A little bit of history...
Let me start by telling you I am not a polyglot and I am not an amazing language learner. I spent years dabbling in holiday Italian and I completely sucked at it. I had almost given up thinking I just wasn’t suited to that...
First time learners of a foreign language may often have their hands full simply learning its grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. They might look at learning about cultural traditions, customs, and history as a "luxury" they might have time for...
Editor’s note: This article is an exerpt from "Early Bardic Literature, Ireland" By Standish O'Grady. It was originally published in 1879.
This dolmen sits with a mystic glow on the hill. Dolmen's are megalithic tombs with a large flat stone laid...
Most of us usually learn foreign languages at school. Some learn only one language, some learn even three languages (like me, I learned English, Chinese Mandarin, and German). Not everyone succeeds in learning languages at school, so some will choose...
Learning Spanish - The trials, the tribulations and one triumphant learning hack
Spanish - it's the language of passion, of love and of a beautiful tapestry of cultures. Spoken by more than 400 million people worldwide, it comes an impressive second on the most common of all - out pipping English by more than 25 million speakers....
Have you ever heard or read somewhere about the necessity of being in the country of your target language in order to be able to learn the language well? Did you do it or are you doing it? It does help in terms of providing you with the environment...
The following article was born from a personal interest in how study abroad came about and what was said about it. What follows then is the fruit of fairly extensive, although not comprehensive exploration of the academic literature on the subject...
Many of the great works of the Renaissance period were produced as commissions, paid for by others. We like to think that artists create for the sake of creating, but that is usually not the case. Even if it starts that way, they will eventually need...
Language Learning In The Globalization Era: - Translation, Culture And Power Relations
Although talking about such a topic can be slippery and complex, still there is a need and we cannot simply pretend not to be aware of it. Like most of my fellow countrymen, I have been raised and educated in a system whose design slightly differed...
The painting aboce is part of "Netherlandish Proverbs", a 1559 oil-on-oak-panel by the Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder. It shows a scene in which humans, animals, and objects offer literal illustrations of Dutch proverbs and idioms.
I've...
Words Mean Things and it is the study of those meanings and how they carry across languages that is the serendipity of the Words R Us system. Imagine the Possibilities!
Words R Us is based on an idea developed in prototype at Princeton University....
Before you endeavor to tackle a new language, a fine selection of cognacs – uh cognates should be at the top of your agenda.
So just what is the meaning of cognac anyway?
From Webster's Dictionary…
a brandy from the departments of Charente and Charente-Mari...
When people think of Chinese language, they are often both fascinated and a bit intimidated about its writing system. Fortunately memorizing thousands of complex characters is not the only way to learn written Chinese. Most Mandarin Chinese learners...
Have you ever wondered what language actually is? I don't mean distinguishing between a language and a dialect, or pondering whether to call computer programming a language or not. I mean what is this phenomenon we call language?
In the last few...
Language learning does not happen overnight. Many wish they could sprinkle some pixie dust or wave a magic wand and voilà you know a new language. That is not how it happens, although there are a few language maniacs out there who can feel self-assured...