The Lion King | 49
Language Corner
a total health check at least once
a year and try to stay on top of
your health; you are never too old
to alter your lifestyle to a healthier
one.
Adapting and Adjusting
Completing a resolution takes
time, motivation and effort. There
might be setbacks, but remain
committed to your resolution.
Fulfilling resolutions takes more
than sheer willpower. It takes inter-
nal motivation, planning, a dose
of reality, support, sticking to it,
adapting – and a bit of luck.
All exercise do not have to be
laborious. You can take part in
fun sports like shooting baskets
and kicking a soccer ball around
the compound to get your heart
pumping. You can do this with your
family members or neighbours.
Thirty minutes of cardio training of
running around playing football or
basket ball is recommended, but
even five to 10 minutes will ele-
vate your energy and speed your
metabolism. You can also keep
yourself fit by taking the kids for a
walk or if you have a dog as a pet,
one great way to stay fit is to take
the pet for a long walk.
Cycling is also great. Get a bicycle
for you and your children and take
regular rides in the evenings or dur-
ing the weekends. Cycling is one
of the great ways to keep yourself
fit. If you are willing to elevate your
fitness, then just jog behind while
your child cycles. You can also do
some indoor physicals by engag-
ing in some vigorous sweeping,
mopping, or vacuuming. These
type of housekeeping chores
can burn a significant number of
calories.
If we have the
right mental
attitude, nothing
can stop us from
achieving our
fitness goals.
Mind-your-French
Quiz
H
ello, this is Monsieur welcoming
you to the language column
of your favourite magazine
Lion King. This is the step you have
been waiting for to broaden your
network of business partners and
add colour to your business and
social relationships. This is the first of
an endless series of French lessons
coming your way through this
channel.
Go dig out your slate and chalk from
grandma’s room because we are
starting with ABCD!
A,B,C,D - Z in French are just the
same as in English, with the usual
capital and small letters playing
the same role. So you don’t
have to learn some “karate-like”
letters like those of Chinese. Only
their pronunciation differs a little.
Subsequent editions will tackle the
pronunciation of French words.
Where a pronunciation looks like an
English word, do pronounce it like
that.
B, C, D, P, V and T, sound like bay,
say, day, pay, and tay respectively.
A, K and H are pronounced ah,
kah and ash. G sounds like the
English J while J sounds like G! Funny
right? Only they are not as hard;
they sound like the fricative G in
bourgeoisie. G sounds jhay while
J sounds jhee. F, L, M, N, S, Q and
Z sound exactly like their English
counterparts. R is pronounced err. U
sounds like ‘you’ but more like ‘ee-
ooh-ee’.
E sounds like ‘owe’. ‘I’ sounds like
the ‘ee’ in meeting but shorter. O
sounds like the ‘o’ in hold. As for W,
you know it looks like double V, so
French calls it double V, sounding
like doobloo-vay. You need to
hear a French man giving you the
UBA group internet site, you would
think he is speaking in tongues. You
try saying doobloo-vay 3 times in
a rush! That’s how www sounds in
French. X is pronounced ‘eeks’. Y is
pronounced ‘ee-grekk’ as if to say
‘the Greek. Indeed I (me) in greek is
‘ego’ (spelt εγώ in Greek). You can
notice the middle letter (gamma)
which is pronounced ‘g’ looks like
the letter y!
Now recite the Alphabet with me:
ah, bay, say, day, owe, ef, jhay, ash,
ee, jhee, kah, el, em, en, O, pay, Q,
err, es, tay, you, vay, doobloo-vay,
eeks, ee-grek, zed.
Bravo! You just succeeded in reciting
the French Alphabet from A to Z.
Now, let’s play a game with the French letters:
Part A:
Put the following ‘words’ into letters. No. 1 has
already been done for you:
1. You Owe Ah-Bay, You Pay!
Ans:
U O A B, U P!
2. Ah, day say you err!
3. Day Owe You Ah Kah
Part B:
Put the following letters into ‘words’ and
produce a reasonable sentence from the group
of words. No. 1 has already been done for you:
1. D C RXN S H
Ans:
Words:
Day say Err-eeks-en es ash
Reasonable sentence:
They say Erickson is harsh
2. A U N AB?
3. I Z “F U O N AB X, U Q N P!”
Score yourself in next edition!
By Jeremiah Afekpor
