LingoMap booklet (7) 15.09.2020

Llwybrau at Ieithoedd Cymru
Routes into Languages Cymru
Casgliad o Flogiau
Blwyddyn Tramor
Year Abroad Blog
Collection

gan Llwybrau at Ieithoedd Cymru
by Routes into Languages Cymru
Yn y llyfryn hwn, cewch gasgliad o flogiau LingoMap a ysgrifennwyd gan Lysgenhadon
Iaith Llwybrau at Ieithoedd Cymru yn ystod eu blwyddyn tramor (blynyddoedd
academaidd 2016-19). Trefnir y blogiau yn ôl gwlad a gofynnwyd i fyfyrwyr wneud cofnod
o’u blwyddyn dramor yn Gymraeg/Saesneg gyda chyfran o’r cynnwys yn yr iaith darged.
Daw’r myfyrwyr o brifysgolion Caerdydd, Abertawe, Bangor ac Aberystwyth.
Rhodda’r casgliad hwn y cyfle i fyfyrwyr iaith i ddysgu am brofiadau myfyrwyr ar eu
blwyddyn tramor yn ogystal â’r cyfle i ddarllen cynnwys yn yr iaith darged sy’n seiliedig ar
themâu’r cwricwlwm ITM.
This brochure offers a collection of our Lingomap blogs written by Routes into
Languages Cymru Student Language Ambassadors (SLA's) during their year abroad
(2016-2019 academic years). The blogs are organised by country and students were
tasked with writing a blog documenting their time abroad in Welsh/English with a
proportion of the content written in the target language. Our SLA's are from 4
universities across Wales: Cardiff University, Swansea University, Bangor University and
Aberystwyth University.
This collection offers an opportunity for students to read first-hand about the
experiences that our SLA's have had during their year abroad as well as the chance to
practise reading in the target language whilst learning about topics included in the
curriculum for MFL.

GYDA DIOLCH
i holl Lysgenhadon Iaith Llwybrau at
Ieithoedd Cymru a wnaeth gyfrannu at y
prosiect hwn.
SPECIAL THANKS
to all Routes Cymru Language Ambassadors
from across Wales who have contributed to
this project.

FRANCE

Chwaraeon ac ieithoedd
Tomos Morris
Law and French, Cardiff University
Bonjour! Siwmae!
Je m’appelle Tomos et je viens d’obtenir un diplôme de droit et
français à l’université de Cardiff. Dans le cadre du parcours, j’ai
passé une année à Toulouse dans le sud-ouest de la France. Tout
comme les Gallois, les Occitans sont obsédés par le rugby et ce
sport est vraiment au cœur de leur vie quotidienne. Explorons donc
le rôle du sport dans la société actuelle française mais aussi, de
façon plus générale, l’importance des langues étrangères dans le
monde du sport.
Ffrainc…Chwaraeon.
Mae’r ddau yn mynd law yn llaw. Cynhelir y Tour
de France yn flynyddol, adnabyddir y tim rygbi ar draws y
byd am steil o chwarae cyffrous, ac wrth gwrs, ennillodd
Ffrainc ei ‘deuxieme etoile’ yng Nghwpan Byd Pêl-Droed
2018. Yn wir, mae mwyafrif y wlad yn diddori ym mhêldroed.
Mae banlieues Paris a dinasoedd eraill y gogledd
wedi cynhyrchu nifer o sêr y gêm bêl gron megis Paul
Pogba a Michel Platini.
Ond, nid pêl-droed sy’n dwyn sylw trigolion de orllewin Ffrainc. Yn rhanbarth Occitanie,
rygbi sy’n dod â chyffro i gefnogwyr ar y penwythnosau. Yn ystod fy mlwyddyn tramor,
bues i yn ffodus iawn i brofi’r brwdfrydedd ‘ma at rygbi wrth fynychu gemau Stade
Toulousain, tîm mwyaf llwyddiannus Ffrainc ac hen dîm Cymro Gareth ‘Alfie’ Thomas.
Yn rhanbarth Occitanie, mae’r stadia yn llawn yn
wythnosol. Mae ansawdd i’r rygbi. Mae baneri lliwgar.
Mae sŵn. Mae dathlu. Mae hwyl. Yn syml, mae
awyrgylch go-lew a theimlad o ‘garnifal’ bod prynhawn
Sadwrn.
2

Chwaraeon ac ieithoedd
Profiad unigryw a bythgofiadwy oedd mynychu’r gemau. Ond,
ges i ond y cyfle i elwa o’r profiadau ‘ma gan fy mod wedi dewis
astudio iaith yn y brifysgol- am benderfyniad! Tra mai gwir
‘genial’ oedd gwylio’r gemau, mwy ‘merveilleux’ oedd cael trafod
traddodiadau rygbi Ffrainc gyda’r bobl lleol, en francais bien sûr!
Doedd dim Saesneg gan y mwyafrif felly clywais i straeon a hanes na fyddai rheiny sydd ond
yn siarad saesneg wedi clywed.
En outre, des compétences linguistiques sont pertinentes
dans le monde du sport au niveau professionnel. De nos jours, les
équipes du foot regorgent des joueurs internationaux qui viennent
de partout dans le monde. Dans une seule équipe, au moins six ou
sept langues sont parlées. Arsène Wenger, l’ancien entraineur
français d’Arsenal et un polyglotte qui parle quatre langues, a
toujours insisté sur l’importance des compétences linguistiques
dans le monde du foot.
Récemment, en demi-finale du championnat FA, on a entendu Mikel
Arteta, l’entraineur espagnol actuel d’Arsenal, donner/ donnant des
instructions à Nicolas Pepe en français. Le basque, qui parle anglais,
catalan ainsi que espagnol et français, passe d’une langue à l’autre
pendant les matchs pour que ses instructions soient bien compris.
Est-ce une coïncidence qu’Arsenal a gagné le match ? Je ne le pense pas. De nos jours,
plusieurs des meilleurs entraineurs du monde comme Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti et
Jurgen Klopp sont au moins bilingues sinon trilingues.
Mae athletwyr eraill megis Paula Ratcliffe (graddiodd ag anrhydedd dosbarth cyntaf yn
Ffrangeg, Almaeneg ac economeg) a Jonny Wilkinson yn gryf eu barn naeth dysgu
ieithoedd tramor eu galluogi i elwa yn fwy o’u profiadau ar, ac oddi ar, y maes cystadlu.
Yn ôl Wilkinson, naeth dysgu Ffrangeg tra’n chwarae i Toulon ei alluogi i wir
werthfawrogi y diwylliant lleol. Ennillodd barch y cefnogwyr wrth ymdrechu i ddysgu’r
iaith. Yn wir, gwnaiff drigolion gwertfawrogi unrhyw ymdrech i ddysgu’r iaith leol gan
bod hynny’n ffordd o ddangos parch at eu diwylliant a’r treftadaeth.
3

Chwaraeon ac ieithoedd
Ehangir eich gorwelion a dysgir sut i fod yn berson fwy parchus ac
ystyriol wrth ddysgu iaith tramor. Chwe mlynedd ar ôl gadael Toulon
mae Wilkinson dal i fod yn arwr i’r Toulonnais, nid am ei ddoniau rygbi,
ond am ei barch at yr iaith a’r mode de vie francais.
Gwelir Gary Lineker yn aml yn cyfweld â chwaraewyr
yn Sbaeneg hefyd, enghraifft arall o ddefnydd siarad
iaith tramor. Yma gyda Sbaenwr David Silva.
L’année prochaine, je vais commencer un parcours
Erasmus Mundus ‘Sports Ethics and Integirty (MAiSI)’
ou j’étudierai dans trois universités en Belgique, en
République Tchèque et en Espagne. Par ailleurs,
j’aurai l’occasion de travailler avec des organisations
sportives comme l’UEFA, l’IOC et la FIFA. Je n’aurais
pas été admis dans le parcours si je ne parlais pas
une langue étrangère.
Mae dysgu iaith tramor wedi fy nysgu i daclo profiadau â meddwl agored, a dyna’n
union rwy’n bwriadu gwneud gyda’r profiad yma. Edrychaf ‘mlaen at geisio ddysgu’r
iaith leol a sicrhau fy mod yn cael y profiad gorau posib ar y cwrs.
Ma capacité à parler une langue étrangère a ouvert des portes pour des expériences
inoubliables, dont plusieurs touchent au sport. Je suis vraiment content d’avoir choisi
d’apprendre une langue étrangère.
Soyez comme Lineker. Soyez comme Ratcliffe.
Chi bydd y ffrind poblogaidd pan mai chi yn unig all ddeall trafodaeth Lineker â Lionel
Messi yn Sbaeneg, neu chyfweliad Kylian Mbappe yn Ffrangeg.
Allez ! Vamos ! Ewch amdani !
4

Canada
mainland France, Canada has the biggest French
After
Understanding the French
speaking world
Monisah Ali
French and History , Cardiff University
à tous! Cette semaine je vais parler du monde Francophone. Le français est la
Bonjour
officielle de 29 pays, avec environ 270 millions de gens qui le parlent autour du
langue
le monde francophone est un grand sujet ! To break it down a bit, I have split the
monde,
speaking world into a couple of categories, and I hope it makes it simpler to
French
understand!
Europe
français est la troisième langue la plus parlée en Europe. Elle est la langue officielle
Le
la France (bien sûr), de la Suisse, de la Belgique et aussi du Luxembourg. Le français,
de
l’allemand et l’anglais est l’une des langues principales de l’union européenne.
comme
au suisse allemand, le suisse romand (Swiss French) est presque pareil
Contrairement
le français de la France.
que
population. The majority of first language
speaking
speakers live in Quebec, making up 77% of its
French
In the whole of Canada, 95% of the
population.
can speak French as a first or second
population
The Official Languages Act in 1969
language.
that English and French have equal status in
recognised
Canadian government.
living in France this year, I have come to notice that the French like to make fun of
While
québéquois accent! Although it does have a bizarre twist to it, I think it sounds pretty
the
nice! Have you heard a Quebecois accent? What do you think of it?
5

L’Outre-Mer
also has territories outside of Europe that are called “L’Outre-Mer”. These are a
France
L’Afrique
l’outre-mer, quelques pays africains ont une relation avec la langue française à
Comme
Understanding the French speaking world
of countries that were part of the French empire but decided to keep connections
group
a relationship with mainland France after decolonisation. These countries include;
and
French Guinea, Martinique, Reunion and Mayotte. L’Outre-Mer countries
Guadeloupe,
different to other Francophone countries because their citizens have French
are
nationality and therefore, they are able to vote for the President of France.
de la colonisation. De 1881 à 1914, les pays européens ont colonisé plusieurs pays ;
cause
qu’en anglais on appelle « The Scramble for Africa ». Une trentaine (approximately
ce
de pays africains sont considérés des pays francophones. Cependant
thirty)
à l’outre-mer, leur connexion avec la France est plus libre.
contrairement
français est surtout une langue secondaire en
Le
Cependant, dans quelques pays, par
Afrique.
dans quelques régions en Côte d’Ivoire, le
exemple
est la première langue. Dans les pays
français
(le Maroc, La Tunisie et l’Algérie), les gens
magrébins
considérés bilingue. Leur système éducatif est
sont
bilingue avec l’arabe.
d'avoir lu mon blogpost, and I hope you
Merci
this little insight into the French speaking
enjoyed
world!
A bientôt, Monisah.
6

