Tag Archive: Languages

March 13, 2019

Spring Has Sprung – The Origin of “Spring” in 12 Different Languages

Although we have had some uncharacteristically warm weather recently, the season on its way in March is actually spring, and the observant among you will have noticed the spring flowers starting to poke their heads above the ground.  To celebrate this new beginning, this blog post looks at the word for “spring” and the origins of these words in the languages you can study at Bristol Language School.  This means so you will be able to talk about the new season in your chosen language and impress your speaking partners with your knowledge of etymology, the origin of words.  As usual, the post is arranged by language in alphabetical order.

Arabic

The Arabic word for “spring” is “الرَّبيع” (al rbye), from the root “ر ب ع‎” (r-b-ʿ). “ربع”‎ means “quarter”.

Chinese

In Mandarin Chinese, “spring” is “春天”, (chūntiān).  It comes from the phono-semantic (mixture of sound and meaning) compound, “形聲”, (tʰjun), made up of “艸” (meaning “grass”), “屯” (the sound duːn, tun, for “sprout, begin to grow, geminate”) and “日” (meaning “sun”).

Czech

In Czech, “spring” is “jaro”, from the Proto-Slavic forms “jaro”, “jarъ”, “jarь”, “jara”, which in turn come from Proto-Indo-European “yōro-” or “yeh₁ro-”, meaning “year, spring”‎.  It is a cognate with the English word “year”, the German “Jahr” ‎(“year”‎), the Latin “hōra” (“hour, time, season”‎) (and many Romance languages have similar words for this), and the Ancient Greek “ὥρα” ‎(hṓra), meaning “year, season”‎.

Dutch

Dutch speakers call “spring” “de lente”, which comes from the Middle and Old Dutch words “lentin” or “lenten”, which in turn are from the Proto-Germanic “*langatīnaz”, a compound of “*langaz” (“long”) + “*tīnaz” (“day”).  It is a cognate with the English “Lent”.  Sometimes “voorjaar” is used too, which literally means “beginning of the year”.

German

In German, “spring” is “die Frühling”, from “früh” (“early”) +‎ “-ling” (“-ness”).  “Lenz” is also used, which is from from the Old High German “lenzo”, itself from Proto-Germanic “*langatīnaz” from “*langaz” (“long”) + “*tīnaz” (“day”) (see “de lente” in Dutch and “Lent” in English).

French

The French word for “spring” is “le printemps”, which is from the Old French “printans”, from “prime tans” ‎(“first time, first season”‎), in turn from the Latin “prīmum tempus”.

Italian

The Italian term for “spring”, “la primavera”, comes from the Vulgar Latin word “*prīmavēra”, which came from the Latin “prīmus” (“first”) + “vēr” (“spring”).   It is similar in Spanish, Portuguese, and other Romance languages.

Japanese

The Japanese character “春” has the same etymology as the Chinese character explained above.  It is pronounced “haru”.

Polish

The Polish word for “spring”, which is “wiosna”, derives from the Proto-Slavic word “*vesna”, meaning “spring” and coming from the name for the Slavic goddess of spring, birth and renewal.

Portuguese

The Portuguese word, “a primavera” is like the Italian, “la primavera”, which comes from the Vulgar Latin word “*prīmavēra”, made from the Latin “prīmus” (“first”) + “vēr” (“spring”).

Russian

The Russian word, “Весна” (vesna) comes from the Proto-Slavic goddess of spring, birth and renewal, “*vesna”.

Spanish

The Spanish word, “la primavera” is like the Italian, “la primavera” and the Portuguese “a primavera”, which all come from the Vulgar Latin word “*prīmavēra”, made from the Latin “prīmus” (“first”) + “vēr” (“spring”).

Suzannah Young

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January 16, 2019

New Year, New Language-Learning Trends for You to Try Out

Welcome to my first blog post of 2019!  Before I start, I would like to wish you all Buon Anno / Bonne Année / Prospero Año Nuevo / ةديعس ةديدج ةنس / Fröhes Neues Jahr / Gelukkig Nieuwjaar / Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku / Feliz Ano Novo / Поздравляю с Новым годом / Happy New Year!

