7 ways to fake-pronounce any foreign language from a linguist. Gretchen McCulloch People who speak languages other than English are sometimes impressed by how well I and other linguists pronounce words or names in their language, even if we don't speak a word of it.
But it’s not magic: Here are seven basic principles that linguists use to fake-pronounce foreign languages but that anyone can apply. They won't make you sound completely fluent, but you'll sound a lot better than the average English speaker. 1. Pronounce ALL the letters. 2. 3. You won’t always be right with this vowel system, but it will reduce your odds of being wrong from about 99% to about 30%. 4. 5. 6.
9 Foreign Words the English Language Desperately Needs. As we have demonstrated before, the English language has some grievous holes in it.
We're talking about everyday phenomena that we have all noticed, yet don't have terms for. Fortunately, while we were busy fumbling with hand gestures and illustrations like cavemen, other cultures just made up the perfect words and phrases to encapsulate those little everyday moments filled with ... uh ... je ne sais quoi. #9. Learn Spanish at Spanish Obsessed. What Actors Can Teach Us About Learning a Foreign Language. I’m Rob, one half of Spanish Obsessed, where my Colombian partner Lis and I have recorded a series of Spanish podcasts for all levels and help people to learn Spanish.
I myself started learning Spanish just before I decided to move to Spain a few years ago to teach English. After a while there, I moved to Colombia where I lived for about a year, and since moving back to London in 2012, I’ve been running Spanish Obsessed with the beautiful Lis! You’re in The Old Vic (most famous theatre in the world). You’re waiting in the wings, and you can hear the audience shuffling in their seats. Languages Around the Globe - You know you're obsessed with languages when... - UniLang. (Note: the ones with the by them apply to me.) ...you learn languages because you love them instead of learning them for a practical purpose. ...you dream in foreign languages. ...you sleep-talk in foreign languages. ...you do/did poorly in school because you tend(ed) to spend too much time learning languages instead of doing your homework :id (Halfway!
...staying up until 2 or 3 AM learning kanji is your idea of fun. Quiz: Which foreign language should you learn? A view shows the illuminated Eiffel Tower and La Defense business district (background) in Paris February 24, 2015.
(REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes) Are Americans losing their interest in foreign languages? According to a study by the Modern Language Association, the number of students who learn a language other than English decreased by about 100,000 between 2009 and 2013. As The Post's Roberto A. Ferdman assessed earlier this month, one of the reasons for the sudden drop could be that in times of economic crises students prioritize "more practical, or at least immediately useful, courses. " 38 Wonderful Foreign Words We Could Use in English. Sometimes we must turn to other languages to find le mot juste.
Here are a whole bunch of foreign words with no direct English equivalent. 1. Kummerspeck (German) Excess weight gained from emotional overeating. Literally, grief bacon. 2. 20 awesomely untranslatable words from around the world. 21 Fantastic Tips and Hacks For Learning a Foreign Language. Language learning tips from top polyglots. In recent years, there have surfaced a number of “hyper-polyglots” – people who can speak a large number of languages – on YouTube and other social media.
There are plenty of videos of these guys speaking 8 different languages in one conversation. Learn 48 Languages Online for Free. How to learn languages for free?
This collection features lessons in 48 languages, including Spanish, French, English, Mandarin, Italian, Russian and more. Download audio lessons to your computer or mp3 player and you’re good to go. 22 Tips For Learning A Foreign Language. When I arrived in Buenos Aires in the beginning of 2010, I could barely order food in a local restaurant.
Two years later, I calmly explained the mechanics of Russian grammar to a Guatemalan friend… in her native Spanish. Today, I’m conversationally fluent in both Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese, and low conversational in Russian. I’m not going to blow smoke up your ass and tell you it was easy or that there’s some shortcut or hack. I practiced my ass off. Honestly, I’ve seen the supposed “hacks” for language learning, and none of them worked for me. The Art of Imperfect Language. 12 Rules for Learning Foreign Languages in Record Time — The Only Post You’ll Ever Need.
Preface by Tim Ferriss.
Experts Reveal Favorite Methods for Learning Vocabulary. Learning more words: experts share their favorite strategy. Aaahhhh, learning vocabulary! It must be the sexiest element of learning a language. And perhaps the most controversial. It’s not for nothing that polyglots call it the Kim Kardashian of the language-learning community. (Actually, I made that up. ;-)) How to Remember Words When Learning a Language. “How can I remember words?” “How can I memorize new vocabulary and make it stick in my long-term memory?” These are questions that nearly every language learner has asked him/herself at one time or another. Given that learning and remembering new words is such a huge and important part of foreign language acquisition, it would make sense to learn about how to become better at it. It might be boring, but learning new words is simply unavoidable. You might remember my 12 tips on how to improve your memory that I wrote a few months ago.
So today I’ll provide you with four techniques that you can use right from today to jumpstart your vocabulary acquisition ability. TRANSLATE. English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese. I LOVE LANGUAGES Whether you're looking for online language lessons, translating dictionaries, native literature, translation services, software, language schools, or just a little information on a language you've heard about, iLoveLanguages probably has something to suit your needs. LANGUAGES-ON-THE-WEB Everything to learn foreign languages...and more. Foreign languages: how to memorise vocabulary. Cluster Those one-word-a-day language learning apps may feel convenient, but thematically, they’re all over the place, delivering a chain of unrelated words: envelope, tired, January, receive, onion.
Focus on a single theme each week. How I Learned a Language in 90 Days. How to learn the vocabulary of foreign languages. Once you have got to grips with the fundamentals of a language (pronunciation, orthography and basic grammar), you can concentrate on learning vocabulary. This is probably the most important and time-consuming part of learning a language. Associate the familiar with the unfamiliar Try to find word or phrases in your L1 which sound like and if possible have a similar meaning to words in your L2. Build mental images or draw pictures based on the connections. What happens in the brain when you learn a language? Learning a foreign language can increase the size of your brain.
This is what Swedish scientists discovered when they used brain scans to monitor what happens when someone learns a second language. The study is part of a growing body of research using brain imaging technologies to better understand the cognitive benefits of language learning. Tools like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electrophysiology, among others, can now tell us not only whether we need knee surgery or have irregularities with our heartbeat, but reveal what is happening in our brains when we hear, understand and produce second languages.
No English word for it? Make up your own, like Shakespeare. Or steal one. Endlessly encyclopaedic as it seems, there are times our beloved English language fails us. 10 Problems Only a Language Lover Will Understand. Posted on 20. 77 Weird and Romantic Names for the International Lover. How Do You Say Different Words in Different Languages. The language of love: Terms of endearment in six languages. This Valentine’s day, why not surprise your sweetie with a multilingual valentine? The Living Language eTutors are here to help you learn how to say sweet nothings in six different languages. Japanese The important thing to remember when using expressions of love in Japanese is that being indirect is better. 25 Romantic Words That Don’t Exist in English But Should. Sometimes words aren’t enough to communicate with the object of your affection — English words, that is. 23 Untranslatable Foreign Words That Describe Love Better Than You Ever Thought.
Language is so beautiful to me. The Language Lover's Blog. **For the Love of Languages and Xenophilia on Pinterest.