It seems that open water swimmers can so easily make friends from different cultures and countries.
Learning languages is a proven way to improve your memory. According to studies, the more languages you know, the less probability you will have cognitive problems later in life.
While swimming is a great way to stay agile physically, learning a new language – or even some new words – is a great way to stay agile mentally.
From the shores of Dover to the marathon swimming pro circuits, open water swimming world offers so many opportunities to meet people from different cultures and countries. These interactions offer us the ability to learn new words and ways of thinking. The waterway between England and France is described in many different ways:
In Dutch: Het Kanaal or Nauw van Calais (aka Dover Strait) as in “Ik heb de Nauw van Calais overgezwommen“
In Flemish Dutch: Het Kanaal as in “Ik heb het Kanaal overgezwommen”
In Bulgarian: Аз преплувах Ла Манша
In Swedish: Engelska kanalen
In Brazilian Portuguese: Canal da Mancha as in “Eu cruzei o Canal da Mancha“
In Hebrew: תעלת אנגליה (Tealat Angelia)
In Spanish: Canal de la Mancha as in “He nadado el Canal de la Mancha“
In Afrikaans: engelse kanaal as in “Ek het die engelse kanaal geswem“
In Portuguese: Canal da Mancha as in “Eu fiz a travessia do Canal da Mancha a nado”
In German: Ärmelkanal that can be explained as “Ich bin von England nach Frankreich geschwommen“
In French: La Manche as in “J’ai fait la Traversée de la Manche à la nage“
In Italian: Traversata della Manica as in “Egli ha attraversato la Manica“
In Icelandic: Ermarsundið as in “Ég synti yfir Ermarsundið“
In Russian: Пролив Ламанш, pronounced as Proliv Lamansh, as in “Я переплыл пролив Ламанш” (Ya pereplil proliv Lamansh)
In Chinese: 英吉利海峡 as in “我游过了英吉利海峡”
In Japanese: ドーバー海洋 as in “ドーバー海峡を泳いで渡った” where the translation literally means “Dover Strait” and is pronounced “Do-ba- kaikyo o oyoide-watatta“
In Irish: Muir nIochet as in “Rinne mé snámh an Muir nIocht” where the translation literally means the “Straight Sea” and is pronounced “Rin-eh may snauv trass-nah on Mwir nYucht!“
In Australian English: English Channel as in “I swam the bloody English Channel, mate”
Good on you.
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