the doctor told me she wanted to do a vertical incision because she was afraid that they would slice open my bladder.

We went into the OR, they did the vertical incision and sure enough, if they did a bikini line incision they would have cut straight through my bladder. It was my lucky day to have a good doctor who made a smart call. They also had to do the vertical incision in the event they accidentally sliced open an artery and I bled out on the table.

Before the operation I had to sign consent forms for both a blood transfusion and hysterectomy. I was pretty scared. While on the operating table, one surgeon directed the operation while another one cut me open and another one held the cavity open. From above they were able to locate my uterus, cut my uterus from above and pull my son out by his feet.

I had both an epidural and a spinal. In the event of an emergency they were going ask my husband to say good-bye and escort my husband out of the OR. From that point they were going to put me under general anesthesia and perform additional operations. They scheduled the surgery at the same time a gyno-oncologist would be on call. This person would come into the room only in case they got into real trouble.

I have three children all of them born by C-section. This birth was by far the most painful, terrifying and difficult. I made my Will before a public notary in Mexico, and seriously considered the possibility that I was going to orphan my children.

The incision was awful, and painful. I was on a lot of narcotics. The anastesiologist also used me as a case study in a new type of treatment where he injected a special medication directly into a muscle around the uterine wall. I had to sign some consent forms for him to use and,or publish my case.

I was in the hospital for longer than normal, but the care that I received was absolutely magnificent. Most importantly, I have a beautiful baby boy. Needless to say, he will be my last child. It is far to dangerous and irresponsible for me to have another child.

In the meantime I have been recovering, caring for my children, and working on a new business I am starting.

I logged into live mocha today and saw that they made a few new changes to the website. It looks a little sleeker, but it also looks like they are really trying to make money at every turn.  I would like to spend more time learning Swedish, but my role as wife and mother come first right now. I must admit I really love the role of wife and mother. My family life is fantastic. Things could not be more perfect. So even though I cannot have any more children, I am immensely happy with the three children that I do have. My daughter is wonderful, she was fluent in French and English at the age of three. Now she is learning Spanish. I am very proud of her. My two little boys are a bundle of joy.

Take Care Everyone!

Fabri Fibra - rapper italiano

I wanted to post the actual music video of an Italian artist that I really like, but with the kids I do not have time to download it and upload it to the blog. Instead, you guys are getting a link. I used to listen to his music when I was taking intensive Italian language four days a week in New York City.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPVyVnjB94U&feature=relmfu

Wiki Entry:

Fabrizio Tarducci, noto come Fabri Fibra (Senigallia, 17 ottobre 1976), è un rapper italiano, fratello maggiore del rapper e cantautoreNesli.

Ha debuttato nell'ambiente del rap underground a metà degli anni novanta, con il nome Fabri Fil, facendo parte per diversi anni di differenti gruppi musicali hip hop come gli Uomini di mare, i Qustodi del tempo, le Teste Mobili e le Piante Grasse.

Dopo un primo debutto come solista (diventato Fabri Fibra) nel 2002 con l'album Turbe giovanili, ha ottenuto un buon successo nel 2004con Mr. Simpatia, album che ha creato lo "scandalo" nella scena di allora e che l'ha portato, nel 2006, a firmare un contratto con laUniversal, etichetta di spicco della scena musicale italiana per la quale ha pubblicato l'album Tradimento nel 2006, raggiungendo grande notorietà e apprezzamento da parte del pubblico, che verrà confermata anche grazie agli album successivi.

L'artista ha portato anche ad accese discussioni sui testi dei brani da lui incisi, da molti considerati controversi.

Whaddabout English

Repost - Butchered phrases in the English language. Thought this was funny

"I couldn't care less" -- not "I could care less:"

It should be noted that phrases do evolve, and the new way of saying them can become the accepted colloquialism. There is some debate as to whether or not that should be the case with "could care less," which is recognized by the Oxford Dictionary. Even still, the phrase doesn't make sense, as it means that you care at least a little bit. If you couldn't care less, then you couldn't care at all. There's a clear difference.

