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Author Archive for Shiv Rajendran
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After a brief discussion with our newest employee in the Languagelab office, Michael of “Brisvegas”. We have discovered the diversity of the Australian version of English. There is not a very noticeable difference in accents across Australia (probably because it is a very new country) yet the amount of words that have been made slang, make a very interesting case study.
Australia Slang, Aussie Slang, or Strine as it is sometimes called, is a reflection of the harsh Australian land, and the no-nonsense “lets get on with it” attitude of the Australian people. So a lot of corners are cut both with what they say and how they say it.
Some examples include:
G’Day : hello! (Short for good day)
Chrissie : Christmas
Ace! : Excellent! Very good!
Spit the Dummy : get very upset at something
Greenie : environmentalist
No dramas : same as ‘no worries’
Rip snorter : great, fantastic
Sanger : a sandwich
Spag bol : spaghetti bolognese
Veg out : relax in front of the TV (like a vegetable)
Brisvegas : Brisbane, state capital of Queensland
For more slang please visit here. (please note, there is some bad language on this page.)
So you can take a little bit of Langaugelab everywhere you go, weekly Podcasts are now available at the Brass Tacks store in English City.
Click on blue button to download
There will be a new one every week, available in mp3 format so you can listen to it on your phone, ipod, computer or any compatible device.
Visit English City now to get your copy.
http://bit.ly/LanguagelabPodcast
Enjoy,
Shiv
Lucky film maker is a Youtube star !
I found a really interesting article on the BBC news website and I want to share it with you and ask you some questions!
A producer from Uruguay who uploaded a short film to YouTube in November 2009 has been offered a $30m (£18.6m) contract to make a Hollywood film.
The movie will be sponsored by director Sam Raimi, whose credits include the Spiderman and Evil Dead films. Fede Alvarez’s short film “Ataque de Panico!” (Panic Attack!) featured giant robots invading and destroying Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. It is 4 mins 48 seconds long and was made on a budget of $300 (£186). So far it has had more than 1.5 million views on YouTube. “I uploaded (Panic Attack!) on a Thursday and on Monday my inbox was totally full of e-mails from Hollywood studios,” he told the BBC’s Latin American service BBC Mundo. “It was amazing, we were all shocked.” The movie Mr Alvarez has been asked to produce is a sci-fi film to be shot in Uruguay and Argentina. He says he intends to start from scratch and develop a new story for the project. “If some director from some country can achieve this just uploading a video to YouTube, it obviously means that anyone could do it,” he added. YouTube recently revealed the most watched videos of 2009. Britain’s Got Talent star Susan Boyle topped the chart with more than 120 million views worldwide of her debut on the show. Prepare for the article and ask a friend these questions:
- What is your favourite film?
- Are there any famous film makers from your country?
- Have you ever uploaded anything to Youtube?
- How many different kinds of film can you name? For example; horror, comedy etc.
Did you understand the article? Let’s take a closer look:
1. What did the producer from Uruguay do in November 2009?
2. How much was the contract he was offered?
3. What happens in the short movie?
4. How much did the movie cost to make?
5. How did Mr Alvarez feel about the offer from the studio?
6. What was the most watched film on Youtube in 2009?
Now it’s your turn!
What has been your favourite video clip on Youtube in 2009 and why ?
Post back a comment and I will correct your Spelling and grammar for you.
Go and see Pebbles on Thursday 25th at 4:00pm GMT to talk more about your favourite Youtube clips.
Merry Xmas from the Languagelab.com
Languagelab has just launched a twitter account. We will be using it for ESL tips and adivce as well as languagelab news and updates.
http://twitter.com/Languagelab
Shiv
Learn Spanish at Languagelab
Would you like to learn Spanish through real experiences in a friendly, Spanish speaking virtual city?
Have you ever wanted to learn a language but found yourself put off by dry, traditional classes?
Did you learn Spanish a while ago … y lo tiene un poquito olvidado?
….well Languagelab is offering you the chance to learn with our qualified native speaker Spanish teachers from the comfort of your own home …. in our very own virtual Spanish speaking city ‘Ciudad Bonita’.
We have a new payment system on the web site. It uses PayPal which allows us to accept payments from over 190 countries using a range of Credit, Debit cards and even bank transfers where available.
All those who couldn’t join us before because of payment issues now can.