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| Ihre 10 Minuten Englisch pro Woche |
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Dear email,
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I just saw a film that I’d like to recommend. I’m a real movie buff, and I’ve seen an awful lot of films, but this is one of the most beautiful films I’ve ever seen. I’m talking about the movie Flow. This quiet, Oscar-winning animated feature has no dialogue, no human characters, and was created with open-source software. It’s a story of a cat and other animals overcoming their differences in a post-human world, trying to survive together as the planet’s waters rise.
In the movie theater, there were people speaking all different languages, some tourists, maybe some of whom didn’t speak any German or English. But because there was no language in the film, we could all share the story. People applauded at the end, and many were crying. So, while it was refreshing to be told an expressive story with no human voices, no language, its message is in some way our own, at ZEIT SPRACHEN. In order to work together, we have to learn to understand and help each other and let go of our fear of the “other.” May you enjoy the material we have for you this week, including the article we have on the Indian festival Holi, which is celebrated today.
Next week, my co-host Inez Sharp will have some more entertaining stories for you from around the English-speaking world.
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Judith Gilbert
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Editor-in-chief, Business Spotlight
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movie buff (ifml.): begeisterte(r) Kinogänger(in) | animated feature: Animationsfilm | expressive: aussagekräftig | co-host: Co-Moderator(in)
Note: Judith's editorial is written in US English.
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Word of the Week
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sweat equity
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Did you know...? This phrase refers to unpaid work that dedicated people put into a project to make it a success. Homeowners and entrepreneurs with low budgets rely on “sweat equity”, for example, to pull off a project.
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dedicated: engagiert | entrepreneur: Unternehmer(in) | equity: Anteilskapital
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© Illustration: Georg Lechner
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Ihr Gutschein für Business Spotlight
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Sie erhalten die erste Ausgabe unseres Abonnements gratis
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Quiz
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Cinema history
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1. Which is considered to be the world’s first film?
A. A two-second film shot in a garden, by Louis Le Prince
B. A four-second film by Cecil B. DeMille, showing a view out of his window
C. A three-second zoetrope image by Benjamin Franklin
2. What is a magic lantern?
A. An early form of cinematic lighting
B. An early cinema projector
C. Another name for a zoetrope
3. In 1919, the silent film stars Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks did what?
A. Performed in a talkie
B. Founded the United Artists film studio
C. Made the first colour film
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shoot (a film): (einen Film) drehen | zoetrope: Zoetrop, Bildertrommel | perform: eine Rolle haben | talkie (ifml.): Tonfilm | found sth.: etw. gründen
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© Illustration: Georg Lechner
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| Answers: 1. A. French inventor Le Prince filmed people walking in a garden in Roundhay, near Leeds, in 1888.; 2. B; 3.B, together with silent film director D.W. Griffith.
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Culture
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International India
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Today is the Hindu festival of Holi. It celebrates the coming of spring and new life. Also known as the “festival of colours”, it begins with the lighting of bonfires. Then, on the day itself, people of all ages go on to the streets and pelt each other with brightly coloured powder and water.
Traditionally, Holi has been a day for ending conflicts, and for paying off or forgiving debts. Despite its Hindu origins, it is celebrated by all religious groups in India – and, increasingly, around the world. Since 2010, India has had the world’s largest diaspora. According to the UN, about 18 million Indians live outside the country of their birth – far more than Mexican migrants, the second-largest group, with over 11 million.
What’s more, Indian migrants are among the most successful in the world. Their earning and spending power not only boosts the local economies of their adopted countries, but also India’s own economy. In 2023, they sent home an estimated $125 billion – that’s more than any other country receives in remittances – accounting for about 3.5 per cent of GDP. Both at home and abroad, Indians have good reason to celebrate.
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bonfire: Freudenfeuer | pelt sb. with sth.: jmdn. mit etw. bewerfen | pay sth. off: etw. abbezahlen | debts: Schulden | what’s more: dazu kommt, zudem | boost sth.: etw. ankurbeln | adopted country: Wahlheimat | billion: Milliarde(n) | remittance: Geldüberweisung | account for sth.: sich auf etw. belaufen | GDP (gross domestic product): BIP (Bruttoinlandsprodukt)
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© Image: Nathaniel Goldberg / Trunk Archive
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Language
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10 features of Indian English
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The English language arrived on the Indian subcontinent in 1579, taken there by missionaries. In the past 200 years, English has grown to be an important medium through which Indians communicate with the rest of the world, and often with one another. Here are 10 special features of Indian English.
1. One of the most obvious grammatical features of Indian English is an excessive use of the continuous tense. Indians are likely to say, “I’m liking this movie” or “I’m having a cold” instead of “I like this movie” or “I’ve got a cold”.