We hope you are ready for and looking forward to your lessons with BLS this year.  In this blog post, we look at which will be the language learning trends you can follow in 2019 to help boost your language skills.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence in language learning is mainly found in online language-learning tools.  It means learners are accompanied and supported in their learning by intelligent programmes that can track their learning or even make their learning interactive.  When language learning is interactive, it is more effective.  Compare how much you learn and how motivated you are when speaking to people in your new language with your experience of learning from a book.  This shows you how interaction makes language learning more fun and therefore means that you are more likely to remember what you have learnt.  AI can foster interaction through “chatbots” that ask you questions or prompt you to give an answer, and congratulate you when you answer correctly.  Even though they are not real people, they make learners aware of how much progress they are making and therefore keep them motivated.  One article even goes as far as to say that people take less time to learn a language with the help of AI than they do using traditional language learning methods.

Adaptive Learning

Adaptive learning uses technology to deliver personalized, customised learning. Adaptive learning adjusts the trajectory and pace of learning, giving appropriately-pitched and relevant material to meet learners’ needs.  If learners need to learn something specific, such as business language in order to meet international colleagues or phrases to use on holiday, adaptive learning provides them with focused training modules.  Adaptive learning programmes use algorithms to gauge learners’ needs.  For example, when the learner takes a test, the algorithms measure the learner’s understanding and identifies gaps in the learner’s knowledge. The programme then and adapts the modules to be taken to the learner’s ongoing learning needs.  This approach helps the learner to focus on progress and what they need to learn rather than what they already know (although repetition is always useful!). This creates better learner engagement because they don’t get bored.  This will improve their performance.

Gamification

“Gamification” or “game-based learning” means using the principles of gameplay in non-game contexts. Gamification is used to encourage user engagement, productivity, employee recruitment, physical exercise, voter apathy, and more by making engagement fun and by rewarding “players” for doing certain things.  It is meant to empower and engage learners.  Examples of how this can be applied in language learning is a computerised programme that allows learners to collect points for each correct answer and reach the next level of difficulty, or creating a language-learning board game.  Research shows that gamification mostly has positive effects on individuals, improves retention rates and helps learners apply their learning better.  Studies have also shown that games release happy hormones like dopamine and serotonin that will make learners want to return to their learning.

Video-Based Learning

Videos are a very popular training tool at the moment.  There is a wealth of language-learning videos on the internet.  They are popular because learners can choose which videos they want to watch and how many times they watch them, and because they break learning into manageable chunks.  The availability of this type of material means that users can pick and choose from a whole host of different teaching styles and content.  Individuals can create their own videos; it is not just language schools that create them.  This gives the content a personal touch that means that learners like them.  Users can also comment on videos and ask questions that means they engage with the content.

Social Learning

Thankfully, we still want to interact with our fellow humans and it has been proven (unsurprisingly) that learning with our peers is more effective than learning on our own.  “Social learning” harnesses that concept.  It can mean groups working on a specific project, conversation tables, sharing sessions (where one learner shares what they have learnt with the others and their interest in their chosen subject rubs off on the other learners), and learning circles, where learners share wisdom and work out a problem together, as well as practising listening and speaking skills.

We hope these different techniques inspire you to continue your journey into learning a language.  Happy language learning in 2019!

Suzannah Young

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December 19, 2018

“Christmas” in different languages – the meaning behind the words

Christmas is coming, and many of us are excitedly preparing for it.  But beyond the presents, food, family gatherings and decorations, have you ever stopped to wonder where the word “Christmas” comes from, what it really means, and what its meaning is in other languages?  This post looks at the origins of the word for “Christmas” in the languages you can study at BLS.  Many of them are similar, so we will group them by meaning.  We would love to hear more, if you know the word for Christmas in any other languages.  Please add them in the comments if you do.

