LangBox

Hi, I'm Alex. I'm from England and I am currently doing an MA in Translation (French -> English). Languages (in order of ability): English | français | español | esperanto | čeština | norsk | limbă română | Gaeilge | 日本語 | tiếng Việt 

[mylangbox]

i'm currently studying in Brno and saw you spent five months there after trawling throught the czech language tag in an effort to avoid doing my homework - how's your czech now??

Hi Sorry I haven’t been on here in ages so I don’t even know when you sent this but oh wow!!! Brno is beautiful i absolutely loved it! Make sure you check out those mummified monks and the crocodile hanging from the old town hall.  Unfortunately my Czech is pants now and I actually speak Spanish better despite never having had a class in it. 

[mylangbox]

Can we plz talk about how hot you are? Like holy shit more selfies please

I haven’t been on this blog in ages and ahaha wow, thank you, merci, so kind! 

[rotasandribbons]

10 Facts about the Romani Language

November 5th is International Romani Language Day, so here are 10 facts about the Romani language!

1. Roma call their language Romanes, or Romani chib. In the Romani language, “Romanes” can loosely be translated to mean “in a Romani way”, while “Romani chib” means “Romani language”. The word, “chib” comes from the Sanskrit word for tongue. 

2. Romani has over 80 dialects. To date, linguists have documented the existence of over 80 Romani dialects. The diversity of Romani is not at all surprising, considering Romani people have migrated to and settled in numerous countries and even continents. 

3. Romani maintains a fair amount of Indic lexicon.  Romani people originally migrated from the South Asian continent, so our language began, and is still classified as an Indo-Aryan language. Many dialects still retain a great deal of Indic words, many of which are Sanskrit in origin. In fact, simple Romani phrases are mutually intelligible among speakers of Hindi and Punjabi. 

4. There is no official Romani alphabet. Because Romani speakers are widespread geographically, and because the language itself has come in contact with numerous other languages, there is no single alphabet used to write Romani. Romani is written in various Cyrillic alphabets, the Greek alphabet, Gaj’s Latin alphabet, the regular Latin alphabet, Hayots aybuben (Armenian) and even in Devanagari. 

5. Many countries have tried to abolish Romani.  Austria, Hungary, Spain, and various other European nations have, at times, made speaking the Romani language illegal. Under communism, numerous attempts were made to abolish various aspects of Romani culture, which included our language. Even today, many young Roma are strongly discouraged from speaking Romani at home by public institutions, such as schools. This has resulted in the near loss or complete loss of several Romani dialects. 

6. No one knows how many people speak Romani. Lack of data regarding the worldwide number of ethnic Romani people makes it incredibly difficult for linguists to determine just how many people speak Romani. Estimates can vary quite a bit. The most accurate estimate is that roughly two-thirds of all ethnic Roma speak some form of the Romani language. 

7. Not all Romani people can understand each other.  The Romani language is unique in that it has been shaped by, and adopted the grammar and lexicon of various European languages in a relatively short span of time. However, because many Roma settled in south and eastern Europe, their dialects never became influenced by the languages of central and western Europe. Furthermore, numerous Roma have migrated to North and South America, so their dialects have been influenced by English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese in a different way than that of French, Spanish, or English Roma. Because of this, many Western European Roma can understand one another, but cannot understand Eastern European Roma. 

8. Romani contains several “mixed languages”. Para-Romani is the umbrella term that is given to Romani dialects that have adopted the grammar structures of non-Romani languages. For example, Romano-Serbian is a Para-Romani language that primarily uses Romani words, but also uses Serbian grammar. One of the most well-known and best documented Para-Romani languages is Anglo-Romany, which combines Romani lexicon with English grammar. 

9. Romani has two cousins. The Romani language refers to the many dialects spoken by Roma who migrated into Europe, but it is not the only language that belongs to the “Gypsy” diaspora. Lomavren is spoken by the Lom, a people who were initially part of the Romani diaspora, but settled in the Caucasus Mountain region, mostly in Armenia. Domari is the language spoken by the Dom, who left the South Asian continent several hundred years before the Roma. 

10. Romani is gaining steam as a versatile second language. Throughout Europe, schools and universities are starting to teach Romani as a second language, which actively encourages the integration of Europe’s Roma without forcing them to abandon their native tongue. Many Roma are writing and publishing Romani dictionaries, which not only helps non-Roma interested in learning Romani, but also aids ethnic Roma who did not grow up speaking Romani, or who wish to learn a dialect different from their own. While Roma themselves have varying opinions on sharing our language, we are also the ones paving the way for integration strategies that involve preserving Romani.

