According to the Merriam-Webster language dictionary onomatopoeia is the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it. Good examples in English are atchoo for sneezing and sigh for weariness. Brazilian Portuguese also … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: October 2016
Halloween Around the World
Trick-or-treating, spooky costumes, and haunted houses. We know how Halloween is celebrated in America, but how is it celebrated in the rest of the world? Halloween might feel like a quintessentially American holiday, but like many American holidays, its origins … Continue reading
It’s All Greek To Me: “Untranslatable” Greek Expressions
We have all faced language barriers more than a few times either while traveling, working or simply when socializing. We should all stop blaming ourselves for those e-tutoring sessions we never took at Living Language. Some words and concepts … Continue reading
National Dessert Day: International Desserts
Today is National Dessert Day! To celebrate, we asked our e-Tutors to share some of their favorite international desserts. Sev, French: Pâté aux prunes The Pâté aux prunes (plum pie) is the Anjou region (Loire Valley) dessert par excellence (quintessential), a traditional specialty, … Continue reading
French Lesson: Interjections
There are many ‘words’ in a language that stand a little apart from rules of syntax, yet are at the heart of a language. These are called ‘interjections’, like the famous ‘Oh là là!‘. To know a few French interjections will get you closer … Continue reading
The Differences Between European and Canadian French
French colonies in present Canada became essentially isolated from their country of origin in the 18th century because of British rule, interacting from then on more with the Americans, as well as borrowing from the natives. Canadian French language thus evolved, … Continue reading
Japanese Body Language
owing is the standard Japanese greeting, but Japanese people are comfortable with hand shaking, too. If you go to a business meeting, it is okay to shake hands instead of bowing, because they understand you are more comfortable with hand-shaking … Continue reading
Spanish Language Lesson: Hay, Indefinite Articles, and Gender of Nouns
Want to see how easy it can be to learn Spanish with Living Language? Take a look at an abridged Living Language lesson below from our Spanish course. This is just a taste of what our courses do, but we … Continue reading
Top 5 Internet Hacks for Language Learners
It’s a great big world out there for language learners on the internet. If you’ve landed here to begin with, you probably already know what a powerful tool the internet is for gathering information. But how to you get it … Continue reading