L’environnement
Grace Neary
German with French, Bangor University
à tous ! Ce mois-ci, je parle de l’environnement ! Pour moi, c’est un sujet très
Bonjour
surtout en ce qui concerne l’actualité. Réchauffement de la planète,
intéressant,
dans les océans et un rapport du GIEC (en anglais c’est IPCC ou
plastiques
Panel on Climate Change) selon lequel, dans 12 ans, le changement
Intergovernmental
climatique sera irréversible – c’est choquant !
France, I found that there was a strong awareness of
In
change and the ways in which we can all help
climate
the problems facing the environment. In Carrefour,
tackle
local supermarché, there were lots of advertisements
my
some of their environmentally friendly policies – they
about
the use of pesticides in their products, for example,
limited
of the danger they pose to both the environment
because
human health.
and
supermarchés contribuent également à la protection
Les
l’environnement grâce à une politique adoptée par le
de
français. Les supermarchés français ne sont
gouvernement
autorisés à jeter les déchets alimentaires et doivent en
pas
faire don.
produits alimentaires, qui auraient été mis en décharge et ont contribué au
Ces
de la planète (parce que les déchets alimentaires dans les décharges ne
réchauffement
se décomposent pas bien), sont donnés aux banques alimentaires, etc.
7

L'environnement
cities like Paris, the government helps decrease noise and air pollution by taxing people
In
drive there heavily. In fact, many zones in the city centre are car-free (one Sunday a
who
almost no cars are allowed to drive in much of the city and old cars are no longer
month
at all). This is supposed to incentivise people to use public transport and
allowed
the streets as well as the air we breathe (although it is controversial – as many
decongests
concerned the law targets those who cannot afford a newer car).
are
recyclage est également très facile en France. Dans mon logement étudiant, il y avait
Le
d’installations de recyclage. Vous pouvez recycler le plastique, le verre, le
beaucoup
le carton et même les vieux vêtements. Selon certains rapports, la Bretagne (où se
papier,
Brest) est la meilleure en France en matière de recyclage!
trouve
also spent some time, when I wasn’t in class or studying, at the local botanic garden. The
I
name for the garden is « Jardin du Conservatoire botanique national de Brest ».
French
le jardin, il y avait des serres remplies de plantes du monde entier. Le jardin
Dans
à la culture et à la préservation de plantes très rares que la déforestation et les
contribue
climatiques détruisent dans leur habitat naturel. Le jardin avait aussi
changements
lacs et beaucoup d’arbres, d’oiseaux et même une hutte de Papouasie Nouvelle
quelques
– construite pour montrer comment vivait le peuple autochtone de Papouasie
Guinée
Guinée. It was beautiful to see and I really liked being able to explore how the
Nouvelle
environments and cultures of France and Papua New Guinea affect things like
differing
living quarters of the people there.
the
to include some environment saving actions in your own life – it’s super easy
Remember
recycle or try to use less plastic if you don’t need it!
to
À bientôt, Grace
8

Food and drink
Kirsten Foerster
European Languages, Aberystwyth University
à tous! Je m’appelle Kirsten, je viens d’Irlande du Nord et j’étudie à l’université
Bonjour
au Pays du Galles. Récemment j’ai passé quatre mois à La Rochelle où j’ai
d’Aberystwyth
à l’université. C’était une expérience formidable ! Dans ma première entrée de
étudié
je voudrais parler de l’alimentation.France is known for its incredible cuisine; the
blog
the bread and my favourite, the pastries! La Rochelle is a beautiful harbour town
wine,
one of its specialties is mussels (moules). In my first week in La Rochelle, I made it a
and
to travel to one of the local islands, Île de Ré, where I had my first taste of this
priority
seafood.
incredible
you can see there are two different servings of
As
mussels, the serving on the left is just normal
the
however the serving on the right is
“moules”,
called “moules grand-mere” which
something
means granny mussels and is something
literally
served in the Charente region of which La
often
is situated. What makes them different is
Rochelle
they are cooked in a creamy sauce with bacon
that
(Il y a beaucoup de recettes sur Internet si
lardons!
voulez l’essayer !)
vous
autre bon exemple de cuisine français est le
Un
que j’avais mangé à Bordeaux. Quand un
repas
mes amis avaient vu que j’étais à Bordeaux, il
de
dit qu’il y a un restaurant où je devais
m’a
aller et manger! Le restaurant
absolument
« L’entrecôte » (which translates to
s’appelle
in English ) Il y a quelques de ces
steak
en France ; à Toulouse, Lyon, Nantes
restaurants
aussi Montpellier. Le restaurant a un menu
et
qui consiste bien sûr à l’entrecôte
prédéterminé
les frites À VOLONTÉ (unlimited ) et pour
avec
une salade aux noix qui coûte en
commencer
9

Food and drink
19€ pour chaque personne. Le restaurant est très populaire qui était évident quand
tout
copain et moi sommes arrivés au restaurant et il y avait un très long fil d’attente
mon
juste quinze minutes avant l’ouverture du restaurant.
else that I found very interesting in France was this craze of order still or
Something
water with a syrup! A friend of mine is now obsessed with this after having a
sparkling
of “sirop de menthe” (mint syrup) and I even found myself investing in a great
taste
of peach syrup. When I met with this friend in Toulouse, a town that is famous for
bottle
its violet EVERYTHING, we had to try the violet syrup which was surprisingly very good.
of course, I couldn’t write a blog post about French food and drink without giving a
And
to the irresistible French pastries. Each time I walked around La Rochelle or any
mention
town for that matter I had to resist the temptation from all these pastries! Things
French
mille feuille, macarons, croissants, eclairs and all kinds of délicieux gâteaux.
like
vous remercie de lire mon blogue! A bientôt!
Je
Kirsten
10

Being a young person in
French speaking society
Yaren Fadiloglulari
French and English (TESOL), Swansea University
à toutes et à tous. My name is Yaren, I’m twenty years old and I am from
Bonjour
French is my third language, after Turkish and English. I started learning French
Cyprus.
middle school. I study French and English (TESOL) in Swansea University. Thanks to
at
degree, I had the chance to explore various subjects such as linguistics, translation,
my
and cultural studies. I’m spending this year in Lyon studying at Université de
teaching,
Moulin Lyon 3. I like Lyon very much, and I think that the city itself is suitable to the
Jean
theme I was assigned, as I think Lyon has a young spirit.
avantages d’être étudiant(e) à Lyon
Les
university gave us the chance to buy a pass
My
for €18, which allows access to four
culture
spectacles at partner institutions. I thought
different
would be a good investment, concerning that a
it
show would cost au moins €10.
single
used three of my passes so far. I went to the cinema, an opera and a French standup
I’ve
show. The pass culture is only for students, but there are other deals for young
in general. For example, people under a certain age can buy discounted tickets
people
jeune). The age for the tarif jeune varies from company to company. For SNCF, the
(tarif
company, it is for people under 26, and for Opera de Lyon, it is for people aged
railway
29. I can say that the cultural activities are very accessible for young people in
under
France and this is amazing as it encourages people to participate in different activities.
11

27 ans, français
Etienne,
Etienne thinks that French people listen to both American and French hit songs.
1.
According to him, French people are good at English, but he thinks some other
2.
countries, such as Germany or Sweden, are way better at English than
European
France.
Il aime que les choses soient organisées en France.
3.
20 ans, canadienne
Angel,
Angel thinks that French rap is the most popular music in France. She adds
1.
she’s heard a lot of American songs play as well.
that
Even though most people don’t speak English very well, there are some
2.
who are really good at it.
people
Elle adore la culture française. Par exemple, elle aime que les gens prennent
3.
Being a young person in French speaking society
vie française en dehors de Lyon
La
talk about the French city we all know of: Lyon’s big
Let’s
the one and only Paris. In my opinion, Lyon is as
sister,
as Paris. It just seems like Lyon is the more humble
pretty
more introverted sibling whereas Paris is the
and
one everyone has heard of. If I had to describe
outgoing
in one word, I’d probably
Paris
cosmopolitan. During my visit to Paris, we went
choose
to a bar and I thought that the place was very
out
in terms of the music it played. There was a
multicultural
of American pop, as well as songs in French (mostly
lot
and rap), Spanish, Arabic and in a language I
pop
able to distinguish. I thought it was great
wasn’t
everyone was enjoying themselves regardless
because
language of the song that was playing. It was the
the
multicultural playlist ever!
most
que pensent les autres
Ce
posé trois questions à propos des jeunes français et de la vie en France et aux amis
J’ai
qui vivent/qui ont vécu à Lyon.
Mes Questions:
1.
A ton avis, quel genre de musique est le plus populaire en France parmi les jeunes ?
internationales ou françaises?)
(Chansons
toi, est-ce que les jeunes français connaissent bien l’anglais?
Selon
2.
3.
Peux-tu me dire une chose que tu aimes à propos de la vie en France?
leurs temps de vivre (manger, aller au théâtre…)
12

BELGIQUE

Belgium: local and regional
culture
Brad Wilson
French and Spanish, Bangor University
The food!
talking about the local culture of a country or city, where better to start than the
When
food? Belgium and Brussels in particular is very famous for certain foods.
local
course there is Belgian chocolate which is possibly the most famous Belgian foods.
Of
you know that the first ever chocolate to have a filling was made in Brussels? There
Did
is a famous chocolate shop in Brussels which used to be a pharmacy.
used to hate taking their medication
People
it tasted disgusting so the
because
decided to coat the medication
pharmacist
chocolate so it would taste nicer. One
in
he left his son in charge of the shop
day
he was bored at work so decided to fill
and
chocolate with cream rather than the
the
and that is when chocolates with a
tablets
were invented. So you’ve got him to
filling
for caramel Galaxy!
thank
est bien connue pour ses gaufres. Il
Bruxelles
a beaucoup d’options de nappage par
y
du chocolat, de la crème ou pour
exemple
alimentation saine, des fruits comme
une
bananes ou des fraises!
des
je prends les gaufres avec
Personnellement,
la crème et la sauce à la fraise ou avec
de
chocolat blanc (qui est vraiment délicieux
du
mais mauvais pour la santé).
il faut que vous prêtiez attention, les gaufreries incroyables disent que les
Cependant,
coutent deux euros mais cela est le prix sans nappage. Chaque type de
gaufres
coute plus! Néanmoins, les gaufres sont excellentes seul parce qu’ils
nappage
beaucoup de sucre!
contiennent
14

