Lingualogue Blog

I apologise for this post, but I feel I have to put it in somewhere and I guess today is just as good a day as any. If the rest of you will indulge me, this post is for the surprisingly numerous people who find fault with my spelling. Some people seem to feel that I am consistently making certain spelling errors, and that this is somehow unacceptable for someone that writes about language. Although I am sure that my spelling and grammar are not perfect, and of course even the most proficient writer makes the odd typo, I would like to point out that the words that I am most commonly brought to task about are in fact perfectly fine (usually).

The difference is that I am from England, and although it is true that our languages are the same, British English and American English do have different spellings for many words. In England now, more and more people are adopting the American spelling of words, and let me just say that I have no problem with that—language is a fluid thing and should be changing all the time. I, however, still follow the old school English spellings of most words, and because of this I find myself in the situation I am now.

Before everyone writes in and berates me for being so sensitive, I should say that I do not lie in bed at night worrying that some ignorant Joe thinks I can’t spell. I did, however, think that it may be an interesting lesson on the evolution of a language and how a few hundred years of separation has changed the written word. I also think that every native English speaker should be aware of it.

So here we go, a few of the most common words that are different in British and American English, and the most popular ones for people to point out as wrong.

The o vs ou favourite
Most people actually know this one already so I thought I would start with it

American                  British

Color                          Colour
favorite                      favourite
honor                         honour

The Z vs S words. A difference that is becoming less used in the UK as well now

American                 British

analyze                     analyse
organize                    organise
realize                        realise
criticize                    criticise

I think you get the idea

ER vs RE another one that confuses many in the UK as both are now often used

American                British

theater                     theatre
meter                       metre
center                      centre

One very close to my heart – LOG vs LOGUE

American               British

catalog                    catalogue
dialog                      dialogue

This one of course made for a big decision when I first started this site. I was unsure whether to go with the American friendly Lingualog, or my British version Lingualogue. I did, as you know, plump for the latter, but I also bough the name of Lingualog. If you type in Lingualog.com you still go to my site.

The ultra confusing L or LL

This one can be very confusing. The rules are slightly different for English and American spelling

American                 British

traveling                  travelling
modeling                 modelling

In AmE – When the stress is on the first syllable then a single letter is used. In BrE, we tend to use a double l when in the middle of the word and between two vowels whichever syllable is stressed.

American                British

fulfill                          fulfil
skillful                       skilful

As with most words, the syllable that is being stressed gets a double letter. Alas in British English the Ls tend to confuse matters again and when we add a suffix to a word ending in L we only use the single L in both positions.

ENSE vs ENCE

defense                     defence
license                      licence

CK vs QUE

check                        cheque   -  as in the banking kind

Verb past tenses

learned                     learnt
dreamed                  dreamt

Some random ones

draft                          draught
tire                             tyre   – as in the car rubber
encyclopedia        encyclopaedia
jewelry                    jewellery

I think that is probably enough for now. There are of course many, many differences between the two versions of English, mainly thanks to the differences between the two dictionaries published by Samuel Johnson and Noah Webster.

I hope this goes some way to people cutting me a little more slack, although I should probably expect more comments about this than anything else. It isn’t always easy writing with the British spelling these days as many spellcheckers use American English and sometimes (annoyingly) try to change the words automatically.

Just for the record I am not saying either side is right and the other wrong. All I am saying is that these are differences in the common usage of the two languages across the pond and therefore both should be accepted and tolerated.

There is an interesting trend growing in the US within families who want their children to learn a second language at as early an age as possible: They hire a Foreign language speaking nanny. This effectively kills two birds with one stone giving them  someone to look after their young ones while they work, and also giving the children immersion into a foreign language.

More and more parents are recognising the importance of being bilingual and understand that it is much easier to learn a language as a child than as an adult. To that end then they are hiring foreign nannies on the condition that the nanny speaks only in her native language to the children. This is a complete turnaround from days gone by when foreign nannies would be asked to use only English to the children in the fear that a foreign language would confuse the children and hinder their learning. Now parents are realising that children can easily learn two languages simultaneously, and can effortlessly switch between the two without confusion. So while the parents speak to the children in English, the nanny uses her native tongue, and the children can learn two languages at the same time.

While foreign speaking nannies has always been an obvious benefit of living abroad (like me), I have to admit I had never thought of hiring foreign language speaking nannies solely to help children learn a second language. I think this is a  fantastic idea, and one that I think every parent that can afford it should consider. I hope it is a trend that will continue to grow and we can finally become nations of bilingual citizens.

If you want to find a bilingual nanny in your area that is professional and trustworthy then you should check out Sittercity

I missed this when it first came out on that most humerous of days at the beginning of April, but I came across it yesterday and thought it was great. I just had to add it here. I think possibly the funniest thing about it all was the amount of people that thought it was real. We can barely get human languages to automatically translate into English never mind snippets of the porcine language.

You have to love gullible people. It’s no wonder there are so many scams on the internet.

A funny stunt by the people at Google nonetheless. Hats off.

