Congratulations to new parents

02-08_Greenlight_10_13 28.08.13 15:07 Seite 6
GREEN LIGHT | Get writing
Congratulations to new parents
VANESSA CLARK helps you to write letters, e-mails and more in English.
This month: how to congratulate new parents on the birth of their baby.
Dear Sarah and Mark
your brilliant news.
I was so pleased to hear
A girl! How wonderful!
She’s beautiful.
Thank you for the photo.
s and her mother’s
She has her father’s eye
ely name.
nose. And Matilda is a lov
I can’t wait to meet her!
Love from
Sally
•
•
•
•
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6
Highlight the key words and phrases that you would
use if you wanted to write a card like this yourself.
ps
You can say you are pleased, “very happy” or “delighted” (entzückt) to hear about the baby. Ti
Use positive adjectives like brilliant, wonderful, “great” and “exciting” (reizend, spannend).
To sound extra-enthusiastic (total begeistert), you can put “how” in front of one of
these adjectives; for example, How wonderful!
Baby girls are beautiful, boys are “handsome” (hübsch). Both are “sweet”.
It’s usual to make a comment about the baby’s name — maybe it’s a lovely name
(for a girl), “a good, solid name” (for a boy) or an “interesting” or “original” name.
And remember — to the parents, this is the most beautiful baby in the world, so that’s all
you need to say to make them happy.
Spotlight 10|13
Fotos: Alamy; Hemera; iStockphoto
e
Us !
it
02-08_Greenlight_10_13 28.08.13 15:08 Seite 7
Culture corner | GREEN LIGHT
I like…
ceilidhs
Jeden Monat stellt ein Redakteur
etwas Besonderes aus der englischsprachigen Welt vor. Diesen Monat
präsentiert Sprachredakteurin
DAGMAR TAYLOR ihre Lieblingsveranstaltung.
What they are
A ceilidh [(keIli] is a social event with music
and dancing, especially in Scotland and Ireland. Ceilidhs are an important part of Scotland’s social and cultural life. There is always
a ceilidh being held somewhere, and they
are very popular at weddings. The dances
have names like The Gay Gordons and Hooligan’s Jig. Before the dances begin, everyone
has to find a partner, but you might find
yourself dancing with different partners or
in groups of six, eight or even with all the
other people in the room.
Music is played by a traditional ceilidh
band on fiddles, accordions and drums.
Usually, a member of the band talks everybody through the steps first, so that beginners can join in the fun, too.
Why I like them
Ceilidh dancing is very energetic and great
fun. When I was a student, my friends and I
regularly went to ceilidhs held in a local hotel
on Saturday nights. The boys wore kilts and
T-shirts, but there was no real dress
code, as the event was very informal. The great thing about
ceilidhs is that no one minds
if you make a wrong step.
Getting confused is part of
the fun. There is always a
lot of laughing as you jig
and sometimes tie
yourselves in knots on
the dance floor.
n
Fu ts
c
fa
Ceilidh is Gaelic and originally
meant “companion”. Today, it means
“gathering”. This Celtic language is
spoken by only 1.2 per cent of the
Scottish population. Most Gaelic
speakers live in the Highlands and on
the islands of western Scotland.
You may not hear much Gaelic on a
visit to Scotland, but many place
names are Gaelic, and you will see
Gaelic on signs and whisky labels.
Look out for loch (lake), ben (mountain)
and glen (valley).
companion [kEm(pÄnjEn]
confused [kEn(fju:zd]
energetic [)enE(dZetIk]
event [I(vent]
fiddle [(fId&l] ifml.
gathering [(gÄDErIN]
gay [geI]
informal [In(fO:m&l]
jig [dZIg]
kilt [kIlt]
tie in knots [)taI In (nQts]
valley [(vÄli]
wedding [(wedIN]
Begleitperson
verwirrt,
durcheinander
schwungvoll
Veranstaltung
Geige
Treffen,
Versammlung
hier: glücklich
locker, ungezwungen
lebhafter Volkstanz
der Britischen Inseln;
auch: einen Jig
tanzen
Schottenrock
(sich) verknoten
Tal
Hochzeit
10|13 Spotlight
7