STA, 18 April 2019 - The government endorsed the proposal to set down the Slovenian sign language as an official language in the constitution on Thursday, starting the procedure of enabling the Slovenian deaf and hearing-impaired community to fully exercise their basic human rights.

Labour Minister Ksenija Klampfer welcomed the decision, saying that the deaf and hearing-impaired considered the sign language their native language and that its status needed to be regulated.

"Communication and language as well as the right to their use are essential for social inclusion and implementation of the basic human rights. Without communication an individual cannot fully participate in the society," said the minister.

She also pointed out that the decision carried a symbolic meaning, indicating that the government fully respected human rights and minority rights. "The society's development is measured in terms of the rights of the disabled," she added.

The sign language will be thus recognised as one of the official languages in the constitution pending approval by the National Assembly. Simultaneous interpretation of government statements into the sign language has already been standard practice at press conferences.

In case the National Assembly adopts the proposal, Slovenia will join four EU Austria, Hungary, Finland and Portugal, which have already given their sign languages the status of official language.

Entering the sign language into the constitution, the government is expected to recognise it as the native language of the community using it, to formulate and implement the language policies, protecting and developing the language, and to regulate the status of the deaf and hearing-impaired.

The proposal was put forward by the Association of the Deaf and Hearing-Impaired, which believes that the new status of the sign language would provide solutions for educational and employment issues of the community, such as enabling deaf children to be taught in and about their language.

The law on the use of the Slovenian sign language from 2002 gives the children the right to have an interpreter to a limited extent, but it does not grant the language the necessary status.

"Few know that the deaf community in Slovenia is among the least educated, well below the disabled average, but also below the country's average," said the association's representative Matjaž Juhart.

The minister confirmed that the government was considering reforming the law, while the association pointed out that today's endorsement recognised the sign language as equal to other official languages in what is the start of a long process.

The first grammar of the Slovenian sign language is expected this year, with the Culture Ministry earmarking funds for its development. The association has already compiled a dictionary of the language, containing around 16,000 entries.

There are around 1,000 deaf people and some 100 deaf-blind in Slovenia who use the sign language. Some 450 use cochlear implants, while around 75,000 people use a hearing aid.

Veš, kaj ješ?

Do you know what you eat?

Written by Sonja Merljak Zdovc, translated by JL Flanner & G Translate

So ti všeč slastno dišeči rogljički ali žepki?

Do you like deliciously fragrant croissants or pastry pockets?

Jih imaš raje z marmelado ali čokolado?

Do you prefer marmalade or chocolate?

Pa veš, kako jih pripravijo? Hm, ta odgovor je pa najbrž že malo bolj zapleten!

Do you know how to make them? Well, that answer is probably a bit more complicated!

A morda niti ni tako pomembno, da veš, kako jih pripravijo. Bolj je pomembno, da jih pripravijo iz zdravih sestavin.

But it’s maybe not be so important to know how to prepare them. It’s more important to prepare them from healthy ingredients.

Odslej denimo ne bodo smeli vsebovati transmaščobnih kislih.

From now on, they will not be allowed to contain trans fatty acids.

Te so namreč zdravju škodljive, zato so jih prepovedali. V 100 gramih maščob sta po novem lahko le še 2 grama transmaščobnih kislin.

They are harmful to health, so they have been banned. Only 2 grams of trans fatty acids can be added to every 100 grams of fat after the new rules.

Če bodo inšpektorji odkrili, da kdo prodaja rogljičke in druge izdelke, ki imajo več teh kislin, ga bodo kaznovali.

If inspectors find that someone sells croissants and other products that have more of these acids, they will be penalized.

Veliki trgovci in proizvajalci pravijo, da so pripravljeni na nova pravila.

Large traders and manufacturers say they are ready for the new rules.

Transmaščobne kisline škodijo predvsem srcu in žilam.

Trans fatty acids mainly harm the heart and veins.

Najbolj znano živilo, ki jih vsebuje, je margarina. Čeprav jo znajo narediti tako, da vsebuje manj teh škodljivih kislin, vsi izdelovalci sladkih dobrot še ne uporabljajo sodobno izdelane margarine.

The most famous food containing these is margarine. Although it can be made in such a way that it contain less of these harmful acids, not all manufacturers of sweet treats use such margarines.

Strokovnjaki zato svetujejo, da smo pozorni predvsem na živila, kot so piškoti ali rogljički, ki so narejeni v velikih količinah oziroma ki so industrijsko narejeni.

