August 14, 2009
The first cellular telephone for Welsh-speakers has been launched, with navigational menus and predictive text functionality in the language.
From September and only on the Orange 3G mobile network, the Samsung S5600 will be available for prospective customers with a contract or on its own. An iPhone app or application as they are identified as, has been developed by the National Eisteddfod for Welsh language students globally.
Senior academics including the head of computer science at Aberystwyth University, Professor Chris Price, have been involved in the design of the Welsh learning iPhone app. The unveiling of both of these new pieces of technology, the mobile, so time to recycle your mobile, and the application, took place at the eisteddfod in Bala, Gwynedd, Wales.
Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones joined Orange and Samsung to unveil the Welsh phone at the eisteddfod.
Sian Doyle, Orange’s head of retail, said: “Orange is truly proud to be the first network to introduce this truly innovative service to Welsh speakers. Seemingly Orange have a wider commitment of which this is a part, to supply Welsh speakers with greater choice when it comes to mobile communications.
At the last count more than 44,000 Welsh words will be accessible on the phone.
Meanwhile, the Learn Welsh phrase book will accessible to download from Apple’s iTunes. Following on Prof Price’s own experience of learning Welsh, the phrase book is divided into 12 themed sections that include greetings, common phrases, food and drink, and travelling.
Prof Price has also recorded each phrase, a feature he believes will help with pronunciation. Learners who use this application, will also have the option to use the demo mode, which allows them to try out words, and be marked on their pronunciation.
“There are many apps for learning other languages accessible to iPhone users, including 27 for French, 23 for Italian and even ones for Irish, and Tagalog, which is spoken in the Philippines,” said Prof Price.
The Professor was sure that with the plethora of other language help applications available, that those learning Welsh should also have a similar opportunity.
Moving swiftly on from Welsh to Irish; ninety-three per cent of people in Northern Ireland now have a cellular telephone, according to resaerch recently published by Ofcom.
In the previous year this number was only eighty five percent, and the figure for this year is over four percent larger than the rest of the UK. It found that people in NI are more likely to use their mobile as their primary means of telecommunication (52%) than any where else in the UK (38%).
Researchers also found that 89% of households in NI now have some form of digital TV.
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May 28, 2009
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July 1, 2008
The internet is full of a wide variety of Spanish language courses and the decision of which one to purchase can be overwhelming. Do you follow the traditional paths and go with Pimsleur, Berlitz or Rosetta Stone? All are great products, but they carry a pretty hefty price tag. What’s more, the “big guys” teach a very formal style of Spanish…not the more traditional conversational style that sounds and feels much more natural to a native speaker. Coversational Spanish is much easier to learn with less repetition and far better results. How about the Spanish language courses with crazy promises that you’ll be able to learn Spanish in just a few days? Sound to good to be true? That’s because it is too good to be true. Oh, we shouldn’t overlook the “subconscious” language learning methods. They claim to teach you to learn Spanish subliminally or while you sleep. Yeah, right.
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More resources are available at Learn Spanish
(Pimsleur, Berlitz and Rosetta Stone are trademarks of their respective companies.)
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