Belgium: local and regional culture
do Americans call chips? French fries right? Well
What
wrong! The original thin chips or fries don’t come
they’re
France at all, they’re Belgian! American soldiers
from
posted in Belgium during the war and they found
were
fries and loved them. They assumed that because
the
was speaking French, they were in France but
everyone
were actually in Wallonia, the French speaking
they
of BELGIUM!
region
Les langues!
existe trois langues officielles en Belgique: le français, le flamand (néerlandais)
Il
l’allemands. Mais Bruxelles est une ville qui est officiellement bilingue. Tous les
et
de signalisation de Bruxelles sont écrits en français et en néerlandais. Il y a
panneaux
publicités en français et néerlandais aussi. Vu que Bruxelles est une ville
des
l’anglais est parlé par beaucoup de personnes. Il est parlé
internationale,
au centre-ville où il est très touristique et aussi à la Commission
spécialement
Européenne (l’Union Européenne)
Bikes!
are everywhere in Belgium! Especially in Flanders, in the north, everybody goes
Bikes
on bikes! This is because Belgium is such a flat country so it is a lot easier to
around
everywhere. I don’t think we could say the same about North Wales do you? But
cycle
where I live in Brussels, despite being a busy city full of traffic, people are on
even
everywhere you look.You can pay to rent the ‘villo’ bikes. ‘Villo’ is a mix of the
bikes
‘ville’ (town/city) and ‘vélo’ (bike) that are stationed around the city and they
words
very popular. You can pick one up in one place and drop it off at a station in a
are
different area so they are really handy!
completely
Music!
the most famous singer from Belgium is
Arguably
(Stromae is a play on the word ‘maestro’.
Stromae.
Mae…Stro changes to Stro…Mae).
15

traduire ces paroles de sa chanson <<Formidable>>.
Pouvez-vous
utilise l’imparfait beaucoup ici).
(Il
pouvez vérifier les paroles avec cette vidéo ici:
Vous
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_xH7noaqTA
vidéo a été filmée à Bruxelles et en fait, je prends le tram dans la vidéo pour aller à
(la
l’université!)
Belgium: local and regional culture
Activity
Formidable, formidable
Tu étais formidable, j'étais fort minable (pathetic)
Nous étions formidables
Formidable
Tu étais formidable, j'étais fort minable
Nous étions formidables
16

Belgium: self and reltionships
Liam Barrett
French and Spanish, Cardiff University
tout le monde!
Bonjour
is my first submission for the Routes
This
Languages LingoMap Blog.
into
first topic I will be writing about is
The
and Relationships. I usually attend
Self
University, and I am spending my
Cardiff
semester abroad at the “Institut Libre
first
Haps” in Brussels.
Marie
a translation school, with the building right on Place Luxembourg, along with the
It’s
Parliament.
European
probably remember what it was like when you first joined your Secondary school,
You
or Sixth Form. You may have arrived, not knowing anyone, wondering how on
College
you would make friends! Well, when I first moved to Brussels, I felt the same way.
earth
before I had even left the UK, my exchange university had created a Facebook
Luckily,
with the other students on the exchange. This allowed some of us to get in
page
with each other, in a safe way (as it was a moderated, private Facebook
contact
page), and form some friendships before arriving.
the Erasmus students, my university organised a “semaine d’intégration”
For
week) before the real classes started where we had an introduction into
(Integration
in Belgium. It included a walking tour of Brussels, a trip to Bruges (a famous city
life
the Belgian coast), visits to the European institutions as well as various museums.
near
I had come to Brussels with just two other Cardiff students, this week was a great
As
to meet other people who had come to my university in Brussels to take
opportunity
part in the Erasmus programme.
17

Belgium: self and relationships
(or unfortunately you may say) my birthday fell during
Fortunately,
first week that I was here, so we all got together at the
the
to celebrate it! I put a little money towards food,
weekend
and drinks, but in all it was a nice way to get to know
decorations
each other outside of the university.
a student of French and Spanish at Cardiff University, I obviously came to Brussels
As
practice my French and so did many other people. At the beginning, I tried my
to
to speak French all of the time, however being in Brussels and being on an
hardest
with lots of other students from around Europe and the rest of the world,
exchange
gave this plan problems.
Belgium is a multilingual country, and with Brussels being in more-or-less the
Firstly,
of the country, Brussels is also a bilingual city. This means that although for 80%
centre
the time, you are able to speak French here with no problems, the final 20% of the
of
you may encounter a Flemish speaker. Flemish is the Belgian version of Dutch,
time,
language that is also spoken in the Netherlands, Belgium’s neighbour country.
the
all of the Flemish-speakers speak excellent English, so I could rely on that.
Luckily,
for many of the Erasmus students, French
Secondly,
their 3rd or maybe 4th language, with English
is
often taking the spot after their Local and
quite
languages – in the same way that some
National
speak Welsh and English in Wales. Because
people
this, it was much easier to communicate with
of
students in English, than for all of us to
these
along in French!
struggle
I chose not to, a lot of my friends decided to live in residences. These are pretty
While
the equivalent of “Halls” in the UK or “Dorms” if you have seen American movies
much
TV series. Since lots of students live together there, from many universities around
and
city, it can be a great place to make new friends, although some of the residences
the
can be significantly more expensive.
18

Belgium: self and relationships
like myself, moved into shared apartments, which are generally cheaper than
Others,
and can easily be found online through various websites. A popular
residences
in Belgium is apartager.be. In Belgium a room in one of these shared
website
is called a “Kot”, which is a word taken directly from Flemish. Although I do
apartments
study Dutch, you can see from this extract of a video clip, that some Dutch words
not
English – more so than French at times!
resemble
the Erasmus programme is only for a short period of time, normally between 4
Also,
10 months. While on the exchange, you will make some good friends, and
and
friends for life, it is important to remember that it is impossible to stay in
undoubtedly
with everyone we meet. Luckily, with social media and the internet, we can
contact
in touch. Many of us have already decided to visit each other in our home
stay
next year!
countries
now that we are towards the end, we should summarise some of the
So
and Belgian words and concepts that I’ve put into this blog post!
French
is the name of the “exam session” in Belgium?
1. What
is the French translation of “Integration week”?
2. What
is the Belgian word for “Student Halls/Dorms”?
3. What
is the other official language spoken in Brussels, other than
4. What
French?
which square is the European Parliament found in Brussels?
5. On
Tot ziens et au revoir ! (Goodbye!)
19

LA SUISSE

Health and Fitness in Geneva
Lauren Hill
Modern Languages, Translation & Interpreting, Swansea University
tout le monde! Je m’appelle Lauren et I have been living depuis quatre mois in
Bonjour
in Switzerland and so I thought it was time for me to write my first blog about
Geneva
Health and Fitness here.
world is becoming de plus en
The
interested in la santé and fitness
plus
day, but chaque pays seems to
each
with this craze differently.
deal
is an expensive city, which
Geneva
that gyms are impossible to
means
join, unless you are a millionaire!
it is certainly not impossible to keep fit here. La course à pied is free and le
However,
is the perfect location, especially on a sunny day. This is very popular among the
lac
because you can escape the chaos of the city and enjoy the beautiful view,
locals,
exercising.
whilst
lac also provides another form of exercise, which is la
Le
There is a designated area for the public to swim in
natation.
lake for a small fee pendant la journée and gratuit at night.
the
this seems like a great way to get fit, the lake is
Although
très froid, so maybe try this during the summer. During the
often
of Escalade (une fête in Geneva, which celebrates
celebration
protection of the city against an invasion of the French),
the
is a swim in the lake on around le 17 décembre. This swim
there
a race to achieve the quickest time ever, whilst swimming in
is
conditions. Also, this festival is very similar to the
freezing
to which the British celebrate Noël. In fact, it is said to
extent
the largest celebration in Geneva!
be
21

Health and Fitness in Geneva
Genève la natation est très populaire. En effet, il y a une piscine près de
En
The abonnement for this pool is 10 Swiss Francs par mois, which is bon
l’université.
in Geneva, parce qu’un sandwich peut coûter 10 francs. La natation is a good
marché
to rester en bonne forme but also to have fun avec tes amis.
way
y a beaucoup de parcs dans la cité, where a lot of exercise
Il
take place. At first, this seemed a little strange to me,
classes
I would never think of doing a yoga class in the
because
of Singleton Park. However, après plusieurs semaines, I
middle
that les parcs were easily accessible, peaceful and
realised
place in l’air frais. But also, Geneva has many parks,
take
means that they’re never overcrowded, which is great
which
escaping la vie citadine.
for
parlé a lot about the fitness in the city, but I will now talk about la santé in
J’ai
Premièrement, in terms of health care, there are lots of pharmacies, mais les
Geneva.
sont très chers. Deuxièmement, on the majority of days, il y a un marché,
médicaments
on peut acheter les légumes, les fruits, la viande ou les autres produits qui
où
bonnes pour la santé. En Genève, il y a beaucoup de magasins, which sell healthy
sont
foods.
if you have some temps libre, you can climb up Mont Salève. This hike takes
Aussi,
3 hours through les forêts. There are different paths depending on your ability,
around
you can take the cable car up the mountain too. Les vues sont incroyables! On
but
voir toute la ville de Genève, including le lac et la cathédrale. On peut visiter la
peut
Saint-Pierre. En montant les escaliers dans la cathédrale, you can
cathédrale
une vue panoramique de la ville.
have
for reading my LingoMap blog! I hope you have enjoyed it and learnt a lot
Merci
la belle ville de Genève. À bientôt!
about
22

CANADA

am an English Language Assistant for the British Council at Polyvalente Saint-François in
I
Québec. This means that I aid with the teaching of English at a secondary school with
Beauceville,
ranging from 12 years old to 17 years old. My activities consist of conversation classes and
pupils
British culture as well as current affairs; no class is the same! As this is my third year
discussing
I am in Québec to improve my French and to learn about the Quebecois cultures which is
abroad,
to be an enriching experience.
proving
mi ddowch chi o hyd i bopeth
Felly,
Facebook wrth wylio Netflix ar
ar
Québec: Technoleg a Chyfryngau
Cymdeithasol
Elin Arfon
Modern Languages, Translation & Interpreting, Swansea University
dyma gynnig cyntaf ar flogio…a’r teitl…technoleg a chyfryngau cymdeithasol.
Felly,
llaw, dwi yn Québec, Canada ar fy mlwyddyn dramor yn dysgu mewn ysgol
Gyda
uwchradd, ac ydy, mae hi’n oer iawn iawn yma!!
waeth, yn ôl at y pwnc dan sylw. Nid oes fawr ddim yn wahanol o ran technoleg a
Ta
cymdeithasol. Mae fy nisgyblion yn hoffi’r hyn y mae fy mrawd a’m chwaer
chyfryngau
yn eu hoffi o ran cyfryngau cymdeithasol. Ond, defnyddir Facebook yn wahanol…
ddechrau, y mae PAWB ar Facebook. Yn ail, y mae’n cael ei ddefnyddio fel modd o
I
o hyn i co-voiturage (cael lift gan bobl sy’n teithio i’r un cyfeiriad â chi). Rhaid
ddod
dwi wedi byw ar facebook yn ddyddiol ers misoedd er mwyn dod o hyd i lift
cyfaddef,
fynd i lefydd gan nad oes gen i gar. Y mae hyn oherwydd nad oes fawr ddim
i
trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus. Yn syml, rhaid dod o hyd i lift neu brynu car!
wahân i’r busnes car, mae iphones a Netflix a phopeth felly yn cael eu defnyddio
Ar
fel ag y’i defnyddir adref. I brofi hyn, defnyddiaf fy chwaer fel enghraifft o rywun
yma
hoff iawn o’r Youtuber Zoella. Pan ofynnais i wrth fy nisgyblion a oeddent yn
sy’n
Zoella, cododd bob plentyn ei law. Er eu bod nhw’n Ffrangeg eu hiaith,
adnabod
hwythau yn hoff o Zoella a’r byd You Tube! Tip bach ichi, os ydych awydd
maent
ar Youtuber québécois, y mae Emma Verde reit dda!
gwrando
eich ipad wrth fentro i oerfel Québec…
24

