for the love of languages

Mari | Finland | she/her | Native: Finnish | Currently studying Korean | I also love: Japanese, Russian, Italian, Swedish and Spanish | Ask away, I'm friendly. ^^

[monica-geller]

you're 23 and you still live at home.... lmao

yep! i’m also studying at one of the best law schools in my country which is 20 minutes away from my house, working 3 days a week at a law firm, saving up a ton of money so i will have a significant amount in my bank account when i graduate, i get to spend a lot of time with my family who i adore, AND don’t have to cook dinner for myself every night!!! it’s a pretty sweet deal so i’m glad it’s making you laugh your ass off with happiness for me

[orenjisupeesu]

I thought the people in a documentary were exaggerating when they said Japan was crazily obsessed with cats

and then when I look up cat in the dictionary they have dedicated a whole page just to cats

There was not a similar one for dogs.

[historicaltimes]

Russian soldier playing an abandoned piano in Chechnya

via reddit

[jennyandcuterooms]

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (via jennyandcuterooms)

[languagenerds-archive]

Language and Linguistics Resources

1. All sites are online and free. 

2. It’s hard to separate into Languages and Linguistics because there’s a lot of overlap. Many of these sites could be on either list. 

Linguistics:

World Atlas of Language Structures Online

Speech Accent Archive - listen to a paragraph read in English by speakers of other languages

List of Languages by Writing Script

List of Endangered Languages

Type the IPA

Ethnologue - Information about the languages of the world

23 Maps and Charts on Language

Endangered Languages Project

Listen to the IPA

Linguistics pdfs

Articles and videos on linguistics

Google Ngram Viewer - looks at the use of words over time

Concise Encyclopedia of the Languages of the World

Language learning:

Lang-8  - practice writing and receive corrections from native speakers

Memrise  - practice vocab

Tatoeba - find a sentence that uses your word

Harry Potter - listen to the beginning of Harry Potter read in  60+ languages

A User’s Guide to the Best Swear in Every* Language (*obviously not every language. whatever buzzfeed)

Wordreference  - the French and Spanish dictionaries are really good, the others are meh

BBC Languages - Not very in depth but offers quite a few small European languages such as Manx, Luxembourgish, and Guernésiais

Languagehelpers.com  - Translation, language facts, and information about some scripts

Transparent Language Blogs - occasionally has interesting articles about various languages 

Students of the World Penpals - Correspond in your target language with a native speaker

The Polyglot Project - Read books in your target languages; built in translation feature

mylanguages.org - offers a huge variety of languages; introductory/beginner level 

SayJack - Chinese, Japanese, and Korean

Duolingo but I’m sure you all know this one XD

A-Z Index of Omniglot - SUPER informative resource especially for smaller, lesser known languages; provides information as well as LINKS to learning resources for each language

Dramafever - watch TV in Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Japanese, and English (they have like one or two in Portuguese as well)

Interesting/fun article about some interesting languages (I don’t really like their use of the word ‘bizarre’ here)

Interesting blog about a guy’s experiences with 37 languages 

Look at videos trending on youtube by country

Top websites by country - useful in finding advanced content in your target language

Project Gutenberg - Read books in English, French, Dutch, and Portuguese

Yabla -  Watch videos in your target language

Wikitongues - A youtube channel featuring speakers of a wide variety of languages (they have a tumblr too!)

Foreign Language Music

Forvo - listen to words pronounced by native speakers

Rate your foreign language fluency

Lingro - “the coolest dictionary known to hombre”

The world’s most multilingual countries

World Language Store - by products (for example, books) from around the world

Foreign Service Institute Language Courses

Interlinear books - foreign language books with the english translations below

Global Language Online  - material drawn from radio, newspaper etc. 

Resource list  for learning over 50 languages

Tumblr blogs for specific languages - most are inactive but may still be good resources

Read articles in your target language!

Babla - online language dictionaries

Collins Dictionaries Online

Peace Corps Language Courses

Culture Talk - Videos about culture

Innovative Language Learning - Youtube channels teaching over 30 languages

Verbix - CONJUGATES VERBS YAY

Dictionaries for a LOT of languages

Read Grimm’s fairytales in other languages

European radio stations streaming live

TV streaming live

How I Learn Languages - pdf of the book by Hungarian polyglot Kató Lomb

Lyrics Training - this is a REALLY FUN way to practice listening

[self-healing]

stop believing that you ran out of time to shape yourself into who you want to be! stop believing that its ruined! stop believing you don’t have potential! you are not a fixed being! you have endless opportunities to grow.

