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| Ihre 10 Minuten Englisch pro Woche |
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Dear email,
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The first time I came to Germany, I didn’t speak a word of German. I was staying with a friend who was at the university during the day and didn’t return until late afternoon. So there I was, exploring Hamburg on my own. My friend gave me a German-English dictionary (it was pre-internet) and told me how to ask directions or where the bathroom is. Very basic. I had studied French in school and had got good grades, but it never felt natural to me; it was all very nasal and hard to pronounce. German was a different story. Armed with my dictionary and directional questions, I was able to find my way around. What surprised me was, when I asked a question, I was able to understand the answer even though I didn’t speak the language. It all felt natural to me. When I returned to the States, I ditched French and studied German. A supposedly more difficult language to learn, but I was up for the challenge.
Why am I telling you this? Because there is no excuse not to learn a language, and you can read why below. Learning a language you love is easy, and you can learn some English idioms for “easy” below, too.
Next week, my colleague Inez Sharp will be back with some more entertaining stories for you.
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Judith Gilbert
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Editor-in-chief, Business Spotlight
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pre-internet: vor dem Internet | ask (for) directions (US): nach dem Weg fragen | grade: Note | armed with sth.: ausgestattet mit etw. | directional question: Frage nach dem Weg | ditch sth.: etw. loswerden, aufhören | supposedly: angeblich, vermeintlich | be up for sth.: auf etw. Lust haben, zu etw. bereit sein
Note: Judith's editorial is written in US English.
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Word of the Week
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golden handcuffs
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Did you know...? This is a term used for people who can’t move house because they would lose their low-interest mortgage, or for people who feel locked into a job because of financial incentives such as deferred bonuses and enhanced retirement plans.
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move house (UK): umziehen | low-interest: niedrig verzinst | mortgage: Hypothek | locked in: eingesperrt | incentive: Anreiz | deferred: verzögert | enhanced: verbessert
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© Illustration: Georg Lechner
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Language
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3 bad excuses that stop you from learning English
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“I don’t have enough time!" is a common excuse for doing anything beyond the necessary in our day-to-day lives. However, you don’t actually need that much time to learn a language — this article from Spotlight shows you the most common excuses when it comes to language learning, and how to make the most of your time to do something for yourself.
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© Image: Martin Haake
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Quiz
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Languages
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1) How many languages are there in the world today?
A) 8,324
B) 17,696
C) too many to count
2) When did homo sapiens develop complex language?
A) ca. 1 million years ago
B) ca. 10,000 years ago
C) ca. 135,000 years ago
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© Illustration: Georg Lechner
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Business Spotlight im Vorteilspaket
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Sie lesen 2 Print-Ausgaben Business Spotlight zum Vorteilspreis von 11,70 €. Die aktuelle Ausgabe „The power of positivity“ erhalten Sie gratis dazu!
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Spoken English
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There’s nothing to it!
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There are lots of different ways to say something’s easy in English. See how many you know in these exercises from Spotlight – and maybe you’ll learn a few new ones along the way. Try it, it’s a piece of cake!
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© Image: Cute Vectors via canva.com
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Cities
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Urban branding
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In the current issue of Business Spotlight, writer Vincent Suppé explores the topic of urban branding – the process of creating a city's identity.
In the 1970s, New York City was deep in crisis: There was a lot of crime and social unrest, and the city was practically bankrupt. New York’s image suffered until one short phrase helped change everything: “I ♥ New York.” The 1977 slogan is perhaps the best-known example of a city reinventing its image – creativity instead of chaos; disco not drugs. To this day, the slogan stands for emotion and the evolution of modern New York. Of course, a slogan alone doesn’t make a brand, but that’s precisely what many cities now aspire to. We are experiencing the heyday of “urban branding”.
“Well-executed urban branding is strategically planned, follows a clear vision of what a city should stand for and it is implemented consistently,” explains Dr Eric Häusler, an expert on urban branding at ETH Zurich. This cannot be done with a short campaign; it’s a long-term process. And it’s challenging. “Cities are not simple products,” Häusler says. “They are complicated, contradictory places of coexistence – with history, conflict, aspirations, minorities and majorities.”
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social unrest: soziale Unruhen | aspire to sth.: etw. anstreben | heyday: Blütezeit, Hochphase | executed: ausgeführt, durchgeführt | consistently: konsequent, einheitlich | contradictory: widersprüchlich
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© Image: Shutterstock.com
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Odd Jobs
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The fruit inspector
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Aidan Conaty, from Dublin, checks fruit before it lands in supermarkets. Here, he tells Business Spotlight what his job entails.
Fruit inspectors are an essential part of the supply chain that connects growers and processors to supermarkets. Our role goes far beyond checking appearance – we help maintain food safety, product quality and brand reputation at every stage. The staple fruits we inspect include apples, citrus, berries, bananas and kiwi fruit. Among these, Pink Lady apples stand out as the global leader in the market, renowned for exceptionally high quality-control standards and expectations.
With fresh fruit, inspectors verify that products are free of pests, disease and handling damage, and that they meet the strict standards supermarkets set for size, ripeness and presentation. A golden rule I remind clients of is to keep fruit well away from ethylene producers, such as bananas. Even a small amount of exposure can speed up ripening and shorten the fruit’s life – a common but easily avoidable mistake.
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fruit inspector: etwa: Lebensmittelkontrolleur(in) für Obst | entail: bedeuten | grower: Erzeuger(in), Anbauer(in) | processor: Verarbeitungsunternehmen | staple fruit: Grundnahrungsmittel Obst | stand out: herausstechen | renowned: bekannt | pest: Schädling, Ungeziefer | ripeness: hier: Reifegrad | exposure: hier: Kontakt | ripening: Reifung, Reifeprozess
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© Image: private
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Anzeige
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5 Impulse für den gelungenen Neustart
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Im kostenlosen E-Mail-Kurs der ZEIT Akademie lernen Sie, mit neuem Mut und frischer Motivation in Ihren nächsten Lebensabschnitt zu starten – egal ob Jobwechsel, Umzug, Trennung oder Ruhestand.
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© Bild: ZEIT AKADEMIE
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Im aktuellen Magazin
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The power of positivity
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How to achieve your goals with positive thinking | Urban branding: how logos and slogans boost cities' economies | 25 years of Business Spotlight
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Quiz
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Germany and the US
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How many Americans have German heritage? Which popular American brand has German roots? See how much you know about the relationship between the US and Germany in our fun quiz!
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heritage: Herkunft
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© Image: Luke Stackpole / Unsplash.com
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From the ZEIT SPRACHEN App
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National Pet Day
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Woof! It’s National Pet Day in the United States tomorrow. Find out how dogs pick up on human emotions and you can learn some key vocabulary relating to communication, body language and science.
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© Image: Jana Trampert
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Mitarbeit: Dennis Draber, Judith Gilbert, Susanne Krause, Mae McCreary, Richard Mote, Rachel Preece, Inez Sharp, Lorraine Turner-Akcakaya.
Sie haben diesen Newsletter zurzeit an die Adresse subs@emailshot.io bestellt. Eine Abmeldung ist jederzeit über Newsletter-Abmeldung möglich. Bitte antworten Sie nicht auf diese E-Mail. Bitte wenden Sie sich an abo@zeit-sprachen.de.
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