DEUTSCHLAND

und wilkommen zu meinem dritten blog für LingoMap! Jetzt bin ich für einen
Hallo
für mein zweites Auslandssemester in Köln in Deutschland. Nach anfänglichen
Monat
einschließlich der Tatsache, dass ich keine Wohnung finden konnte,
Schwierigkeiten,
ich mich endlich hier eingelebt! Ich vermisse wirklich das Leben in Lyon und habe
habe
so eine gute Erfahrung gemacht, aber ich freue mich auf dieses neue Abenteuer
dort
Bis jetzt habe ich die Sprache ziemlich schwierig gefunden, besonders meine
hier!
an der Universität, aber insgesamt glaube ich, dass mein Deutsch besser
Vorlesungen
Ich entschuldige mich für irgendwelche Fehler!
wird!
been given the topic of ‘Travel and Transport’ so I’m going to talk about what the
I’ve
is like in Cologne, what it’s like getting around and the travelling that I’ve done
transport
Travel and transport in
Germany
Eloisa Payne
French and German, Cardiff University
View from the Cologne Triangle
so far here and the plans I have for the rest of the semester!
Cathedral, Cologne
26

Köln ist es sehr einfach zu rumkommen, auch wenn Sie weit weg
In
Normalerweise in deutschen Städten können Sie die U-Bahn (the
wohnen.
oder die Straßenbahn (the tram) nehmen. Hier sind sie das gleiche und
underground)
auf einer Route gehst du sowohl unter als auch über, verwirrend, oder? Sie haben
oft
die Stadt und zu den nahe gelegenen Städten. Hier ist es ziemlich teuer für Tickets
in
8 Euro pro Tag, also bin ich froh, dass ich es mit der Universität kostenlos
über
Auch hier muss man vorsichtig sein, als ob man ohne Ticket erwischt wird,
bekomme!
gibt eine große Strafe! Neben den öffentlichen Verkehrsmitteln fahren hier viele
es
far as travel is concerned here, there’s lots to see and do! I’ve only been here for just
As
a month but I’ve explored most of the city. As I haven’t been here very long I’ve
over
wanted to settle in here before I start travelling more elsewhere, so far I’ve only
mainly
to Düsseldorf with some friends but next on my list are Berlin, Munich, Hamburg
been
Travel and transport in Germany
auch die
S-Bahn (S ist die Abkürzung für schnell), das ist ein Zug Sie nehmen beide
Leute und es ist viel beliebter als in Großbritannien.
The old town
The lock bridge
and Frankfurt, and possibly a few days in Vienna when I have the week off in May!
Useful vocabulary
Ein bisschen Vokabeln
Auslandssemester – Semester abroad
Schwierigkeiten – difficulties
eine Wohnung – Apartment
Endlich – finally
Sich freuen – to be happy/glad/look
forward to something
ein Abenteuer – Adventure
die Sprache – Language
Vorlesungen – lectures
Rumkommen – to get around
Vermissen – to miss
eine Erfahrung – experience
Verwirrend – confusing
Kostenlos – free
Einleben – settle in
27

Diversity and Difference in
Germany
Caitlin Jones
German, Swansea University
Moin! Begroeting! Hola! Merhaba! Slav! ‏!مرحبا Hello!If I were to write this blog in all of
the languages I’ve heard since coming to Germany, I think I’d have to devote my whole
life to learning languages, so I’ve decided just to greet you in them. Before coming
to Niedersachen, I’d expected to hear (alongside Hochdeutsch and Platt, obviously) a
bit of Dutch and English, and was hugely surprised by how many other languages have
become a part of das Alltagsleben in Deutschland.
Germany is an incredibly diverse country with a very
colourful history of migration… Around 20% of the
population have some sort of immigrant background.
This diversity has greatly influenced the country and
shaped it to make it what it is today. One of the most
popular German dishes, for example, was created by a
man from Turkey who moved to Berlin. Gewürzte
Fleischscheiben, Salat und Soße (gerne auch scharf,
wenn man in der entsprechenden Stimmung ist!), gut
gemischt und in einem Brötchen serviert – der Döner
Kebab ist eines der Lieblingsgerichte
Deutschlands. However, the influences of migration in
Germany are not only culinary, and the type of
migration seen in Germany has also changed. The
population are used to the number
of Gastarbeiter living and working in Germany, but the
country has also opened its borders to einer großen
Anzahl von Flüchtlingen (über 1,5 Millionen zwischen
2015 und 2016), who are hoping for a new start in a
different country.
Es gibt keine ‘Ausländer’ – wir sind alle Bewohner der Erdes
28

in a Grundschule, I didn’t expect to see much evidence of migration,
Working
in a little village auf dem Land, aber in Deutschland werden die Flüchtlinge
especially
ganzen Land verteilt. This means that the refugees aren’t all living in the larger
im
but also in smaller cities and villages throughout Germany, and a few even live
cities,
the islands to the North of Germany. Deswegen habe ich auch Erfahrungen mit
on
gesammelt und einige sachen bemerkt:
Flüchtlingen
Flüchtlinge (und besonders die Kinder) sind unglaublich bemüht. Einige sind
Die
ihrer Reise nach Deutschland sehr traumatisiert. Sie verstehen wenig-bis-kein
von
und brauchen viel Unterstützung, die sie von der Gemeinde und
Deutsch
bekommen (zB Deutschunterricht zu Hause), aber sie geben wirklich
Gesellschaft
überwindet (auch sichtbare) Unterschiede. Die deutschen Kinder
Freundschaft
nicht, dass die Flüchtlingskinder manchmal ‘anders’ aussehen als sie
merken
Sie wissen nur, dass es nicht schön ist, sich einsam zu fühlen, und wollen
selbst.
verhindern.
das
ein Wille ist, ist auch ein Weg. Es kann schwierig sein, sich in eine neue
Wo
zu integrieren oder neue Leute in seinem Land zu akzeptieren, aber
Gesellschaft
man es machen will, kann man das. Soll die Intergration gelingen, ist jeder
wenn
– alle müssen zusammen arbeiten, um dieses Ziel zu erreichen. Die
gefordert
können es nicht schaffen, ohne die Unterstützung der Deutschen,
Flüchtlinge
Unterstützung bringt nichts, wenn man sich nicht integrieren will.
aber
course such high numbers of migrants can lead to a number of challenges, such as
Of
strain on health services, the struggle to balance the national budget, and even the
a
of what to teach in RE lessons in schools, but all in all I get the feeling that
question
German population are extremely welcoming and willing to help. Solange, alle
the
diesem Happy End, wünsche ich euch noch einen schönen Tag noch und
Mit
freue mich schon auf das nächstes Mal!
ich
Diversity and Difference in Germany
alles um Freundschaften zu schließen und sich zu integrieren.
einen Strandkorb haben, macht es nichts, wer da drin sitzt!
Bis bald!
29

und Willkommen in meinem Blog! Diese ist mein erste Blogpost auf Deutsch. Für
Hallo
die neu sind.. Hallo! Mein Name ist Elliot. Ich bin gerade ein Erasmus Student in
alle,
– in einer Stadt in Baden-Württemberg, in der Sud-west der Deutschland...
Deutschland
Mein Blog wird auf Deutsch und English geschrieben. Ich hoffe, dass jeder
Tübingen.
kann! Bevor ich anfange, ein bisschen über mich selbst: Ich studiere Französisch
folgen
Deutsch an der Universität Bangor, in Wales. Letztes Jahr habe ich ein Erasmus
und
in Frankreich gemacht. Ich habe vor 2 Jahren angefangen Deutsch zu lernen,
Semester
mein Niveau ist nicht perfekt – aber das ist ok! Wir lernen immer noch!
also
is a University city with approximately 30,000 students, meaning that 1 in 3
Tübingen
living here is a student. The University itself is called Eberhard-Karls-Universität
people
and was founded in 1477 and is one of the oldest in Germany. It is very large
Tübingen
spread out over the city, including the University Clinics. It is a renowned university
and
Germany for it’s Medical and Philosophical faculties. The old town (Altstadt) is one of
in
best kept in Germany, due to the fact that Tübingen was a hospital city during the
the
Tübingen: local and regional
culture
Elliot Reynolds
French and German, Bangor University
Second World War so avoided the bombings, leaving the city mostly in tact.
30

der Nahe von Tübingen gibt es ein sehr bekanntes Kloster und Schloss. Es heißt
In
Bebenhausen, und ist 20 Minuten von Tübingen. Es war in 1183 gebaut und jetzt
Kloster
es einer die ältesten und besterhaltenen Klöster in Süddeutschland. Es wurde von
ist
Rudolph I gegründet. Im Kloster sind noch alle originalen Möbel und
Count
erhalten, die seit seiner Gründung verwendet wurden. Es ist sehr
Eigenschaften
und ich wurde es empfehlen dir zu besuchen!
interessant
close by to Tübingen is the Black Forest (Der
Also,
The Black Forest is the largest forest in Baden-
Scwarzwald).
It is named after the dark colour of the trees
Württemberg.
grow there. It is a very famous place in Germany for
that
to go exploring in nature and hiking, as it is one of the
people
beautiful natural landscapes in Germany. The highest
most
is Feldberg that is 1493m tall, and is the highest German
peak
outside of the Alps. The Danube river runs through
mountain
major cities in Europe and also through the Black Forest.
many
most common activities that take place in the Black
The
are hiking and cycling in summer and downhill skiing in
Forest
Three very famous fairytales are also set in the Black
winter.
Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and Rapunzel are all
Forest.
inside the forest. Also, a very famous cake that may be
based
known to some of the readers originates from here -
well
Forest Gateau (Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte).
Black
you can see, Tübingen and the
As
region is a fantastic place to
local
as an Erasmus student. The
study
offers a lot to do, see and
area
and the town itself is full of
explore
places, shops, cafés
interesting
Tübingen: local and regional culture
and bars to enjoy.
Danke fürs Lesen! Bis zum nächsten Mal!
31

