Dear pronunciation diary...

...did you know that pronunciation in a foreign language is like the love at first sight? Let me explain this analogy.

Situation one: 
You are walking down the street with a friend, talking, holding waffles in your hands and suddenly your friend stops to greet someone. They small talk for a moment and then your friend turns to you and says: "This is my friend so-and-so, and this is my friend so-and-so from school". You put your waffle in your other hand, reach out to shake hands, smile politely and say "Hi, nice to meet you."... and BAM! There it was. The person you just shook hands with is now madly in love with you.

Situation two:
You are walking down the street with a friend, talking in German, holding waffles in your hands an suddenly your friend stops to greet someone. They talk about New Zealand, where this person is apparently from, and then your friend turns to you and says: "This is my friend so-and-so from New Zealand, and this is my friend so-and-so from school". You put your waffle in your other hand, reach out to shake hands, smiling politely and you say in the most perfect New Zealand accent: "Hi, nice to meet you."...and BAAMBAMBOO! There it was. The person you just talked to is now madly in love with your English. 

So you see, dear pronunciation diary, peoples' first impression about your English skills are not based on advanced grammar or vocabulary but on how good or bad your pronunciation is. 

As I am not a native speaker and as I am not perfect in English pronunciation, I am going to focus on a few problems that might cause difficulties for me. Before doing any intonation or rhythm exercises let's start with the basics. 

Pronunciation of individual sounds
may seem trivial but this is the point where a lot goes wrong without noticing. Before trying to make out the different sounds, it seems more apparent for me to have a look at homonyms. Homonyms are words that are spelled differently and have a different meaning but are pronounced the same. The most obvious ones are, for example,

• your/ you're   /jɔː, jʊə/
• male/ mail  /meɪl/
• deer/ dear   /dɪə/

there are also some that are not that obvious, such as,

• incite/ insight  /ɪnˈsʌɪt/ +  /ˈɪnsʌɪt/ (NOTE: stress not the same!) 
• boy/ buoy  /bɔɪ/
• ring/ wring  /rɪŋ/

HERE are a couple of more homonyms and some additional exercises.

Minimal pairs are the best way to differentiate individual sounds. Now, pronouncing minimal pairs as an exercise sounds relatively dull. And it is. An alternative and more fun way to practise this are tongue twisters.
It's time for Hank Green now.

Can I do this? No. Definitely not. But I am going to practise this because it's so much more fun than just pronouncing dull minimal pairs.


HERE is an application where you can write in the phonetic alphabet. It's genius, I like it!

Dear pronunciation diary, that's it for today, see you next time for more pronunciation adventures.
Best, N

Critique on an anonymous summary

The summary

Europe already has one foot in "Japanese" deflation grave

“The debt deflation theory” by professor Irving Fisher would take EU authorities far in the battle against rising debt. As the American Revolution has shown, deflation is an underestimated danger with the potential to lead to economic disaster. If total debt grows too high, as happens in Western Europe, deflation gets mortal. The eurostat index depicts that deflation has dropped. The tendency of falling prices is seen in many countries. Similar to Japan’s crisis, the eurozone economy is in endangered by high debt ratios and sustained deflation. Zsolt Darvas from the Brussels think tank Bruegel equates deflation with bleakness. He accuses the European approach of the debt crisis and mentions the dilemma of states being pushed to “internal devaluations”. Vicious dynamics such as the “denominator effect” are witnessed in countries like Italy, where debt rises faster than GDP. The same is true for private debt, where with crash diets for erred states, economic self destruction was only enhanced. For Mr Darvas, let inflation elevate means escaping from the deflationary spiral. Responsible for money shifting to Germany is the ECB and non counteracting member states which fear Germany would leave the eurozone. Europe hope for global growth to fight the deflation virus.

My critique

It seems to me, unfortunately, that the author of this text has nor fully identified the topic of the article. I have marked all content slips in orange and all language mistakes in red. 

Content-wise it was not necessary to include either the American revolution nor professor Irving Fisher. It is wasting precious word count that could have been used to explain, for example, different consequences of deflation in  EU countries. Furthermore, mentioning Zsolt Darvas is obsolete as most people do not know who he is and what he does. In the next sentence the author mentions "...the European approach..." which is not exact as European politicians are supposed to approach this issue. 

language:

happens             is happening

gets mortal        deflation would become dangerous

the Brussels      Brussels

like                   such as

crash diets         (refers rather to food than economy)

self destruction     self-destruction

money shifting     (not sure if that is an actual expression)

hope                  hopes

Apart from those difficulties the text also does not seem very coherent nor would I understand what the article was about, reading this summery in advance. 

However, there are a couple of important ideas that were included, such as deflation being an underestimated danger, what happens when debt rises faster than nominal GDP and Europe trying to solve the problems by doing nothing. 

EU Individual Paragraph

2014 European Year For Reconciling Work and Family Life

My paragraph's way to its perfection.

