Learning a language is by no means an easy thing to do. Quite often, you will experience words, sounds, grammars, and nuances that are different from what you are normally used to in your native languages. And so, there is a split opinion on whether or not it is advisable to learn multiple languages at … Continue reading A book that lets you learn… 4 languages at once?
Spanish
Why do we pronounce ‘tomato’ differently but not ‘potato’?
I want to start today's Word Bites installment with yet another poll. This time, I want to ask, how do you pronounce 'tomato'? Do the last two syllables sound similar or identical to those of 'potato? For two words that might sound strangely similar for some, the presence of two possible pronunciations (or predominant patterns … Continue reading Why do we pronounce ‘tomato’ differently but not ‘potato’?
So, how did California get its name?
This is probably the most well-known state in the United States, alongside Texas, New York, and Florida. Among the largest states in the country, with among the highest populations, California is perhaps the state that has exported quite a fair bit of cultural, economic, and technological influences globally, from Hollywood to Silicon Valley. Yet, there … Continue reading So, how did California get its name?
The story of the cedilla
This diacritic we will cover today will bother a lot of font developers who want to make a sans-serif font, basically a typeface that lacks any sort of protruding bits at the end of a stroke. These projecting features are called "serifs", and here, the one bothersome bit is called the cedilla, a diacritic mark … Continue reading The story of the cedilla
Word Bites — Similar words, different origins
Sometimes, people suggest that languages are related just because of a small number of lexical similarities between them. However, it could be extremely likely that these words appear similar by sheer coincidence. Perhaps, one of the most well-known examples quoted is the rather striking similarity between English and Mbabaram, for the word "dog". However, English … Continue reading Word Bites — Similar words, different origins
A Non-Anglocentric Language Tier System?
1. How many languages do you know ? Okay, lemme define this question. To “know” a language, usually means to have the knowledge to speak, read, write, understand and communicate in a language. So yeah, as of now, I do know quite a bunch of languages to varying standards, like English, Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, French, Japanese, […]
The Language Closet 