Dialect Diversity in America

Published on Jan 24, 2013
--William Labov, Professor of Linguistics at University of Pennsylvania and author of Dialect Diversity in America, joins David to discuss the various and changing dialects and accents spoken in American English, and the political and economic factors in those dialects.

Shakespeare: Original pronunciation

Knives for culinary purposes

Published on Feb 17, 2015
Knives for culinary purposes have been made in Japan for centuries, using a technique perfected by Japanese swordsmiths. The blades are sharpened on only one side, ideal for cleanly separating fish flesh from the bone.

One of the 50 different types of Japanese kitchen knives is the sword-like "tuna knife." It's 1.5 meters long, and two people are needed to wield it.
90 percent of the knives used by Japanese kitchen professionals are made in Sakai, a city in Osaka. Local artisans in Sakai still make each knife by hand, to order.

It took a small Japanese manufacturer five years to perfect the world's first all-stainless-steel knife. Now it exports more than 600,000 knives each year.
On this edition of BEGIN Japanology, we explore the long history of Japanese kitchen knives.

木工

Published on Feb 17, 2015
In Japan, traditional wooden furniture is assembled without using a single nail. Advanced sashimono joinery techniques have been passed down for centuries.
There are around 30 different basic types of joint. Tenons and mortises are carved to precisely matching shapes.

Sashimono techniques are used not just to connect pieces of wood, but also to enhance visual impact. Master craftsmen use subtle optical illusions to make finished items look more elegant.
On this edition of BEGIN Japanology, we look at sashimono woodwork, which embodies the essence of Japanese aesthetics and traditional craftsmanship.

BERTOLT BRECHT

- Wer ist Bertolt Brecht? Such Information über ihn.
- Lies den folgenden Text und versuch ihn auf Spanisch zu übersetzen.
- Was kann er bedeuten?

Es gibt Meschen, die kämpfen einen Tag, und sie sind gut.
Es gibt andere, die kämpfen ein Jahr und sind besser.
Es gibt Menschen, die kämpfen viele Jahre und sind sehr gut.
Aber es gibt Menschen, die kämpfen ihr Leben lang:
Das sind die Unersetzlichen.

Bertolt Brecht