Nadal / Natal / Natale / Navidad / Boże Narodzenie / Рождества / 圣诞

The word for “Christmas” in Catalan is “Nadal”.  It comes from the Latin, nātālis [diēs Dominī], or the “birthday of the Lord”.  This is similar in the Portuguese “Natal”, “Natale” in Italian and “Navidad” (similar to the English, “nativity”, the feast celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ”) in Spanish.  The Polish term, “Boże Narodzenie” also means “the holy birth”.  This on its own can be used for “Christmas”, but “Święta Bożego Narodzenia” (“celebration of the holy birth”) is the full version.  The Russian (“С рождеством Христовым!”  “S rozhdyestvom Hristovym!”) has the same root (it means “Congratulations on the birth of Christ!”).  “Merry Christmas” in Chinese is “圣诞快乐(Shèngdàn kuàilè)”, meaning “to be happy at the birth of a saint”.  In Arabic  it is “عيد ميلاد المسيح” (“‘eed milaad al-maseeH”), “celebration of birth of the-Messiah”.

Noël

There is some debate about the origin of the French “Noël” (which also exists in English, without the umlauts (in songs like “The First Noel”)).   The roots of the English word are in the French “noël” anyway, and this may come from the Old French “nael”, deriving from the Latin “natalis”, meaning “birth”, as above.  Other commentators think that it may come from the French “nouvelles”, meaning “news”, as in the news of Christ being born.

Weinachten / Vánoce

The German “Weinachten” comes from Middle High German “zeden wīhen nahten” (“in the holy nights”).  In German, “Weihnachten” can be the singular or plural form.  It is plural in the greetings “Frohe, gesegnete, schöne … Weihnachten” but singular in sentences like “Weihnachten ist ein christliches Fest” (“Christmas is a Christian celebration”.)  The Czech, “Vánoce” is a borrowing from this.

Kerstmis / Christmas / クリスマス

The Dutch “Kerstmis” (or simply “Kerst”) and English “Christmas” come from the same root, the celebration (holy mass) of Christ.  The Japanese version “クリスマス” (“Kurisumasu”) is borrowed from the English.

Suzannah Young

As the festive time is approaching, we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Veselé Vánoce! / Счастливого Рождества! (Schastlivogo Rozhdestva) / С рождеством Христовым!  (S rozhdyestvom Hristovym!) / Wesołych świąt Bożego Narodzenia! / Feliz Navidad! / Buon Natale! / Joyeux Noël! / Bon Nadal! / Feliz Natal! / Fröhliche Weihnachten! / Zalige Kerstdagen! / Merry Christmas! メリークリスマス (Merīkurisumasu) /圣诞快乐 (Shèngdàn kuàilè) / عيد ميلاد المسيح” (‘eed milaad al-maseeH). We hope that you enjoy your well-deserved break!

With love,

BLS Team

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November 28, 2018

How to maintain your language-learning momentum: 5 inspirational self-study tips

The end of the year is fast approaching and we have all got a lot on our plates, juggling work and preparations for family celebrations or New Year festivities.  There will be a break at the end of this BLS term and we will all need to keep up our language practice without the help of lessons.  How can you keep up the momentum when you are learning a language, even if you don’t have a teacher to remind you to do your homework or a group to practise with? How can you keep up your drive to learn for a few weeks flying solo?  This blog post gives you a few tips on how to maintain your language learning momentum when you have to manage it yourself and when you have other commitments too.

Little and Often

This article says: “Language learning is best when broken down into manageable goals that are achievable over a few months.” We fully agree that it is best not to overload yourself and try to read a whole textbook in one sitting.  Our brains learn best when not required to concentrate for long periods of time, and when the knowledge is topped up regularly.  Doing a few minutes of language learning each day and revising things you learnt last week makes sure what you learnt sticks in your head.  Breaking the learning down into manageable chunks means you stay interested and motivated and you don’t lose concentration.  Set yourself small, achievable, short-term goals that you can meet.  Have a routine so that you know how and when to fit in your language learning.  This will make you feel motivated to achieve those goals and give you a sense of achievement when you meet them.  It will also keep the learning to a manageable amount.

