Lithuanian Out Loud

Hi there, this is Jack and welcome back to Lithuanian Out Loud.  Well, we made it, here we are at episode 100!  Did you ever think it would happen?  We certainly had our doubts.  It’s been so difficult for us to keep these programs coming that many times during the series we almost stopped.  As a matter of fact, twice, I’d decided it was too much and I thought we were finished.  It’s just such a big job, creating episodes on paper, writing them out, typing them up, rewriting them, retyping them, then finding time to record the episodes, tossing out entire recordings that were too poor to air, editing the recordings, cleaning up audio, moving sound bites around so it all makes sense, adding music, loading it up onto the internet with text and photos.  It’s such a big time consumer. So, wonder why we do it all for free?  Two major reasons, one, we started the series as a tool for me to learn Lithuanian – and I still need to learn it.  The second reason is our community of listeners and all of your comments, plu

Hi there, I’m Jack and I’m Raminta and welcome back to Lithuanian Out Loud where we offer the world the Lithuanian language. Did you know Lithuania once had a dictator?  At the end of World War One Lithuania was occupied by German soldiers.  Lithuania declared its independence in 1918 and they left.  In 1926 Antanas Smetona was one of the leaders of a military coup d'état.  Lithuanian soldiers removed the democratically elected government, put the most conservative Lithuanian party in power, placed Antanas Smetona in the president’s chair and he ruled Lithuania until it was invaded by the Soviet Union in 1940. The dictatorship lasted for 14 years and all other political parties were outlawed.  When the Soviet Union invaded in 1940 at the beginning of World War II they claimed they were doing Lithuanians a favor by defeating fascism. pradėkime, let’s get started Back in episode 0047 we learned two commands.  Kiss me! Pabučiuok mane!  Hug me!  Apkabink mane! Today we’ll go over the imperative.  We use the imper

Exam 24 Dvidešimt ketvirtas egzaminas.  This is a quick response episode!  We’ll say the word or phrase in English and you say it in Lithuanian – Out Loud!  It’s too late for questions, the exam starts now.  Ready, set, go!  Pasiruošti, dėmesio, marš! a duke                                       kunigaikštis a young god                                 dievaitis dream                                          svajonė the Lithuanian Goddess of Bees     Austėja machine or car                              mašina typewriter                                     mašinėlė a small loaf of bread                     banda a roll or a bun                              bandelė eagle                                           erelis a gift                                           dovana a small gift                                   dovanėlė a chain                                         grandinė a small chain                                grandinėlė the state symbol of Lithuania        Vytis oak tree            

Exam 23 Dvidešimt trečias egzaminas.   This is a quick response episode!  We’ll say the word or phrase in English and you say it in Lithuanian – Out Loud!  It’s too late for questions, the exam starts now.  Ready, set, go!  Pasiruošti, dėmesio, marš! to go on foot                                    eiti thunderstorm                                    perkūnija thunder                                            perkūninis lightning rod                                     perkūnsargis hello on the phone                             klausau hey, baby, where are you?                labas, mylimoji, kur esi? I’m downtown, where are you?          aš miesto centre, kur tu esi? I’m in the hotel, I’m walking to downtown                        aš viešbutyje, aš einu į miesto centrą I go (on foot)                                   aš einu you go (on foot) (familiar)                  tu eini he walks (on foot)                            jis eina she goes (on foot)                              ji eina we go (o

Hi there, I’m Raminta and I’m Jack and welcome back to Lithuanian Out Loud. One fascinating location in Vilnius, Lithuania is the Green Bridge or Žaliasis tiltas not far from Pilies gatvė in the old town or senamiestis.  There are four old Soviet statues on the bridge, two on the north end, two on the south end.  Each statue has a unique theme, peace, youth, agriculture and industry.  It’s a great place for a photo. pradėkime, let’s get started Today we do unusual plural nouns.  Remember masculine nouns have to be matched to masculine numbers and feminine nouns have to be matched to feminine numbers. sūnus is the Lithuanian word for son and it’s a masculine noun a son               sūnus one son            vienas sūnus two sons          du sūnūs three sons        trys sūnūs five sons          penki sūnūs eight sons         aštuoni sūnūs žmogus is the Lithuanian word for person and it’s a masculine noun a person           žmogus one person        vienas žmogus two people       du žmonės three people      trys

