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 reading47 English Words of German Origin
Admittedly some are rather obvious, and some are German loanwords! Enjoy nonetheless: 1. Abseil (German spelling: sich abseilen, a reflexive verb, to rope (seil) oneself (sich) down (ab)); the term abseiling is used in the UK and commonwealth countries, “roping (down)” in various English settings, and “rappelling” in the US. 2. Angst (fear, depression, anger) 3. Bagel (a [...]
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 readingE-reader App Translates Books and Reads Them to You
A new e-reader translation app from a Toronto-based firm could eliminate the language barrier when it comes to reading books in a digital format. Intertainment Media Inc. filed for a U.S. patent for its e-reader translator application, the company announced this morning. The app, called Ortsbo e-reader, is currently in closed beta and can translate the [...]
Click here to continue readingSchweiz? Suisse? Svizzera? Making Sense of the Language Confusion
It’s astonishing that the Swiss can understand each other. Not only do they have four languages, but well over half of them speak one way and write another. Switzerland is at the intersection of three major European cultures – German, French and Italian – and the only language it can truly call its own, Romansh, [...]
Click here to continue readingHow Cartoons Help You Learn Another Language
Nation of polyglots The complexity of slovenščina (the Slovenian language) isn’t the main reason few try to learn it; the real reason nobody tries to learn it is that Slovenians usually speak your native language. Within Europe, Slovenians come in third in speaking a foreign language. Europeans proclaim they’re all polyglots, but 44 percent of EU citizens [...]
Click here to continue readingJoin the Cult of the Hyperpolyglot
Many people want to speak a second language, but for some people two can never be enough. Welcome to the world of the hyperpolyglot. Ray Gillon speaks 18 languages. To be precise, he only speaks eight fluently. His grasp on the other 10 is merely conversational. Throw anything at him in Portuguese, Thai, Turkish, Russian, [...]
Click here to continue reading35 Cool Language Facts
1. French was the official language of England for over 300 years 2. Italian is the fifth most taught language, after English, French, Spanish and German. 3. German is the most widely spoken native language in Europe 4. English speakers will be able to recognise over 3,000 Spanish words 5. Portuguese has 178 million native [...]
Click here to continue readingDoes the Language We Speak Affect Our Attitude to Money?
Northern Europeans are increasingly frustrated with their southern counterparts, claiming that they are more interested in dodging taxes and avoiding work than paying back their debts, and pin the blame on such factors as culture and politics. But Yale University Professor Keith Chen – who has previously written about how Capuchin monkeys take bigger risks to avoid losses [...]
Click here to continue reading