I get asked all the time which language is the best one to learn, and my answer is nearly always the same: It depends what you want to learn it for. Obviously if you are travelling to China, then learning Hungarian is not probably the most efficient use of your time; if you are marrying a Thai girl then Spanish is possibly not the next language you should be learning. Most people have a reason to suddenly want to learn a language and this reason will dictate the language that they will learn.  However, some people just want to learn a language for the pure hell of it. These are the people who may ask which are the best languages to learn. They also usually have a list of languages that they have already subconsciously crossed off their imaginary list.

What languages  would a person automatically cross off their list of possible choices? Well to be honest the ones that they deem utterly useless. These (from experience and not preference) tend to be languages that they would consider having no apparent use in the world. Esperanto is often the first name that comes up, but that is often closely followed by languages such as Klingon and Elven. Languages that can actually be learned but seem to have no obvious benefit. Many people are ridiculed for being able to speak Klingon, and the thought of mastering Esperanto just boggles the mind of most people. But are they really completely useless languages?

Well the first thing I would say is that there are very few people who have no reason whatsoever to learn a specific language. What I mean by that is that very few people sit on the edge of their beds randomly choosing the next language to learn. It does happen, but not often. Most people will have at least a very small reason for choosing one language over another. Even if it is not an obvious reason like travelling or marriage, it would be a more subtle reason like college entrance or job prospects. These people will normally opt for one of the big languages of the world at the moment – Spanish, Chinese, French, Japanese, or Arabic. Even if people think they have no reason at all there is usually some justification for choosing one language over the other. Maybe you like Chinese movies, or Mexican food, or think Italian sounds romantic. Whatever the reason is, no matter how small, it makes learning the language worthwhile to you. Even if it is never going to change your life dramatically, it will change your life for the better in your eyes. This holds true even if the language is Esperanto, and yes, even if its Klingon. There are many groups around the world now for learning Esperanto and they have many thousands of very active members, so if you wanted to be a part of that community then of course Esperanto is the perfect language to learn. Klingon of course needs no introduction, and for many hardcore trekkies there is no better language to learn as being fluent in the tongue will get them accepted and recognised at many of the Star Trek conventions and meets that they attend. To many people, this will be of much more use and much more important than learning Chinese, Spanish or Swahili.

Of course language learning is always beneficial for the mind anyway. Every language you learn makes you slightly better at learning languages as you begin to understand structure and grammar. They also make your brain better at many other things too, but that is for another day.

Learning a language for YOU is the most important thing and if you can take pleasure in its learning and using it whenever possible then no language learning is a waste of time, and no language is not worth learning.

A great move forward by Google and a great new tool for all polyglots who have found difficulties in the past searching for sites in a non-Latin text simply because they have the wrong keyboard. Now help is at hand: Google has added a virtual keyboard to 35 Google search pages that use non-Latin script or use letters with slight variations on the standard Latin script.

This means that if you want to search for a Thai website (for example) then you go to Google.co.th and click on the keyboard icon next to the search bar. This will bring up a virtual keyboard with Thai letters so you can type for the URL using the Thai alphabet. You can type the words in either using your mouse on the virtual keyboard or hitting the corresponding keys on your own keyboard. Saves you buying a whole new keyboard. It is an excellent idea and actually works. It includes the entire alphabet and utilizes the shift and control functions to reach second level letters.

Google says it will expand the number of languages used depending on the feedback from the public. I am sure all of the feedback will be positive as making life easier for language mixing is always a good thing.

The beautiful and archaic language of Latin has apparently been undergoing somewhat of a revival in recent times and has been garnering new interest from some unlikely sources.

So why has this hitherto mouldy language acquired a brand new luster?

And what exactly do I mean by a “revival”?

Last year 137,225 students applied to take the National Latin Exam, according to their website (www.nle.org). In North Carolina there was a 156% increase in the number of students taking the exam, in Nevada an 84% increase. You didn’t even know there was a National Latin Exam, did you? Get with the times! What’s old is new, and Latin is cool again.

Pop-culture has had a big hand in this. The Harry Potter books and movies — insanely popular with adolescents — feature Latin prominently as the language of magic. There is even a complete Latin translation of the first Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. If your child is reading “Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis” you can feel pretty confident about the quality of instruction they’re getting at school.

The more serious side of Latin has been in the movies recently, too. Mel Gibson’s controversial film The Passion of the Christ featured actors speaking in Latin and Aramaic. Although the Bible was not originally written in Latin, Latin became the language of the Roman Catholic Church. Consequently the Latin Vulgate served as the standard Bible for centuries. Inspired by The Passion, many Christians have begun learning Latin so they can read the Vulgate directly.

Research has shown that students who take Latin score higher on their SAT’s, a big incentive for parents. Latin specifically improved English comprehension scores and was shown to sharpen language skills in general.

The study of Latin has significant benefits, and despite (or because of) its arcane reputation it is becoming more common in schools and universities. If you aren’t curious about it now, you will be when your children ask you to read them Harrius Potter at night.

Happy New Year to everyone and I wish you all a happy and fulfilling 2010. 