Draft #1
In 2011 the COFACE, the Confederation of Family Organisation in the European Union, proposed to the European Parliament that 2014 should be the year to focus on work-life balance for EU citizens. The European Parliament approved this proposal to be the EU's focus in 2014. Since then, the COFACE is establishing a policy plan to improve work and family life as our society is evolving towards an Europe where it is challenging for families, especially women, to combine work and having children. Therefore, COFACE's aim is to create a family policy which provides answers for obstacles that are difficult for families in Europe to overcome on their own. Besides work-life balance, other important aims for 2014 are to establish equality for women and men, more job security and a more productive workforce. However, it is not the purpose of the organisation to force anything on families in Europe, but to enable EU citizens to live a decent quality of life. So, in particular for families in the EU, 2014 is a year to look forward to. 

[185 words]

Corrections #1

In 2011 the COFACE, the Confederation of Family Organisation in the European Union,  (interrupts reading) proposed to the European Parliament that 2014 should be the  (sounds too German) year to focus on work-life balance for EU citizens. The European Parliament approved this proposal to be the EU's focus in 2014. Since then, the COFACE is establishing a policy plan to improve work and family life as our society is evolving towards an Europe where it is challenging for families, especially women, to combine (why not use verb referring back to the topic?) work and having children. Therefore, COFACE's aim is to create (wrong collocation) a family policy which provides answers for obstacles that are difficult for families in Europe to overcome on their own. Besides work-life balance, other important aims for 2014 are to establish equality for women and men, more job security and a more productive workforce. However, it is not the purpose of the organisation to force anything on families in Europe, but to enable EU citizens to live a decent quality of (you can't really live a quality) life. So, in particular for families in the EU, 2014 is a year to look forward to. 

Thanks to Alexandra and Dominik for all the constructive tips!

Draft #2

In 2011 the Confederation of Family Organisation in the European Union (COFACE) proposed to the European Parliament that 2014 to be the year to focus on work-life balance for EU citizens. The European Parliament approved this proposal to be the EU's focus in 2014. Since then, the COFACE is establishing a policy plan to improve work and family life as our society is evolving towards an Europe where it is challenging for families, especially women, to reconcile work and having children. Therefore, COFACE's aim is to implement a family policy which provides answers for obstacles that are difficult for families in Europe to overcome on their own. Besides work-life balance, other important aims for 2014 are to establish equality for women and men, more job security and a more productive workforce. However, it is not the purpose of the organisation to force anything on families in Europe, but to enable EU citizens to live a decent life. So, in particular for families in the EU, 2014 is a year to look forward to.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Corrections #2

In 2011 (comma) the Confederation of Family Organisation in the European Union (COFACE) proposed to the European Parliament that (forgot to adjust to correction #1) 2014 to be the year to focus on work-life balance for EU citizens. The European Parliament approved this proposal to be the EU's focus in 2014.  (no need for repetition) Since then, the (organisations do not need articles) COFACE is establishing (I can't believe I got the tense wrong here) a policy plan to improve work and family life as our society is evolving towards an (pronunciation is /ˈjʊərəp/) Europe where it is challenging for families, especially women, to reconcile work and having children. Therefore, COFACE's aim is to implement a family policy which provides answers for obstacles that are difficult for families in Europe to overcome on their own. Besides work-life balance, other important aims for 2014 are to establish equality for (the preposition between works better here) women and men, more job security and a more productive workforce. However, it is not the purpose of the organisation to force anything on families in Europe, but to enable EU citizens to live a decent life. So,  (rather informal) in particular for families in the EU, 2014 is a year to look forward to.  (needs changing)

Thank you, Mirjam and Sonja, for your help!

Draft #3

In 2011, the Confederation of Family Organisation in the European Union (COFACE) proposed to the European Parliament for 2014 to be the year to focus on work-life balance for EU citizens. The European Parliament approved this proposal. Since then, COFACE has been establishing a policy plan to improve work and family life as our society is evolving towards a Europe where it is challenging for families, especially women, to reconcile work and having children. Therefore, COFACE's aim is to implement a family policy which provides answers for obstacles that are difficult for families in Europe to overcome on their own. Besides work-life balance, other important aims for 2014 are to establish equality between women and men, more job security and a more productive workforce. However, it is not the purpose of the organisation to force anything on families in Europe, but to enable EU citizens to live a decent life. Owing to the organisation's efforts, 2014 is a year to look forward to, in particular for families in the EU. 


