William Blake, English poet, painter and printmaker

First of all, I'm very sorry for not being around lately, I had too much work to do.

Well, this post is dedicated to all those who deeply love poetry and English literature in general.

I have been reading some poems by William Blake and I found them quite amazing indeed! If you want to read English poetry please... start by this little guy. You may find it hard at first but he wrote one of the best lines ever in my opinion... you may dislike it, I don't know, but it is worth reading tho.

William Blake is such a good poet. He wrote wonderful things such as one that I have read a little time ago and strongly recommend: "And Did Those Feet in Ancient Times"

Read also:

The Little Boy found, Laughing Song, A Cradle Song The Divine Image

Holy Thursday,Night, Spring, Nurse's Song

Infant Joy

And many many others.

On the day of his death, Blake worked relentlessly on his Dante series. Eventually, it is reported, he ceased working and turned to his wife, who was in tears by his bedside. Beholding her, Blake is said to have cried, "Stay Kate! Keep just as you are – I will draw your portrait – for you have ever been an angel to me." Having completed this portrait (now lost), Blake laid down his tools and began to sing hymns and verses. At six that evening, after promising his wife that he would be with her always, Blake died. Gilchrist reports that a female lodger in the same house, present at his expiration, said, "I have been at the death, not of a man, but of a blessed angel." (wikipedia)


It is a good way to see different ways of writing in English. This is considered very very old but you can find some words that you had never seen before.

I'll leave you for now, but before I go I would like to give you a link where you can listen one of the most beautiful pieces by this man, although its music was composed by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry. And in my opinion it should be the England's national anthem, if it is that you don't like the Queen!!

Jerusalem:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTVwFgL8Y7w

Eisteddfod in Chubut: A perfect Argentine-Welsh mix (Una mezcla perfecta entre argentinos y galeses)

((I have to translate the Spanish part into English yet!))

Eisteddfod is a Welsh festival of literature, music and live performance. This tradition started many centuries ago, maybe on the 12nd century when a festival of poetry and music was held by Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth at his court in Cardigan in 1176 but, with the decline of the bardic tradition, it fell into abeyance.

Eisteddfod del Valle del Chubut
Colonización galesa en Argentina

Con la llegada de colonos galeses al valle inferior del río Chubut (Provincia al sur de la República Argentina), llegaron también sus costumbres, entre ellas la celebración del Eisteddfod.

El primer Eisteddfod del Chubut se realizó en Rawson a fines de 1865, aunque recién a partir de 1880 se realizan organizada y regularmente. En los años 1930 se incorporó el idioma español, incorporando así la cultura de Argentina. Hubo pocos Eisteddfodau en los años 1950, pero a partir del Centenario de la Colonia, en 1965, se celebran anualmente, incorporando ahora otras manifestaciones artísticas.

El Eisteddfod del Chubut cuenta con tres ceremonias importantes; primero se entrega la medalla de plata, entregada por la "Asociación San david", al mejor poema vinculado con la realidad regional en castellano; el segundo premio es la "Corona del Eisteddfod", entregado por la Municipalidad de Trelew con tema y métricas libres, en castellano; Por último, y más importante, el Sillón bárdico al mejor poeta en el idioma galés, competencia principal .

Cabe recalcar que en la Ceremonia del Bardo. Con anticipación al evento, el jurado elige el mejor poema. En la ceremonia se da a conocer el seudónimo del ganador y se lee el veredicto del jurado. El bardo, es invitado a subir al escenario. Se produce entonces un gran momento de suspenso hasta que el poeta se levanta. La sala explota en aplausos y éste, al ritmo de una melodía tradicional galesa se dirige a recibir el premio. Un grupo de niñas lo agasaja bailando la danza de las flores, a la vez que un solista entona una melodía.