Exam 22 Dvidešimt antras egzaminas.  This is a quick response episode!  We’ll say the word or phrase in English and you say it in Lithuanian – Out Loud!  It’s too late for questions, the exam starts now.  Ready, set, go!  Pasiruošti, dėmesio, marš! Hello on the phone                                  klausau hey, baby, where are you?                       labas, mylimoji, kur esi? I’m in the restaurant, where are you?        aš restorane, kur tu esi? I’m in the car, I’m going to the restaurant  aš automobilyje, važiuoju į restoraną I’m in the restaurant                                aš restorane I’m in the city                                         aš mieste I’m in Kaunas                                         aš Kaune I’m in Palanga                                        aš Palangoje I’m in the park                                        aš parke I’m in Akropolis                                      aš Akropolyje I’m in the hotel                                       aš viešbutyje I’m in the automo

Exam 21 Dvidešimt pirmas egzaminas.  This is a quick response episode!  We’ll say the word or phrase in English and you say it in Lithuanian – Out Loud!  It’s too late for questions, the exam starts now.  Ready, set, go!  Pasiruošti, dėmesio, marš! I’m planning to buy an auto                           aš planuoju pirkti automobilį I’m planning to buy a house                          aš planuoju pirkti namą I’m planning to buy a flat                              aš planuoju pirkti butą there are a lot of cars, which would you like?  yra daug mašinų, kokios tu norėtum? I’d like a sports car                                        norėčiau sportinio automobilio well, sport cars, clearly good cars                  nu sportiniai, aišku, geros mašinos and which brands would you like to buy?       o kokios markės tu norėtum pirkt? Porsche is very expensive                             Porsche labai brangios yra and which sports cars are cheap?                   o kokios sportinės mašinos yra pigios? what colors

Septyni Akmenys Seven Stones Hi there, I’m Raminta and I’m Jack and welcome back to Lithuanian Out Loud where we offer the world the Lithuanian language. Something you have to see in Vilnius are the, Gates of Dawn or Aušros Vartai.  Between 1503 and 1522 the city was protected by a wall which included three towers and nine gates.  This is the last of the nine gates to survive and it‘s beautiful.  dawn                              aušra gate, gates                       vartai the gates of dawn or dawn’s gates                    aušros vartai --- pradėkime, let’s get started Alrighty!  Now let’s continue working on plural nouns but today the nouns are a little unusual.  These verbs end in –uo.  Remember masculine nouns have to be matched to masculine numbers and feminine nouns have to be matched to feminine numbers. Akmuo is the Lithuanian word for stone.  Most nouns that end in –uo are masculine and they have unusual endings in the plural. Thanks to Eglė Ribalkaitė of Klaipėda, Lithuania for reviewing thi

Exam 20 Dvidešimtas egzaminas.  This is a quick response episode!  We’ll say the word or phrase in English and you say it in Lithuanian – Out Loud!  It’s too late for questions, the exam starts now.  Ready, set, go!  Pasiruošti, dėmesio, marš! to Riga we went by bus                           į Rygą vykome autobusu to Tallinn we went by bus                        į Taliną vykome autobusu to Klaipėda we went by bus                     į Klaipėdą vykome autobusu to Warsaw we went by bus                      į Varšuvą vykome autobusu to Moscow we went by train                    į Maskvą vykome traukiniu to Vilnius we went by train                       į Vilnių vykome traukiniu to London we went by train                      į Londoną vykome traukiniu to Berlin we went by train                         į Berlyną vykome traukiniu to Vilnius we went by car                          į Vilnių važiavome mašina to Klaipėda we went by car                       į Klaipėdą važiavome mašina to Kaunas we went by car        

Exam 19 Devynioliktas egzaminas.  This is a quick response episode!  We’ll say the word or phrase in English and you say it in Lithuanian – Out Loud!  It’s too late for questions, the exam starts now.  Ready, set, go!  Pasiruošti, dėmesio, marš! the constitution is in the museum             konstutucija muziejuje the bookstore is in Vilnius                        knygynas Vilniuje the museum is in Vilnius                         muziejus Vilniuje the bookstore is in Sidney                       knygynas Sidnėjuje the cathedral is in Sidney                         katedra Sidnėjuje where is the young woman?                     kur mergina? the young woman is in the school            mergina mokykloje the bicycle is in the school                      dviratis mokykloje the pigeon is in the park                         balandis parke the young woman is in the library           mergina bibliotekoje the bicycle is in the library                       dviratis bibliotekoje a young woman is in the cathedral 

