Здоровенькі були, мої сміливці! Дякую вам за інтерес до української мови. Ваше завзяття у вивченні надихає мене створювати матеріали, які б допомогли поринути у нашу мову й культуру ще глибше. 

Bravery speaks Ukrainian

PATTY: I’m really excited for Aunt Mary’s surprise birthday party
this afternoon! Aren’t you?
SUSAN: Yeah! How old is she?
PATTY:  She’ll be 55 on May 14 [fourteenth].
SUSAN: Wow! I didn’t know that my mom was older — she’s going
to be 57 on September 2 [second]. Anyway, Aunt Mary’s 
going to be so surprised to see us all here!
PATTY: I know! But we still have to get all the food set up before 
she gets here … OK! We’re all ready now. Shh! She’s here!
ALL: Surprise!


LANGUAGE NOTES
• I’m really excited … Notice the emphasis on “really.” “Really” is used to emphasize the 
adjective “excited” here.
• Birthday party Notice that the normal stress for a compound noun falls on the first 
element of the compound.
• Aren’t you? This negative tag is used to show that the speaker expects a positive 
answer. Patty assumes that Susan is also looking forward to the party.
• She’ll be 55 Notice that “55” is stressed here. This detail answers the question “How 
old is she?”
• Fourteenth Notice that we use “th” for ordinal numbers, starting with 4 [but first, 
second and third]. The stress is on the second syllable [fourTEENTH]. Compare this with 
“fortieth: 40th” [FORtieth].
• She’s going to be ... Notice how this is pronounced like “gonna be.” Instead of four 
syllables “go/ing/to/be” there are three syllables “ga/na/be.”

English Conversation practice (30-day challenge)

Day 20: Birthdays

Uma breve explicação sobre as contrações e seu uso obrigatório.

Learn Portuguese Today with Rodrigo

Contrações (no, na, nos, nas, do, da, dos, das, pelo, pela,...) Quando usar?

【登場人物】

Andreea Popescu（アンドレア・ポペスク）
ブカレスト観光案内所の職員。明るく、丁寧な日本語を話す。日本文化が大好き。

陳 公明（ちぇん・こうめい）
中国・上海出身。日本在住の研究者。英語は苦手だが日本語が堪能。3週間の休暇で東欧旅行でルーマニアに来た。


(陳さんが観光案内所を訪れる)

陳：「あの、すみません。ここ、日本語で大丈夫ですか？」

アンドレア：（にこやかに）
「はい、大丈夫ですよ。ようこそ、ブカレストへ！」

陳：「助かりました。実は英語が苦手で……日本語が通じるなんて思いませんでした。」

アンドレア：「実は私は日本語を大学で勉強したんです。日本に少し留学もしました。」

陳：「そうなんですか？発音がすごく自然ですね。」

アンドレア：（照れながら）
「ありがとうございます。今日はどんな場所をお探しですか？」


陳：「初めてのルーマニアなので、有名な観光地を一日でまわれるルートを知りたいんです。」

アンドレア：「なるほど。一日ですね。それなら——」

アンドレア

「まず午前中に**国民の館（Palatul Parlamentului）**を見学しましょう。世界最大級の建物です。内部ツアーも人気ですよ。」

陳：「へぇ、そんなに大きいんですか？」

アンドレア：「ええ。チャウシェスク時代の建築で、歴史の重さを感じられます。」

陳：「なるほど……ではそのあと？」

アンドレア：「午後は**旧市街（Centrul Vechi）**を歩きましょう。カフェやレストランがたくさんあって、建物もフォトジェニックですよ。」

陳：「いいですね。写真を撮るのが趣味なので楽しみです。」

アンドレア：「夕方になったら、**ヘラストラウ公園（Parcul Herăstrău）**で少し休むのもおすすめです。湖の景色がきれいなんです。」

陳：「へぇ～、なんだか京都の鴨川みたいですね。」

アンドレア：（笑って）
「そうかもしれませんね。静かでロマンチックですよ。」


陳：「本当に助かりました。あなたの日本語のおかげで、安心しました。」

アンドレア：「どういたしまして。もし迷ったら、また聞いてください。行ってらっしゃい。」

SAMURAI BROADCAST　侍放送  継続は力ニャり

Vol.131マリアさんと観光案内所での会話　セイさんも

Mere paas Maa Hai, I have my mother
Let’s break down this iconic dialogue:

मेरे पास (Mere paas): ‘I have’ or ‘I possess.’