Breaking into a new year always gives many people hope that the coming year will be better than the last, and that their lives will change for the better. This is why many people make new year’s resolutions–a chance to change things that are unwanted; to do things differently; to start afresh. Many resolutions are things that we know we should have been doing all along but never quite got around to starting, and new year seems such an obvious starting point.

The only problem is there is usually a reason why we didn’t do it earlier, and so many resolutions are doomed to failure–often barely days into the new year.

I’ve done all the usual resolutions in the past–losing weight, quitting smoking (I actually ended up doing it last May), cutting down on the booze,  getting fit etc. and none of them has ever lasted beyond January. This year my resolution was simply to be more diligent with this blog and ensure I post at least once per week. Of course, as this is the 9th already I guess you could say I fell before I left the gate, but considering the new year’s holiday and everything that accompanies it, I think I am allowed some slack. So let’s hope from here on in I can keep to the resolution (please don’t write to me if I mess it up).

If you don’t have a resolution already (maybe you are a healthy person who doesn’t smoke or drink and already exercises like a whippet (or a fat alcoholic who doesn’t give a shit)) then maybe you could start your new year off with the resolve to learn a language. While the smell of change is in the air and the promise of new beginnings, there is possibly no better time to begin the journey of learning a new language. It is a sure fire way of changing your life, and may even send it in an entirely new direction (for example you may end up writing a language blog in 30 ° C heat instead of 6 feet of snow ). You certainly have nothing to lose learning a language other than possibly about half an hour of your time per day, but have an enormous amount to gain.

Of course there is the inevitable chance that you will lose interest after about 2 weeks and forget all about it, but that is a chance you take whenever you start something new. The good thing about new year is that you have the excited exuberance of someone who sees a brand new start and a brand new you, and also of course you are certain to remember the day you started, and this if anything might guiltily persuade you to last beyond a week.

If you are looking for good reasons why you might want to learn a language then please visit my website at lingualogue.com/second-language-benefits

So what are you waiting for? Just grab that proverbial bull by its sharp ends, pick a language and learn it. It really is as simple as that.

Just like to wish all the Dads in Thailand a happy fathers’ day and of course to wish His Majesty the King a very happy birthday. In Thailand, today is a holiday, but as it is also a Saturday it means that this will be a long weekend as Monday will become a substituted day off.

Let’s hope everyone has a great weekend, and if you are going away, have a great time and stay safe.

An interesting thing that I have noticed living in Asia is the difference in the way emotions are perceived with that of the west. This is most obviously apparent in the use of internet emoticons.

In the west we seem to concentrate mostly on the mouth when we are conveying emotion, whereas in the East, the emphasis is most certainly on the eyes. Whether this has anything to do with many parts of Asia seeing the smile as a face saving device rather than solely an expression of happiness I have no idea. The difference is certainly interesting though and should be noted when writing with emoticons to  someone from Asia.

It is a common theme through all of the east Asian blogging and chat sites, and often some of the emoticons used can be extremely confusing to the uninitiated. The more you see them though, the more they make sense, and the greater insight you get into the language and culture of Asia.

West-East Emoticon Examples

	Western-style	Eastern-style
smile/happy		(^_^)
frown/sad		(T_T) crying face
wink		(^_~)
shocked	:0	(o_O)

As you can see, the Eastern versions all have mouths which are a standard horizontal line and convey no emotion whatsoever;  conversely 3 out of 4 of the western versions have the standard colon (two dots) eyes which also are devoid of emotion.

An interesting difference wouldn’t you say?

Edit – Didn’t want it to, but the blog has automatically converted the western emoticons into their cartoon form. This was not what I wanted but seeing as I don’t know how to turn it off, and most people will probably recognise these anyway, I am going to leave it as it is.

If you have used online forums before you will know that they can be a mine of information–a whole community with expertise, experience and interest in the same topics as you. Having someone available who can answer your questions or offer advice is an invaluable resource.

Language Learning forums are equally  essential for helping you through the language learning process. No matter what language you are learning, there will always be a forum with members fluent in that language who are willing to help you with any problems that you encounter. Not only does it offer you the benefits of having an experienced mentor and tutor for free in the comfort of your own home, it also allows you to be part of a like-minded community that will offer moral support as well as academic assistance.

This is why I decided to compile a list of (what I consider to be) the top 10 general language learning forums on the web. By general language learning forums I mean those that cover a wide range of languages and are not language specific.

The full article is on the main Lingualogue site at Top 10 Language Learning Forums

Top 10 Language Learning Forums

1. Unilang.com
2. How-to-learn-any-language.com
3. Omniglot.com
4. Phrasebase.com
5. Wordreference.com
6. Antimoon.com
7. Lingforum.com
8. Ultralingua.com
9. Brighthub.com
10. Learnlanguageforums.com
    

These forums all cover a variety of languages and each offers a mix of language learning materials and resources. They are all a little different and so should be checked out in their own right. Some are linguistic behemoths; some are small language communities.

A more in-depth write up of each, and links to the forums can be found at Top 10 Language Learning Forums on the Lingualogue Website.