The Etymology and Meaning of NOËL
NOËL A term signifying the holiday season, Noël comes to us from the Latin verb nasci, meaning “to be born.” In the book of Ecclesiastes, the birth of Jesus is called natalis. A variation of this word, nael, made its way into Old French as a reference to the Christmas season and later into Middle […]
Don’t Make This Mistake! 20 False Cognates
Learning a foreign language can be tricky: Not only is there a completely new set of grammatical and syntactical rules to learn, but occasionally the vocabulary itself poses some unexpected difficulties. False cognates, or false friends, are one of these pitfalls. These words (amigos falsos, faux amis, or falsche Freunde) remind Anglophones of familiar words, […]
5 Careers for Foreign Language Professionals
The mastery of foreign languages allows us to broaden national boundaries and blur international horizons. By learning a new language and the culture of a people, we gain the ability to move fluidly in the global marketplace. Now more than ever, foreign language skills provide employees and employers with a depth and breadth of resources […]
Pun Intended: 10 Puns in Translation
It’s been a while since we’ve written about fun language games, and you know what they say: Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana. English critic and poet, Samuel Johnson once said of puns, “If I were punished for every pun I shed, there would not be left a puny shed of […]
The Etymology of X-Mas
X-mas If you’ve seen Stephen Colbert’s recent Christmas special, you may think that Xmas is a term only used by militant athiests who are waging a culture-war against Christmas. In fact, this abbreviation of the word “Christmas” came about in the mid 16th-century, and its Anglo-Saxon roots reach much further back in history. As early […]
Top 10 Tongue Twisters in Translation
Tongue twisters are designed to be difficult to articulate, and they are nearly impossible to translate in a way that keeps the playful challenge intact. Nevertheless, they are fun to say in every language. Here is a collection of our top tongue twisters from across the globe… FRENCH Un pâtissier qui pâtissait chez un tapissier […]
How to Translate a Proverb
Literal word-for-word translation does not work for popular sayings such as proverbs. To properly translate a proverb requires several steps, and it often requires a translator to delve deeper into the culture of the source and target languages to determine the idiomatic translation. Here are a few tips for translating proverbs, along with some examples […]
10 Different Spanish Dialects: How Spanish is Spoken Around the World
Even within a single language or language group there may be major differences in speech. The term dialect refers to those differences in intonation and pronunciation – and even words and expressions that exist in some branches of a language while absent in others. Spanish has a rich history that spans continents and epochs, and […]
How Not to Flirt in French: 10 Pick-up Lines to Avoid when Traveling in Paris
Ah, the language of love. Whether it is the cooing of French, the rolling purr of Spanish, or the tremulous richness of Italian, come along with me, the Poly-flirt, on a tour of the romantic side of language. We will explore pick-up lines, dating customs, and humorous anecdotes about love around the world. Let’s get […]
Election Day Etymologies!
Happy election day everyone! If you can vote and you’ve yet to do so, stop reading this post and get to your polling location! Whether your political allegiance lies with the republicans, the democrats, or neither party, here’s to another peaceful transfer of power. [Update] Obama Wins! Well done, USA. PRESIDENT From the Latin word […]