Fluent in 3 Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World

Language and the cultural confusion often born from it, guarante

lingua connoisseur here.

Language and the cultural confusion often born from it, guarantees merry moments around a dinner table, or a barbecue fire. It ensures fun and fantasy when politics, religion and money-talk can make or break an evening instead.

For instance, Dutch and Afrikaans has a father-and-son connection. Afrikaans developed from an old form of Dutch when the latter established themselves at the southern foot of Africa. From the initial Dutch another language was born, incorporating many words from many cultures, either Asian, African or European and was called Afrikaans. It was a mix of people living together in Southern Africa. But the core language feeding the new language was Dutch.

The problem is that the confusion often did not vested in the word and spelling, it manifested itself in the meaning. In South Africa there are road signs indicating a “Aftrekplek”, which means a picnic spot next to the road where trees are normally planted and refuge bins are placed for the long-distance traveler’s convenience. It was baffling to South Africans that huge tour buses stopped at those signs and the entire Dutch group had themselves photographed standing under the sign. Until it was discovered that ‘Aftrekplek’ in Dutch means a place where you can masturbate! For us, working with tourists from all over the globe, this was a huge source of laughter and fun.

Matsushita Electric was promoting a Japanese PC for internet users. It came with a Japanese Web browser courtesy of Panasonic. Panasonic had licensed the cartoon character “Woody Woodpecker” as the “Internet guide.”

The day before a huge marketing campaign was to begin, Panasonic stopped the product launch. The reason: the ads featured the slogan “Touch Woody – The Internet Pecker.” An American at the internal product launch explained to the stunned and embarrassed Japanese what “touch woody” and “pecker” meant in American slang.

Port Wallhamn is a Swedish port. The companies that surround it used to give their employees ties with the logo “W” and an anchor. The combination forms a very nice rebus for Wanker, much to the chagrin of the British workers who had to wear it.

Gerber, the name of the famous baby food maker, is also the French word for vomiting. It becomes a bit limiting when you go global… Gerber is therefore not in France, and although Gerber has a French Canadian web page, it says “Les aliments pour bébés Gerber ne sont disponibles pour l’instant qu’aux États-Unis” (French for: The baby food ain’t here, try the U.S.) source:

Another interesting read:

There are numerous examples of these mishaps in the advertising field. There are generally three types of consumer confusion, labeled types M, B and D (“Misleading”, “Bewildering”, and “Discriminatory”, respectively). If products are marketed globally, it can become a minefield of blunders within the cultural context. For much intertainment you can read this article by Mike Fromowitz, .

I can verify this based on my own experiences as a sociologist. A big supermarket group in South Africa brought out a collection of basic products under the ‘No Brand Name’, which targeted the lower income groups. By cutting out the costs of labels on the products, their aim was to offer a cheaper product, even though the content of the tin or bottle was exactly the same. These products did not sell at all in their target market. The lower income groups still bought the more expensive labelled products. In an incidental conversation with a supermarket manager, while shopping for food, he told me about their bafflement. Being busy with community development research within the poorer communities of South Africa at the time, I immediately grasp the problem. So I told him. The poorer people could not read and write, therefore bought the brands which had pictures on the product. It was the only way they knew what they were buying. I was not capitalistic enough at the time to send them a bill for my services which saved them millions in losses. Oy! My loss indeed! 🙂

My ramblings in this review is about the WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER LEARNING NEW LANGUAGES. This book, though, is about HOW TO DO IT.

The author encourages people to not only learn new languages, but also make it a fun experiences, instead of battling the beasts in an academic environment. The author provides a plethora of tips and tricks to master new languages and even manage to fuel an enthusiasm for it. He encourages people to not only learn the language, but get more involved in the cultural medium feeding the language, which I agree with one hundred percent.

The book does not make the challenge easier, and is not a manual for hyperpolyglots, but it puts loads of fun into it. By following the basic recommendations in the book, the optimistic conqueror of Babel will learn any language much quicker, but it remains a challenge. So he is not blindsiding the seeker of knowledge. For instance, he makes it clear that it is much more efficient to spend time with a mother-tongue user than trying to decipher ancient scripts of literature in a university library. For the purpose of a holiday, or a social event, you do not need to kill yourself with unnecessary torture, unless you need to work in those environments of course.

One of the most touching videos on language exchange, which demonstrates an easy, free and socially-barrier-breaking way of doing it, is this one: ” . It will make your day – my guarantee!

This book is for the traveler who wishes to not only visit a country, but to get immersed in the local cultures. It is a ‘how-to’ – exercise.

