Language Reporting

To the Flowers of Heidelberg by Jose Rizal

Go to my country, go, O foreign flowers,
sown by the traveler along the road,
and under that blue heaven
that watches over my loved ones,
recount the devotion
the pilgrim nurses for his native sod!
Go and say  say that when dawn
opened your chalices for the first time
beside the icy Neckar,
you saw him silent beside you,
thinking of her constant vernal clime.
Say that when dawn
which steals your aroma
was whispering playful love songs to your young
sweet petals, he, too, murmured
canticles of love in his native tongue;
that in the morning when the sun first traces
the topmost peak of Koenigssthul in gold
and with a mild warmth raises
to life again the valley, the glade, the forest,
he hails that sun, still in its dawning,
that in his country in full zenith blazes.
And tell of that day
when he collected you along the way
among the ruins of a feudal castle,
on the banks of the Neckar, or in a forest nook.
Recount the words he said
as, with great care,
between the pages of a worn-out book
he pressed the flexible petals that he took.

Carry, carry, O flowers,
my love to my loved ones,
peace to my country and its fecund loam,
faith to its men and virtue to its women,
health to the gracious beings
that dwell within the sacred paternal home.

When you reach that shore,
deposit the kiss I gave you
on the wings of the wind above
that with the wind it may rove
and I may kiss all that I worship, honor and love!

But O you will arrive there, flowers,
and you will keep perhaps your vivid hues;
but far from your native heroic earth
to which you owe your life and worth,
your fragrances you will lose!
For fragrance is a spirit that never can forsake
and never forgets the sky that saw its birth.

Jose Rizal's Poem -A Las Flores De Heidelberg

Id a mi patria, id, extrangeras flores,
sembradas del viajero en el camino,
y bajo su azul cielo,
que guarda mis amores,
contad del peregrino
la fe que alienta por su patrio suelo!
id y decid ... decid que cuando el alba
vuestro caliz abrio por vez primera
cabe el Neckar helado,
le visteis silencioso a vuestro lado
pensando en su constante primavera.
Decid que cuando el alba,
que roba vuestro aroma,
cantos de amor jugando os susurraba,
el tambien murmuraba
cantos de amor en su natal idioma;
que cuando el sol la cumbre
del Koenigsthul en la manana dora
y con su tibia lumbre
anima el valle, el bosque y la espesura,
saluda a ese sol aun en su aurora,
al que en su patria en el cenit fulgura !
y contad aquel dia
cuando os cogia al borde del sendero,
entre ruinas del feudal castillo,
orilla al Neckar, o a la selva umbria.
Contad lo que os decia ,
cuando, con gran ciudado
entre las paginas de un libro usado
vuestras flexibles hojas oprimia.

Llevad, llevad, oh flores !
amor a mis amores
paz a mi pais y a su fecunda tierra,
fe a sus hombres, virtud a sus mujeres,
salud a dulces seres
que el paternal, sagrado hogar encierra ...

Cuando to queis la playa,
el beso os imprimo
depositadlo en ala de la brisa,
por que con ella vaya
y bese cuanto adora, amo y estimo.

Mas ay llegareis flores,
conservareis quizas vuestras colores,
pero lejos del patrio, heroico suelo
a quien debeis la vida:
que aroma es alma, y no abandona el cielo,
cuya luz viera en su nacer, ni olvida.

While in Europe for the first time (1882-1887), the loss of Riza's mother's eyesight made him more determined to specialize in ophthalmology. After his studies in Spain in 1885, he went to Paris and worked in the clinic of Dr. Louise de Wecker, Europe's leading ophthalmologist. He went to Heidelberg and worked under Dr. Otto Becker where he learned practical operations on eye diseases. He also worked in the clinic of Dr. Carl Schweigger in Berlin and took lessons in ophthalmology in the University of Leipzig. Fascinated by the beauty of German spring and a feeling of nostalgia, Rizal found inspiration in the beauty of the blooming flowers and the fragrance of the woods. This inspiration gave birth to a touching poem entitled, "To the Flowers of Heidelberg" which he wrote on April 24, 1886.

Who uses Cockney Rhyming Slang?

Cockney Rhyming Slang originated in the East End of London. Some slang expressions have escaped from London and are in popular use throughout the rest of Britain. For example "use your loaf" is an everyday phrase for the British, but not too many people realise it is Cockney Rhyming Slang ("loaf of bread: head"). There are many more examples of this unwitting use of Cockney Rhyming Slang.

Television has raised awareness of Cockney Rhyming Slang to far greater heights. Classic TV shows such as "Steptoe and Son", "Minder", "Porridge" and "Only Fools and Horses" have done much to spread the slang throughout Britain and to the rest of the world.

Is Cockney Rhyming Slang dead?

Not on your Nelly! Cockney Rhyming Slang may have had its highs and lows but today it is in use as never before.

In the last few years hundreds of brand new slang expressions have been invented - many betraying their modern roots, eg "Emma Freuds: hemorrhoids"; (Emma Freud is a TV and radio broadcaster) and "Ayrton Senna": tenner (10 pound note).

How is Cockney slang developing?

Modern Cockney slang that is being developed today tends to only rhyme words with the names of celebrities or famous people. There are very few new Cockney slang expressions that do not follow this trend. The only one that has gained much ground recently that bucks this trend is "Wind and Kite" meaning "Web site".

Cockney expressions are being exported from London all over the world. Here at cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk we get loads of enquiries from folks as far afield as the USA, Canada and Japan, all wanting to know the meaning of Cockney expressions.