Remind Yourself Why You Are Learning

We all have a reason why we wanted to learn our chosen language in the first place – it might be because we have friends who speak that language, a holiday home in the country where that language is spoken or ambitions of moving abroad to find work.  Whatever your motivation, remind yourself of it regularly so you are spurred on to carry on with your learning.  The same article that was quoted above recommends writing down the reasons why you are learning a language and sticking the list to the front of your notebook or folder.  Turn to this in moments of doubt!  You have a goal and you can achieve it.

Remember It’s Fun

In a previous blog post about how to improve your reading skills in another language, we recommended that you read things you enjoy reading in your first language – novels, newspaper articles or recipe books, for example.  This applies equally to your listening and speaking practice – listen and sing along to songs you like or watch films you enjoy and practise the dialogues.  If you do things you enjoy, you will be much more likely to want to continue and the knowledge will stick in your mind.  You don’t want your language learning to be a chore, you want it to be a pleasure!

Travel

If you are able, use your end-of-year holiday time to go to the country where your new language is spoken – what better way to learn enjoyably?  Maybe you have friends you can visit there or perhaps there is a place you have always wanted to explore.  Seize the opportunity and use your language skills while you are abroad.  You will also be hearing the language as it is spoken in real-life situations – which makes it more exciting!

Look Back at Your Progress

You have come a long way and learnt a lot since you started learning your chosen language.  Take a moment to appreciate how much you have achieved and to congratulate yourself on your progress.  This will make you feel motivated to continue because you can see that it is possible!

Have a look at this blog post if you need more inspiration.   And most of all – have fun!

Suzannah Young

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October 31, 2018

Public Service Interpreting – Using Your Language Skills to Help Others

You are learning a language so you will have heard of interpreting: the art of converting one spoken or signed language into another spoken or signed language. The role of an interpreter is to help two or more people who don’t speak the same language to communicate with each other. You may have heard of the different styles of interpreting as well, the most common ones being Conference Interpreting and Public Service Interpreting, but perhaps you weren’t sure of the difference. This blog post looks at what we mean when we talk about “Public Service Interpreting”, sometimes called “Community Interpreting” or “Liaison Interpreting”, and the main differences between this type of interpreting and Conference Interpreting.

How does a Public Service Interpreter Work?

When you think of an interpreter, you may picture a person wearing a headset in a booth at a high-profile meeting, perhaps at the United Nations. They do not speak directly to the people they are interpreting for and can sometimes be “invisible” inside their glass booth. They mainly translate speeches into another spoken language and sometimes translate questions put to speakers who are talking in front of a large audience. Public service interpreters work very differently. Their role is to facilitate a conversation and they are usually physically present beside the people they are interpreting for. Sometimes they are available over the telephone but still a key part of the conversation at hand.

 

Conference interpreters usually interpret simultaneously, meaning they listen and interpret at the same time in order to convey a speech without breaks. Public service interpreters interpret consecutively: they wait for each speaker to finish and say what they just said to the other speaker in a language that speaker understands, creating a conversation. They may need to take notes or have a good memory to be able to do this effectively. Occasionally, Public service interpreters do do simultaneous interpreting, usually to allow one person to understand a speech or court proceedings, for example, and they will do this in a hushed voice so that person can hear but it will not disturb the proceedings. This method is called “chuchotage” (“whispering” in French).

 

Another difference between Conference and Public service interpreters is that Conference interpreters usually only interpret from one language into another (usually into their mother tongue), whereas Public service interpreters work bidirectionally, which means they translate into and out of each language needed in the conversation.

 

What Environments does a Public Service Interpreter Work in?

Public service interpreters are needed to make sure that everyone can have equal access to public services, whichever language they speak. Public service interpreters usually facilitate communication between public service providers and users of these services. They can work in hospitals and GP surgeries, mental health treatment sessions, immigration interviews, Job Centres, the courts and police stations, schools, council services and many more. The fact that they work in a variety of environments means that Public service interpreters must have an excellent grasp of specialist vocabulary in both languages they work in. They also need to speak both languages very well.

 

What Obligations does a Public Service Interpreter have towards their Clients?