[petalsbleedingbeak]

English is superior to all other languages

Before you attack me, no, I’m not a native English speaker and no, my English is not great. And yes, there is a simple proof to support this hypothesis.

Exhibit A: Fright is a specific term, describing a very intense, life-threatening -like fear. It’s not fear, nor horror, nor terror. These are terms on quite a wide scale of being scared. Fright, on the other hand, is beyond comprehension, beyond the scale. Fright is extended to the extremity and further beyond.

Exhibit B: It’s a scientific fact that two typical reactions to threat are FIGHT or FLIGHT.

Exhibit C: If you are threatened, your instant reaction is either FIGHT or FLIGHT (depending on many factors). If you suffer from a phobia, however, your instant reaction to the particular threat is FRIGHT. Neither fear nor horror. Fright. Cold, threatening, crippling fright.

And the fact that this third, unusual, unexpected reaction to threat linguistically fits the pattern of fight or flight is, after all, the proof that English is superior. Show me this deep connection in any other language or admit English is superior.

[linguisten]

please don’t ever again tag such pseudoscientific drivel “#linguistics”

[mylangbox]

Cold Threatening Crippling Fright is pretty hard for me to comprehend when I’ve only ever heard it used like “oh Babs did I tell ye the cat knocked over me Lambrusco the other night and gave me such a fright”.

[modernbrutalismus]

Univerzitná nemocnica Bratislava - Nemocnica Ružinov (Bratislava University Hospital - Ružinov Hospital), Bratislava, Slovakia.

(Arch. unknown, 1976-86)

Photo by Carlos Traspaderne with Hasselblad 500 C/M & Ilford film.

[andywarnercomics]

There’s a book out there that’s either one of the last great unsolved cyphers or a massive medieval hoax. Welcome to the weird world of the Voynich Manuscript. And no, it isn’t solved yet.

I did this comic for The Nib last year (The Nib is an amazingly great place for comics on Medium if you don’t know that already). You can follow all my work on Medium here.

[wonderful-language-sounds]

Online Courses for Language Lovers (that aren’t languages)

I wanted to let fellow language learners know about some great courses that I think will help you out since they cover topics that aren’t typically taught in language classes. They cover various topics such as culture, linguistics, and psychology that will round out your language education. They are all MOOCs which means that they are free online courses available to the public. 

Exploring Language and Cultures:  You will learn about the benefits and challenges of meeting people from different cultures, what it means to be plurilingual and pluricultural, and the ways in which language and human communities shape each other. You also will look at the role of intercultural competence at the workplace, reflect on the use of English as lingua franca in international contexts, and get a flavor of the skills involved in language-related professions such as translation and interpreting.

What is language?: An applied linguistic perspective: This serves as an introduction to the discipline of applied linguistics. It examines what is meant by ‘language’, what its main characteristics are, and how human language differs from communication between other animals. It also asks whether theoretical knowledge about language can be applied to professional practice.              

Intercultural Communication: This free online course will help you better understand cross-cultural complexity; cultivate your awareness of your own and others’ cultural identities; highlight some notable variations in communication styles and cultural values; and signpost paths towards building your intercultural competence.

Multilingual Practices: In this course, you will identify central aspects around societal and individual multilingualism, evaluate the benefits of multilingualism of both minority and migrant speakers, identify issues that arise when people who do not share the same languages meet, critically evaluate multilingual language policies for both migrant and minority languages, and investigate multilingual practices.

Miracles of Human Language: An Introduction to Linguistics: This course introduces you to linguistics, featuring interviews with well-known linguists and with speakers of many different languages. Join us to explore the miracles of human language!

Introduction to Linguistics: In this course, you’ll get an introduction to the main approaches used in linguistic research, including linguistic experiments and discourse analysis. You’ll find out about the key methods used in linguistic descriptions, and some of the everyday ‘myths’ about language. You’ll discover how linguistic researchers turn our ideas about language into linguistic knowledge.

The Bilingual Brain: This course explores the brain bases of bilingualism by discussing literature relevant to differences in age of initial learning, proficiency, and control in the nonverbal, single language and dual-language literature.  Participants will learn about the latest research related to how humans learn one or two languages and other cognitive skills. Course starts May 5, 2019. 

Introduction to Lexical and Semantic Typology:  The aim of the course is to obtain the idea of the lexicon as a complex system and to get the methodology of the typological approach to the lexicon cross-linguistically, as well as to learn about the general mechanisms of semantic shift and their typological relevance. Course starts May 5, 2019.