मेरे (Mere): My.
पास (Paas): With or near.
माँ (Maa): ‘Mother.’ This is a simple yet profound term for ‘mother’ in Hindi.
है (Hai): ‘Is’ — This is the present tense form of the verb ‘to be,’ used here to indicate possession or existence.

Hindi Through Bollywood: Learning with Movies

Ep 1 : From the movie 'Deewar' starring THE AMITABH BACHHAN and SHASHI KAPOOR.

Quiet Nights: Relaxing Bedtime Stories... 

Listen to this story from a little explorer while you increase your vocabulary and practice your listening

Hablar por hablar (Listening)

Noches Tranquilas: Cuentos Relajantes para dormir 

This week, you’ll hear the rest of my conversation with Allyson Plumberg, Founder of Rooted Accents: Solutions for Accent Modification. This episode is part two of, “Want an American English Accent?  Allyson Plumberg Debunks Accent Myths.” So, if you haven’t listened to the previous episode, I recommend you check it out before listening to this one. 

While accent modification may seem elusive for many English language learners, it is possible! In this episode, Allyson shares some inspiring stories about clients who made major improvements to their accents. 

She also provides a lesson on how to make the voiced and voiceless "th" sounds and shares a wordlist with listeners to drill. 

Stay tuned until the end, where you’ll learn about three fantastic and free online resources to help with your accent modification efforts. 

Episode originally published March 5, 2021.

Original theme music by Lucas Knutter 

Read the transcript at https://www.express-to-impress.com/accent-modification/. 

Join the Express to Impress community on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/express-to-impress/.

See infographics for this episode on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.com/ExpresstoImpress/_created/.

Express to Impress

What Did You Say? Accent Modification Tips From a Speech-Language Pathologist

The Super Bowl, one of the biggest nights in US sports — and the American cultural calendar — ended with victory for the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday February 9.

The Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in New Orleans. The game was played amid heavy security — and with President Donald Trump in attendance — just 41 days after a man drove a truck into New Year's partygoers on the city's Bourbon Street.

There were tributes before the game to the 14 people who were killed in the incident.

On the field, there was plenty for millions of viewers around the world to enjoy — although the game was not so enjoyable for Chiefs fans.

The Kansas franchise had won three out of the last five Super Bowls, but they didn't come close in the 59th edition.

Not even the presence of pop superstar Taylor Swift, who has spent all season supporting boyfriend Travis Kelce, a player with the Chiefs, could make a difference!

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said his players had to work together to win. "This is the ultimate team game. You can't be great without the greatness of others," he said.

The Chiefs' star quarterback Patrick Mahomes was kept quiet by the Eagles defense, denying him a fourth Super Bowl win.

A lot of the pre-game interest in the Super Bowl had centered around the traditional halftime entertainment, with rapper Kendrick Lamar performing just days after winning five Grammy awards.

His show didn't disappoint, with dancers in red, white and blue performing around a car onstage, while the rapper also performed his Grammy-winning song of the year "Not Like Us."

However, one of the many performers was detained on the field after unfurling a combination of the Sudanese and Palestinian flags with "Sudan" and "Gaza" written on it.

An NFL spokesperson told The Associated Press that the performer would be banned for life from all NFL stadiums and events.

Trump, meanwhile, became the first serving US President to attend the Super Bowl.