allerseits!
Hallo
this article I will be talking about the environment; more specifically about how
In
in Germany are trying to preserve it! It is universally known that Germans are
people
environmentally friendly and in today’s society it is something that the world is
very
gibt so viele kleine Dinge, die jeder von uns im täglichen Leben tun kann, um die
Es
zu schützen. Recycling und Mülltrennung sind ein guter Anfang. Seit ich nach
Umwelt
gezogen bin, habe ich 5 verschiedene Lagerplätze für Abfall: eine für
Deutschland
eine für mein Glas, eine für Plastik, eine für Pappe und Papier und eine für
Pfand,
Abfall. Pfand ist eine brillante Idee, die ich gerne in Großbritannien und
allgemeinen
umsetzen würde. Wenn man eine Plastikflasche, eine Kiste mit Getränken usw.
Irland
zahlt man ein wenig mehr. Dann bewahrt man diese Flaschen auf und gibt sie an
kauft,
Automaten ab, an dem man eine Quittung erhält, die man dann in diesem
einem
einlösen kann Direktes Bargeld oder Geld von seinen Einkauf. Dies ist ein
Supermarkt
und innovativer Weg, um die Menge an Plastik, die weggeworfen wird und unseren
toller
zerstört, zu reduzieren, und bietet Ihnen immer ein bisschen mehr
Planeten
Abwechslung.
Environment
Kirsten Foerster
European Languages, Aberystwyth University
striving to do.
32

way you can help the planet is by using public transport or walking/cycling
Another
of using the car. As soon as I moved to Heidelberg I rented a bike for 13,50€ a
instead
which is a lot cheaper than paying for public transport all the time. Although
month
I am a student I can use public transport for free in Heidelberg after 7pm every
since
day and all weekend. I was so shocked to see that most car parks here are never
week
and every single bicycle parking area is chocoblocked with bicycles. Germany is a
full,
flat country, so it is a lot easier to cycle around here than at home but even
relatively
small change makes a massive impact on our environment.
that
der größten Bewegungen, die ich hier gesehen habe, ist “Fridays for Future” oder
Eine
Strike for Climate“. Greta Thunberg begann dies mit einem sehr
“School
Punkt: “Warum sollte ich für eine Zukunft lernen, die bald nicht mehr
überzeugenden
wird, wenn niemand etwas tut, um diese Zukunft zu retten?”. Tausende Studenten
sein
der ganzen Welt demonstrieren vor Parlamenten statt unter dem Motto Freitags für
auf
Zukunft zur Schule zu gehen. Meiner Meinung nach ist dies ein unglaublicher und
die
benötigter Protest, da unsere Welt definitiv gefährdet ist und es für unsere
dringend
nicht nur unmöglich ist, dass sie sich für ihre Zukunft einsetzen, sondern auch
Zukunft
in Germany has really helped me think about my ecological footprint and I know
Living
as well as going back to the UK knowing my language skills have improved, so has
that
perspective on how we take care of our planet and hopefully after reading this
my
yours will too.
article
Environment
entmutigend, dass Erwachsene diesen Kampf noch nicht für sie geführt haben.
Bis zum nächsten Mal und meinem letzten Artikel,
Kirsten
33

ESPAÑA

amigos! En esta oportunidad vamos a ocuparnos un tema histórico de
¡Bienvenidos
Voy a dedicar este blog a España a partir de 1936. Pues retrocedamos en el
España.
ascenso del franquismo
El
has estudiado la historia de España, es más que probable que hayas oído el nombre
Si
o “franquismo”. ¿Qué puedes asociar con estas palabras antes de leer el
“Franco”
A ver…
blog?
franquismo fue el régimen asociado con el dictador Francisco Franco después de la
El
nacionalista en la Guerra Civil Española. Esta guerra fue un conflicto muy
victoria
entre los republicanos y las nacionalistas (que estaban dirigidos por el General
intenso
Había algunas ideologías que el régimen tenía, tales como antiliberalismo,
Franco).
nacionalismo, centralismo y catolicismo. ¿Puedes buscar la definición
anticomunismo,
cada uno de esos términos? Observando estas ideologías, no es sorprendente ahora
de
qué la Alemania nazi (Hitler) y la Italia fascista (Mussolini) apoyaron el régimen de
por
Franco.
yn dilyn y Rhyfel Cartref
Sbaen
os nac oni bai, roedd cyfnod y Rhyfel Cartref
Heb
un gwaedlyd iawn, efo marwolaethau dros
yn
o bobl. Wrth gofio hyn, gellir gweld sut
500,000
y Rhyfel Cartref ysbrydoli gwaith artistiaid
wnaeth
Pablo Picasso a’i waith Guernica a
megis
Dalí a’i waith Construcción blanda con
Salvador
hervidas (Premonición de la guerra civil).
judias
Becca Martin
Spanish, Swansea University
Sbaen ers 1936
tiempo hasta finales de la década de 1930…
35

gwrs, nid dim ond marwolaethau unigolion diniwed oedd yr unig ganlyniad o’r
Wrth
Cartref – roedd ‘na lwyth o effeithiau. Felly, dyma beth rydym yn mynd i
Rhyfel
amlwg, y canlyniad gwleidyddol
Yn
nodedig oedd bod Sbaen
mwyaf
troi’n wlad ffasgaidd o dan,
wedi
rydymyn gwybod yn barod,
fel
Franco. A ydych yn
unbennaeth
(heb edrych!) pa ideoleg
cofio
yma roedd ieithoedd fel Catalaneg, Basgeg a Galiseg wedi eu gwahardd
unbennaeth
wnaeth pobl fwyaf deallus y gymdeithas (megis cyfreithwyr, meddygon, athrawon a
a
ffoi o’r wlad – fel y gwnaeth Pablo Picasso. Yn fy marn i, y canlyniad wnaeth
beirdd)
wlad fwyaf oedd sut gafodd ei ‘rhewi mewn amser’ wrth iddi ddim gweld
effeithio’r
am 36 mlynedd. Dychmygwch sut byddai’n teimlo bod mewn gwlad nad yw’n
newid
i gymharu gyda gweddill Ewrop… neu efallai’r byd cyfan?
datblygu
democracia entrante
La
luz al final del túnel llegó a la población española tras la muerte del dictador Franco
La
20 de noviembre de 1975. Seis años antes de su muerte,
el
designó sucesor a Juan Carlos I de Borbón (el nieto de Alfonso XIII) que se
Franco
en Rey de España. Se podría decir que el nuevo rey engañó a Franco al fingir
convirtió
listo para continuar la dictadura, pero comenzó el desarrollo de una monarquía,
estar
dirección completamente diferente a la de Franco. España se reconcilió con otros
una
una vez más, pero aún se encontró con problemas internos ya que los partidarios
países
Franco no confiaban en el nuevo rey porque no siguió los pasos de Franco como
de
haber hecho”. Sin embargo, la democracia en España se caracterizó
“debería
mencionamos, las artes fueron cruciales para
Como
las luchas que enfrentó la sociedad durante la
mostrar
de Franco. El final de la dictadura vio el
dictadura
de la censura, por lo que surgieron
levantamiento
como Cría Cuervos. ¿De qué crees que
películas
tratar esta película?
podría
Sbaen ers 1936
ganolbwyntio arno nawr.
oedd gan Franco? O ganlyniad i’r
oficialmente por las primeras elecciones democráticas en 1978.
36

o’r gorffennol
Adferiad
amlwg, mae digwyddiadau dwys y gorffennol yn gallu parhau i effeithio ar
Yn
cymunedau a hyd yn oed gwlad gyfan. Yn anffodus, mae Rhyfel Cartref
unigolion,
yn enghraifft o hyn. Rwyf wedi clywed bod lle gorffwys Franco yn dal
Sbaen
yn yr atmosffer – does neb yn gallu anghofio’r trychinebau wnaeth
nerfusrwydd
Ar yr un thema, mae arddangosfa gan yr arlunydd Gervasio Sánchez o’r enw
gyfaddef.
Disappeared’ yn dangos pobl yn cymryd allan aelodau o’u teuluoedd o feddau heb
‘The
marcio – sydd yn symboleiddio’r cymunedau a chymunedau a gafodd eu llofruddio
eu
ystod unbennaeth Franco. Mae’r bobl yma erbyn heddiw wedi ceisio rhoi
yn
iawn iddynt.Mae’n anodd dychmygu beth aeth y bobl yma trwyddo, onid
claddedigaeth
Mae cymuned erbyn heddiw yn cydymdeimlo efo’r teuluoedd yma, ac yn mynd o
ydyw?
yr enw ‘Asociación para la Recuperación de la Memoria Histórica’. Prif amcanion y
dan
hon yw casglu tystiolaeth o dystion unbennaeth Franco, ac yn fwy na ddim,
gymdeithas
enw unigolion i’r cyrff a gafodd eu taflu i mewn i feddau màs yn ystod y cyfnod.
rhoi
gymdeithas hyd at heddiw wedi darganfod ac enwi dros 1,500 o bobl a bu farw.
Mae’r
ydych chi’n feddwl – dylai’r cymunedau a effeithiwyd symud ymlaen ac anghofio’r
Beth
o’r gorffennol
Adferiad
amlwg, mae digwyddiadau dwys y gorffennol yn gallu parhau i effeithio ar unigolion,
Yn
a hyd yn oed gwlad gyfan. Yn anffodus, mae Rhyfel Cartref Sbaen yn
cymunedau
o hyn. Rwyf wedi clywed bod lle gorffwys Franco yn dal nerfusrwydd yn yr
enghraifft
– does neb yn gallu anghofio’r trychinebau wnaeth gyfaddef. Ar yr un thema,
atmosffer
arddangosfa gan yr arlunydd Gervasio Sánchez o’r enw ‘The Disappeared’ yn
mae
pobl yn cymryd allan aelodau o’u teuluoedd o feddau heb eu marcio – sydd yn
dangos
cymunedau a chymunedau a gafodd eu llofruddio yn ystod unbennaeth
symboleiddio’r
Mae’r bobl yma erbyn heddiw wedi ceisio rhoi claddedigaeth iawn iddynt.Mae’n
Franco.
dychmygu beth aeth y bobl yma trwyddo, onid ydyw? Mae cymuned erbyn
anodd
yn cydymdeimlo efo’r teuluoedd yma, ac yn mynd o dan yr enw ‘Asociación para
heddiw
Recuperación de la Memoria Histórica’. Prif amcanion y gymdeithas hon yw casglu
la
o dystion unbennaeth Franco, ac yn fwy na ddim, rhoi enw unigolion i’r cyrff a
tystiolaeth
eu taflu i mewn i feddau màs yn ystod y cyfnod. Mae’r gymdeithas hyd at
gafodd
wedi darganfod ac enwi dros 1,500 o bobl a bu farw. Beth ydych chi’n feddwl –
heddiw
cymunedau a effeithiwyd symud ymlaen ac anghofio’r gorffennol? Neu barhau i
dylai’r
Sbaen ers from 1936
gorffennol? Neu barhau i ymchwilio i mewn i beth ddigwyddodd i’w hynafiaid?
ymchwilio i mewn i beth ddigwyddodd i’w hynafiaid?
37