Language Revival: Securing the Future of Endangered Languages: Learn how the world’s endangered languages are revived and why this process is critical to preserving cultural identity.  Course is archived but the material is accessible.

Introduction to Applied Linguistics and TESOL: You’ll explore real-world examples of applied linguistics, such as forensic linguistics and language assessment. You’ll look at the field’s impact on important issues - for example, reducing gender bias in language use and simplifying legal language. You’ll find out what applied linguists do through a series of case studies. Specialists will work through problems and show you applied linguistic research methods to solve them.

For Free Online Language Courses: Link Here

Last Updated: May 2019

[orientalismx]

我的写怎么样? 哈哈

[dailyfrench]

le 20 mai   ⋮   dépareillés   ⋮   mismatched

[gsarchive01]

the presenters explaining that sweden need 253 points

[myvalzpival]

nobody:

čeština: slovo KOALA je mužského rodu!!!!

[myvalzpival]

absolutely everoyne: NO IT’S NOT!!!!!

čeština: fuck u

[wonderful-language-sounds]

Free Online Language Courses

Here is a masterpost of MOOCs (massive open online courses) that are available, archived, or starting soon. I think they will help those that like to learn with a teacher or with videos.  You can always check the audit course or no certificate option so that you can learn for free.

American Sign Language

ASL University

Sign Language Structure, Learning, and Change

Arabic

Arabic for Global Exchange (in the drop-down menu)

Intro to Arabic

Madinah Arabic

Moroccan Arabic

Arabe (taught in French)

Catalan

Intro to Catalan Language & Society

Intro to Catalan Sign Language

Chinese

Beginner

Basic Chinese I. II, III, IV , V

Basic Mandarin Chinese I & II

Beginner’s Chinese

Chinese for Beginners

Chinese Characters

Chinese for HSK 1

Chinese for HSK 2

Chinese for HSK 3 I & II

HSK Level 1

Mandarin Chinese

Mandarin Chinese for Business

More Chinese for Beginners

Start Talking Mandarin Chinese

UT Gateway to Chinese

Chino Básico (Taught in Spanish)

Intermediate

Chinese Stories

Intermediate Business Chinese

Intermediate Chinese Grammar

Dutch

Introduction to Dutch

English

Online Courses here

Resources Here

Faroese

Faroese Course

Finnish

A Taste of Finnish

Basic Finnish

Finnish for Immigrants

Finnish for Medical Professionals

French

Beginner

AP French Language and Culture

Basic French Skills

Beginner’s French: Food & Drink

Diploma in French

Elementary French I & II

Français Interactif

French in Action

French Language Studies I, II, III

French: Ouverture

Intermediate & Advanced

French: Le Quatorze Juillet

Passe Partout 

La Cité des Sciences et de Industrie

Vivre en France - A2

Vivre en France - B1

Frisian

Introduction to Frisian (Taught in English)

Introduction to Frisian (Taught in Dutch)

German

Beginner

Beginner’s German: Food & Drink

Conversational German I, II, III, IV

Deutsch im Blick

Diploma in German

German at Work

Rundblick-Beginner’s German

Intermediate

German: Regionen Traditionen und Geschichte

Landschaftliche Vielfalt

Gwich’in

Introduction to Gwich’in Language

Hebrew

Biblical Hebrew

Know the Hebrew Alphabet

Teach Me Hebrew

Hindi

A Door into Hindi

Business Hindi

Virtual Hindi

Icelandic

Icelandic 1-5

Indonesian

Learn Indonesian

Irish

Introduction to Irish

Irish 101

Irish 102

Italian

Beginner

Beginner’s Italian: Food & Drink

Beginner’s Italian I

Introduction to Italian

Italian for Beginners 1 , 2, 3 , 4 , 5, 6 

Intermediate & Advanced

AP Italian Language and Culture

Intermediate Italian I

Advanced Italian I

Letteratura italiana

Japanese

Genki

Japanese JOSHU

Japanese Pronunciation

Sing and Learn Japanese

Tufs JpLang

Kazakh

A1-B2 Kazakh (Taught in Russian)