____________________________________________________________________________________

Corrections #3

In 2011, the Confederation of Family Organisation in the European Union (COFACE) proposed to the European Parliament for 2014 to be the year to focus on work-life balance for EU citizens. The European Parliament approved this proposal. (too short, disconnected sentence that ends apruptly) Since then, COFACE has been establishing a policy plan to improve work and family life as our society is evolving towards a Europe where it is challenging for families, especially women, to reconcile work and having children. (men can't do this) Therefore, COFACE's aim is to implement a family policy which provides answers for obstacles (wrong collocation) that are difficult for families in Europe to overcome on their own. Besides work-life balance, other important aims for 2014 are to establish equality between women and men, more job security and a more productive workforce. However, it is not the purpose of the organisation to force anything on families in Europe, (outside information, not neccessary to include) but to enable EU citizens to live a decent life. Owing to the organisation's efforts, 2014 is a year to look forward to, in particular for families in the EU.



Final Version

In 2011, the Confederation of Family Organisation in the European Union (COFACE) proposed to the European Parliament that 2014 be the year to focus on work-life balance for EU citizens. After the European Parliament approved this proposal, COFACE has been establishing a policy plan to improve work and family life as our society is evolving towards a Europe where it is challenging for families, especially women, to reconcile work and taking care for children. Therefore, COFACE's aim is to implement a family policy which provides solutions for problems that are difficult for families in Europe to solve on their own. Besides work-life balance, other important aims for 2014 are to establish equality between women and men, more job security and a more productive workforce. In short, the purpose of the organisation is to enable EU citizens to live a decent life. Owing to the organisation's efforts, 2014 is a year to look forward to, in particular for families in the EU.

Possible EU paper topics

Our first blogging homework is to think of five possible topics, related to this semester's main topic, namely the EU, which we would consider writing a paper about. Also we are expected to explain why we chose that topic.
These are the topics I chose:

• The path of the Gaelic language into the EU

Why did Gaelic become an official language of the EU? This is the question I asked myself when I learnt that this language got official EU status a few years ago. So, I'd like to answer this question, mainly for myself. 

• Why did the EU receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012?

Last semester we had to write a text for MuK regarding the EU. I stumbled upon an article about why so many people do not understand (and do nor appreciate) The EU receiving the prize. I found that interesting but unfortunately I didn't research on the topic any further.

• European Union of the Deaf

As my second language is Austrian sign language it is obvious that I'm interested in deaf culture and so it probably would make a interesting topic for me to research about. 

• European Union of the Blind

When I was googling the European Union of the Deaf I stumbled upon the European Union of the Blind and thought that this topic could be interesting as well. Maybe there is even a chance to combine these two topics somehow.

• EU symbols- flag, anthem, motto, Europa and Zeus, Europe Day

How many stars are there on the European flag? Who composed the anthem? And what has Greek mythology to do with the EU? Well, I these are a couple of interesting questions which are just waiting to be answered.

Hallo and welcome...

...back to my English Adventures blog to everyone who already is acquainted with my scribbling and a friendly wave to all new readers. As blogging was fun the last year, I'm looking forward to writing some more ideas of mine. So, I hope you are enjoying my entries as much as I enjoy writing them.

Just a few words about me in form of a Q&A survey. Although the Qs come from me. As well as the As.

Q: Why are you called that? 

A: I'm called Natascha because my mom was very into Russian literature and when she got me she called me after the main character in Tolstoy's War and Peace. At the same time it was her best friends name as well. Ramic is quite self-explenatory as it is my family name.

Q: How old are you?

A: I'm twenteen. ;)

Q: What is your second language at the ITAT?

A: Austrian Sign Language (ÖGS)

Q: What are your hobbies?

A: I would say dancing is my "main hobby". At least, it is the hobby I spend most of my spare time on. I think I don't have to stress how much I enjoy it and that there would be a big black hole in my life without it. Another hobby I enjoy, nearly as much as dancing, is reading. I have this awful problem that when I'm currently reading a book, I usually buy another ten. So, I never really catch up with reading all the books I possess. In addition, I'm a very slow reader. 


Q: What is your favorite color?

A: red.

Q: Favorite book?

A: I have no answer to this question. Picking a favorite book would be like a mother picking her favorite child.

Q: Favorite food?

A: Lasagne, Pizza, chocolate and tea.

Q: In which English speaking countries have you been so far?

A: I fear not in as many as I'd like to. I've been in Edinburgh and London so far but unfortunately never stayed longer than ten days.

Q: What are you known for?

A: I'm not entirely sure how other people see me. However, I'd say that I'm know for not being able to be completely serious. Perhaps also for my tendency to be a little cheesy and a little hyper sometimes. And, of course, for being a huge tea addict.

Q: Favorite Disney song?

A: At this moment: A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes. But it  changes constantly.
 
Q: What is your favorite place in the entire world?

A: I was in Edinburgh two years ago and it was simply amazing. Hauntingly beautiful is the best way to describe it! But the happiest I've ever felt is when I've been in a room that is full of my favorite people.


I hope this little Q&A helped you to get me know a little. If you feel the urge to ask me something, a little tingly feeling in your fingers to write a comment or if you just want to tell me something, feel free to do so. 
Bye and hakuna matata.