Experts therefore advise us to pay particular attention to foods, such as biscuits or croissants, which are made in large quantities or which are industrially made.

Ker so v živilih še druge škodljive snovi, so v Sloveniji pred kratkim predstavili aplikacijo, ki spremlja sestavine v živilih.

Since there are other harmful substances in foods, an app has been recently introduced in Slovenia that monitors ingredients in foods.

Imenuje se Veš, kaj ješ? Lahko jo naložiš na telefon in na preprost način izveš, koliko škodljivih snovi ima neko živilo.

It's called Do you know what you eat? You can install it on a phone and easily find out how many harmful ingredients a food has.

Če zasveti rdeča luč, je bolje, da se mu izogneš. Rumena barva sporoča, da je treba biti previden; ne pretiravaj s količino. In če se pokaže zelena, je živilo primerno zate.

If the red light turns on, it's better to avoid it. If it’s yellow, thius tells you to be cautious; do not overdo it. And if it turns green, the food is good for you.

 Read more stories and improve your Slovene at Časoris, while all our dual texts can be found here.

Brexit znova odložen

Brexit postponed again

Written by Sonja Merljak Zdovc, translated by JL Flanner & G Translate

Se spomniš brexita?

Do you remember Brexit?

To je tisti referendum, na katerem so volivci v Veliki Britaniji odločili, da ne želijo biti več del Evropske unije.

This is the referendum in which voters in the UK decided that they did not want to be part of the European Union anymore.

Takrat je veljalo, da bodo Evropsko unijo zapustili 29. marca letos. Toda bolj ko se je bližal ta datum, bolj je kazalo, da iz te moke ne bo kruha.

Then it was said that the UK would leave the European Union on March 29 this year. But the closer it came to this date, the more it seemed that there would be “no bread from this flour”. [Idiom: nothing would come from this].

Kaj se bo zgodilo v prihodnjih dneh z britanskim izstopom iz Evropske unije, ne ve nihče. Poslanci so doslej zavrnili še vse predloge britanske vlade.

Nobody knows what will happen in the coming days with Britain’s exit from the European Union. [British] MPs have so far rejected all proposals by the British government.

Brexit naj bi se namesto 29. marca zgodil 12. aprila.

Brexit is due to happen on April 29th instead of March 29th.

A premierka Theresa May je znova zaprosila za podaljšanje časa za izstop.

Prime Minister Theresa May again asked for an extension of the exit date.

Če Britanci ne bodo želeli sodelovati na evropskih volitvah, ki bodo med 23. in 26. majem, bodo morali poslanci sporazum o ločitvi Velike Britanije in Evropske unije potrditi še pred 22. majem.

If the British do not want to participate in the European elections of May 23-26, MPs will have to confirm the agreement on the separation of Great Britain and the European Union before May 22.

V zadnjem mesecu je sicer šest milijonov Britancev podpisalo peticijo, s katero želijo preklicati brexit.

In the past month, six million Britons signed a petition calling for Brexit to be cancelled.

 Read more stories and improve your Slovene at Časoris, while all our dual texts can be found here.

April 4, 2019

This week’s collection of Slovenian memes (jazjaz, in slang) can’t hide the fact that the average age of a Slovenian meme fan is somewhere below 18. Which might actually be useful to a learner of the language, as not only are memes a simple and fun learning material, but might also help you realise how some things never change.

1. Add a teabag 2. Pour in boiling water 3. Wait till it cools 4. Forget you prepared tea

Memi in gifi ostajajo vsem na voljo

Memes and gifs remain available to everyone

Written by Katarina Bulatović, translated by JL Flanner & G Translate

Evropski poslanci so znova odločali o zelo pomembnem dokumentu.

MEPs decided again on a very important document.

Tega so eni željno pričakovali, drugi pa so menili, da bo zaradi njega virtualni svet drugačen, kot je bil doslej.

Some were happy to accept it, while others thought that it would make the virtual world very different to before.

In znova so ga podprli.

And they [the MEPs] supported it once again.

Velika tehnološka podjetja, kot sta Google in Facebook, so direktivi nasprotovala. Na njihovi strani so bili tudi vsi tisti, ki so prepričani, da zaradi direktive ne bodo več mogli dostopati do informacij na enak način kot doslej.

Large tech companies, such as Google and Facebook, opposed the directive. On their side were also all those who are convinced that because of the directive they will no longer be able to access information in the same way as before.

Večina glasbenikov, igralcev, pisateljev in novinarjev pa jo je težko pričakovala.

Most musicians, actors, writers and journalists were really looking forward to it.