a todos! I’m now over three months into my semester abroad here in
¡Bienvenidos
Real and I’ve very much been enjoying everything Spain has to offer, especially
Ciudad
food! I love exploring all aspects of the Spanish culture, but as a foodie discovering
the
of the tasty delights Spain has to offer is definitely one of the best! Since there are
all
many dishes out here to try, I’ve decided to compile some of the main ones into a list.
so
vamos! (here we go!)
¡Aqui
de oliva- (Olive oil)- un ingrediente muy importante de la dieta mediterránea.
Aceite
encontrarlo en todas partes. Unas gotas de aceite de olive marcan una
Podemos
de leche- un sirope de caramelo cremoso y pesado que puede acompañar a los
Dulce
churros.
it’s sort of like a pasty but less flaky. It’s typically filled with meat, fish or
Empanadaand
a flavoursome tomato sauce.
vegetables
This is a hearty Spanish bean and sausage stew,
Fabadamade
in Asturias.
traditionally
Spanish food and drinks from
A-Z
Hannah Qunibi
French and Spanish, Cardiff University
diferencia grande en la comida.
They’re essentially baguettes, so not a revolutionary or mind-blowing idea
Bocadilloswe
do have sandwiches in the UK, but there’s something special about the humble
as
Perhaps it’s something to do with the fillings. In Spain, calamari and Spanish
bocadillo.
topped with mayonnaise are among the most common fillings, along with the
tortilla
more classic fillings of cheese and ham.
Un plato típico de España muy delicioso,
Churroscon
chocolate fundido. Cuando
especialmente
a España, localizar una churrería debe ser
llegues
prioridad.
una
the word “empanada” comes from the
Interestingly,
verb “empanar” which means to wrap in bread!
Spanish
Gambas al ajillo- (prawns in fried garlic) ¡Un plato sabroso, aromático y sencillo!
38

ham- (Jamón ibérico). Spain is well known for the ham it produces from freerange
Iberian
black Iberian pigs, in fact it is the world’s number one producer and also
specifically orange juice (Zumo de Naranja) It’s
Juiceso
incredibly sweet without a hint of sourness and
naturally
often made fresh in cafés- so much nicer here than in the
is
This is something I’ve definitely taken advantage of since
UK!
I’m going to cheat a bit here and use another C instead of a K… Croquetas- They’re
K–
by mixing together cured meats or fish with béchamel sauce and then fried. They
made
often served as tapas. A tapas is sort of like a mini portion of a dish where you have
are
(or more!) different tapas dishes which then equate to one meal.
2/3
frita- (Fried milk) Me parecía un plato muy extraño, pero este postre tiene un
Leche
lechoso y cremoso además de una lámina crujiente. Son parecidas a las torrijas,
centro
Son extremadamente prominente en
Mariscos-(Seafood)
comida Española, y una cosa que me di cuenta cuando
la
(Pulpo) – Octopus is a surprisingly popular dish
Octopus
in Spain, and is particularly famous in Galicia where
here
seasoned it with paprika. I’ve heard it’s quite tasty, but
they
haven’t managed to try it yet- I can’t quite bring myself to
I
Hay más de 150 tipos diferentes de quesos en
Queso.
Quesos típicos son Manchego que es fuerte, Arzúa
España.
de toro- Un estofado tradicional andaluz de rabo de
Rabo
zanahorias y cebollas.
buey,
Spanish food and drinks from A-Z
This meat pie from the area of Salamanca and Ávila is normally filled with
Hornazoloin,
chorizo and boiled eggs.
pork
of dry-cured ham. You won’t be able to walk into a supermarket in Spain
consumer
seeing about a hundred cured legs of pork.
without
being in Spain!
un otro postre español muy conocido.
llegué a España es que el calamar es muy popular.
Natillas- Un postre de leche, azúcar, huevos, canela y vainilla.
eat it, I think it’s something to do with the tentacles…
Patatas bravas- Patatas fritas con salsa picante.
que es cremoso y quesos azules como Cabrales.
39

omelette (tortilla española) – This is one of those
Spanish
dishes I love that’s always delicious and I could eat all
staple
time without getting bored. It’s made with egg and potato
the
sometimes onion and is common all over Spain. I like to eat
and
con tomate- (Tomatoes on toast)- Este plato es muy
Tostada
y delicioso y podemos encontrarlo en todas partes. A
simple
se acompaña a jamón ibérico y siempre a aceite de
veces,
Se hace fácilmente y es uno de mis platos favoritos.
oliva.
ratatoUille- (Pisto)- Me chifla la versión francesa de este plato entonces
Spanish
mucho probar la versión Española. Esta versión es una mezcla de tomates,
querría
pimientos, cebollas, ajo y aceite de olive. El toque diferente es la
calabacines,
de un huevo frito o de chorizo.
incorporación
cuisine- Valencia is known for making gazpacho as well as one of Spain’s
Valencian
famous and delicious dishes; Paella (but more on this below!). Other famous
most
include arroz negro- rice with squid and squid ink, and Fideuá, a dish made with
dishes
noodles.
Spain is renowned for its vino and is often drunk at meal
Wine-
Tinto de verano is a popular drink in Spain and is made by
times.
a Catalonian sauce made with almonds, hazelnuts,
Xatóvinegar,
garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Usually
breadcrumbs,
with an endive salad- yes, I know I’m really scraping the
served
with this one, there aren’t a lot of choices starting with “x”!
barrel
PaeLLa- technically double “L” makes a “Y” sound in Spanish, so I don’t think I’m
Y–
any rules! Paella is a signature dish well-known across the whole of Spain. It
breaking
an amazing rice-based dish made with seafood or chicken (or sometimes both) or
is
just vegetables. The very traditional Valencian paella is made with chicken or
even
Una sopa fría y muy fresca, de tomate, pepino,
GaZpachode
oliva, pan rancio, vinagre de vino, ajo, sal y pimienta.
aceite
gracias por leer este blog y ¡buen provecho!
Muchas
appétit!, enjoy your meal!)
(bon
Spanish food and drinks from A-Z
it accompanied by pickles, bread and mayonnaise.
mixing together vino rojo and lemonade.
rabbit, beans and vegetables. It’s also surprisingly easy to make!
40

general, el carnaval consiste de disfiles, de la gente en
En
de colores vivos, y un ambiente increíble. Yo fui al
disfrazes
del toro de Ciudad Rodrigo con un grupo grande de
carnaval
Erasmus. Básicamente, bebimos, bailamos y
estudiantes
en la calle. Había unos eventos diferentes. Por
disfrutamos
música, encierro (running of Bulls in the Street) y un
ejemplo,
(competition). Fue un día muy emocionante y
concurso
memorable.
carnaval tiene lugar en febrero, y normalmente
El
lugar el fin de semana antes del empiezo
tiene
Cuaresma (Lent). En cada región de España
de
una manera diferente de celebrar el
hay
tomatina is a festival that I imagine you’ve heard of… if not, you’re missing out! La
La
takes place in August in a small town in Valencia (the same region as the
Tomatina
and has happened since 1944. The event has become so popular in recent years
Fallas),
you have to buy a ticket in order to enter. The festival is supposed to start when
that
person has climbed a two-story high greasy wooden pole and touched the piece of
one
that is situated at the top.
ham
midday a truck delivers a load of tomatoes, and the
Before
consists of people picking up the tomatoes and
festival
them at each other – it’s basically a massive food
throwing
fight!!
Festivals and Celebrations
Emily James
French and Spanish, Cardiff University
most people think of Spain, one of the first things that they think is that the
When
are either sleeping (una siesta), or partying (una fiesta), and to be honest, it’s
spanish
too far from the truth! There are so many different festivals and celebrations that
not
place in Spain throughout the year, some which are famous and some which are
take
common. In this blog, I’m going to explore six different festivals, some which you
less
know and some which you’ve probably never heard of.
may
Carnival
carnaval.
La Tomatina
Then, the one hour carnage begins...
41

interesting thing is that apart from being great fun, and a great excuse to throw a
The
at someone’s face, the festival actually helps the council to keep the streets
tomato
as the acidity of the tomatoes on the floor acts as an annual cleaning for the
clean
roads!
Fallas tiene lugar en Valencia, una
Las
en la costa este de España.
ciudad
este año yo no
Desafortunadamente,
ir porque vuelvo al Reino Unido por
puedo
cumpleaños de mi mama. Durante el año,
el
región de Valencia alberga (hosts)
cada
variedad de eventos para recaudar
una
dinero, y construir una falla.
(raise)
es una falla? Una falla es una construcción muy grande, como se puede ver en la
¿Qué
Durante las fallas de Valencia, hay fuegos artificiales (Fireworks), la gente tira
foto.
(firecrackers), hay un gran desfile donde la gente muestra su falla, y al fin del
petardos
de semana, queman las fallas enormes.
fin
Feria de abril
La
feria de abril tiene lugar en Sevilla, una región muy tradicional
La
España. La feista comienza. Durante la semana, unas 5.000.000
de
van a la fiesta, y en la noche del viernes, ¡unas 850.000
personas
van! ¡El presupuesto (Budget) es unos 3.000.000 euros! La
personas
lleva el traje corto, la ropa tradicional de Sevilla, y las
gente
jumping Festival
Baby
thought I’d keep the best festival til last… This festival takes place in Burgos in the
I
of Spain, and the title gives it away what happens. During the festival, men dress
North
in red and yellow masks to represent the devil, and run through the town shouting
up
at and whipping villagers. Then, the ‘atabalero’ arrive who come to drive out the
insults
and a ‘fight of the devil’ takes place. The event is supposed to be a sort of baptism,
evil
the devil absorbing the sins of the babies, and offering them protection
symbolising
ill health and bad luck. How do they do this? Yep… by lying the babies down on a
from
and jumping over them!!!
mattress
advice – if you’re going to have a baby, don’t have it in Burgos.
Life
Festivals and celebrations
Fallas de Valencia
mujeres lleman trajes de flamenca.
42

dyna syt deimlais i pan gyrhaeddais yn Granada, yn ne Sbaen. Fodd bynnag, roedd
Wel,
rhai pethau ‘diflas’ ond hanfodol yr oedd angen i mi eu gwneud cyn i’r hwyl allu
yna
ôl dod o hyd i'm fflat (el piso), dadbaciais fy nghês
Ar
maleta) ac ysgrifennais restr o eitemau oedd
(la
i mi brynu (comprar). Yn agos iawn at fy fflat,
angen
i archfarchnad (el supermercado), gwych!
ffeindiais
wedyn ffeindiais i siop ffrwythau (la frutería),
Ond
bysgod (la pescadería), cigydd (la carnicería),
siop
(la panadería)…ym mhob siop (la tienda),
becws
popeth yn edrych mor ffres a lliwgar!
roedd
Granada
Angharad May
Spanish studies, Cardiff University
chi newydd lanio mewn gwlad dramor sydd am fod yn gartref i chi am y
Rydych
nesaf. Mae popeth mor newydd a chyffrous, a’r unig beth rydych chi eisiau
flwyddyn
ydy ymgolli eich hunain yn y diwylliant, archwilio’r golygfeydd syfrdanol, dilyn y
gwneud
diddorol, anadlu’r aroglau egsotic, treulio pob cyfle posibl yn yr heulwen
synau
ac yn bennaf oll, sicrhau eich bod yn gwneud y gorau o bob eiliad, bob un
ogoneddus,
jac. wan
dechrau. Wedi dweud hynny, roedd y tasgau yn rhan o'r antur (la aventura).
Beth oedd yn rhaid i mi ei wneud pan symudais i Sbaen (España)?
43

