So, 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 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 readingThe Secrets of Super-Human Language Learners Revealed
What a Chilean YouTube disaster and a busy Manhattan restaurant have to do with the limits of the human brain. Nineteenth-century Italian cardinal Giuseppe Mezzofanti, a legend in his day, was said to speak 72 languages. Hungarian hyperpolyglot Lomb Kató, who taught herself Russian by reading Russian romance novels, insisted that “one learns grammar from [...]
Click here to continue readingTake our Cognate Quiz!
Language learners are forever haunted by the infamous incorrect cognate and faux friend when translating or even just learning. But can you guess the odd one out from these strikingly different languages. Within each row are 6 words, one of which has a completely different meaning to the rest – any ideas? Azerbaijani [...]
Click here to continue readingThe Influences on the Spanish Language
Spanish is based on Latin but since Roman times many other cultures have left their mark on the language. The Arabic-speaking Muslims that once ruled over the Iberian Peninsular contributed more than 1,000 words to the Spanish vocabulary. A great deal of terms were also adopted from nativer American languages, not to mention the modern [...]
Click here to continue readingNorthants Police Spend £1.2m on Interpreters in Three Years
Police in Northamptonshire have spent £1.2 million on foreign interpreters in the past three years. Wootton Hall bosses have revealed the force is having to spend around £400,000 a year on employing a vast array of foreign language speakers to help officers interview increasing numbers of criminals, as well as witnesses, from countries across Europe, [...]
Click here to continue readingIs English Too Easy For Hungarians?
Hungary’s government wants to dethrone English as the most common foreign language taught in Hungarian schools. The reason: It’s just too easy to learn. “It is fortunate if the first foreign language learned is not English. The initial, very quick and spectacular successes of English learning may evoke the false image in students that learning [...]
Click here to continue reading