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Showing posts with label Language. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Language. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Interactive Language Training - Half Price

All eight of 24/7's language training apps for Kindle, are now half price, $1.99, thru May 11. All the apps are $3.99 each and are targeted at reading comprehension. Since the description is nearly identical for each title, I'm only going to include the first one, but there are links for all of the apps.

24-7 French - Vocabulary and 24-7 French - Basic Phrases
24-7 German - Vocabulary and 24-7 German - Basic Phrases
24-7 Italian - Vocabulary and 24-7 Italian - Basic Phrases
24-7 Spanish - Vocabulary and 24-7 Spanish - Basic Phrases

App Descriptions
Learn French/German/Italian/Spanish with your own personal language tutor.

24-7 French/German/Italian/Spanish - Vocabulary
is a fun way to learn a language. Going beyond a phrasebook or set of flashcards, this title provides a set of interactive study tools to help you learn the language, including traditional flashcards, a multiple choice quiz, an entertaining hangman-style game, and a write-in quiz to test language recall.

Content includes basic vocabulary organized in 22 categories including Family & Friends, Travel, Home, Office, School, Countryside, Around Town, Other Nouns, Food & Drink, Clothing, Weather, Time & Date, Pronouns, Adjectives, Opposites, Colors, Descriptives and Numbers. French - French/German/Italian/Spanish is different from 24-7's other language tutor title French/German/Italian/Spanish - Basic Phrases in that it provides basic vocabulary terms versus full phrases.

24-7 French/German/Italian/Spanish - Basic Phrases is a fun way to learn a language. Going beyond a phrasebook or set of flashcards, this title provides a set of interactive study tools to help you learn the language, including traditional flashcards, a multiple choice quiz, an entertaining hangman-style game, and a write-in quiz to test language recall.

Content includes conversational phrases organized in 12 categories including First Phrases, Greetings, Getting to Know, Communication, Questions, Wants, Needs, Feelings, Common Expressions, Interjections, To Go, and other common and miscellaneous phrases. French/German/Italian/Spanish - Basic Phrases is different from 24-7's other language tutor title French/German/Italian/Spanish - Vocabulary in that it provides full phrases versus basic vocabulary terms.

French/German/Italian/Spanish - Vocabulary is a useful tool for beginners who may wish to refresh basic [language] skills, and a great companion for a trip in a [non-English]-speaking country.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Interactive Language Training and non-English Bargain Books (Kindle)

There are now eight total language training apps out for Kindle, all from 24/7. Each language has a pair of apps, just as with the Interactive Spanish Language Training that I originally detailed. All the apps are $3.99 each and are targeted at reading comprehension (there doesn't appear to be support yet for Kindle Apps to use the speaker, which would allow pronunciation guides). Since the description is nearly identical for each title, I'm only going to include the first one, but there are links for all of the languages (so far) available.

24-7 French - Vocabulary and 24-7 French - Basic Phrases
24-7 German - Vocabulary and 24-7 German - Basic Phrases
24-7 Italian - Vocabulary and 24-7 Italian - Basic Phrases
24-7 Spanish - Vocabulary and 24-7 Spanish - Basic Phrases

App Description
Learn French/German/Italian/Spanish with your own personal language tutor.

24-7 French/German/Italian/Spanish - Vocabulary
is a fun way to learn a language. Going beyond a phrasebook or set of flashcards, this title provides a set of interactive study tools to help you learn the language, including traditional flashcards, a multiple choice quiz, an entertaining hangman-style game, and a write-in quiz to test language recall.

Content includes basic vocabulary organized in 22 categories including Family & Friends, Travel, Home, Office, School, Countryside, Around Town, Other Nouns, Food & Drink, Clothing, Weather, Time & Date, Pronouns, Adjectives, Opposites, Colors, Descriptives and Numbers. French - French/German/Italian/Spanish is different from 24-7's other language tutor title French/German/Italian/Spanish - Basic Phrases in that it provides basic vocabulary terms versus full phrases.