rhaid i mi wneud rhywfaint o waith papur yn ystod yr wythnos cyntaf, yn enwedig
Roedd
fy mhrifysgol newydd. Roedd mynd i'r brifysgol (la universidad) yn werth chweil, hyd
yn
oed jyst am y golygfeydd anfarwol o’r ddinas (la ciudad), achos ar ben bryn eitha
yn
oedd fy nghyfadran (la facultad).
serth
sut i brynu pethau gyda arian
Nawr,
(la moneda) yr Ewro?
cyfred
gyfrif banc (la cuenta
Agorais
Sbaeneg. A nawr, sut i
bancaria)
mewn cysylltiad â fy Nhad yn
gadw
yng Nghymru? Es i siop ffôn
ôl
(el teléfono móvil) a
symudol
dêl SIM-yn-unig.
phrynais
rhaid fod hi’n amser cael hwyl (disfrutar-se) nawr?! Mae yna lawer o resymau
Mae’n
mae Granada mor hudol, a llawer o bethau i'w mwynhau yn y ddinas ac o'i
pam
yn cynnwys yr hanes cydgysylltiedig o’r Arabiaid (los moros), Iddewon (los
chwmpas,
a Chatholigion (los católicos); mynyddoedd (las montañas) y Sierra Nevada
judíos)
bynnag, y ffordd orau i fwynhau Granada fel y bobl
Fodd
yw gwylio machlud yr haul (el atardecer) o un o'r nifer
leol
olygfannau (los miradores), wedyn eistedd y tu allan i
o
(la terraza), mwynhau cwrw (una caña) a, gorau oll,
far
Granada
gerllaw, Yr Alhambra wrth gwrs…gallwn ysgrifennu amdani am weddill fy oes.
mae'r tapas yn Granada yn dod am ddim gyda diod!
¡Salud!
44

AMÉRICA LATINA

y bienvenidos! Juan here –or Carlos, I’m in between– anyway, here to tell you
¡Hola
what I do para divertirme en mi tiempo libre. With a bit of a twist, I’d like to share
about
point of view as a tourist and as a citizen, enjoy! Colombia as a whole is like a box
my
chocolates and, as a wise man once said, you never know what you’re gonna get. Mi
of
en Bogotá es diferente cada vez que vengo. Es que existe la experiencia
experiencia
y la experiencia como ciudadano.
turística,
turista, hay muchísimo para hacer en Bogotá.
Como
ejemplo, un fin de semana se puede ir a
Por
una montaña en Bogotá. La montaña
Monserrate,
puede subir en ferrocarril o a pie. Lástima que
se
he subido a pie, pero el ferrocarril es una opción
no
más rápida. La montaña tiene una vista
mucho
viaje muy divertido. Además en la cima de la montaña hay restaurantes y pues me
un
la comida, jaja. También arriba hay muchas tiendas que venden muchas cosas
encanta
me gusta ir de compras. Ya sé que eso se puede hacer en cualquier lugar del
También
pero si uno trae libras a Colombia su valor se cuadruplica y significa que todo
mundo,
exageradamente más barato… menos los dulces. También hay una cantidad de
es
aquí en Bogotá, y es súper bueno porque el último domingo de cada mes es
museos
y totalmente…¡gratis! Así que se puede disfrutar del Museo del Oro, la
completamente
de la Moneda, el Museo de las Esmeraldas, el Museo de la Independencia, y
Casa
de todo esto la ciudad tiene muchos parques de
Encima
como el Jaime Duque, que es un parque muy
atracciones,
muy hermoso con tanta riqueza cultural. Además, es
pero
diverso en sus atracciones, lo que significa que
muy
persona lo puede disfrutar. Hay un zoológico y
cualquier
atracciones y museos dentro del mismo parque.Not
muchas
sound like a child but they totally have tigers, lions, hippos
to
ostriches –not even gonna lie I loved it!
and
Being a tourist and a citizen in
Colombia
Juan Carlos Cruz
Law and Spanish, Swansea University
Como turista
sublime, casi panorámica, de toda la ciudad, y es
tradicionales.
mucho más.
46

tiene un clima extremadamente loco,
Colombia
en Bogotá hace calor a veces, frío también,
pues
una lluvia muy intensa. Pero si uno sale a tres
y
de la ciudad uno encuentra un clima
horas
e intenso. Por eso la mayoría de los
tropical
de Bogotá van a los pueblos de los
ciudadanos
cada vez que hay un día festivo
alrededores
holiday).
(bank
ventaja es que hay un día festivo casi todos los meses del año, así que las personas
La
mucho. Lástima que Bogotá esté tan lejos del mar, ¡pero gracias a Dios hay
viajan
piscinas y ríos! Como ciudadano uno disfruta de muchos eventos a los cuales
muchas
se puede acceder como turista. Por ejemplo aquí en muchos colegios y jardines
no
celebran el Día de la Familia, lo cual es algo genial y muy
(pre-schools/nurseries)
Se hacen muchas cosas y juegos para todas las familias como bingo, o
divertido.
verdad, hay demasiados días festivos para
De
a todos, pero mencionaré algunos. Se
nombrarlos
el día de la mujer, el amor y la amistad,
celebra
día del hombre y, como en cualquier país, el
el
de la madre y del padre. Algo que he notado
día
es la importancia de la familia para el
aquí
el valor que se le pone a la familia es algo muy impresionante. Aquí uno da todo
latino,
la familia, los hijos de tus hermanos son tus hijos. Esto es algo que he visto viviendo
por
mis tías. Lo más bonito es que yo me fui al Reino Unido a los cinco años y he vuelto
con
veces en 17 años. Sin embargo, desde el primer día que llegué me han tratado
dos
has an amazing range of food and flavours as
Colombia
so believe me when I say this but six months in and I
well
something new at least once a week or so. Also the
try
of ingredients is pretty weird, seriously this
combination
type of place where you will find pineapple or
the
in your veg salads, not even lying its weird
strawberries
Being a tourist and a citizen in Colombia
Como ciudadano
presentan bailes, y cosas de ese estilo.
como si yo hubiera estado aquí todo el tiempo.
but boy is it tasty.
47

6 months spent in Celaya, the food has definitely become one of my favourites
After
here in Mexico. The food reflects Mexico and its culture perfectly: eclectic and
things
But the big important question is: what makes Mexican food special? When asking
fun.
question to people that have been here quite a while, they all come up with a
this
answer; the spicy, yet delicious, homemade food. The Mexican delicacies go
similar
sweet Cajetas, a thickened syrup usually made of sweetened caramelised goat’s
from
(especially famous is Celaya, Guanajuato), to a saltier, but famous world-wide,
milk
Tacos.
choice:
speaking, the Mexican Tacos are nothing like the ones we see all over the
Realistically
Taco Bell doesn’t meet the standards of homemade tacos with chicken, beef,
world.
cheese, beans etc. As a foreigner, I instantly fell in love with Chorizo Tacos, but
lamb,
here in Mexico seem to love “Tacos al Pastor”, which strongly resembles
people
might sound unbelievable, but Mexicans do
It
eat Tacos, Burritos or Quesadillas on a
not
basis: in fact, the Mexican menu, in a
daily
is often much healthier, involving
household,
use of vegetables, soups (like “Pozole”,
the
de Pollo” and “Menudo”) and their
“Caldo
Mexico: ¡Buen Provecho!
Francesco Ciciulla
Spanish and English Literature, Aberystwyth University
“Hawaiian Pizza” in taste, as they add pineapple on top on the chosen meat.
favourite part of the meal, Beans.
50

PORTUGAL

a todos! (Hi everyone!) Tudo bem? (How’re you?) This is my first submission for
lá
Routes into Languages LingoMap blog.
the
you can see from my profile I’m a third year student of Portuguese and Spanish at
As
University, and for the first semester of my year abroad I am studying at
Cardiff
Faculdade de Letras (the School of Humanities) at the Universidade de Lisboa. As
the
writing this blog I’m also starting to revise for the upcoming período de
I’m
(exam period) which starts next week. Therefore I thought it’d be a good
availações
to complete my first blog post which is on the theme of Self and Relationships.
idea
is a very international city and as a result has a lot of
Lisbon
students. It has two ‘Erasmus’ (the name given to
exchange
European university exchange programme) societies
the
organise festas (parties) and cultural activities, for
which
turismo (sightseeing) in nearby cidades (towns).
example
a result I now have amigos (friends) from a variety of
As
countries. Since I’ve moved here I’ve made friends
different
Finlândia (Finland), Suíça (Switzerland)
from
societies organise trips on weekends to destinations such as Lagos in
‘Erasmus’
Algarve (picture above).
the
Self and relationships
Lewis Hacker
Portuguese and Spanish, Cardiff University
Faculdade de
Letras at the
Universidade
de Lisboa
and Colômbia (Colombia) to name just a few!
53

Lisbon contains some of the world’s highest ranked Portuguese-language
As
it is also an extremely popular destination for members of the diáspora
universities,
(ethnic Portuguese people who live in different countries). As a result I
portuguesa
made friends with students from os Estados Unidos (United
have
Alemanha (Germany) and França (France) who all have Portuguese parents,
States),
are also falantes de português (Portuguese speakers).
so
is the official language of eight countries and is spoken in many more by
Portuguese
sizable Portuguese diaspora
the
a student of Portuguese back at Cardiff University, the
As
of my semester abroad in Lisbon was to improve my
aim
of Portuguese. However, as Portuguese is not widely
level
outside of ‘Lusophone’ (Portuguese-speaking)
taught
the second-language of many exchange
countries
is English. Also due to the increase in popularity
students
tourism in Lisbon in the past few years, most people in
of
centro da cidade (city centre) insist on speaking to
the
people in English. This has on times made it more
foreign
to improve my language skills even though all
challenging
my cadeiras (university classes; although when literally
of
strangely means ‘chairs’) are taught in
translated
addition to this it is very common for os
In
portugueses (Portuguese young
jovens
to keep living at home until they
people)
a trabalho (job). Therefore it’s common
have
people to study at their nearest university
for
commute from home to university every
and
As a result there isn’t a large choice
day.
residências universitárias (university
of
and what’s available is
accommodation)
expensive. Therefore when they
generally
many people check into a hostel while
arrive
procura quarto (look for a room) in
they
(usually sunnier) Praça do Comércio
The
the one of the main tourist attractions
is
Self and relationships
Portuguese!
the city and as a result English is
in
spoken there
mainly
an apartamento partilhado (flat share).
54

this seems daunting at first it’s a great way to push yourself to speak the language
Whilst
leave your comfort zone. Also it is a lot easier to find a good deal if you can speak
and
with your senhorio (landlord) as English is more commonly spoken by the
Portuguese
generation!
younger
Festas – Parties
Amigos – Friends
Cidade – City
Trabalho – Job
Jovens – Young People
Apartamento – Flat
Self and relationships
Can you answer any of the following questions? :
type of events do Lisbon’s ‘Erasmus’ societies hold to help exchange
1. What
students meet new people?
is the relationship between ‘Lusophone’ countries?
2. What
is English so commonly spoken in the centro da cidade in Lisbon?
3. Why
Key Vocabulary:
Olá – Hello
Tudo bem? – How’re you?
Lisboa – Lisbon
Universidade – University
Até a próxima!
55

