Language

And the World’s Sexiest Accent Belongs to….

¡hola! © ;cerise The folks at Lonely Planet compiled the most accurate data from Facebook last year, asking fans where the world’s sexiest accent comes from. Out of over 700 responses, the Spanish accent won with French being a close second. Regional dialects were accounted for, as were ‘outlier’ accents such as West-Flemish, Serbian, Chinese, [...]

Language Survival Mini-Kit for Round-the-World Travellers

If you’re planning a round-the-world trip, it’s important you’re well prepared for any eventuality. Simply learning a few key phrases in the languages you’ll need could be the difference between a smooth, easy voyage and travelling headfirst into a sticky situation! Many countries around the world have lots of people who speak English confidently and [...]

4 Reasons Why Travelers Make Great English Teachers (and Vice Versa)

A sense of humor, the right sympathy at the right time, or whatever skill you use to diffuse an awkward situation, is what makes both a great traveler and an ideal English teacher.

British Student Has Tongue Lengthened To Speak Korean

A British student is so obsessed with Korean culture that she had her tongue surgically lengthened to help her speak the language. No, seriously.

Great Expectations: 5 Tips for Mastering a Language Whilst Living Abroad

After seven months living in Argentina, Becky Hayes reveals five tips to help travelers learn a new language while living abroad.

20 More Awesomely Untranslatable Words From Around the World

Matador brings us yet another gem: 20 More Awesomely Untranslatable Words From Around the World. They almost read like Klingon.

Language at Risk of Dying Out, Last Two Speakers Aren’t Talking

The language of Ayapaneco has been spoken in the land now known as Mexico for centuries. It has survived the Spanish conquest, seen off wars, revolutions, famines and floods. But now, like so many other indigenous languages, it’s at risk of extinction. There are just two people left who can speak it fluently – but [...]

Mango Passport: Smart, Practical Language Learning for Travelers

There are two primary schools of thought on language learning: rote memorization of vocabulary and grammar OR practical, in-field comprehension of real world conversations. I don’t believe there’s an inherently good or bad language learning technique. It’s all a matter of what works for you. Personally, I prefer the latter of the two as it’s [...]

Word Lens: Augmented Reality App Provides Instant Language Translation

Mobile augmented reality apps are slowly finding their way into the iPhone store. Word Lens is a language translation app that uses the iPhone’s camera to capture written language text (on signs, etc.) and translate it instantly. Like magic! Almost. While we haven’t personally taken this for a test drive, it certainly looks promising. (hat [...]

Mango Passport: Learn a New Language Simply, Beautifully

The key to successfully mastering any new language is to study it in context. For years, Mango Languages has created language courses for libraries, schools and the government that do just that. Now, their software is available in sixteen language options for individuals too. After a brief review of their online French lesson, I have [...]

Jaded With The System: Insider Perspectives from an ESL Teacher in Asia

Turner Wright has taught English as a second language in three countries. Ironically, he finds that the goal does not seem to be to actually help the students learn the language.

Chinese Tattoo Translation Blog Offers Public Service for Western Travelers

Mama always said you were a beautiful and unique flower. What better way to immortalize that sentiment than with a clever Chinese language tattoo, right? These days, it’s almost de rigueur for traveling Westerners. Enter Hanzi Smatter – a blog created with the specific intent of deciphering Chinese tattoos for folks wondering what the hell [...]

30 Words: Indestructible, Passport-Sized Language Guides for Travelers

When Andrew from 30 Words first contacted us for a review of their unique language guides, he was insistent on one thing: I had to attempt to ruin the review models he sent by trying to tear them, spill water on them and, most importantly, do a pull-up off one of them. Game on! His [...]

The Complete Guide to Self-Studying a Foreign Language

Celine Roque elaborates on the best tips and methods for self-studying a foreign language.

A Foreigner’s Lesson on “Dealing” With Foreigners

Turner Wright reveals how his world travels provided perspective on what it’s like to be “dealt with” as a foreigner.

Share Your Thoughts: CELTA vs. TESOL Programs

Fellow traveler, Aimée, writes in to ask a bit of advice on CELTA versus TESOL teaching programs: I’m focusing on confronting my fears of navigating a path in the world alone and getting a plan of action into place. I’ve been investigating teaching English in Asia and South America and have decided to get certified [...]

21 Accents: Actress Fakes Her Way to Semi-Web Stardom

A twenty-one year old aspiring actress has taken a seemingly mundane knack for faking accents to instant stardom on the Net. Amy Walker’s 21 Accents video which shows her intoning a simple introduction in (wait for it) twenty-one accents including French, Irish, Italian and many more from North American has quickly gone viral. Judging from [...]

Turn Your Cell Phone Into a Phrase Book with Trippo

Finally, there’s a way to tell that snooty French waiter your soup is cold without having to fumble through a phrasebook. A new translation tool called Trippo promises to do just that with the help of your cell phone. Trippo is a client-server application that works on all mobile phones that have a data card. [...]

Cosplish School Opens in Tokyo

To the long list of English language hybrids around the world, you can add a new dialect – Cosplish. It has its origins in Tokyo, and more specifically, in the slang used in cos-play, or costume play, which has fans of anime and manga comics dressing up and speaking like the animated characters. If you’d [...]

Esperanto: The Universal Language of Travelers?

Nora Dunn explores the not-yet-dead language of Esperanto. Could it be the universal language of travelers?

Estonia Announces Language Beauty Contest

On the occasion of its 90th birthday, Estonia is planning a beauty contest for languages to crown the prettiest dialect of them all. No girls in swimsuits mouthing breathless French phrases into a microphone. Instead the plan is to have kids from around the world send in a voice recording in their native language consisting [...]

The Secret Language of Vagabonds and Traveling Hobos

Not surprisingly, vagabonds and traveling hobos have their own system of language which I’m sure dates back decades, if not centuries. Some hobos now communicate via cellular phones and e-mail. But the classic American hobo of early this century communicated through a much more basic system of marks–a code through which they gave information and [...]