[mideast-nrthafrica-cntrlasia-de]

can you recommend any old persian songs?

Mahasti - Do Rangi

Hayedeh - Em Shab Shab-e Eshghe 

Aref - Sultan Ghalbam

Googoosh - Hamseda

Mahasti - Meykhooneh

Hayedeh - Saghi

Omid - Em Shab Mikham Mast Besham

Hayedeh - Dele Divooneh

Dariush Rafiee - Be Sooye To

Leila Forouhar - Jooni Joonam 

[snout]

hey everybody who’s in high school rn, in less than ten years its literally going to feel like a bad dream. like its not gonna feel even vaguely real. hang in there

[niqabisinparis]

not even ten years. like 3 days after graduation

[languagebliss-blog]

What people think it means when we say "Language is evolving": This pejorative term isn't bad anymore because it's funny to me and I say so.

What it actually means when we say "Language is evolving": English has developed a specific verb for tricking people into listening to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up"

[sayitaliano]

Dal parrucchiere - vocab

To the hairdresser

Parrucchiere = hairdresser man Parrucchiera = hairdresser woman (Barbiere = barber) Taglio di capelli = Haircut Spuntare / accorciare = Shorten a little Vorrei una spuntatina = I’d like a trim Tagliare = Cut (usually is a considered big one) Rasare = To shave Colorare / tingere i capelli (fare il colore) = to dye / to colour your hair Capelli tinti = dyed hair Colpi di sole = highlights (lit.: sun hits) Frangia / frangetta = fringe, bangs Permanente = perm Un taglio nuovo = a new style Il solito taglio / lo stesso taglio = the same style Gel = gel Lacca = hairspray Asciugare col phon = to blow dry Phon = hairdryer Messa in piega = hairdo / set / perm Sciacquare i capelli = to rinse your hair Pettinare = to comb Shampo = shampoo Balsamo = conditioner Spazzola = brush Forbici = scissors Chinion = bun Riga = parting Riga in mezzo / centrale = your hair part in the middle of your head /central parting Riga a destra = right side parting Riga a sinistra = left side parting Treccia = braid Rasoio = razor Coda (di cavallo) = ponytail Piastra = flat iron Fermaglio = clip, pin Bigodino = curler Cerchietto = hair band Elastico = hair tie / hair bobble Mantellina = gown Lisciare i capelli = to straighten your hair Parrucca = wig Capelli lunghi = long hair Capelli corti = short hair Capelli neri = black hair Capelli biondi = blond hair Capelli castani = brown hair Capelli rossi = red hair Capelli lisci = straight hair Capelli mossi = wavy hair Capelli ricci = curly hair Rasta = dreadlocks Rasati = completely shaven Extension per capelli = hair extensions Capelli secchi = dry hair Capelli unti = oily hair Capelli normali = normal hair Quanto li vuoi tagliare? = How short would you like it? / How much do you want to cut them? Non troppo corti = not too short Abbastanza corti = quite short Molto corti = very short Caschetto = bob Solo una spuntatina = just a trim Taglio asimmetrico = asymmetical cut Taglio dritto, in pari = blunt cut Dritti sulla schiena / sul collo = square/blunt cut at the back / at the neck Arrotondati sulla schiena = tapered at the back Scalati davanti = layered on the front Spuntare appena sopra le orecchie = to cut/trim just above the ears

Vorrei tagliare i capelli = I’d like an haircut Devo prenotare? =  Should I book? Può tagliarmeli ora? = Can you cut my hair now / Can you see me now? Vuoi prendere un appuntamento? = Do you want to make an appointment? Come li vuoi tagliare? = How do you want me to cut/style your hair? Quale colore ti piace / vuoi? = What colour do you like / want? Vuoi che ti lavi i capelli? = Would you like me to wash your hair? Vieni / accomodati al lavatesta = Come / sit at the wash stand/basin Vorrei tingere i capelli di rosso = I’d like to dye my hair red Come vuoi che ti pettini? = How do you want me to style/comb your hair? Li vuoi lisci? = Do you want them straightened? Li vorrei mossi = I’d like my hair wavy Dove hai la riga? = Where do your hair part? Vorrei una treccia = I’d like my hair braided Basta così = that’s enough (useful if the hairdresser is cutting too much) Va bene = that’s fine

[bananablazer20]

[russianwatermoved-blog]

Russia’s like ‘go the fuck to sleep, douchebags.’

