Over the course of human history, thousands of languages have developed from what was once a much smaller number. How did we end up with so many? And how do we keep track of them all? Alex Gendler explains how linguists group languages into language families, demonstrating how these linguistic trees give us crucial insights into the past.
Love them or hate them, these are the newly created words and abbreviations on everyone’s lips, that is keyboards 🙂
Perhaps the biggest slang term of 2014 was “bae”. “Bae” came from the English words baby and babe, which are both used to express affection (love) for your boyfriend or girlfriend. “Bae” is also used as an acronym for “before anyone else”. Pharrell made use of the popular word in his song “Come Get It Bae.”
Nowadays, our communication often happens online, so the Internet has developed almost its own language. This language is even more casual and has many abbreviations (shortenings of words and phrases). The English language on the Internet changes almost every day, as sayings, images and videos “go viral”.
Much of Internet slang is made up of abbreviations and shortenings, and some of the most commonly used Internet abbreviations are:
If you can’t figure out what a certain abbreviation stands for, try checking Google. Just search for “what does [abbreviation] stand for?” and replace the [abbreviation] with the term you’re confused about. We have prepared the fifteen terms that are good to know to communicate better online: READ MORE
“Before you visit Croatia you should know… Croatia will waste your time” is the message in the promotional video created by the Croatian Tourism Association, depicting the country’s national parks. The same message has been published on the Croatia Full of Life Facebook page, which has over 100,000 followers. Many have commented on the improper use of the English language by the administrators and the potential detrimental effect it may have on the image of Croatian tourism.
The wording certainly raised many eyebrows. So, is this a grave mistake caused by insufficient knowledge of intricacies of the English language, or a marketing ploy used to attract the public’s attention and amass a greater number of views on various social networks? Croatian Tourism Association claims it is the latter.
The official explanation by the Croatian Tourism Association is as follows:
“The idea behind this post was to point out the important number of Croatian national parks in a creative and original way. Statistics confirm the success of this PR move. Our Facebook publication has thus far had over 100,000 views, just under 2,000 likes and has been shared 362 times. We have had 1,300 likes on Instagram; the numbers are only likely to increase on both social networks. We would like to add that comments from our non-Croatian fans on these posts have been but positive, with feedback such as “So true!” and “Just found your amazing page and really wanted to share a couple of photos from my holiday in your beautiful country last year”, and so on.”
Source: Verbalists Communication Network
Let’s zoom on the weirdest or most extraordinary languages of the real and fictional worlds. Discover the complexity of Yupik languages, the particularities of Caucasian Archi, spoken by only a thousand people, or dip into fantasy worlds through the Sindarin used by Elves or the Aklo of Lovecraft creatures.
A great way to travel from the upper to the lower worlds, via the two hemispheres of the real world!
Click on the image to enlarge it and to see all 50 languages
British musicians and lyricists collaborate in this piece inspired by ‘Twelfth Night’ for Shakespeare Lives in 2016. Featuring; Maverick Sabre, Eyez, and Mic Righteous.
“At SBTV, collaboration is so important; bringing artists together from different walks of life and challenging what is considered the norm. Shakespeare’s plays still to this day have such a cultural impact, in the language we use and in the films and entertainment we enjoy. That being said, it’s often harder for new generations to connect with all of the language. This being the case, to help bridge the gap and raise awareness to a whole new generation, we’ve brought together some of our favourite modern day poets to put a fresh spin on one of Shakespeare’s most iconic plays, Twelfth Night. Enjoy!” – Jamal Edwards
Lots of people have a hard time putting their feelings into words and identifying what emotions they are feeling. Not any more 🙂 The Feeling Wheel we bring you today will help you narrow down exactly what word best expresses your current emotional state.
Find the right word for the right feeling from the inside out with this handy vocabulary wheel designed by English teacher Kaitlin Robbs
This Feeling Wheel tool assumes that humans only experience six distinct emotions (the ones in the center). When we feel frustrated, for example, the core emotion is really anger.
The Study Travel Magazine, one of the best known and most read publications in the education and travel industry, published in its December issue several responses from the leading education agents in East and Southeast Europe on the subject of the strength of the British Pound and its impact on language education opportunities around the globe.
Commenting on how the rise of the British Pound has affected people’s choice of destination for language learning, Maja Merdovic, Education Program Manager at Prodirekt, said that “it has created significant problems for language travel in price sensitive markets”. Students from the Balkan region are somewhat adjusting their preferences, opting for more affordable opportunities to attend language courses and summer camps. In addition, the rising school fees in the UK only exacerbated the whole situation. Consequently, Prodirekt and its Verbalists Language Network “experienced an increase in bookings to Malta, an alternative English learning destination to the UK,” added Maja Merdovic.
This slight shift in destination choice to more accessible areas is also partly due the UK’s lengthy, complex and costly procedure for obtaining an entry visa, which is not needed for Malta.
Agents from regions close by the Balkans, such as Turkey and Russia, noticed a similar trend in their students’ interests, with growing number of students considering Malta in 2015.
Please click here to see the full article in Industry Issues: Agents Speak Out