Tehnološka podjetja, ki na spletnih platformah, kot je na primer YouTube, ponujajo pesmi ali videoposnetke, bodo morala njihovim ustvarjalcem plačati nadomestilo za uporabo.

Technology companies that offer songs or videos on online platforms, such as YouTube, will have to pay their creators compensation for their use.

Tega doslej niso počela, čeprav zaradi teh vsebin, ob katerih objavljajo oglase, zaslužijo veliko denarja.

Until now, they did not do this, although they show ads earn a lot of money with this content

Po drugi strani pa marsikateri glasbenik ali pisec komaj živi od svojega dela.

On the other hand, many musicians or writers can barely live from their work.

Tehnološka podjetja so podprli tudi številni posamezniki, ki so se bali, da ne bodo mogli več ustvarjati memov ali gifov.

Technology companies have also [financially] supported many individuals who feared that they would no longer be able to create memes or gifs.

Bali so se, da bodo s tem kršili avtorske pravice denimo fotografa in da bodo zato kaznovani.

They feared that if they violated the copyright of a photographer they would be punished.

Poslanci so prav zato izrecno zapisali, da lahko avtorska dela še naprej uporabljamo za citiranje ali za ustvarjanje memov.

For this reason, MEPs have explicitly stated that copyright works can continue to be used for citations or the creation of memes.

Tudi ti lahko torej še naprej svoje videoposnetke objavljaš na YouTubu, prijatelju pa brez skrbi pošlješ gif ali se nasmeješ novem memu. 

So, you can continue to post your videos on YouTube, can send your gifs without worrying, or smile at the new meme.

Direktivo morajo države članice EU prenesti v svojo zakonodajo, zato ne bo začela veljati še vsaj tri leta.

The directive still needs to be transposed by the EU Member States into their legislation, and therefore it will not enter into force for at least three years.

 Read more stories and improve your Slovene at Časoris, while all our dual texts can be found here, while you can study with some Slovenian memes here

The Slovenian Language Academy released a statement this morning proposing that the teaching of declensions, or skloni, be dropped from the school curriculum. The plan also calls for the various word-endings be phased out from official publications and pronouncements over a three-year period, starting with the dual.

The move, which was in part inspired by China’s introduction of simplified characters in the 1950s, would represent the greatest reformation of the language since Jernej Kopitar's grammar of 1808. Proponents, including the Academy’s President, Dr Butalci, claim that it would make Slovenian easier for immigrants to learn, vital if the country is to deal with its ageing society. It would also help preserve a language that is seen as under threat from the pressures of globalization, which in recent years has led to the rise of “Slovenglish”, a bastard form that mixes Slovene and English into phrases such as “kaj da f?”

While at present only a proposal, Dr Butalci said that the issue should be debated in Parliament as a matter of some urgency in the coming weeks, ahead of the next school year, and that, if approved, she envisaged the first set of official documents to be released in the new, simplified form of Slovenian starting from two years today, on April 1 2021.

All our stories on the Slovenian language can be found here, while our series of dual texts, in English and Slovene, are here

Bakterije na elektriko

Bacteria [running] on electricity

Written by Urša Adamič, translated by JL Flanner & G Translate

Raziskovalci so v termalnih vrelcih našli bakterije, ki dihajo in se prehranjujejo z elektriko.

Researchers have found bacteria in thermal springs that breathe and feed on electricity.

Narodni park Yellowstone v Združenih državah Amerike ima veliko termalnih izvirov, ki so posledica največjega izbruha vulkana v zgodovini Zemlje.

Yellowstone National Park in the United States has many thermal springs as a result of the largest volcanic eruption in the history of the Earth.

V teh bazenih vroče vode živijo različne vrste termofilnih bakterij. To so bakterije, ki živijo pri visokih temperaturah.

The hot water in these pools is home to various types of thermophilic bacteria. These are bacteria that live at high temperatures.

Temperatura v termalnih vrelcih se giblje med 45 °C in 95 °C. Zaradi termofilnih bakterij so termalni vrelci pogosto močnih svetlih barv.

The temperature in thermal springs varies between 45 °C and 95 °C. Because of the thermophilic bacteria, thermal springs often have strong, bright colours.

Raziskovalci so v štiri vrelce položili kovinske palice, priključene na elektriko. Te so predstavljale vir elektronov oziroma električnega toka.

The researchers placed metal bars connected to electricity in four hot springs. These were sources of electrons or electric currents.

Po 32 dneh se je na tej palici zbrala raznolika skupina bakterij, ki so se prehranjevale z elektroni.