24-7 French/German/Italian/Spanish - Basic Phrases is a fun way to learn a language. Going beyond a phrasebook or set of flashcards, this title provides a set of interactive study tools to help you learn the language, including traditional flashcards, a multiple choice quiz, an entertaining hangman-style game, and a write-in quiz to test language recall.

Content includes conversational phrases organized in 12 categories including First Phrases, Greetings, Getting to Know, Communication, Questions, Wants, Needs, Feelings, Common Expressions, Interjections, To Go, and other common and miscellaneous phrases. French/German/Italian/Spanish - Basic Phrases is different from 24-7's other language tutor title French/German/Italian/Spanish - Vocabulary in that it provides full phrases versus basic vocabulary terms.

French/German/Italian/Spanish - Vocabulary is a useful tool for beginners who may wish to refresh basic [language] skills, and a great companion for a trip in a [non-English]-speaking country.


If your language skills are a little more advanced (or English isn't your first language), you might want to venture into the world of Foreign Language Kindle eBooks (or, at least foreign to most of those born in Amazon's native land). What you may not have realized is that Amazon has a page to spotlight some of them, making a few of them easier to find. I've pulled a few out that are bargain priced, but my language skills aren't sufficient to give you an opinion of the translations or writing, so be sure to sample first.

Límites (Spanish Edition) ($2.99), by Henry Cloud and John Townsend. The english edition, Boundaries: When To Say Yes, How to Say No, is $10.99, on this title from Christian publisher Zondervan.

Book Description
Is your life out of control? Do people take advantage of you? Do you have trouble saying no? Are you disappointed with God because of unanswered prayers? Having clear boundaries is essential to a healthy, balanced lifestyle. A boundary is a personal property line that marks those things for which we are responsible. In other words, boundaries define who we are and who we are not. Boundaries impact all areas of our lives: Physical boundaries helps us determine who may touch us and under what circumstances. Mental boundaries give us the freedom to have our own thoughts and opinions. Emotional boundaries help us deal with our own emotions and disengage from the harmful, manipulative emotions of others. Spiritual boundaries help us distinguish God's will from our own and give us renewed awe for our Creator. Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend offer Biblically based answers to tough questions, showing us how to set healthy boundaries with our parents, spouses, children, friends, co-workers, and even ourselves.

Prime de vie (French Edition) ($2.99), by Romuald Reber, is a novella length selection.

Book Description
En l'an 2020, la société humaine, confrontée à la montée de la violence urbaine, civique et économique, à la dégradation de son environnement et à la déshumanisation comportementale de sa population, a accepté pour survivre, une nouvelle justice. Cette nouvelle justice devra lui garantir un avenir et un nouvel espoir. Dorénavant, chaque être humain devra s'acquitter d'une prime de vie. Quel en sera le prix?

Le très grand nettoyage (French Edition) ($2.99), by Romuald Reber, appears to be novel length and looked pretty interesting from the BabelFish translation.

Book Description
Jeremy Parker est chercheur en nanotechnologies. Il a 27 ans, et vit à Londres en 2025. Le monde est saturé de déchets, il pleut du plastique à chaque orage. La nourriture commence à manquer. Lui, rêve de nettoyer la planète grâce à ses inventions. Mais la triste réalité économique de la société, profondément cynique, qui l'entoure, le contraint à travailler sur des projets moins idéalistes...

