2014 World Cup of Languages: Round of 16 Results Posted by meaghan on Jul 2, 2014 in Archived Posts
Behold, the results from the Round of 16 in our 2014 World Cup of Languages! Verbs were conjugated, nouns were declined, victories were celebrated, and, with any great sporting event, hearts were broken. (Clearly, I’m still reeling from the U.S. loss last night.) Check out the bracket below to see your team’s fate. Don’t forget…
3 New Languages in Transparent Language Online: Tamil, Khmer, and Somali Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 30, 2014 in For Educators, For Learners, For Libraries, Learning Material Updates
We are very excited to announce that we have added three new languages to Transparent Language Online: Cambodian (Khmer), Somali, and Tamil! Cambodian, known commonly as Khmer, is spoken by more than 16 million people across Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand. Differing from a traditional alphabet, Khmer uses an abugida, a segmental writing system in which combinations of…
Bilingualism: Laying the Groundwork for Future Language Learning Posted by mtaulier on Jun 25, 2014 in Archived Posts
The title of this post may confuse you. How can being bilingual help you learn a foreign language? You’re probably thinking, “I’m still struggling to learn my first foreign language!” Let me relate a personal anecdote you might find helpful. Many years ago, I moved to France with my parents. We did not live in…
English: That Irritating, Ubiquitous Language Posted by Malachi Rempen on Jun 23, 2014 in Archived Posts
These days, if you’re a native English speaker, or even halfway competent in English, you can travel just about anywhere in the world and get by. This is admittedly a broad generalization, but when’s the last time you returned from a trip without having once met someone who spoke even a single word of English?…
Does “use it or lose it” apply to foreign languages? Posted by meaghan on Jun 18, 2014 in Archived Posts
Did you grow up in a bilingual household without ever really learning the second language? Maybe your parents spoke to you in another language while you were little, but you switched over to English at some point and never looked back. You probably think you have absolutely no memory of that language now, and maybe…
Cognates: A Language Learner’s Best and Worst Friends Posted by meaghan on Jun 16, 2014 in Archived Posts
Just starting to learn a new language? Well, what if you I told you that right now, you already know dozens (if not hundreds!) of words in that language? Depending on the language, it’s true! What is this sorcery I speak of? They’re called cognates, and they are your best friend right now. Cognates are…
5 Interesting Careers for Language Lovers (Beyond Translators and Interpreters) Posted by meaghan on Jun 11, 2014 in Archived Posts
When thinking of foreign language-related careers, the first options that come to mind are probably translator, interpreter, and foreign language teacher. Surely, none of those are bad options for a language lover. But linguaphiles aren’t limited to such narrow career paths, and often have interests beyond language learning (blasphemy, I know!) In fact, studying languages…