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8 Incredibly Useful Japanese Words That Have No English Equivalent
Recently, we talked about how Japanese, while a tough language to learn, isn’t quite as difficult as some horror stories make it out to be. Still, if English is your native language, certain Japanese...
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12 Words That Used To Have Radically Different Meanings
Word meanings can shift radically, just like pronunciation.Called semantic change, a shift in a word's meaning occurs when frequent misuse becomes standard, or when metaphoric use becomes...
View Article9 Maps That Show How Americans Speak In Different Regions
Please enable Javascript to watch this video American English dialects and pronunciation have been a point of interest from coast to coast among linguists for years. In 1999, the Harvard Dialect...
View Article9 Maps That Show How Americans Speak In Different Regions
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13 Everyday Phrases That Actually Came From Shakespeare
On Wednesday, April 23, renowned poet, playwright and snappy dresser, William Shakespeare, will turn 450 years old. Whether a fan or not, you probably use many of his phrases on a regular basis — maybe...
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9 Wonderful French Expressions That Have No Good English Equivalent
English is pretty much the most dynamic language on Earth, having adopted tons of words from practically every other tongue on the globe.But on there are still a few untucked conceptual or expressive...
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7 Tricks To Help You Win Your Next Scrabble Game
Scrabble combines the best aspects of language, strategy, and board gamery. But scoring well (and winning) doesn't happen easily. Certain actions can help you on the board though. We combined the seven...
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10 Words That Can Make You More Powerful
The words you use are more powerful than you imagine. Most people greet each other with words that have no power. Think of the last time you heard someone else (or even yourself) respond to a greeting...
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9 Grammatical Mistakes That Instantly Reveal People's Ignorance
All it takes is a single tweet or text for some people to reveal their poor grasp of the English language.Homophones — words that sound alike but are spelled differently — can be particularly pesky....
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Here's How People In The 70th Century Will Learn To Speak English
In 1939, electric company Westinghouse buried one of the most ambitious time capsules ever as part of an exhibit at the World's Fair in New York. It won't see the light until 6939 — 5,000 years after...
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This Hiking Story Reveals Cultural Differences Between Finns, Italians, And...
In the days when we used St Mary's College, Bangor, North Wales, for English language summer courses, we came up with a different nationality mix every year; after a few years we decided some mixes...
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The Rich, Obscene Sub-Language That Will Protect Russia From Putin’s Latest...
The Russian State Duma has passed a law that prohibits swearing in public performances. This is just the latest in a series of punitive legislative measures aiming to curb freedom of speech and...
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Elderly Americans Are Helping Brazilian Teens Learn English Online — And The...
Unlikely friendships are being created thanks to FCB Brasil and the CNA language school network. And, of course, the magic of video chat.Check it out.Teenagers in Brazil want to learn how to speak...
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These Maps Show The Different Languages That People Speak All Over The Country
Last month, I wrote about the fun and the pitfalls of viral maps, a feature that included 88 super-simple maps of my own creation.As a follow-up, I’m writing up short items on some of those maps,...
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5 Ways To Get Over Shyness From A World Traveler
My philosophy in language learning is, always has been, and always will be to Speak From Day One.But for many people, this is terrifying! And because I have been talking so much about how effective...
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Here's Why Swearing Is F---ing Good For You
Rather than serving as the refuge of the inarticulate, swearing can help people deal with the frustrating events in their #@*%! lives. That's according to research led by Richard Stephens at Keele...
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How Diplomats Learn So Many New Languages In A Short Amount Of Time
Note: This is a guest post that was written by Shawn Kobb and originally published by Fluent in 3 Months.Shawn Kobb has been with the U.S. Foreign Service for nearly 8 years and has served in Ukraine,...
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Common Phrases That Stump Japanese Students About English
Learning a second language is never easy, especially when there are so many things like context, nuance, and cultural connotations standing in the way.The key to conquering these hurdles, though,...
View ArticlePeople Can't Figure Out This Odd New England Saying About Kittens
Please enable Javascript to watch this video There's no better place than Times Square to find out what people think of an obscure expression used solely in Vermont and Maine. Check out the...
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'Selfie' And 'Hashtag' Are Being Added To The Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Here's official proof that the selfie is here to stay — as of today, if you look up "selfie" in a Merriam-Webster dictionary, you'll find the following definition: "(n., 2002): an image of oneself...
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