Alors que la majorité des urbains des grandes capitales prennent de la drogue du rêve pour fuir leur triste quotidien, lui s'accroche à son projet. Il y consacre tout le temps que son travail lui laisse. Mais, bientôt, une suite d'évènements incontrôlés va tout faire basculer. Les alliages métalliques vont disparaître. Le chaos s'installe. Parker et ses compagnons vont essayer de balancer les catastrophes qui se répandent sur la planète terre. Une de ces inventions nanotechnologiques va procéder au très grand nettoyage, tous les produits dérivés du pétrole vont disparaître. En parallèle, un autre évènement naturel va transformer le monde animal et déclencher le retour des esprits de la nature. Les cartes vont être redistribuées sur la planète terre. Le monde que nous connaissons va basculer dans un nouvel âge.


tim special '10: About man, innovation and proces- Modern Times in der IT? (free), by Thomas Wust, is a free issue of an IT magazine over on Sony.

Book Description
Wer erinnert sich nicht an den zappeligen Arbeiter Charlie in amodern times", gespielt und uraufgefuhrt von Charles Chaplin im Jahr 1936, der allzu oft mit dem Takt des monotonen Fliessbandes nicht mithalten kann. Mittlerweile sind wir weit uber den Taylorismus, der von Frederik Winslow Taylor gegrundeten Denkschule der Prozesssteuerung zentraler Arbeitsablaufe, hinausgewachsen und verfugen uber zahlreiche Sichten auf Prozesse und Prozessoptimierungen, die auch oder gerade dem Produktions- und Innovationsfaktor Mensch gerechter werden.

Libérese del temor (Spanish Edition) ($1.24), by H. Norman Wright, is another from Thomas Nelson. The English editionappears to be out of print.

Book Description
Millones de personas luchan con el temor. En Liberese del temor, el doctor H. Norman Wright le ayudara a comprender sus temores y los efectos negativos que ellos tienen en su vida, tambien proporciona formas comprobadas de mantener sus pensamientos y sus sentimientos lejos del miedo y llevarlos hacia una vida de fe y de esperanza.

Usted aprendera tecnicas practicas y ejercicios para establecer un patron de vida sin preocupacion que le liberaran de las garras del temor en su vida. Si usted esta luchando con temores fisicos, tales como el miedo de volar, o temores emocionales, como el miedo al compromiso o al abandono, el doctor Wright, con su experiencia como consejero le ensenara como vencer la ansiedad.


Actitudes Que Atraen El Éxito (Spanish Edition) ($1.71), by Dr. Wayne Cordeiro. In English, Thomas Nelson title sells for $9.87.

Book Description
Does your cup runneth over, or is life running you over? Here are practical steps to building internal values and perspectives that will change your life! Embedded in God's Word are the keys to abundant living, and Hawaiian pastor Wayne Cordeiro guides you through those keys with humor and insight. This book will show you the common mistakes people make without realizing it; what separates successful people from unsuccessful ones; how to see people as God does; and how to change the way you think. You are just an attitude away from a fantastic life!

L'abito da sposa (Italian Edition) ($0.99) and Voglio sentirmi dire tu sei mia (PoeBook) (Italian Edition) ($2.99), by Elisabetta Randazzo

L'abito da sposa (Italian Edition)
Palermo, Italia, 1938: la guerra è ancora lontana. Glitter è un giovane artista tedesco, venuto in Italia per fare pratica di pittura. Elisheva è la giovane figlia di un sarto di famiglia ebrea. Si incontrano e si innamorano, vivono insieme un'estate fatta di sole, baci, bellissimi tramonti, spensierati e completamente avvolti dal loro amore.

Ma la realtà è impietosa: Glitter riceve l'ordine di arruolamento nella Wehrmacht e Elisheva deve fare i conti con le leggi razziali fasciste. Devono scegliere fra la vita e l'amore. Si perdono, si cercano e combattono per il loro amore.


Voglio sentirmi dire tu sei mia (Poetry) (Italian Edition)
Qual è il confine fra amore, desiderio e passione? Esplorando questo territorio ci si imbatte in queste poesie, nelle quali il sussurro di un'anima innamorata diventa urlo di desiderio.

