International guests at the five-star Schlosshotel
“Yippee! It’s happening again!” rejoiced Mama Ghost as she observed the first winter guests arriving at the Schlosshotel. Right away she began telling the guests about her love of learning new languages.
- First: they fill the elegant rooms of our hotel with emotions and experiences.
- Second: vacationers are usually in a good mood, and the holiday cheer is very contagious.
- Third: guests from around the globe speak different languages, which means there is always something new to learn.
It is a beautiful thing when guests arrive from across the globe and different cultures encounter each other in such a lovely setting.
“Guten Tag, Grüezi, Hello, Goedendag, Bonjour, привет, Ciao, Szia, Ahoj, God dag, ¡Hola!” can all be heard at the reception desk. A fascinating mix of voices fills the air, and I have a guaranteed free language lesson.
© Mike Rabensteiner
On days like these, when so many people are gathered in the hotel lobby, I sit down next to the large lamp, cross my legs, and make a note of every new word I hear.
Christmas puzzle
In the spirit of Christmas, I prepared a little language quiz. Below are ten different ways people say “Merry Christmas” around the world. Can you correctly guess which language belongs to which Christmas greeting?
- Merry Christmas
- God Jul
- メリークリスマス
- Feliz Navidad
- Buon Natale
- Joyeux Noël
- Vrolijk kerstfeest
- Veselé Vánoce
- Wesołych Świąt
- С рождеством!
Match the Christmas greetings to the following languages: French, Polish, Italian, German, Swedish, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Japanese, and Czech.
Good luck!