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¿What’s the story with ¿ and ¡ ? Posted by on Jan 30, 2017 in Archived Posts

¿Did you know the inverted question mark and exclamation point were originally suggested for use in English? ¡It’s true! Apparently, sadly, the upside-down question mark and exclamation point are slowly dying in the Spanish language. According to one commenter on the comic above, this is because when you use text-to-speech on smartphones it doesn’t recognize…

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Language Learning Addiction Posted by on Jan 23, 2017 in Archived Posts

Language learning is fun, and it’s tempting to “collect” new ones along the way. But don’t lose sight of your goals. Finish what you start. Outside of my cartooning and blogging I’m also a photographer and filmmaker, and in the photography community there’s a psychological phenomenon known as Lens Buying Addiction (LBA). When it comes…

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Three Idioms Across the World Posted by on Jan 16, 2017 in Archived Posts

In American English, “Joe Average” is your regular guy, “Nowhereseville” is that far-away town, and “when pigs fly” is practically never. Who knew these idioms, or similar ones, were common across the globe? Not much is more fun than transliterating idioms across languages – that is, translating them literally. By their very nature idioms are…

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Reducing Your Language Learning Baggage Posted by on Jan 4, 2017 in Archived Posts

It’s not easy being a beginner. You need a lot more to do a lot less – that’s as true in language learning as anywhere else. But like a seasoned traveler that packs less and less, you too will eventually need only your smarts. There’s a parable about beginners I’ve heard, and it involves cats…

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“Yes,” “No,” and Everything In-Between Posted by on Dec 26, 2016 in Archived Posts

“Yes” and “no” are not as simple as they might at first appear. Here are a few of the ways in which they can vary greatly across languages. You’d think that there would be no simpler words in any language than “yes” and “no.” I mean, those are basically the first words we learn as…

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Little Moments of Joy in Language Learning Posted by on Dec 19, 2016 in Archived Posts

Language learning is not easy, we all know that. So it helps to step back and remember the little moments that make it all worthwhile. Well, this year it’s actually unseasonably warm in Berlin. Not a snowflake in sight. I can’t decide if that’s better or worse than a white winter – on the one…

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Why Kids Make Great Language Teachers Posted by on Dec 12, 2016 in Archived Posts

Young kids often feel no shame. They also feel no pity for shaming YOU. And that’s what makes them the perfect language learning partners. Ah, kids. As one commenter on this comic so wisely put it, “wine and children produce the truth. And headaches.” The great part about kids is that they usually have no filter…

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