[romaniankingdom]

PARTY IN EUROPE TONIGHT

[spinalflare]

Man, what are the Dutch even up to

[aspoonfuloflanguage-deactivated]

idk but it looks pretty lit

[eomchinddal-deactivated20230609]

"006. how come if i’m not korean, i can’t use words like umma or oppa or saranghae?" then i guess kpop stars and everybody in america should stop speaking english because your not white

aUUUGUUGHGHGHGHGUUGGH WHY IS IT that when a korean tells you, “oh, don’t use words like umma or oppa or saranghae” y’all fucking argue like literally… you are not korean… i am korean…. you would think that if a KOREAN person told u not to, you would just listen what kind of fucking you’re all grasping for straws here, aren’t you?

i guess i have to fucking BREAK THIS SHIT FUCKING DOWN FOR YOU. zip ur mouth shut and sit ya ass down helen we going in balls deep!!

1. but kpop stars use english! i guess they shouldn’t use words like wow 

kpop stars using english is not the same thing as you fuck nuggets using korean because the english language was spread through colonialism and basically people were forced to learn the language. it’s now a requirement in most jobs whereas korean isn’t.

you guys get to use korean words without being called “chink” or “oh shit! kim jong un! kim jong il! annyeonghaseyo!1 haha i’m so korean.” (which, btw, north korea jokes aren’t funny because people are fucking DYING over there). so shut up this argument is fucking invalid.

vis-à-vis kpop idols saying english, it’s not the same. as thisisnotkorea stated, “Plus, when Koreans use “chicken” and  ”member”, it’s not to simply accessorize our speech to look cute. It’s a result of the hegemonic/soft power English has had on Korea.”

2. but i learn korean!

you can still learn korean and accessorize our language. it’s just the intent behind it. if you’re genuinely trying to learn the language and talk to us, sure, that’s fine. that’s more than fine, that’s fucking fantastic. learn our language. i love korea so go and visit and learn about our culture; however, if you are using korean words to sound cute then no. shut up. sit your ass down and think about how you’re accessorizing our language.

3. it’s not HURTING anybody

fuck off. as a korean i’m asking you not to say it shit’s not hard to do. my feelings are valid and you should fucking respect my request. (and fyi, i am not the only korean requesting this of you guys, it’s literally most of the koreans on here i don’t understand why you guys have to fucking ask a single question?)

4. well other people say it!!!!!! s o it’s okay!

well other people are racist and so are you. what the fuck do you want me to say? oh, it’s alright if other people say it? you’re still being fucking racist you piece of shit. have some integrity, bitch. the only reason why you’re bringing these arguments up is because you want to justify your actions. fuck off. if you did some GOD DAMN RESEARCH, you’d understand that you’re wrong.

5. okay but oppa and unnie are meant to be respectful! i’m just trying to be respectful! and besides i want to talk to my favorite idol on twitter!

NO. YOU’RE JUST TRYING TO SOUND CUTE GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE. nobody calls someone they don’t know oppa / unnie in korean. oppa is used for either (a) your older brother or (b) a CLOSE MALE FRIEND THAT IS OLDER THAN U. EMPHASIZE CLOSE. when you call baekhyun oppa or taeyeon unnie, it literally doesn’ tmake sense bc u doN’T KNOW THEM. 

and yeah say the person you’re calling oppa is your close friend. are they korean? no? then don’t say it. are you korean? no? then don’t say it.

take the next express out of my inbox and never step foot in it again. 

and as koreaboostories so wonderfully put, “When you learn a language you are integrating a part of a culture into your daily life. It’s not just for shits and giggles. You are learning for opportunities, and if you just want to learn Korean to gush over your oppa, that’s annoying.”

i’m not saying you can’t learn the language. i LOVE it when people learn my language and tell me they want to go to korea because they want to learn the culture. my non-korean friend and i are probably going to korea next summer and we’re so excited to go shop but also experience the culture and look at old monuments and buildlings. what i don’t appreciate is having to explain myself every single FUCKING time why i don’t like it when people appropriate my culture or accessorize my language. 

any more questions? you can take it to other blogs because i’m done trying to explain myself. 

have a fucking good day.