Hi there, I’m Jack and I’m Raminta and welcome back to Lithuanian Out Loud where we offer the world the Lithuanian language.  Today we’re in the month of June which in Lithuanian is birželis. Labai ačiū.  O, prašom labai – with all my heart! A Danish company distributes a popular beer in Lithuania known as Kalnapilis.  Do you like this beer?  A lot!  No!  No, I don’t like beers.  I’m not a beer person.  Me either.  But, I heard that it’s a good beer.  Better is Švyturys.  Švyturys?  Švyturys.  Kas yra?  (what is it?)  Švyturys is the company making beer – Lithuanians. In 2006 this company found itself in the middle of a controversy after it began an advertising campaign featuring Rūpintojėlis wearing headphones and listening to music.  Did you see this ad?  No, I didn’t sorry!  Oh, you missed out.  I know, what a loss.  Many Lithuanians found the commercialization of a traditional Lithuanian icon to be troubling.  After receiving a flood of complaints the advertisements were removed. pradėkime, let’s get star

Exam 18 Aštuonioliktas Egzaminas.  This is a quick response episode!  We’ll say the word or phrase in English and you say it in Lithuanian – Out Loud!  It’s too late for questions, the exam starts now.  Pasiruošti, dėmesio, marš!  Ready, set, go!  what is this?                           kas tai yra? what is that?                           kas tai yra? who‘s here?                           kas čia yra? who‘s here?                            kas čia? who is he?                            kas jis yra?  kas yra jis? who is he?                             kas jis? what is that?                         kas tai? who is she?                           kas ji yra? who are they?                        kas jie yra? who are they?                        kas jie? who are they?                        kas jos yra? who are they?                       kas jos? who am I?                             kas aš esu? to be or not to be – “this question torments būti ar nebūti – štai klausimas kamuoja who am I?                   

Exam 17 Septynioliktas egzaminas.  This is a quick response episode!  We’ll say the word or phrase in English and you say it in Lithuanian – Out Loud!  It’s too late for questions, the exam starts now.  Ready, set, go!  Pasiruošti, dėmesio, marš from University Street to Tower Street   iš Universiteto gatvės į Bokšto gatvę from Tower Street to University Street   iš Bokšto gatvės į Universiteto gatvę from Castle Street to Bridge Street    iš Pilies gatvės į Tilto gatvę from Bridge Street to Castle Street    iš Tilto gatvės į Pilies gatvę from Vilnius Street to Townhall Square   iš Vilniaus gatvės į Rotušės aikštę from Townhall Square to Vilnius Street   iš Rotušės aikštės į Vilniaus gatvę from Cathedral Square to Vilnius Square   iš Katedros aikštės į Vilniaus aikštę from Vilnius Square to Cathedral Square   iš Vilniaus aikštės į Katedros aikštę from Europe Square to Gediminas Avenue   iš Europos aikštės į Gedimino prospektą from Gediminas Avenue to Europe Square   iš Gedimino prospekto į Europos aikštę from

Hey there!  I’m Jack and you’re listening listening to Lithuanian Out Loud. Just some notes before today’s episode.  Raminta and I just finished some marathon recording sessions in the last three weeks and we recorded 62 episodes – 22 of them are exam episodes. About two weeks ago at a party some Lithuanian friends of ours did some interviews with Raminta.  In the interviews Raminta asked them about four questions. - who is happier in life, men or women? - it’s difficult for couples to get along well, what do you think is important for couples to get on well? - what three things do you think are most important in a mate? - what are white crows? In Lithuanian, white crows are people who are different.  Of course, crows are black, so a white crow would stand out in a crowd. Raminta and I plan to create episodes out of these interviews and break them down for you.  Here’s a sample of one recording, but without a translation.  We’ll do a translation for you in the future.  While you’re listening to the recording

Šešioliktas egzaminas.  This is a quick response episode!  We’ll say the word or phrase in English and you say it in Lithuanian – Out Loud!  It’s too late for questions, the exam starts now.  Ready, set, go! Pasiruošti, dėmesio, marš! I’m going from Vilnius to Kaunas                     aš važiuoju iš Vilniaus į Kauną I’m going from Kaunas to Vilnius                     aš važiuoju iš Kauno į Vilnių you’re going from the avenue to the park        tu važiuoji iš prospekto į parką you’re going from the park to the avenue        tu važiuoji iš parko į prospektą he’s going from the castle to the church          jis važiuoja iš pilies į bažnyčią he’s going from the church to the castle          jis važiuoja iš bažnyčios į pilį she’s going from Klaipėda to Palanga              ji važiuoja iš Klaipėdos į Palangą she’s going from Palanga to Klaipėda              ji važiuoja iš Palangos į Klaipėdą we’re going from London to Amsterdam           mes važiuojame iš Londono į Amsterdamą we’re going from Amsterdam to L