2. A charming habit of Indian English is to add the English “-fy” verb suffix (as in “justify”) to Hindi words. Indians regularly use words like darofy (be afraid) or karofy (do) while speaking. An example would be, “Don’t maska maarofy me”. Maska is “butter” and maaro is to “throw, hit or spread”, so the phrase means “to butter up” or “flatter” someone.
3. Many Indians introduce themselves as “Myself (name)”, instead of “My name is (name)”. In return, they’re likely to ask you your “good name”, which is simply your name.
4. You’ll hear, “I’m going to be out of station” or “I’m going out of station” instead of “I’m going out of town.”
5. While “to pass out” means “to faint” in standard English, Indians use the phrase to mean “to graduate”. For example: “I passed out of college this year.”
6. Indians are likely to say “my cousin brother” or “cousin sister”, specifying the gender, instead of just “my cousin”.
7. “Prepone” (the opposite of “postpone”) may seem like an odd word anywhere outside India, where it is extensively used.
8. Some unique Indian-English substitutes for English words include “cheater cock” (a cheater or person who cheats) and “to timepass” (to relax or to pass the time).
9. Indians often use expressions like “My foot!” or “Nothing doing!” when they disagree with you. Nowadays, these expressions sound rather old-fashioned to British ears.
10. Hindi words that have contributed richly to standard English include karma, avatar, cheetah, bungalow, thug, loot, verandah, chutney and pundit.
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flatter sb.: jmdm. schmeicheln | faint: ohnmächtig werden | prepone sth.: etw. vorziehen, vorab erledigen | odd: seltsam | cheater: Betrüger(in) | cheetah: Gepard | thug: Schläger, Verbrecher | loot: plündern, ausrauben, Beute | pundit: Experte, Expertin
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© Image: Big G Media / Unsplash.com
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Anzeige
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Your Free TOEFL iBT Sample Test Awaits!
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Want to boost your TOEFL iBT score? Try our free sample test and get a real feel for the exam! Practice under test-like conditions, identify your strengths, and improve where needed. The best way to succeed is to practice!
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Profile
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The artist giving back
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For years, Yinka Shonibare has been a star of Britain’s contemporary-art scene. Now, the British-Nigerian artist has decided to help young talents in his field, both in the UK and in Nigeria.
In 2014, Shonibare returned to Lagos for the first time in over two decades. He was there to host a symposium, which turned into a life-changing experience for him. “The talk was packed with young artists, and I realized that there was a need here; young artists needed to be mentored,” he told Architectural Digest.
In 2019, he founded the Guest Artists Space Foundation, an organization that supports cultural exchange and creativity through residencies and educational projects. And he runs a project called Guest Projects for new, young artists in London.
After pandemic-related delays, Shonibare’s residency opened in 2022. It has a site in Lagos itself, and another on Shonibare’s 54-acre sustainable farm, in Ijebu Ode, roughly 110 kilometres north-east of the city. The barrier-free venue in Lagos can accommodate three resident artists at a time, while the farm offers space for more artists, as well as scientists and agriculturalists.
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contemporary art: zeitgenössische Kunst | host sth.: etw. veranstalten | talk: hier: Vortrag | packed: voll besetzt | found sth.: etw. gründen | foundation: Stiftung | residency: (Künstler-)Residenz | site: Standort | acre: Acre (4.047 m²) | sustainable: nachhaltig | venue: Veranstaltungsort | accommodate sb.: jmdn. beherbergen, unterbringen | at a time: jeweils | agriculturalist: landwirtschaftliche Fachkraft
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© Image: ED/JL/Serpentine/CAMERA PRESS/laif
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Business Skills
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Your voice on the phone
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Do you ever stumble over your words on the phone? Practise some common phrases so that you can speak with ease!
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stumble: stolpern
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© Illustration: Georg Lechner mit Leonardo AI
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Im aktuellen Magazin
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Will AI change the way we speak?
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English on the phone | Corporate activism | Tanzania: conservation crimes
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Quiz
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It’s a piece of cake!
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What does it mean if something is a piece of cake? Test your knowledge of common English expressions in our fun quiz!
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© Image: Aneta Voborilova / Unsplash.com
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From the ZEIT SPRACHEN App
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Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day
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It’s St. Patrick's Day on March 17! But what does the language of the Emerald Isle sound like? Spotlight editor Owen Connors takes you on a journey into the fascinating world of Irish English.
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© Image: Pia Spieler
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Mitarbeit: Dennis Draber, Judith Gilbert, Susanne Krause, Nadia Lawrence, Mae McCreary, Richard Mote, Rachel Preece, Inez Sharp
Folgen Sie Spotlight und Business Spotlight auf Instagram.
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