After 32 days, a variety of bacteria that feed on electrons were gathered on these rods.

Usmerjeno gibanje elektronov imenujemo električni tok. Predstavljamo si ga lahko kot tok vode v cevi, le da je namesto tekočine neskončno številko malih kroglic, imenovanih elektroni.

The directional motion of electrons is called an electric current. We can imagine it as a flow of water in a tube, but instead of a liquid, there is an infinite number of small balls called electrons.

Elektroni so ključni za nastajanje energije v našem telesu.

The electrons are the key to generating energy in our body.

Ljudje in živali jih pridobivamo tako, da zaužijemo sladkor. Iz sladkorja se elektron vključi in sproži proces nastajanja energije v celicah. Na koncu pristane na molekuli kisika in ga izdihnemo.

Humans and animals obtain electrons by consuming sugar. From this sugar electrons bond and initiate the process of energy generation in cells. Finally, the electrons jump onto oxygen molecules and are exhaled.

Termofilne bakterije v termalnih vrelcih v parku Yellowstone pa elektrone vzamejo s površine, na kateri rastejo, in jih izločajo v okolico. Na ta način ustvarjajo neke vrste šibek električni tok.

The thermophilic bacteria in the thermal springs of Yellowstone Park take electrons from the surfaces on which they grow, and emit them into the environment. In this way, they create a kind of weak electric current.

Takšne bakterije bi lahko v prihodnosti pomenile prenosni in neodvisni vir električne energije. Njihova vloga pa je pomembna tudi pri razgrajevanju nevarnih odpadkov.

In the future such bacteria could be a portable and independent source of electricity. They could also be important in disposing of hazardous waste.

Read more stories and improve your Slovene at Časoris, while all our dual texts can be found here.

Pijani od števila pi

Drunk from the number pi

Written by Urša Adamič, translated by JL Flanner & G Translate

Malokatero število je tako uporabno, kot je število pi.

Pi is a small number that’s very useful.

Brez njega ne moremo izračunati ploščine kroga ali elipse niti prostornine krogle.

Without it, we cannot calculate the circumference of the circle or ellipse or the volume of a sphere.

Tako pomembno je, da ima celo svoj dan. In to danes. Današnji datum je 14. 3., v obrnjenem zapisu pa je to začetek števila pi.

It is so important that it has even its own day. And that’s today. Today's date is 14 March [14 3], but in reverse this is the beginning of the number pi.

Neskončno število decimalk števila pi je izziv za preizkus učenja na pamet. Vsako leto zato po vsem svetu na današnji dan potekajo tekmovanja v recitiranju števila pi.

As a series of endless decimal places, pi is a challenge to learn. Thus every year competitions are held all over the world to recite pi on this day.

Letos so takšno tekmovanje že trinajstič organizirali na ljubljanski Fakulteti za matematiko in fiziko.

This year, for the 13th time, this competition was organized at the Ljubljana Faculty of Mathematics and Physics.

Slovenski rekorder v recitiranju števila pi je Nik Škrlec.

The Slovenian record holder for reciting pi is Nik Škrlec.

»Na 50. ponovitvi predstave Naj gre vse v pi ali kako sem si zapomnil 3141 decimalk smo s pomočjo gledalcev zbrali nekaj sredstev, in tako bo tekmovanje prvič v zgodovini imelo nagradni sklad! Zelo si želim, da bi kdo podrl moj rekord … tudi zato, ker bi se rad še kdaj preizkusil v recitiranju decimalk. Moj naslednji cilj je 31.415 decimalk. Potem pa 314.159, ampak to je bolj načrt za takrat, ko bom v pokoju.«

"At the 50th performance of the show Let everything go into pi or how I remembered 3,141 decimal places we collected some funds with the help of the audience, so the competition will have a prize fund for the first time in history! I very much want someone to break my record ... because I would like to try again in reciting it. My next goal is 31,415 decimal places. Then 314.,159, but that's more a plan for when my retirement. "

Tekmovanja ne potekajo zgolj v recitiranju, pač pa tudi v peki pi-t in pisanju pi-ezije.

Competitions are not only for recitation, but also in baking pi[e] and writing pi-etry.

V vseh treh kategorijah se preizkušajo tudi dijaki Gimnazije Novo mesto.

In all three categories, students of the Novo Mesto Gymnasium are also tested.

»Pri številu pi mi je najbolj všeč, da se nadaljuje v neskončnost, kot domišljija in nepredvidljivost ljudi,« pravi Nika Sara Pavlin, ki se bo preizkusila v pisanju pi-ezije.