Korean

Beginner

First Step Korean

How to Study Korean

Introduction to Korean

Learn to Speak Korean

Pathway to Spoken Korean

Intermediate

Intermediate Korean

Nepali

Beginner’s Conversation and Grammar

Norwegian

Introduction to Norwegian

Norwegian on the Web

Portuguese

Curso de Português para Estrangeiros 

Pluralidades em Português Brasileiro

Russian

Beginner

Easy Accelerated Learning for Russian

Advanced

Reading Master and Margarita

Russian as an Instrument of Communication

Siberia: Russian for Foreigners

Spanish

Beginner

AP Spanish Language & Culture

Basic Spanish for English Speakers

Beginner’s Spanish: Food & Drink

Introduction to Spanish

Restaurants and Dining Out

Spanish for Beginners 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Spanish Vocabulary

Intermediate

Spanish: Ciudades con Historia

Spanish: Espacios Públicos

Advanced

Corrección, Estilo y Variaciones 

Leer a Macondo

Spanish:Con Mis Propias Manos

Spanish: Perspectivas Porteñas

Swedish

Intro to Swedish

Swedish Made Easy 1, 2, & 3

Ukrainian

Read Ukrainian

Ukrainian Language for Beginners

Welsh

Beginner’s Welsh

Discovering Wales

Multiple Languages

Ancient Languages

More Language Learning Resources & Websites!

Last updated: April 1, 2018

[languagessi-deactivated20210423]

Kanazawa, Japan

[meidorin]

complimenting japanese artists

There are plenty of templates for asking permission from Japanese artists on pixiv and twitter to repost their fanworks, but almost none about how to compliment their art and let them know their work is appreciated, so I thought I’d put together a few stock phrases you can use to let an artist know you think their work is great!!

ああああ = “aaaaaaa/ahhhhh” (use as many あ as u feel like ahaha)

_____さんの絵が大好きです！ = “i love your art!” (use artist’s name in blank, usually in only japanese characters, for example ▲むっこ▲スパコミ レ57b on twitter’s name is just むっこ, ignore anything after an “@”）

_____は可愛すぎますよ～！ = “____ is too cute~!” (insert ship or character name, you can get their name in japanese on their wiki pages or myanimelist, check their pixiv to see what their art is tagged with to find the ship’s name in japanese if you don’t already know it, or you can replace with (artist name)さんの絵 to say the artist’s art is too cute)

(きれいな/可愛い/素晴らしい)絵をいつも描いてくれてありがとうございます！ = “thank you for always drawing pretty/cute/amazing art!” (pick ONE adjective)

_____さんの絵は凄く(可愛い/かっこいい/素晴らしい)ですねえ！= “your art is REALLY cute/cool/amazing!” (pick ONE adjective)

_____さんの絵最高です！/____最高です！= “your art is the best!” / “(character/ship) is the best!”

feel free to use as many exclamation points, hearts ♡♡♡, and kaomoji as you feel like in between sentences!

also for sentence enders, i just included a few random ones but feel free to exchange よ/ねえ as much as you like, but it’s kinda weird to use them at the end of every sentence. its also weird if you use the same one at the end all your sentences. also just a generic “～" at the end is good too!

if you have any questions on how to say something else, or if you think there’s an important phrase i missed, or you kinda want to know what the artist said in reply to your compliment, let me know!

[edit]: thanks to toukochu for pointing out it should be 描いてくれてありがとうございます instead of 描いてありがとうございます and that the は particle was unnecessary for 最高です！

[selenecrawford]

Reblogging these for those who will like to send compliments to Japanese artist.

[matchaonrepeat]

japanese vocab: fruit ♡  

果物 • くだもの • kuda mono • fruit

林檎 • りんご / リンゴ • ringo • apple

西瓜 • すいか / スイカ • suika • watermelon

梨 • なし • nashi • pear

苺 • いちご / イチゴ • ichigo • strawberry

桃 • もも / モモ • momo • peach

オレンジ • orenji • orange

バナナ • banana • banana

マンゴー • mango- • mango

パイナップル • painappuru • pineapple

サクランボ • sakuranbo • cherry 

檸檬 • レモン • remon • lemon

葡萄 • ぶどう • budou • grape

キウイ • kiui • kiwi

ココナッツ • kokonattsu • coconut

アボカド • abokado • avocado

ライム • raimu • lime

feel free to correct me if anything is wrong ~☆

[imgoingtofighttheocean]

U kno what???? Honestly?? All jokes side about the Duolingo owl, Duolingo is one of the only language education services I know of that doesn’t charge for the full course and I really think we don’t appreciate that enough in a world where knowledge is severely (and increasing) restricted based on income. I just went through the app store and downloaded every language app I can find, and the only two that didn’t charge hefty subscription fees to access all the lessons were duolingo and memrise. Support free education.

[tulunnguaq]

Say what you like about this cover art, but the attention to detail on that Barbour jacket is second to none.