ITALIA

it comes to stereotypes, there is
When
country that is stereotyped for its
no
and mannerisms quite like Italy.
culture
could ask anyone on the street what
You
associate with Italy, and even if
they
never been to Italy, they’ll
they’ve
say: pizza, pasta, wine and
probably
your hands about when talking.
waving
been living here in Italy now for three months, 13 weeks to the day to be exact,
I’ve
I can categorically confirm that waving your hands around when talking is a thing
and
should really just be accepted. I do it whenever I speak Italian, part and parcel of
and
language. But what about the other perceived stereotypes, are they true? And
the
about the other little quirks of Italian culture that make Italy a country unlike any
what
Let’s jump in and have a look, I just hope you’re reading this and you
other?
la pizza, la cosa per cui l’Italia è conosciuta in tutto il mondo! La prima pizza del
Ah,
moderno fu creata a Napoli per la regina Margherita; ora, tutto il mondo ha la
mondo
versione, e oggi gli americani sono considerati i “re della pizza”. Per questo,
propria
sono arrivato in Italia, non credevo che la pizza italiana fosse la migliore, ma
quando
c’è verso: ci sono pizzerie in quasi tutte le strade di Forlì e tutte, più o meno, fanno
non
pizza squisita. Non sono ricette complicate, normalmente la pizza qui ha solo uno
una
due strati, mai più di tre; e poi la pizza costa poco, così tutti possono permettersela.
o
niente sorprese quando arriva il conto…
Quindi
la cosa più interessante per me sono le ‘norme’ che gli italiani
Ma
per la pizza. Ho conosciuto una ragazza napoletana che
hanno
mangiava la pizza a Forlì perché non era come quella di
non
E l’idea di mangiare una pizza di Dominos o Pizza Hut le
Napoli.
pazzesca. Quindi la pizza deve essere italiana, e inoltre
sembrava
venire da una zona particolare dell’Italia.
deve
Italian Culture: Should you believe
the stereotypes?
James Johnstone
Modern languages Interpreting and Translating, Swansea University
understand Italian!
Pizza e pasta
57

questo riguardo, la pasta è ancora più interessante. Tutti gli italiani con cui ho
A
mi hanno detto che la pasta si può mangiare solo con il sugo, e con
parlato
Io ho bisogno di mangiare qualcosa ‘di più’ con la pasta, e mi piacciono le
nient’altro.
come un americano; ma per un italiano questo è impensabile.Quindi per
polpettine,
italiani sia la pizza che la pasta hanno le proprie regole: prova a fare diversamente
gli
sei il diavolo in persona!
e
stereotipo sugli italiani è che amano bere caffè e vino, e
Uno
Questo è sicuramente vero: gli italiani amano il
nient’altro.
e in Italia devi stare in piedi per prenderlo. Ma questo
caffè,
tutto quello che posso dire sul caffè: non bevo caffè,
è
non conosco le regole relative a quando si può
quindi
un certo tipo di caffè, come il cappuccino o
prendere
mi stavo preparando per andare in Italia, pensavo
Quando
gli italiani bevessero solo vino, ma posso dirvi che non è
che
La birra è molto popolare qui, anche se non così
vero.
come in Inghilterra. Quindi, se vi dicono che in Italia
popolare
beve solo vino, non credeteci: anche qui si può andare in
si
locale e bere birra come un inglese. E senza problemi,
un
culture has little quirks which separate it from other
Every
in the world. Americans have guns, the British have
cultures
and the Europeans don’t. But what little quirks does
queuing
culture have which separate it from the rest? For a
Italian
think of a zebra crossing in Britain, if a pedestrian
start,
at one, it’s their right of way and the car stops for them
arrives
worries. Italy though, not a chance. Sometimes people
–no
for you but most of the time they just drive straight on by,
stop
what’s the point in having pedestrian crossings? Ludicrous!
so
explain this best, all I can do is
To
Italian Culture: Should you believe the stereotypes?
Bevande
l’espresso.
non è visto come un insulto alla cultura italiana.
The Quirky Things
quote Jeremy Clarkson, “classic Italy”.
58

thing I discovered just the other day in fact is that
Another
some reason, no real explanation given, between the
for
of 12:30 and 15:30, the shops are shut. Not all of
hours
but most of them are just shut. Why this is I can’t say
them,
sure, my best guess is that it’s for lunch, kind of like how
for
Spanish have a siesta in the middle of the day, and I
the
that is the main quirk of Italian culture. It shows
suppose
how much meals, in particular lunch, play a part on day
just
day life. I can’t think of any other country in the world
to
it plays that much of a role in life.
where
like to finish on this point, is Italy losing its culture? Based on what I’ve said here you
I’d
say no, seems Italian is still Italian to me. But I’ve noticed little things creeping in
would
I think are distorting the culture. Food appears to be becoming more American,
that
are now very popular, they’re always on sale at restaurants and in
burgers
you can buy cheese slices shaped for burgers. Don’t get me wrong,
supermarkets
delicious, but are they Italian?
they’re
come back to beer, Italy is known for its wine but I
I’ll
guarantee I had more wine in Granada than I
can
here. And this is my worry, as time wears on are
have
going to lose these respected European cultures,
we
it gets to the point where it makes no
where
where you go, will it all basically be the
difference
hope not, and I doubt it, Italy is still Italy and you find their quirks anywhere else, so in
I
to my original question yes, you can believe the stereotypes but it is definitely
answer
per la vostra attenzione. Il mio
Grazie
vlog sarà l’ultimo e parlerò dei
prossimo
progetti per il futuro. Per ora è tutto,
miei
–e alla prossima!
arrivederci
Italian Culture: Should you believe the stereotypes?
Is Italy losing its culture?
same?
changing. I just hope it doesn’t change any further.
59

of the first things I have to mention when it
One
to the environment in Florence is how
comes
the city is. There are many statues and
beautiful
artworks displayed all over the city
intricate
I find myself wanting to take pictures all
where
time. For this reason, it is understandable
the
it is such a popular destination for tourists.
why
was not surprised to see how many tourists
I
would be since Florence is one of the
there
visited cities in Italy.
more
of the more popular tourist destinations are the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio and the
Some
della Santa Croce can be flooded with tourists. However, tourism can have a
Piazza
impact on the environment at times depending on the visitors. Despite the
negative
of visitors, the environment has not been negatively impacted and the city
abundance
fairly clean and presentable. Sometimes when a city is very popular amongst
remains
there can be a risk of littering which ruins any city’s aesthetic – luckily, Florence is
tourists
one of them. The atmosphere has always felt like a really long holiday and I often
not
that I am in Florence to study!
forget
è generalmente una città pulita ed è molto raro vedere i rifiuti. Tuttavia, l’unico
Firenze
riguardante l’ambiente è la quantità di boccioli di sigaretta gettati sul
problema
Il fumo è un tempo di passaggio molto comune che può essere problematico in
terreno.
di inquinamento dell’aria e di distruzione dell’ambiente.
termini
Italy: Environment
Bayan Ali
French and Italian, Cardiff University
Tourism and its impact on the environment
A clear view from the Piazzale Michelangelo
Fumo
60

cosa da considerare è che molti eventi hanno luogo che di solito
Una
in memoria di eventi storici, come il giorno della liberazione. Il 1
sono
Maggio c’è stata una parata che conducono a grandi folle ed è
°
molto difficile per spostarli passare. Questo è simile alla
spesso
di attenzione che è stata catturata a Pasqua. Le folle
quantità
essere incredibilmente enormi e intense per coloro che
possono
fretta di mettersi al lavoro. Nel mio precedente articolo, ho
hanno
delle feste nazionali e della zona di interesse locale dove a
parlato
hanno uno spettacolo pirotecnico chiamato Lo Specchio che
Firenze
essere messo in discussione per quanto riguarda l’inquinamento
può
Tuttavia, questo spettacolo viene fatto una volta
atmosferico.
il che non dovrebbe essere eccessivamente preoccupante.
all’anno,
la stagione dei diplomi, ho notato un’enorme quantità di coriandoli sparsi per
Durante
ma nessuno li ha ripuliti. Le celebrazioni sono meravigliose ma l’ambiente non è
terra,
azioni che contribuiscono a contribuire alla
Altre
a Firenze è l’obbligo di collocare eventuali
sostenibilità
per la spazzatura e materiali di riciclaggio negli
sacchi
contenitori. Ci sono quattro contenitori
appositi
in molti posti a Firenze con l’etichetta
all’aperto
come compost, carta, plastica e vetro. In
appropriata
si consiglia di non acquistare piccole bottiglie
generale,
dai supermercati tutto il tempo. Invece, molte
d’acqua
portano la loro bottiglia ricaricabile e si
persone
di acqua di rubinetto alla fontana di acqua
riempiono
di alta qualità in Piazza Signoria o altrove.
purificata
c’è la possibilità di acquistare e portare una
Inoltre,
della spesa riutilizzabile in supermercati come
borsa
City per evitare di comprare sempre sacchetti di
Conad
Italy: Environment
Celebrazioni e il loro impatto sull’ambiente
sempre considerato.
Sostenibilità
plastica.
61

can say that Florence is a very
I
city. In fact, I never
pedestrian-friendly
need to take any mode of
really
besides walking around
transport
almost everything iswalking
because
as long as you live in the city.
distance
many people walk in the
Because
area, the air is fairly clean
metropolitan
people don’t always have to rely on
since
vehicles.
walking, scooters are a common way of getting about in Italy however there
Besides
a growing number of locals who prefer to rent a bicycle. Currently in Florence they
are
currently building a tramway which will be a more convenient mode of transport
are
of an abundance of cars.
instead
have come across many horse-carriages which is an optional way of getting around
I
enjoying the Florentine atmosphere.
and
many places are accessible by foot, less vehicles are required and Florence
Since
not have any major air pollution for that matter. Ways of preventing serious air
does
Italy: Environment
Transport and its effect on the environment
pollution in Florence is riding bikes and taking the ATAF bus.
I problemi ambientali non minacciano la bellezza di questa città.
62

“If you talk to a man in a language he
understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to
him in his own language, that goes to his heart.”
Nelson Mandela

Follow our Language Ambassadors around the globe as they embark on
their year abroad. Tasked with writing blogs on specific topics from the
GCSE and A Level exam specification, the students share personal
highlights and cultural flavours from across Europe and beyond. LingoMap
is the successor to the award-winning ‘Adopt a Class’ scheme. Redesigned
as a digital booklet, we aim to reach a wider classroom audience across
Wales. The LingoMap booklet collection provides visual and informative
pieces to show pupils the global opportunities available to them through
studying languages.
routesintolanguagescymru.co.uk
Routes into Languages Cymru © 2020