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 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 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 readingHow Does Language Influence Likes On Facebook?
How do you like this: Some languages might be more conducive to Facebook likes than others. Cultural factors are a much larger determinant, however. So says online translation portal Bab.la, which has tallied up the use of the famed Facebook like button in different languages. Now, let’s qualify the data: These statistics show how often speakers of different languages like Bab.la’s [...]
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 [...]
Click here to continue readingTop 10 Languages Spoken by Internet Users
As more and more people around the world use the Internet, it’s no surprise that the diversity of languages on the web increases. The variety of languages spoken by Internet users means that corporate websites hoping to reach a broad audience will have to translate their websites into multiple languages. Depending on the target audience [...]
Click here to continue readingAngelina Jolie and Keanu Reeves Set To Make Bilingual Directorial Debuts
Angelina Jolie shot her directorial debut in English and Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian, so it would be realistic to those who lived through the Balkan wars and still accessible to western audiences. The actress felt it would be wrong to just shoot her war love story, In the Land of Blood & Honey, for Hollywood [...]
Click here to continue readingTranslating Mandarin Chinese is Big Business
Jiri Stejskal cannot forget a “Please Do Not Disturb” sign that once hung at the door of the hotel room he stayed in Beijing seven years ago. The back side of the sign read: “Please Disturb”. The words are correct, but it is just not proper English, not in the English language culture, Stejskal, vice-president [...]
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