Narrative article: Major earthquake in Chile

Juanita could literally feel the earth trembling under her feet. Carrying Maria, the youngest of her children, she tried as fast as she could to get to the bus that would bring them to higher surroundings. Her two sons Enrique and Julio stumbled after her. “Hurry up, children! If you want to see Aunt Carla and Uncle José again, you need to get your feet off the ground!” she urged them, while thinking of her dear sister who’d offered to receive them in this difficult time. “Gracias a Dios!” she thought…

Juanita was one of almost a million people who had to be evacuated to higher ground due to the most severe earthquake Chile had endured in 150 years. Tsunami alarm was given for vast parts of the pacific coast, warning people about the deadly, magnitude-8.2 earthquake. While at least six people were killed, the financial damage was limited. (...)

(150 words)

 

 

Urgent announcement: Do not draw on after-death avatars!!

The death of a loved one is a tough, if not excruciating experience. It can completely paralyze you. Yet there are options that help you deal with it in a sensible way.

The creation of an after-death avatar is not one of them.

Don’t be tempted by these products, because ultimately, that’s what they are! They won’t bring your father, mother, sister, brother, daughter, son, boyfriend or girlfriend back – not in a virtual way and certainly not for real!

Let your loved ones rest in peace and move on with your own life.

 

My pronunciation diary – Part 1

With English-speaking people having so many different accents, it’s not easy to choose which one you like best and which one you want to adapt yourself, respectively. We were always taught in school that the Brits speak the most beautiful and most correct English of all the English-speaking countries in the world. The thing is that to me, British English often sounds a bit posh, so that’s not really an option for me. Since I’ve always wanted to sound like an American and more specifically like one from California, I’ve been looking for some good pronunciation videos made by people with a Californian background. I found this interesting video starring a girl named Katy pronouncing a row of words in a Californian accent:


 

Words:

Garage

herb (I find it weird that she prounces the "h", but apparently Californians pronounce the "h")

schedule

figure

jaguar

lieutenant

water

advertisement (Katy points out that the first d normally shouldn't be pronounced too harsh, but she says that she does it anyway)

vase

route

ballet

tomato

leisure (She never pronounces it the British way, always in the American way)

address

ate

buoy

aluminium

aunt

wash

oil

theater

iron

salmon

caramel (It's pronounced carmel, like the small town in California Clint Eastwood was the mayor of for a few years;))

fire

sure

data

ruin

crayon

toilet

New Orleans

pecan

both

again

probably

spitting image

Alabama

lawyer

coupon

mayonnaise

syrup

pajamas

caught

 

I'm pretty surprised that this accent sounds exactly like the one you always hear in the American TV shows set in Beverly Hills or Orange County in general. Listening to the video again, I realized that this is the accent I'd like to have.