Scottish Teenager Named “Most Multilingual” in the UK
A 14 year old from Callander has been named the most multi-lingual child in the UK. After he learned Russian, Bruce Ballie-Hamilton decided to acquire Mandarin next, because, he told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland programme, he “wanted a challenge”. Arabic was next on the list. After a language with, effectively, no alphabet he wanted [...]
Click here to continue reading21 Language Facts
Some old, some new, some obvious, some quite cool! Did you know that… 01. There are between 6000 and 7000 languages in the world – spoken by six billion people divided into 189 independent states. 02. There are about 225 indigenous languages in Europe – roughly 3% of the world’s total. 03. Most of the [...]
Click here to continue readingSo, Which Foreign Language Is Most Difficult To Learn?
Many of those who study foreign languages wonder which language is the most difficult one in the world. Linguists say that there is no precise answer to this question because everything depends on which language you speak. Neurophysiologists believe, though, that the Chinese or the Arabic could be described as the world’s most difficult languages. [...]
Click here to continue readingThe Man Who Helped ‘Simplify’ Chinese
Students struggling to learn Chinese might not know it, but their task has been made easier because of the work of one man. Zhou Youguang helped invent Pinyin, a writing system that turns Chinese characters into words using letters from the Roman alphabet. This makes it easier to learn how to pronounce Chinese words, and [...]
Click here to continue readingNew Social Website Connects Language Learners With Native Speakers
Name: Verbling Quick Pitch: Verbling is a web-based platform where individuals can pair up with native speakers to practice speaking new languages on live video. Genius Idea: Verbling makes language learning easy by offering a free way to connect instantly with native speakers with timed prompts and conversation-starting topics. Verbling was launched in 2011 when co-founders Jacob Jolis and Mikael Bernstein met while [...]
Click here to continue readingAre You a Hyperpolyglot?
When God put the kibosh on the Tower of Babel, 72 languages were said to have been created from the one that unified those hubristic humans. In his new book, Babel No More, linguist Michael Erard seeks out the people who have put those pieces back together: hyperpolyglots, i.e., the most fluent mamma-jammas on the planet. [...]
Click here to continue reading10 Alternative Chinese Phrases
1. Nǐ zhēn niú! “You’re outstanding!” In China, you can actually compare someone to a cow (niú) to compliment his outstanding character. Yao Ming is definitely niú, and so is anyone who scores you train tickets after they’re “sold out” or tries the baijiu liquor sold in plastic squeeze bottles in grocery stores. 2. [...]
Click here to continue readingNow You Can Translate Your Facebook Posts!
Facebook has launched a new translation tool that lets you translate posts and comments directly inline on Facebook Pages. The service, which is powered by Microsoft’s Bing Translator, means Facebook users can read Page content regardless of the language it is written in. If a comment posted on a Page is in a language that is [...]
Click here to continue readingHow Does Language Speed Affect Efficient Communication?
A new study has found that there is considerable variation in the speed at which languages are spoken, but much less variation in how efficiently languages communicate the same information. The study, co-authored by Francois Pellegrino, Christophe Coupe, and Egidio Marsico, sheds new light on the ways in which languages ensure the efficient communication of [...]
Click here to continue readingThe Most Useful Business Language After English Is..?
Mandarin, China’s official tongue, is also the top language worldwide for business other than English, according to Bloomberg Rankings. Mandarin, spoken by 845 million people, scored highest in a ranking of languages, excluding English, based on business usefulness. The ranking scored languages according to the number of speakers, number of countries where the language is [...]
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