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Appreciating the Little Things about Language Learning Posted by on Aug 19, 2015 in Archived Posts

Itchy Feet: Phocine Vulgarity

I love the way that learning languages, like learning anything I suppose, slowly strips away the fog of ignorance. If you don’t speak French, it might sound to you like some kind of sugar-whipped vocal pastry, a pretty but unintelligible alien tongue. As you learn, however, gently the veil begins to lift, and what was previously opaque becomes…

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Vocab from the Italian Dinner Table Posted by on Aug 5, 2015 in Archived Posts

In Italy, food is king. As I’ve mentioned before, food is the ultimate topic of conversation, and there’s nowhere better to engage in a conversation about food than in Italy. I’ve had dinners where literally 99% of the conversation had something to do with food – and dinners in Italy can last hours. If you’re…

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Six Hard Mode Languages Posted by on Jul 27, 2015 in Archived Posts

Everyone’s heard about the world’s most widely-spoken languages – English, Spanish, Russian – snore. So vanilla. So mainstream. They’re so applicable and useful around the world it’s tiresome. But what about the underground scene in language learning? What about those truly challenging, extreme-sport-equivalent tongues that only the daringest of the daring attempt to master? These…

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Traveling Light and Language Learning Posted by on Jul 20, 2015 in Archived Posts

Itchy Feet: Three Things

My first time traveling overseas all by myself, my mother gave her the advice that her mother gave her on her first time traveling all by herself: all you really need are tickets, your passport, and money. The Holy Trinity. The idea is that as long as you have a way to get there, your…

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Seven Italian Hand Gestures Worth Knowing Posted by on Jul 13, 2015 in Archived Posts

Italian hand gestures - "scared?"

Many years ago, back when my wife was just my girlfriend and I was visiting her family for the first time in rural Italy, I spoke about as much Italian as a plate of spaghetti Bolognese. Unfortunately, her family spoke as much English as a chicken pot pie, so there were plenty of hilarious misunderstandings…

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Lost in Translation: Untranslatable Words and Phrases Posted by on Jul 6, 2015 in Archived Posts

Let’s face it; there are some things that language simply cannot help us express. Religious experiences, travel experiences, life experiences – really any kind of personal, subjective experience is difficult to put into words that will accurately portray the experience being had. But don’t feel bad, that’s not your job; that’s why we pay poets…

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Ignorant Friends: the Secret to Your Success Posted by on Jun 29, 2015 in Archived Posts

Disclaimer: everything that follows is terrible advice. If you’ve followed the Transparent Language blog for any good amount of time, you’ll know there are lots and lots and lots of articles on how to improve your language-learning, how to get over the fear of speaking new languages, and what it takes to get better. But…

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