Dello scorrere di una vita l’autrice raccoglie e lega i momenti pervasi dall’amore o dall’ansia di essere amata. Solo questi considera realmente vissuti e ce li porge per condividere questa vita breve fatta di istanti di felicità, tristezza o piacere, ma vissuti intensamente. Costruisce un libro che è un palcoscenico di emozioni, un libro che legge nel nostro cuore e che si apre al nostro animo solamente se vi trova il seme dell’amore.

Germoglia, il seme, in desiderio e passione, affonda le radici nel piacere, ma il sorgere della passione non toglie alcuna tenerezza né rinnega alcun romanticismo. Unite sono due anime, anche se attraverso le sensazioni e gli umori del corpo e della carne.

L’amore è amare, desiderare e vivere la passione, baciare e affondare le unghie. Amare è possedere l’altra anima ed esserne, al contempo, posseduti. Donarsi quando l’altro si dona, senza limiti. Perché l’amore non conosce limiti e il seme dell’amore che abbia confini non è una pianta che attecchisce.

Questo amore è un tocco, un soffio che ci fa rabbrividire, aguzza i nostri sensi e ci fa respirare il desiderio di soddisfare il piacere. Prendimi, dice l’autrice, fammi sentire che sono tua, solo così sentirò che sei mio.


Supply Chain Management auf Basis von SAP-Systemen: Perspektiven der Auftragsabwicklung für Industriebetriebe (SAP Kompetent) (German Edition) ($4.57), by Gerhard Knolmayer, Peter Mertens and Alexander Zeier, is a bit technical for pleasure reading, but it's the exact sort of book that they warned us we might need to read in another language after college (not only in my field, but the language I studied; I think, though, that I'll past on it at this point). Amazon is clearing out the German edition (the Hardcover is $4.95), but English titles in this series from Springer can run from $44 on Kindle to over $55 in print, which is pretty typical for the subject matter and technical level. This one appears to correspond to this English title ($44.77).

Book Description
Das Buch stellt den Auftragsdurchlauf innerbetrieblich und über Unternehmensgrenzen hinweg auf Basis der SAP-Produkte R/3 und APO dar. Zugleich werden künftige Entwicklungstendenzen der SAP-Systeme aufgezeigt.

Perdu dans le temps, tome 1 (French Edition) ($3.00), by Alain Lefebvre

Book Description
Vincent Tria trouve dans le tiroir de son bureau une machine à voyager dans le temps qui ressemble et qui a la taille d'une calculette. Féru de SF, il en comprend immédiatement l'intérêt et le maniement. Très excité, il tente un petit voyage (la veille) pour vérifier le fonctionnement : ça marche!

Un seul problème, quand il retourne dans son temps, la place est déjà prise, il se retrouve face à son double… Il met un moment à se rendre à l'évidence : il est perdu dans le temps!

Dès lors, notre homme n'a plus qu'une obsession : retrouver un monde à soi et sortir enfin de ce voyage sans retour possible à la case départ. Des moments forts vont émailler chacun des chapitres qui seront l'occasion de nous plonger dans les affres de situations complètement inédites.


Grandoria (French Edition) ($0.99), by Dominique Raymond Poirier

Book Description
Largement banni par les media français, en raison de sa critique de la démocratie sociale interventionniste, ce thriller dystopien raconte une lutte de dix années d’un individu isolé contre un état qui le déclare nuisible à la société.

L'action se déroule dans un hypothétique futur pas très éloigné de notre époque, dans un pays appelé Grandoria et situé quelque part en Europe de l'Ouest. Richard Martin, le héros, doit lutter pour échapper aux menaces d'une mystérieuse société secrète dissidente de la Franc-maçonnerie, parce que cette dernière craint que celui qu'elle tient pour un redoutable espion étranger ne dévoile ses sales petits secrets.

Au début, Richard Martin est cadre fonctionnaire en charge de la communication publique, mais l'annexe du Ministère des Affaires Culturelles dans laquelle il travaille est en réalité une couverture destinée à masquer sa véritable vocation : la manipulation de l'opinion publique selon les orientations politiques et économiques choisies par les dirigeant du pays.