"A moot point" -- not "A mute point:"

According to Merriam-Webster moot means obsolete, essentially meaning when someone makes "a moot point," it's completely worthless to debate. The words sound alike and the incorrect phrase somewhat makes sense -- if you can't hear a point, then what's it worth? -- but it would be wise to mute the "mute" completely if you tend to use the phrase.

"For all intents and purposes" -- not "For all intensive purposes:"

This phrase originated in 16th century England when King Henry issued the Statute of Proclamations, which was "to all intents and purposes," allowing him to modify it at his discretion. Eventually it morphed into "for all intents and purposes," meaning "in effect." The use of "for all intensive purposes" has increased in the Internet era, though documented use of it occurred during the 19th century.

"Nip it in the bud"-- not "Nip it in the butt:"

There's quite a difference between stopping something before it flowers and biting someone's bum. One refers to ending a problem before it grows into something bigger; the other is an action that would cause problems.

"Without further ado" -- not "Without further adieu:"

Ado means "fuss." Adieu means "farewell." From those definitions, you can probably deduct which makes more sense. Think Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. It was much ado about nothing when you stayed up all night worrying about the results of the exam you eventually found out you aced.

"Pique one's interest" -- not "Peak one's interest:"

Some may assume "peaking one's interest" is correct because you've reached the highest point of their interest. However, "pique" is the correct verb in the phrase, as it means to excite or arouse. In this case, your curiosity has been stimulated.

"Deep-seated belief" -- not "Deep-seeded belief:"

Something that's "deep-seated" is situated far below the surface, according to Merriam-Webster. Of course, a deep seed would also be situated far below the surface. Grammarist.com states the correct phrase comes from horseback riding; not gardening or farming.

"Champing at the bit" -- not "Chomping at the bit:"

When you're "champing at the bit," you're showing impatience. But it seems that the authorities of the English language -- such as Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary -- have shown patience with the use of "chomping at the bit," which is now more common than the correct phrase, despite the fact that the substitution is inexplicable.

"Never ceases to amaze me" -- not "Never seizes to amaze me:"

"Seize" means "to take possession of," "to attack or overwhelm physically," or "to bind or fasten together with a lashing of small stuff," according to Merriam-Webster, so it obviously doesn't belong in this phrase. Nor should it replace "cease" in "cease and desist" or "cease fire."

"Reap what you sow" -- not "Reap what you sew:"

To "sow" is "to plant a seed for growth especially by scattering, " according to Merriam-Webster. To "reap what you sow" is to get what you deserve -- whatever grows is the outcome of sowing. A shirt or sweater would be the outcome of sewing.

"Once in a while" -- not "Once and a while:"

"Once and a while" yields 6,320,000 results on Google and a handful of results on Google News. It's a common error, but most people seem to recognize the correct phrase from the incorrect phrase, as "once in a while" yields a hefty 58,000,000 results.

"In layman's terms" -- not "In lame man's terms:"

A layman is someone who lacks specialized knowledge on a topic. If you're discussing football, and a layman enters the conversation with useless opinions, then it would be totally lame, man. But it wouldn't be correct, or nice, to label him a "lame man."

"In the midst of" -- not "In the mist of:"

The distorted version of "in the midst of" is a mondegreen, a term for when someone mishears or misinterprets a word. "Midst" and "mist" sound very much alike, but obviously shouldn't be substituted for one another. "In the midst of" means "in the middle of" or "in the process of," and has nothing to do with getting wet unless water or mist is inserted after the phrase.

"Off the beaten path" -- not "Off the beat and path:"

Venturing away from the path most taken can be an offbeat move, but you're not venturing "off the beat and path." That little bed and breakfast 20 miles south of the interstate is "off the beaten path."

"Out-of-body experience" -- not "Outer body experience:"

You can go into "outer space" or have an "out-of-body experience," a sensation in which you float outside of your body, but you can't have an "outer body experience." Keep that in mind if you ever choose to retell the tale of your traveling soul.