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Meh“Meh” indicates a lack of interest or enthusiasm, and it recently became one of the newest words to be added to the Collins English Dictionary. Apparently, it was inspired by an episode of The Simpsons, where Homer tries to pry away the kids from watching T.V., and they respond with, “Meh.” We’re wondering if meh was perhaps adapted from the Yiddish word “mnyeh,” which also suggests indifference. Tags: coinage
Crossed wiresIt can be tough enough studying just one language, but once you start studying more than one, your head begins to feel a bit full. When the languages are similar, they bleed into each other at times. But even when they’re drastically different languages, a Slavic language and a Romance language for example, crossed wires can occur. ... More Tags: French, Latvian, learning more than one language, newsletter, Russian
Arabic scriptDid you know that the Arabic alphabet is one of the most widely used alphabets in the world? It has been adapted by many languages, such as Farsi (Persian), Urdu, Punjabi, etc.... More Tags: Arabic alphabet, Arabic script, newsletter
Make mistakes!This probably sounds a bit counterintuitive coming from a language learning tip, but it’s actually a very important, and difficult, lesson to learn. One of the things that can prevent you from improving your language skills, particularly pronunciation and conversation skills, is the fear of looking silly, or being embarrassed by making a mistake in public.... More Tags: conversation, language learning, newsletter, pronunciation
Speaking with an accentI knew I had made it as a speaker of English as a second language when a fellow traveler in the Zurich airport, stuck there with me waiting for the fog to lift, identified me as an American. True, this happened because he, like me, wasn’t a native speaker of American English, and hence, did not pick up on my foreign accent. Regardless, I was proud, in Professor Higgins’s words, of having (almost) conquered “the majesty and grandeur of the English language.” ... More
Documenting Endangered LanguagesAnother website joins the effort to preserve endangered languages: Enduring Voices. (via Three Percent) ... More Tags: endangered languages
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