درسنامه واژگان

Day of The Dead - Vocabulary Lesson

Okay, This is the vocabulary for day of the dead.

So the day of the dead, I arrive in Guatemala. On the day of the dead, November first.

I’m curious about this holiday. Holiday is the normal word we use for a festival. Some people say festival, but holiday is more common. Christmas is a holiday. Halloween is a holiday.

So holiday is common word. The most common word we use.

OK. So I say I’m curious about this holiday. So I go to the cemetery.

Cemetery is a place for dead people. Many, many dead people in a cemetery so that’s what a cemetery is. Right? A place for dead people… cemetery… It’s a large area usually large place… Cemetery.

Okay, the next paragraph, I say, The atmosphere is like a party. Here “atmosphere” means the, the general feeling of a place.

For example: I might say, this house has a happy atmosphere…right? it means the place has a happy feeling. Maybe it’s very warm, maybe a lot of nice people there… many reasons, but atmosphere means the feeling of a place… A place… The atmosphere.

So the cemetery had an atmosphere of feeling like a party. Many people everywhere and people were sitting around the graves of their dead ancestors.

A grave, a grave is a place where one dead person is buried.

Right? One dead person is in a grave.

One dead body in a grave. Many graves in a cemetery, right? So a cemetery has many many graves. So each grave has one body and then many graves in a cemetery.

Okay, they’re sitting around the graves of their dead ancestors. An ancestor… Ancestor is a person who comes before you and your family.

For example: Your grandfather or grandmother is an ancestor or your great grandmother is an ancestor.

So all the people in your family older than you, Y’know, who came before you. These people are your ancestors… Ancestors… Ancestors… We say errs… Ancestors.

Okay, They clean the graves and add fresh flowers. The families clean the graves and I walk around through the cemetery and I admire… I appreciate… I like… I admire the beauty of all the colorful flowers.

There’s also color in the sky. because many kids… Kids means children, so many children, Many kids are flying kites.

Kites are paper or plastic with a string and you fly them in the wind. Usually children fly kites. So it’s Kites.

Some families are having a Picnic next to the graves.

Picnic is when you eat outside. Right? You eat outside with many people, That is a Picnic… a Picnic.

Okay, The people, they eat, Drink and chat together. Then they laugh and they smile. This is different than the United States. In the United States cemeteries are always somber.

Somber means very serious… Serious… Somber. Serious and not fun. Right? Serious and not fun. Somber… Somber… So in America, in the United States, cemeteries are somber. They are somber… very serious… Not fun…Somber.

And we certainly we never have festivals or parties next to graves. We don’t laugh or play music or fly kites in cemeteries either.

Okay then I say, I find that I prefer the Guatemalan approach. I find that… here find means realize, I realize that I prefer the Guatemalan approach. I find… I realize… I find that I prefer. I realize that I prefer. I understand that I prefer.

Okay so here find has a different meaning than normal. A little bit.

So I find that I prefer the Guatemalan approach…approach… here approach means way. Okay? I prefer the Guatemalan way. The Guatemalan method. I prefer the Guatemalan way. I prefer the Guatemalan approach. Okay…

I like the way they remember and celebrate those who have passed away… Passed away. To pass away means to die. It’s very polite… Very polite and very soft way to say die. If someone… someone’s mother dies, you can say I’m sorry your mother passed away. I’m sorry your mom passed away. I’m sorry she died. I’m sorry she passed away… Passed away is softer and more polite.

Okay. Next sentence, I say I like that they acknowledge death. Acknowledge means to recognize… To see and recognize.

Instead of denying it… Denying is the opposite of acknowledge. Deny means avoid… To say no to something… To avoid something is to deny it.

To deny it… The opposite of deny is acknowledge… Acknowledge and deny… Opposites.

Okay. So they don’t deny death, the way Americans do. I like that there is life as well as death in their cemeteries. Guatemalans call it the day of the dead but it’s also a day to appreciate life. Appreciate means celebrate… to understand and like something… So to appreciate.

Okay. That is all of the vocabulary. Listen to the vocabulary lesson a few times.

Read the text several times. Listen to the audio article a few times and then, finally listen to the mini story, many, many times… A lot, every day… okay.