La vie de Richard Martin va basculer pour des raisons qu'il ne s'explique pas, et qui le forceront à enquêter sur la machine politique de son propre pays pour tenter de savoir pourquoi il est soudainement privé du droit de travailler, expulsé de chez lui, déplacé dans une dangereuse cité-dortoir et harcelé.


Minutes (French Edition) ($0.99), by Dominique Raymond Poirier

Book Description
Le docteur Théodore Arenson, directeur de recherches de l’accélérateur statique du Centre de Recherches en Physique Fondamentale, fait une découverte étonnante lors de recherches sur la reproduction de mini trous noirs : un accès à une dimension temporelle parallèle à la notre, mais fort différente car les lois de la physique y sont altérées. En explorant avec succès cette dimension au caractéristiques déroutantes, Robert Haas, l’ami et cobaye volontaire du docteur Arenson, va voir sa vie basculer et son avenir totalement changer. Des développements de cette collaboration, se renforcera une amitié déjà profonde entre les deux hommes, et ceux-ci, à la suite d’un incident a priori insignifiant lors d’un retour dans notre dimension temporelle, n’auront plus d’autre choix que de partager un étrange destin que le reste du monde sera incapable d’expliquer.

Dominique Raymond Poirier a précédemment publié Grandoria, un long thriller dystopien, et Le Cavalier d’Allah, un thriller mêlant terrorisme, politique et espionnage.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Interactive Spanish Language Training on Kindle

There are two new Kindle Apps today from 24/7 TUTOR. Both are language training apps for Spanish (and I'm sure other languages will follow) and fill a gap in content that has been asked for on the Kindle for some time (at least, on the Amazon forums I've been on, for the last couple of years). All that is needed to round these out well is a English-to-Spanish (and vice-versa) dictionary that would let you type in a word and do a quick lookup (are you listening 24/7? This shouldn't be hard to create).

24-7 Spanish - Basic Phrases ($3.99)

Book Description
Learn Spanish with your own personal language tutor.

24-7 Spanish - Basic Phrases is a fun way to learn a language. Going beyond a talking phrasebook or set of flashcards, this title provides a set of interactive study tools to help you learn the language, including traditional flashcards, a multiple choice quiz, an entertaining hangman-style game, and a write-in quiz to test language recall.

Content includes conversational phrases organized in 13 categories including First Phrases, Greetings, Getting to Know, Communication, Questions, Wants, Needs, Feelings, Common Expressions, Interjections, To Go, and other common and miscellaneous phrases. Spanish - Basic Phrases is different from 24-7's other Spanish language tutor title Spanish - Vocabulary in that it provides full phrases versus basic vocabulary terms.

Spanish - Basic Phrases is a useful tool for beginners who may wish to refresh basic Spanish skills, and a great companion for a trip in a Spanish-speaking country.


24-7 Spanish - Vocabulary ($3.99)

Book Description
Learn Spanish with your own personal language tutor.

24-7 Spanish - Vocabulary is a fun way to learn a language. Going beyond a talking phrasebook or set of flashcards, this title provides a set of interactive study tools to help you learn the language, including traditional flashcards, a multiple choice quiz, an entertaining hangman-style game, and a write-in quiz to test language recall.

Content includes basic vocabulary organized in 21 categories including Family & Friends, Travel, Home, Office, School, Countryside, Around Town, Other Nouns, Food & Drink, Clothing, Weather, Time & Date, Pronouns, Adjectives, Opposites, Colors, Descriptives and Numbers. Spanish - Vocabulary is different from 24-7's other Spanish language tutor title Spanish - Basic Phrases in that it provides basic vocabulary terms versus full phrases.

Spanish - Vocabulary is a useful tool for beginners who may wish to refresh basic Spanish skills, and a great companion for a trip in a Spanish-speaking country.