"The number pi is my favourites, because it continues to infinity, like the imagination and the unpredictability of people," says Nika Sara Pavlin, who will enter the competition for writing of pi-etry.

Slovarček

Glossary

Pi-ezija je literarna oblika, lahko proza ali poezija, pri kateri število črk v zaporednih besedah ustreza decimalkam števila pi.

Pi-etry is a literary form, wich can be prose or poetry, in which the number of letters in successive words corresponds to those in the number pi.

Primer: Jan v vodi k očetu hudomušno je zaplul.  

3, 1  4  1  5  9  2  6

Example: Jan in the water to [his] father is madly squandering.

Read more stories and improve your Slovene at Časoris, while all our dual texts can be found here.

Zakaj imajo zebre proge?

Why do zebras have stripes?

Written by Urša, translated by JL Flanner & G Translate

Zebre so konjem podobne prebivalke afriških savan.

Zebras are horse-like residents of the African savannah.

Krasi jih črno-bel kožuh. Vsaka zebra ima edinstven progasti vzorec, ki je njen prepoznavni znak, tako kot pri ljudeh prstni odtis.

They are covered in black and white fur. Each zebra has a unique striped pattern, which is its recognisable sign, just like a human fingerprint.

Znanstveniki so dolgo mislili, da je njihov kožuh bel in proge črne, a so kasneje ugotovili, da je ravno obratno.

For a long time scientists thought that their fur was white and the stripes were black, but later they found it was the opposite.

In zakaj so zebre progaste?

And why are zebras striped?

Da se lažje skrijejo? Da s progami med tekom zmedejo plenilce? Ali da se z njimi hladijo Za nobeno od hipotez niso imeli dovolj trdnih dokazov.

To make it easier to hide? So that the stripes confuse predators when they are running together? Or to cool them? None of these hypotheses has enough hard evidence.

Raziskovalci so nato leta 2014 postavili še eno hipotezo. Progasti vzorec bi lahko zebre varoval pred obadi. Svojo idejo so pred kratkim preverili in podkrepili s preprostim poskusom.

The researchers then put forward another hypothesis in 2014. A striped pattern could protect the zebras from horse flies. They recently checked and found support for their idea with a simple experiment.

Oblikovali so tri skupine živali. V prvi skupini so bile zebre, v drugi konji in v tretji konji, preoblečeni v zebre.

Three groups of animals were formed. In the first group, zebras, in another horse,s and in the third horses made to look like zebras.

Vse tri skupine so na terenu natančno opazovali in snemali. Šteli so, koliko obadov jih obletava in koliko jih na njih tudi pristane.

All three groups were closely watched and recorded in the field. They [the researchers] were counting how many flies were flying around [the animals], and how many landed on them.

Vse živali je obletavalo približno enako število obadov. Ti namreč svoj plen izberejo na podlagi vonja. A da lahko pristanejo, morajo žival tudi dobro videti.

All animals had about the same number of flies around them. They choose their prey on the basis of smell. But if they are to be able to land, then the animal must also look good.

Izkazalo se je, da so obadi manj uspešno pristajali na hrbtih zeber in konj, preoblečenih v zebre. Zebre so bile tudi bolj uspešne pri odganjanju obadov z repom in s trzanjem s kožo.

It turned out that the flies were less successful in landing on the backs of zebras and the horses made to look like zebras. The zebras were also more successful in repelling [flies] with their tails and with twitching their skin.

Rezultati torej nakazujejo, da proge zebram pomagajo, da se zaščitijo pred nadležnimi obadi. Zaščita pred letečimi krvosesi pa je v afriških savanah zelo pomembna, saj ti prenašajo številne nalezljive bolezni.

The results thus indicate that zebra stripes help to protect themselves against annoying horse flies. Protecting against flying bloodsuckers is very important in the African savannah, because they transmit a number of infectious diseases.

 Read more stories and improve your Slovene at Časoris, while all our dual texts can be found here.

The breakout sports star of the year is Alex Honnold, the ice cool and humble vegetarian and climber who’s the focus of the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo.

Since we’re big fans of climbing here at TSN, given the nation’s outsized contribution to the sport, our YouTube playlist lined up the following video for us. A National Geographic special from 2014 featuring Honnold on a series of climbs in Yosemite – including El Cap. The reason we’re posting it here? It comes with Slovenian subtitles, so you can watch, read, listen and learn.

All our stories about climbing in Slovenia can be found here, while those about learning Slovenian are here