Another way of getting a language quicker, for me at least, is to learn as many songs as possible in it. Learn the lyrics as well as the meaning of the words. It not only makes it fun, it also enable the singer to conquer the pronouncements of words much easier. This way of cognitive implanting in the brain (my description) was used in much earlier centuries when nobody knew how to read or write and large portions of the Khoran, for instance, had to be memorized. This simple highly effective method of sing-song is still in use of course. A fun way for me to learn a language was not only to sing along, but to learn the cultural dances as well. That tied me over forever.

The book does not include all my enthusiastic pirouettes on the keyboard. The author sticks to the HOW TO, and does not include my thoughts on the WHY you have to do it. He provides a vast resource of internet opportunities to practice and speak for free. Fun! Fun! Fun!

If you ever consider visiting South Africa, you can start out by learning the national anthem. The song comprises of a section of Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika (with verses sung in Xhosa, Zulu and Sotho), followed by two verses from the former anthem, Die Stem, with one each being sung in Afrikaans and English. Five languages in one go! How’s that for a bargain! 🙂

The hymn ‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika’ (‘God Bless Africa’) is a gorgeous piece of music, and with the beautiful harmonies that African choirs impart to its performance, it is often regarded as a typical piece of African music. It therefore comes as something of a shock to realise that the melody was written by a Welshman, Joseph Parry, in 1887 and was originally titled’ ‘Aberystwyth’!

Just for interest’s sake: South Africa has 11 official languages, excluding the multitude of regional, ethnic and other forms of communication. The miners, which comes from all over Africa have their own potpourri, called ‘Fanagalo’ and Swahili serves the rest of Africa as a common communicating pot of languages.

Another very good reason to consider applying some brainfloss to your life is the immense benefits it holds for improving brain functionality, not only in older age groups, but for any person. This article, , might convince you.

“Speaking a foreign language improves the functionality of your brain by challenging it to recognise, negotiate meaning, and communicate in different language systems. This skill boosts your ability to negotiate meaning in other problem-solving tasks as well.

There are numerous other websites which discussed the benefits. Learning a new language has been successfully used in stutter-therapy, for instance. Something brainy and beautiful is happening if you do it! Learning a new language can even:

Another very good proven reason:

So, although this book assists in making the experiences free and fun, providing all the resources for ingenious ways of going forward, I thought of providing you the reasons why you can venture off to the Tower of Babel and open up the rest of the world as we know it for your own enjoyment.

This book will fuel and turn your linguistic fires into blazes of joy!

