h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Afrikaans is indeed a lot like Dutch. pronounciation is slightly different and the expressions .. well .. raise eyebrows.

every native Dutch will understand Afrikaans though (mind you, there's not a lot of native Dutch in Amsterdam now!)

yes..people understood me but it must have sounded very funny...

Welterusten...see you again

welterusten, slaap lekker (sleep well)

Hello again How's things?

I'm reading Rutger Kopland's 'Memories of the Unknown' (in a bilingual version ) - I like this from 'Topografie van mijn geboortegrond' : '...dit ben je, zeiden ze, hier ben je. Mijn topografie is te raadselachtig om te beschrijven, te vanselfsprekend voor woorden,
ik ben omdat ik er ben.'

...
Er moet een toevallige god zijn.

...
(There must be an accidental god.)

(* note for lurkers: http://www.brindin.com/pokoptop.htm *)

Yes, there must be...

Great site All those poems in different languages!

brilliant aint'it? spend days in there

Well now I will too! Especially as I'm taking a lateral approach to language-learning at the moment to build on the shaky foundations of languages that have caught my imagination over time. A friend gave me a 'Polyglob' book in France a few years ago, which gives useful phrases simultaneously in many different languages : it seems to be out of print now but my eared copy is still very useful.
The only slight disadvantage was that I sometimes forget which country I 'm in or which language I 'm speaking (can't quite work out which )

Do you have a favourite language?

.. I'm afraid I'm not really that much talented in languages.. I tried to learn Russian for a short period, failed. And I failed in German, French. I can only handle Dutch and English languages I'm afraid..

Maybe you're a lateral thinker too? (I failed with languages at school - only passed a crucial Afrikaans exam through sheer luck - because the 'linear' , repetitive learning-style didn't suit me...) But song lyrics and poems seemed to 'stick' and that got me interested in different ways of approaching language learning
How are your travel plans going?

mm.. not good .. the African thing is cancelled and I am extremely angry about that .. (the way it was cancelled) ..
And I'm a bit p***ed off, three years in Moscow and I still don't recognise petty crooks and small time thieves. (problem with this one is that their USA based holding firm does not act or does not recognise it either.. I expected they would)

ah well..

Oh dear! That doesn't sound good. Is there any redress against the gangsters?

Slaap lekker

(I did) .. and I decided to and ignore the minor issue.. I only lost a few weeks w*rk

still reading multi-lingual poetry?

(* quite an amazing site actually .. keeps surprising me *)

Yes...keep discovering new things so again Have you had a look at the Catalan poetry?

briefly, yes.. only the english translations mind you .. I did have a longer look at the olde English (anglo saxon) poetry

Yes I've only really read the English translations too ...just having a look at the Anglo-Saxon (my name originates from Aelfthrytha - means 'the strength of elves' or 'elf-friend' I think