[recoloring-exo]

here is an example of a korean user’s opinions on language accessorization for those of you who were too lazy to click the link. this sums it up pretty well.

[brettakins]

Please Stop saying these names are Ghetto

LAKEISHA: a swahili name meaning “favorite one” LATEEFAH: a north african name meaning “gentle and pleasant” LATONIA: a latin name. latonia was the mother of diana in roman mythology LATISHA: means “happiness” TAKIYA: a north african name meaning “righteous” ESHE. African Swahili name meaning “immortal” KALISHA. Probably from the Galla word kalisha “sorcerer, wizard, witch doctor, magician” LEENA (لينا). Another spelling of Arabic Lina (q.v.), meaning “softness.” In use in Africa. MAKENA. African Kikuyu name meaning “the happy one.” NIA. African Swahili name meaning “intention, life purpose, mind.” MONIFA. African Yoruba name, meaning “I am luck,” from mo “I,” and ifa “profit, luck.” NUBIA. Unisex. African. From the name of the country Nubia, meaning “land of gold,” from the Coptic word for gold. AYANA : Ethiopian female name meaning “beautiful flower.” SHANIKA. Unisex. African Bantu name, probably meaning “young one from the wilderness.” SALINA. African. A name in use in Kenya. It may mean “merciful.” TAMEKA. Another spelling of the African Congo name Tamika (q.v.), meaning “a twin,” TAMELA. African Zulu name meaning “she who basks in the sun,” AMARA. f. African. From the Swahili word amara, meaning “urgent business.” Hindu. name meaning “immortal.” African. Ethiopian. Amharic amari, meaning “agreeable, pleasing.” CHICHI f Western African, Igbo Diminutive of Igbo names beginning with the element Chi meaning “God”. IMANI f & m Eastern African, Swahili, African American Means “faith” in Swahili, ultimately of Arabic origin. AZIZA f means “Respected. Darling.” Muslim,African, Egyptian, Arabic, Somali name meaning “gorgeous. DALIA/DALILA f means “Gentle.” African, Arabic, American, Egyptian, Spanish, African, Hebrew BIBI : An East African female name meaning “daughter of a king.” Also a Kiswahili word meaning “lady” or “grandmother.” ADA : Ibo of Nigeria name for firstborn females. ZENA : Ethiopian name meaning “news” or “fame.” JAMILAH f means “Beautiful.” Arabic, Muslim, African KALIFA f means “Chaste; holy.” African RASHIDI/RASHIDA f means “Wise.” Egyptian African Swahili name meaning “righteous.” TAJ means “Crown.” Indian,Sanskrit, African FATUMA : Popular Swahili and Somali versions of the name Muslim name, FATIMA, meaning “weaned.” NANA : Ghanaian name meaning “mother of the Earth.” AJA : High Priestess of Mecca. ADINA : Amharic of Ethiopia word sometimes used as a female name, meaning “she has saved.” BALINDA : A Rutooro of Uganda name meaning “patience, endurance, fortitude.” (Balinda is also used as a male name in Uganda.) FANTA : Guinea and Cote D'Ivoire name meaning “beautiful day.” KAYA : Ghanaian name meaning “stay and don’t go back.” LAYLA , LAILA , LEYLA , LEILA : Swahili and Muslim name meaning “born at night.” SHANI : Swahili name meaning “marvelous.” ANAYA : Ibo of Eastern Nigeria name meaning “look up to God.” TANISHA , TANI : Hausa of W. Africa name meaning “born on Monday.” ZAKIYA : Swahili name meaning “smart, intelligent.” TITI : Nigerian name meaning “flower.” SAFIA , SAFIYA , SAFIYEH , SAFIYYAH : Swahili and Arabic name meaning “pure and wise” or “lion’s share.” LULU : Swahili and Muslim name meaning “pearl” or “precious.” KADIJA , KHADIJA : Swahili name meaning “born prematurely.” AMINA : Somali and Muslim female name meaning “trustful, honest” and referring to Muhammed’s mother. This name is popular with the Hausa of West Africa.