Existe también un Eisteddfod de la Juventud donde el mejor poeta recibe la "medalla de oro" ó "Premio Municipalidad de Gaiman". El mejor momento sin embargo se produce en la entrega del premio al mejor poeta en galés, cuando dos personas de descendencia galesa lo reciben sacando cada uno su espada y preguntan en voz alta ¿Hay paz?, el público responde "¡Paz!".

También se celebran eisteddfodau, en las ciudades de Puerto Madryn, Dolavon, Gaiman y Trevelin

Argentina and Uruguay, differences that may help (for tourists)

Many English speakers who study the Spanish language cannot find any difference between the Uruguayan variation of the Spanish and the Argentine Spanish, well we are very similar indeed. If you are not an Argentine or Uruguayan native it would be almost impossible to find one.

I will write a list with some words that can help if you come to Buenos Aires and then you decide to cross the river and visit our neighbors.

Championes= Zapatillas

tatata= OK, está bien, no hay problema. Entendí. (the Uruguayan football commentators say "tatata" when a player is about to score a goal, which would mean something like "Ahí está, ahí está")

Gurí= Muchacho, muchachín, niño, pibe or chabón or even guacho! (slang)

pa (generally sustained: "paaaa")= guau, da.

This is just a brief list, but I want to mention something else and what is most important: The Argentine voceo and the Uruguayan Tu+ voceo form.

As complicated as it sounds, Uruguayan people ( NOT ALL OF THEM) mix the form TU+ verb in the voceo conjugated form which is rather confusing for English speakers.

For instance:

In Spanish we normally say "Tu tienes que estudiar más", in the Argentine voceo "Vos tenés que estudiar más" but the Uruguayan form would be" Tu tenés que estudiar más"

As you see, the pronoun TU carries the voceo conjugated form of Tener (Vos tenés, Tu tienes, tu TENÉS)

If you ask for a recommendation, please do not use it, nor use the Argentine voceo if you are talking to someone who barely speaks Spanish. You have to be an advanced student to use and understand the voceo form which is quite pleasant to our ears but a little bit complicated to make it sound quite well as well ( if it is that you are not Argentine or Uruguayan)

This is a perfect English Speaker explanation and imitation (!) of the Argentine Spanish, hope you enjoy it,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy66HJHkQ-w

Goodbye.

(North) America vs Great Britain: Which is the hardest accent to understand in the English language?

Hello everyone. You know a question we the students of English translation ask or are been asked most of the time is: Which is the hardest accent to understand? The British accent ( bad called 'British' then we'll see why) or the American English.

To begin with, it is almost impossible to get to know an English teacher living in Argentina or someone who has spent a long time in the U.K as if to teach it perfectly. It is a very hard accent to imitate, it has got many different sounds and what most of us believe: It sometimes makes you sound a bit womanish (I am not saying that English people are gay!) It is just that we don't have a voice to reproduce it exactly as they do. The same happen to them when they try to imitate the Spanish or the Argentine accent, it is clearly impossible.

In addition to that, we don't have quite a few British movies on t.v which makes it even harder to get ourselves used to this accent. As I did comment in the last post, we have the chance to listen to the BBC radio. That might be one of the easiest ways to embody a 'British' accent.

Now, why a 'British' accent? I take it you refer to the accent used in England. We are so used to call it 'British' that we forget that there are three more countries inside the U.K in which the accent differs rather a lot from the one used in England. Those countries are Wales (they are more likely to speak English in the south and Welsh in the north), Scotland (they have an awfully strange and rough way to pronounce the letter R and the I with the N together like in "bahiiiinnndd"'behind' and some of them use a language slang called 'Doric' which is a complete deformation of the actual English.) And finally, North Ireland (I don't know too much about them) But the thing is, they don't share the same accent. It even changes inside England. The London accent, the Mancunian accent, the Scousers accent or something like that ( Liverpool) It is amazing the big quantity of accents you can find there, so next time try to avoid using 'British' to refer to a general accent.

