Five to Halfway to Three Quarters After: Telling Time in German Posted by Malachi Rempen on Apr 6, 2016 in Archived Posts
Telling time in German can be a wee bit confusing. Yes, fünf nach halb sechs literally translates to “five past half six” (fünf = five, nach = after, halb = half, sechs = six) where in German “half six” means five-thirty, or “halfway to six” (Brits, however, use “half six” to mean “six thirty,” further confusing matters). “Half” in German…
Verbal Typos, Foreign Language Anxiety, and Why Native Speakers Don’t Notice Your Mistakes Posted by Jakob Gibbons on Apr 4, 2016 in Archived Posts
We all struggle with foreign language anxiety. I speak three languages most days of my life here in Medellín, Colombia, and I still get nervous about conversing in the two foreign ones just about every day. I learned both of my languages, Dutch and Spanish, pretty fast, and got used to speaking and using them in…
Top Language Learning Excuses and How to Beat Them Posted by Malachi Rempen on Mar 30, 2016 in Archived Posts
That’s right, my peanut-shaped drawing of an Italian waiter: in Italy, there’s never a good reason not to eat. The same is true for language learning! There are plenty of excuses we dream up for why we can’t or shouldn’t or won’t learn a foreign language. Believe me, I’ve heard them all before, mostly because I’ve said them…
6 Reasons to Love the Word of the Day Courses Posted by meaghan on Mar 28, 2016 in Archived Posts
If you’re anything like me, you subscribe to one of our Word of the Day emails, but you haven’t actually learned a new word each day. Don’t get me wrong—I open them, every day. I read the phrase and listen to the audio, and it’s a good start. But then I close my email and…
Why Every Language Learner Needs a Library Card Posted by Transparent Language on Mar 23, 2016 in For Libraries
According to a 2013 Pew Research Center survey, 61% of Americans have a library card, though only 48% have visited a library in the last 12 months. More surprisingly, in the digital age, is that only 30% have visited a library website in the last 12 months. This tells us that Americans, language learners in…
The Linguistic Origins of ಠ_ಠ and Other Unusual Internet Faces Posted by Malachi Rempen on Mar 21, 2016 in Archived Posts
Like me, you may have just recently starting bowing to internet pressure to put smileys in your e-correspondence – more and more, I get the feeling that without them, messages come off as overly serious. I hate myself for doing it 🙂 But in case you hadn’t noticed, the internet has long moved beyond colon-closedparenthesis to represent emotions in this…
Transparent Language Library Spotlight: Albert Wisner Public Library Posted by Transparent Language on Mar 16, 2016 in For Libraries, Library Success Stories
“A few years ago we heard how technology would make libraries obsolete. We have turned that on its head. Libraries have become the gateway to get access to technology. It has made libraries more necessary.” – Albert Wisner Public Library director Rosemary Cooper in an interview with Library Journal There’s a common misconception in America…