10 Fantastic Foreign Films from the 2010s
It’s almost 2020, which means that this year, we’re reflecting not just on all the things that happened in 2019, but on a whole decade of happenings. In this post, we turn our gaze to the many cinematic gems that the 2010s gifted us. And since we’re dedicated language fanatics, we’re focusing exclusively on foreign […]
10 Neologisms of the 2010s
A couple of weeks ago, we took a look at some of the words and phrases that were transformed by the 2010s, taking on new forms and meanings to fit with the changing times. Today, we’re looking at neologisms the 2010s – entirely novel language born of our shifting political, cultural, and technological landscapes. Some […]
10 Words Transformed by the 2010s
A lot has happened in the past decade. Technological advances have created new norms in everything from dating and consumer culture to the organization of political movements. As our cultural and political landscapes continue to shift, the language we use to talk about them changes as well. Today, we’re looking back at the 2010s through […]
How Nicaraguan Sign Language Is Solving Linguistic Mysteries
In 1979, when the Somoza Regime of Nicaragua was overthrown, the new government embarked on what’s been referred to as a ‘literacy crusade,’ in which various initiatives were implemented to promote reading in Spanish. One such initiative was the creation of the Melania Morales Special Education Center, the first public school for deaf education in […]
The Trans-Atlantic Accent: The Rise and Fall of a Hollywood Trend
Have you ever watched an old movie and been thrown off by the strange half-British, half-American accents employed by actors in the thirties and forties? If An Affair to Remember, Gone With the Wind, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s are all seminal American films, why do Cary Grant, Scarlett O’Hara, and Audrey Hepburn all sound like […]
Do language and culture impact the way we take turns talking?
As humans, engaging in conversation comes so naturally to us that we tend to overlook the complex mechanics of the back and forth ‘dance’ we are constantly performing as interlocuters. You speak, I speak, usually starting my turn just about 200 milliseconds (that’s .2 seconds) after you finish yours. I have to be careful though, […]
To Thank or Not to Thank? Expressions of Gratitude Around the World
It’s a lesson we’re taught at a young age: What do we say? Say thank you…or gracias…or danke schön. Among world languages, English places perhaps the highest value on the linguistic expressions of thanks. So it’s logical that English speakers tend to conflate the expression of gratitude with the feeling of gratitude. If somebody didn’t […]
Translating One Hundred Years of Solitude
On May 30, 1967, just two days before the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, a novel came out in Buenos Aires that was destined to sell more copies world-wide than Homer’s The Odyssey, Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind, or even Dante’s The Divine Comedy. It was the golden age of literature in […]
How did the #MeToo hashtag become #RiceBunny in China?
On January 1, 2018, a New York City-based academic came forth with allegations of having been sexually harassed by her adviser during her years of study in Beijing. Inspired by the growing movement in the United States, she wrote a detailed account of her experience and posted it under the #MeToo hashtag on the popular […]
14 Cultural Faux Pas Around The World
Planning a trip outside of your own country can be an involved process. On top of the usual tasks of purchasing airline tickets, booking a hotel, deciding what to see, and making reservations, you may also need to obtain a visa and learn some basic foreign language phrases. One thing you may not have considered, […]