Coming back to what concerns us, the American accent. Why is it, in a way, 'easier' to understand than the English accent? As I said before, we are full of American movies, we don't have many English movies so that does make the difference. What's more, everybody has forgotten the strong London accent with which teachers used to teach a couple of years ago. Now, almost all of them speak American. As an example, from a personal experience: My first 3 years of English were at the American FISK Institute. So since I was a child I saw myself forced to get used to that accent. Anyways, I try not to speak with an American accent, in fact I do not have an American accent, it is not that I hate it, no, it is just that I don't like my voice in it, and I much prefer anything that has to do with the British culture indeed.

Basically, in my opinion the harder is the English, Scottish, Welsh or the Northern Irish accent. Despite the fact I do love them, they are rather hard to understand anyway.

BBC radio online: A fantastic way to practise listening

It's almost one year now that I have been  listening to the BBC radio on-line on a daily basis and I realized that my listening skills have improved quite a lot. Apart from broadcasting such excellent programs with such excellent broadcasters, it allows you to train your ear and gain a great listening ability.

Be patient, you are probably not going to understand a flipping word at first, but then, actually it will be as easy as to listen to any radio program in the Spanish language. At least, that has happened to me and I'm very proud of myself. Come on! I know you can do it!

The BBC broadcasts programs in more than 20 stations (at least in Argentina) including BBC radio Wales and BBC radio Scotland ( which is UTTERLY hard to understand)  and BBC radio Cymru, that broadcasts everything in the Welsh language ( which I also speak a little!)

I would strongly recommend a station called 5 live; funny, interesting and they speak good and clear English. Or even the classic but sometimes painfully boring BBC world news station.

Hope you enjoy it,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/bbc_radio_five_live

ohthankyouverymuch rate: 9+ 

Why is it good to meet people that live half a world away?

This is dedicated to all those who have friends so far away from home, particularly all those who have someone in another country, either Europe or Asia, Africa or Oceania and so on.

We live in such different countries. We have different cultures, different ways of living and behaving. We think the world so differently from each other. Moreover, some of them go so far as to discriminate. But this post will not be about that. This is about the importance of meeting people the world over. You see their point of view about life, behaviour and what is most important: Their language and how it changes the way they speak and think.

It is so incredible to sit for a while and to listen to the way they speak, the way they move their hands or even the way they look at you. You wonder why everyone in each country has a different way to do it.

I would not like to generalize and there are people AND people, but for instance Italian people, when they pick up the phone and they realize it is you, they go flipping crazy and they shout in that particular Italian way and it makes someone so happy.

Most of the British people, when there's a problem they face it so quietly and they always try to find a solution without getting nuts. Very, very diplomatic people.

Or even Russian people, they hardly smile, don't they? But they respect you quite a lot and the way you think.

Of course you will find good and bad people around the world, as I said before there are people and people and you can even argue with them.

But the point is: You have to take the best of them. Don't just stay with the way people from your country think and behave. Go out, visit new places, meet new cultures. Open your mind.

Diversity is what makes us unique.

The Kilkenny's Irish pub: A good way to practise your English?

Hi everyone. Well, yesterday I've been to The Kilkenny's Irish pub, which is a place located in Marcelo T. de Alvear and Reconquista (Ciudad de Buenos Aires). I was told that you could go there and practise some English with real English speakers 'cause the place is full of people from Great Britain, Ireland and the U.S. In fact, it was full of them, but the thing is that they are much too drunk to speak their language in a clear way, and apart from that if you go with friends, as I did last night, you don't want to leave them alone because surely you're having a better time with them anyway.

So basically, if you want to practise your English, it is a place to go on your own and meet new people ( if it is that you're not married yet!!) or to go after work on wednesday and listen to good music, but that's all, and you had better practise English with them before 8 or 9 because otherwise after that they are all flipping wasted indeed!

ohthankyouverymuch rate: 6, (7+ drunk)

http://www.thekilkenny.com.ar/inicia.php