The Linguist

05Jun

5 Jun 2023

Google Translate Doesn’t Work? Google and Language Learning

I hear all the time that Google Translate doesn’t work. It’s not accurate. It’s this and that. I think Google Translate is a tremendous resource and not only for language learners. It’s not 100% and it’s better for some languages than others, but I find it extremely useful.

22May

22 May 2023

Is It Hard to Learn Japanese?

Learning Japanese

Japanese, simply in terms of the vocabulary, the structure being very different from say English, if you're an English speaker, is going to be more difficult. However, there are a number of things that make Japanese easier, in my opinion.

08May

8 May 2023

French for Beginners: What You Need to Know

Learning French

French was my first love when it comes to languages. In fact, there’s an expression in French: “On revient toujours a son premier amour." It means you always go back to your first love. I love French; I love all the languages that I learn, but I have a special affection for French. I highly recommend learning French for beginners. There’s a whole world that you can access so much better if [...]

24Apr

24 Apr 2023

Levels of Language Proficiency: What Is Fluency?

Learning Techniques

I recently watched a video which features polyglots Luca Lampariello and Anthony Lauder. In it they make the point that you don’t need to have a large vocabulary in order to be fluent. Anthony has said in the past that even with a few hundred words you can be fluent, or you can be fluent at a relatively low level of proficiency in a language. I don’t agree at all.

10Apr

10 Apr 2023

How To Learn Portuguese

Learning Portuguese

Many of us are watching the Olympics in Brazil. Despite all of the bad reports that we always get in the lead up to any Olympic Games – some British newspaper called the 2010 Vancouver Winter games the worst Olympics in the world ever, then there were all the problems with toilets in Sochi and now pollution in Rio – it looks like actually things are proceeding swimmingly, so to [...]

27Mar

27 Mar 2023

All the Tricks and Tips You Need for Learning Spanish

Learning Spanish

I think Spanish is one of the most attractive languages to learn. We can all be motivated to learn a specific language like Mongolian or Finnish because we have a friend or a particular interest. Spanish is different: there are a number of real big advantages to learning Spanish.

14Mar

14 Mar 2023

Korean vs Japanese vs Chinese

Learning Chinese, Learning Japanese, Learning Korean

Korean vs Japanese vs Chinese, ever wonder what the similarities and differences are between these three languages and how should we go about learning them? To what extent can learning one help you with the others? Let me share my experience in learning these three Asian languages. How I Learned Mandarin, Japanese and Korean […]

24Feb

24 Feb 2023

The Definition of a Polyglot

Motivation

As people who speak multiple languages, polyglots like to use those languages; we like to see how we do. But there is an element of performance. Are you better than me? Am I better than you? For some people that’s fine. I think a lot of us are very happy, in fact, when we hear somebody speak better than we do.

09Feb

9 Feb 2023

Tips for Learning Russian

Learning Russian

I wanted give some important tips for learning Russian. First I'll explain about the writing system, then some interesting things to remember about Russian verbs of motion, aspects of verbs and cases.

17Jan

17 Jan 2023

How to Learn Chinese: My Top 6 Tips

Learning Chinese

I studied Mandarin Chinese 50 years ago. It took me nine months to reach a level where I could translate newspaper editorials from English to Chinese and from Chinese to English, read novels and interpret for people, I did this in the age of the open-reel tape recorder, long before the age of the Internet, […]