[languagebliss-blog]

Why can't cosmetics have clearer expiration dates like y'all I don't remember how many months ago I bought this thing I barely remember three weeks ago.

[bela40]

my attention span is so bad i cant watch something without being on my phone at the same time i always have to have 2 layers of activity when did this happen why is capitalism stealing my soul away the spectacle has me firmly in its grip

[liddelfolk]

Psychology time!

This isn’t having a short attention span (or well maybe thats part of it), but probably something called “Optimal Arousal.”(This is psychology, not anatomy, please keep your mind out of the gutter Xp)

Optimal Arousal goes like this: When effort is low, more stimulus is better. When effort is high, less stimulus is better.

I’ll elaborate. Whenever you do something easy (like maybe some homework as an example), unless something else is happening (like music or a show) you tend to get drawn away or doze off. In this homework scenario, the effort is low, so in order to keep at it and do well on working on it, you need a higher amount of stimulus, like a movie.

If something is hard, like for instance a test, you probably will try to avoid noise, going so far as to hush others so you can concentrate. The effort is high so you want less stimulus.

Keep this in mind. It can help you focus, and make life a lot easier. Dont feel bad for doing lots of different things while you are just chillin. Enjoy the knowledge!

[aprillikesthings]

And if you ADHD the base level amount of arousal needed to stay on task is much higher. Which is why I can’t watch TV without knitting!

[howtodropoutofschool]

4 Legal Ways To Get Free Textbooks.

1. Open Culture:  Not a large a selection, but high quality texts. If you just want to skim a book to brush up on a course you took in ninth grade, download one of these. I have yet to be disappointed.

2. Book Boon: Provides free college-level textbooks in a PDF format. Probably the widest range of subjects on the web. The site is also pretty.

3. Flat World Knowledge: The worlds largest publisher of free and open college textbooks. Humanitie texts are particularly difficult to come by, this site has a great selection in all disciplines.

4. Textbook Revolution:  Some of the books are PDF files, others are viewable online as e-books, or some are simply web sites containing course or multimedia content.

5. Library Pirate: I’ve always had an addiction to torrent based pirating. When this site opened a few months ago, I went a little overboard. After dropping two hundred on a paperback spanish textbook, I downloaded the ebook version illegally. I also got a great Psyc text i’m obsessed with.  It will be interesting to see how this site grows- they already have a great selection. 

[alcoholicgifts]

It’s that time again

[langsandlit]

Italian - meaning in English Spanish - meaning in English

abitazione - house habitación - bedroom

abito* - suit hábito -  habit

accudire - to nurse acudir - to go

aceto - vinegar aceite - oil

andare - to go andar - to walk

arrosto - roast arroz - rice

burro - butter burro - donkey

caldo - hot caldo - soup

camino - chimney camino - path

cancellare* - to delete cancelar - to cancel

carino - nice cariño - darling (among other things)

carta - paper carta - letter

cura - cure cura - priest

guardare - to watch guardar - to save

largo - broad largo - large

lobo - earlobe lobo - wolf

lupa - female wolf lupa - magnifying glass

negozio - shop negocio - business

nudo - naked nudo - knot

officina - workshop oficina - office

pelo - hair (literally one hair) pelo* - hair (hairs collectively)

pronto - ready pronto - soon

ratto - rat rato - moment

salire - to go up salir - to go out

sentire - to hear, to feel sentir - to feel

sella - saddle silla - chair

spalla - shoulder espalda - a person’s back

subire - to be subjected to subir - to go up, to upload

talvolta - sometimes (volta: time) tal vez - maybe (vez: time)

tovaglia - tablecloth toalla - towel

tuttavia - however todavía - still

vaso - vase vaso - glass

* abito: abito can also mean “habit” in Italian depending on the context. * hábito: while “hábito” can also refer to clergyman dress in some contexts, its primary meaning is that of “habit” * cancellare: cancellare only means “to cancel” when talking about reservations and flights * cura: while it’s true that “la cura” means “the cure” in Spanish, I still find it to be a false friend since there is no Italian “cura” that means “priest” * pelo: pelo can also mean “one hair” in Spanish, but its primary meaning is that of “a person’s hairs”, meaning those growing on a person’s head