21 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 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 readingThe 8 Easiest Languages for English Speakers to Learn
On an increasingly international planet, multilingualism is fast becoming a desired trait in employees, meaning today’s college students enjoy an advantage if their degree plans require a second (or even third!) language. English speakers in America particularly find this possibility challenging, as far too many schools downplay the importance of learning to speak something additional. Fortunately, [...]
Click here to continue readingGoogle Now Shows Translated English Results In Non-English Searches
If you have ever tried searching Google for “आईफोन” (the “iPhone” transliterated in Hindi), you know that the search engine returns hundreds of thousands of results, but the official Apple website is nowhere to be found on it. Recently, Google took on the challenge of fixing this issue by including English results for search queries [...]
Click here to continue readingGoogle Now Shows Translated English Results In Non-English Searches
If you have ever tried searching Google for “आईफोन” (the “iPhone” transliterated in Hindi), you know that the search engine returns hundreds of thousands of results, but the official Apple website is nowhere to be found on it. Recently, Google took on the challenge of fixing this issue by including English results for search queries [...]
Click here to continue readingWhich Language Should You Learn: French, German or Mandarin?
As the financial world goes into freefall the question that every internationally-minded individual has on their lips is ‘What language will be the most valuable for me in the future?’ Will the shift of economic power from West to East affect our personal language-learning choices or, even more importantly, will it effect choice at a [...]
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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