Is multilingualism a privilege or survival?
Only 1 in 5 Europeans can speak two languages other than their mother tongue. But is an honour or a necessity?
Category: Language
How we communicate is important to the world’s future. Language plays a major part in that. These articles cover everything from polyglots to accents.
Let’s make like an X and Y
You'll have heard this phrase before. Now take your pick from a selection of over 90 versions of "make like a...". I write a weekly newsletter called Everything Is Made Up and I sign off with a variant of the phrase "I'm gonna make like an X and Y". To keep things fresh, I use …
The definition of a genius
genius ˈdʒiːnɪəs noun: genius; plural noun: geniuses 1. exceptional intellectual or creative power or other natural ability. "she was a teacher of genius" synonyms: brilliance, great intelligence, great intellect, great ability, cleverness, brains, erudition, wisdom, sagacity, fine mind, wit, artistry, flair, creative power, precocity, precociousnessantonyms: stupidity 2. an exceptionally intelligent person or one with exceptional …
Peter Sellers’s Complete Guide To British Accents
Accent-switching is a wondrous talent, for entertainment or as an element of code-switching. Peter Sellers was a skilled intellect. In a 1979 sketch, he presented "The Complete Guide To Accents of The British Isles", as Don Shulman, an American professor of “accents and languages”. He travels through Europe and Britain playing numerous accents from John …
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Semiotics – Myths, #BlackLivesMatter and #AllLivesMatter
There's something to be said about the link between semiotics and activism. So I'm doing that right now with the help of this insightful video. I'm still on my semiotics tip and discovered this interesting video about myths, the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter and the loathsome #AllLivesMatter. I was wary of how both hashtags would be described …
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A Quick Lesson in Semiotics
A drop in the semiotics ocean but a great introduction to a phenomenal subject.
2 polyglots have an awesome chat in 21 languages
Polyglots are amazing but have you ever seen two speak to each other in 21 languages?