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Turn off the subtitlesI shouldn’t have to bother reading subtitles in French films. I studied French for many years, and understand it at a fairly high comprehension level. Still, whenever the subtitles are on, I can’t help but read them. Even if I try hard to focus on the film, my eyes wander to the bottom of the screen, where I catch the sometimes rapidly flashing script, if only to reassure myself that what I’m understanding is in fact what I’m supposed to be understanding.... More Tags: French films, newsletter, subtitles
Little fire gives hot waterI sometimes travel to Barcelona on business, and over the years I’ve managed to pick up enough Spanish to get by (awkwardly, at least) in most situations. My plan is simple: I string basic words together to express complex ideas, and hope that something other than gibberish comes out.... More Tags: newsletter, Spanish
A tiny bit of FarsiDid you know that the official language of Iran has two names: Farsi and Persian?... More Tags: Arabic alphabet, Farsi, newsletter, Persian
French culinary words and phrasesThey can be used to make a menu sound fancy, or just because a restaurant is, in fact, a fancy French restaurant. Either way, you’re guaranteed to see French words on an English menu at least a few times in your dining life, if not many, many times. Here’s what some of those French terms actually mean:... More Tags: French food, menu, vocabulary
Schott’s VocabBen Schott, author of numerous Schott’s Miscellanies, is authoring a blog on language at The New York Times called Schott’s Vocab, which investigates the stories behind words and phrases in recent news such as peregruzka, guo jin min tui, and glam-mas. Tags: current events, vocabulary
It’s all Greek to me, but is it Hebrew to you?If you don’t understand something, you might say “It’s all Greek to me.” But have you ever wondered what Greek speakers say? After all, it wouldn’t really make sense for them to reference their own language as an example of something strange and incomprehensible.... More Tags: expressions, Greek
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