I simply love languages. It is the very reason why I wanted to read this book. Not that I want to, or can, call myself a global fundi on the subject. Just the opposite. My love for words is more a light hobby than anything else. I can master five languages in a ‘jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none way and know a few tidbits of three others. But it’s still a huge delight in my life. Thus, you do not deal with ahere.Language and the cultural confusion often born from it, guarantees merry moments around a dinner table, or a barbecue fire. It ensures fun and fantasy when politics, religion and money-talk can make or break an evening instead.For instance, Dutch and Afrikaans has a father-and-son connection. Afrikaans developed from an old form of Dutch when the latter established themselves at the southern foot of Africa. From the initial Dutch another language was born, incorporating many words from many cultures, either Asian, African or European and was called Afrikaans. It was a mix of people living together in Southern Africa. But the core language feeding the new language was Dutch.The problem is that the confusion often did not vested in the word and spelling, it manifested itself in the meaning. In South Africa there are road signs indicating a, which means a picnic spot next to the road where trees are normally planted and refuge bins are placed for the long-distance traveler’s convenience. It was baffling to South Africans that huge tour buses stopped at those signs and the entire Dutch group had themselves photographed standing under the sign. Until it was discovered that ‘Aftrekplek’ in Dutch means a place where you can masturbate! For us, working with tourists from all over the globe, this was a huge source of laughter and fun.Matsushita Electric was promoting a Japanese PC for internet users. It came with a Japanese Web browser courtesy of Panasonic. Panasonic had licensed the cartoon character “Woody Woodpecker” as the “Internet guide.”The day before a huge marketing campaign was to begin, Panasonic stopped the product launch. The reason: the ads featured the slogan “Touch Woody – The Internet Pecker.” An American at the internal product launch explained to the stunned and embarrassed Japanese what “touch woody” and “pecker” meant in American slang.Port Wallhamn is a Swedish port. The companies that surround it used to give their employees ties with the logo “W” and an anchor. The combination forms a very nice rebus for Wanker, much to the chagrin of the British workers who had to wear it.Gerber, the name of the famous baby food maker, is also the French word for vomiting. It becomes a bit limiting when you go global… Gerber is therefore not in France, and although Gerber has a French Canadian web page, it says “Les aliments pour bébés Gerber ne sont disponibles pour l’instant qu’aux États-Unis” (French for: The baby food ain’t here, try the U.S.) source:Another interesting read:There are numerous examples of these mishaps in the advertising field. There are generally three types of consumer confusion, labeled types M, B and D (“Misleading”, “Bewildering”, and “Discriminatory”, respectively). If products are marketed globally, it can become a minefield of blunders within the cultural context. For much intertainment you can read this article by Mike Fromowitz,I can verify this based on my own experiences as a sociologist. A big supermarket group in South Africa brought out a collection of basic products under the ‘No Brand Name’, which targeted the lower income groups. By cutting out the costs of labels on the products, their aim was to offer a cheaper product, even though the content of the tin or bottle was exactly the same. These products did not sell at all in their target market. The lower income groups still bought the more expensive labelled products. In an incidental conversation with a supermarket manager, while shopping for food, he told me about their bafflement. Being busy with community development research within the poorer communities of South Africa at the time, I immediately grasp the problem. So I told him. The poorer people could not read and write, therefore bought the brands which had pictures on the product. It was the only way they knew what they were buying. I was not capitalistic enough at the time to send them a bill for my services which saved them millions in losses. Oy! My loss indeed! :-)My ramblings in this review is about the WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER LEARNING NEW LANGUAGES. This book, though, is about HOW TO DO IT.The author encourages people to not only learn new languages, but also make it a fun experiences, instead of battling the beasts in an academic environment. The author provides a plethora of tips and tricks to master new languages and even manage to fuel an enthusiasm for it. He encourages people to not only learn the language, but get more involved in the cultural medium feeding the language, which I agree with one hundred percent.The book does not make the challenge easier, and is not a manual for hyperpolyglots, but it puts loads of fun into it. By following the basic recommendations in the book, the optimistic conqueror of Babel will learn any language much quicker, but it remains a challenge. So he is not blindsiding the seeker of knowledge. For instance, he makes it clear that it is much more efficient to spend time with a mother-tongue user than trying to decipher ancient scripts of literature in a university library. For the purpose of a holiday, or a social event, you do not need to kill yourself with unnecessary torture, unless you need to work in those environments of course.One of the most touching videos on language exchange, which demonstrates an easy, free and socially-barrier-breaking way of doing it, is this one: “. It will make your day – my guarantee!This book is for the traveler who wishes to not only visit a country, but to get immersed in the local cultures. It is a ‘how-to’ – exercise.Another way of getting a language quicker, for me at least, is to learn as many songs as possible in it. Learn the lyrics as well as the meaning of the words. It not only makes it fun, it also enable the singer to conquer the pronouncements of words much easier. This way of cognitive implanting in the brain (my description) was used in much earlier centuries when nobody knew how to read or write and large portions of the Khoran, for instance, had to be memorized. This simple highly effective method of sing-song is still in use of course. A fun way for me to learn a language was not only to sing along, but to learn the cultural dances as well. That tied me over forever.The book does not include all my enthusiastic pirouettes on the keyboard. The author sticks to the HOW TO, and does not include my thoughts on the WHY you have to do it. He provides a vast resource of internet opportunities to practice and speak for free. Fun! Fun! Fun!If you ever consider visiting South Africa, you can start out by learning the national anthem. The song comprises of a section of(with verses sung in Xhosa, Zulu and Sotho), followed by two verses from the former anthem,, with one each being sung in Afrikaans and English. Five languages in one go! How’s that for a bargain! :-)The hymn(‘God Bless Africa’) is a gorgeous piece of music, and with the beautiful harmonies that African choirs impart to its performance, it is often regarded as a typical piece of African music. It therefore comes as something of a shock to realise that the melody was written by a Welshman, Joseph Parry, in 1887 and was originally titled’Just for interest’s sake: South Africa has 11 official languages, excluding the multitude of regional, ethnic and other forms of communication. The miners, which comes from all over Africa have their own potpourri, calledand Swahili serves the rest of Africa as a common communicating pot of languages.Another very good reason to consider applying some brainfloss to your life is the immense benefits it holds for improving brain functionality, not only in older age groups, but for any person. This article,, might convince you.There are numerous other websites which discussed the benefits. Learning a new language has been successfully used in stutter-therapy, for instance. Something brainy and beautiful is happening if you do it! Learning a new language can even:Another very good proven reason:So, although this book assists in making the experiences free and fun, providing all the resources for ingenious ways of going forward, I thought of providing you the reasons why you can venture off to the Tower of Babel and open up the rest of the world as we know it for your own enjoyment.This book will fuel and turn your linguistic fires into blazes of joy!