do they like to sing? (all female group)    ar joms patinka dainuoti? they like to sing                                    joms patinka dainuoti do they like to swim? (all girls)              ar joms patinka plaukioti? they really like to swim                         joms labai patinka plaukioti do you all like to play?                         ar jums patinka žaisti? yes, we really like to play                     taip, mums labai patinka žaisti do all of you like the club?                    ar jums patinka klubas? oh, we really like the club                      o, mums labai patinka klubas do you like to drink coffee?                  ar jums patinka gerti kavą? to drink coffee – I like it                       gerti kavą - patinka does he like to drink coffee?                 ar jam patinka gerti kavą? does she like to drink coffee?                 ar jai patinka gerti kavą? where does he like to drink coffee?        kur jam patinka gerti kavą? where does she like to drink coffee?      kur jai p

Hi there, I’m Jack and I’m Raminta and welcome back to Lithuanian Out Loud where we offer the world the Lithuanian language.  Today we’re in the month of June which in Lithuanian is birželis. Europos parkas or Europe’s Park is a 50-hectare open-air museum located 17 km from Vilnius, Lithuania. The museum gives an artistic significance to the geographic center of the European continent (as determined by the French National Geographic Institute in 1989) and presents Lithuanian and international modern art. The museum exhibits more than 90 works from 27 countries, including Armenia, Belarus, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Russia, the United States, and Venezuela. Now, here’s Raminta reading the fourth part of the letter, “Justina Amerikoje.” Visa mūsų šeima labai norėtų ir tikisi, kad Justina sugrįš į Lietuvą, o grįžusi į tėvynę pabaigs pradėtas studijas Vilniaus universitetuose. Just

Hi there, this is Jack and welcome back to Lithuanian Out Loud.  Just a quick note before we get started, we’re up to 27 reviews on our iTunes page.  Thanks to everyone who’s taken the time to give us a review, and if you haven’t yet, we’d love to get one from you.  Remember, our goal is still 50 positive reviews.   Also, in episode 0080 I said I was as healthy as a raddish, “aš sveikas kaip ridikas.”  But, I blew it.  I should have said, “sveikas kaip ridikas.”  And now, just so you don’t learn from my poor Lithuanian, please repeat after Raminta: sveikas kaip ridikas sveikas kaip ridikas Thank you dear! Hi everybody, this is Ibrahim from Denmark and Iraq and you are listening to Lithuanian Out Loud with Raminta and Jack, enjoy! Ibrahim, thanks a million for sending us the plug!  Shukran, shukran barakalahufiq! Hey!  We’re in a new month!  June is named after the Roman goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter.  In Lithuanian this month is birželis.  According to the Wikipedia page, Lithuanian Calendar, its name comes f

Hi there, I’m Jack and I’m Raminta and welcome back to Lithuanian Out Loud where we offer the world the Lithuanian language.  Today we’re in the month of May which in Lithuanian is gegužė. According to Radio Vilnius: News and Current Affairs:  Since declaring independence in 1990, Lithuania has lost 10% of its population to emigration.  The Lithuanians went primarily to the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain. Most of those immigrating to Lithuania are from Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova. Now, here’s Raminta reading the second part of the letter, “Justina Amerikoje.” Tačiau, bėgant metams, Justina pradėjo ilgėtis tėvynės ir artimųjų. Ypatingai jai liūdna prieš didžiąsias metų šventes - Kalėdas, Vėlykas. Justina prisimena laukimą ir ruošimąsi šventėms. Mums taip pat jos labai trūksta. Nors su Justina dažnai bendraujame telefonu, bet to nepakanka, norėtųsi ją matyti dažniau, apkabinti, priglausti. Here it is again, slowly, with a translation. Tačiau, bėgant metams, Justina pradėjo ilgėtis tėvynės ir artimųjų. Howev

Hi there, I’m Jack and I’m Raminta and welcome back to Lithuanian Out Loud where we offer the world the Lithuanian language.  Today we’re in the month of May which in Lithuanian is gegužė. Long ago I did a favor for a friend in Lithuania. In return I asked my friend to write a story that I could use on Lithuanian Out Loud.  The story is sad but it’s a good example of what many families are going through in Lithuania today.  Since 1990 at least 10% of Lithuania’s population has emigrated looking for better jobs in other countries.  Naturally, most of these emigrants are the youth of Lithuania.  Since Lithuania’s economy is growing rapidly, Lithuanian businesses are having trouble finding employees.  This story is about 100 words long so we have to break it up into four episodes.  Here’s the first installment.  Of course, the name of the person in this story has been changed. Let’s record this normally once, and then we’ll record it slowly – the second time.  Okay. ---- Prieš ketverius metus išlydėjome savo duk