Public service interpreters often translate sensitive or emotive information for speakers. This can be stressful for the interpreter. Public service interpreters must also maintain strict confidentiality: they must not talk about anything they have interpreted outside of the interpreting session and not reveal the names or experiences of anyone they have interpreted for. They must also be impartial – it is not their role to give advice or advocate for one or other of the speakers. Their role is to interpret what is said; it is up to the service provider to provide advice. The interpreter can of course mention if they feel there may have been a misunderstanding but it is up to the service provider to try and correct that.

 

We hope you have found this post interesting. If you have any comments or reflections, please leave them below!

 

Suzannah Young

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September 26, 2018

How to learn vocabulary by grouping words together

In this blog post, we look at a useful way to help us remember vocabulary – putting words into groups.  We find out how to harness our brain’s natural tendency to understand the world through association (this object is green and has leaves – it must be a plant!) to help us create groups of related words that will help us learn and remember them.  We can create groups based on different things: themes, verbs/nouns and adjectives, synonyms, prefixes – these are just a few that we explore here.

I know what you’re thinking, another post on learning vocabulary! But this technique is different from the visualisation technique or the recognising cognates technique we explored in other blog posts.  And remember, everyone is different and so everyone learns a language differently – and once you have worked out which type of language learner you are and which techniques work for you, you will have a recipe for success!

Grouping By Theme/Context

You will have heard it before, context is key to language learning.  Children learn that “hello” means “hello” because people say it to them when they see them for the first time and not when they are going away (that’s “bye bye”).  They learn that “yummy” is an adjective to describe food but not, say books.  We are no different from children in the way we learn.  When we associate words with a context, we learn and remember them more quickly.  I can assure you that you will remember that “cucchiaio” means “spoon” in Italian much more readily if you are using it to eat soup with than if you ask, “how do you say ‘spoon’?” in a car trip across the Alps and then try to remember it after a fun day’s skiing.

So, how do you group words by theme?  Try drawing and labelling a picture.  Draw a picture of the kitchen in your house and label all the things in there, draw a picture of the human body and label the parts, draw a picture of a car and label that.  If you are learning words that go together or make up a whole, you will remember them more easily.  Learn words about the weather together, learn how to say whether you are well/ill/have a headache/have a toothache together.  Learn words you will use in the classroom together.  Learn words and phrases you will need to use in a restaurant (“I’ll have a…”, “the bill, please!”).  You will remember them better than if you are learning random clusters of words.

Making Nouns and Adjectives out of Verbs

I remember when I learnt this technique to learn three words for the price of one – I was literally excited because it opened my eyes to a new, efficient way of learning!

Think of a verb in the language you are learning.  Let’s take “éclairer” (to brighten/become clear/clarify) in French.  If we look in a dictionary near “éclairer”, we will see “éclaircie” – a clear patch in a cloudy sky (which metaphorically means an improvement in a difficult situation), and “éclaircissement”, clarification.  We will also see the adjective “éclairé”, informed/enlightened.  With this exercise, we have just learnt four words instead of just one.  Try this with verbs you can think of.  You can combine this grouping technique with tools such as tables and diagrams if this will help you.

Learning Synonyms

Another way to learn several words instead of just one word at a time is to learn synonyms.  It is a good idea to use a thesaurus for this exercise.  Think of the word “hungry” in English.  How many synonyms can you think of? “Famished”? “Starving”? “Ravenous”? “Peckish”?  Try looking up  synonyms in the language you are learning and use them in conversation instead of the standard word.  This will help you remember them because you are using them and may impress your friends!

Grouping Words by Prefix

It is likely that the language you are learning will use prefixes (beginnings of words) that have a specific meaning.  Let’s look at Spanish.  If we know that “des-“ means “un-“ or “not”, we can work out that “desconocido” (des-conocido) means “unknown” and “desbloquear” means “to unblock”.  “Descubrir”, literally “to uncover”, means “to find out/discover” (it’s similar in English).  This amazing word is similar in a lot of languages – “scoprire” in Italian is “to uncover” or “discover”, “ontdekken” in Dutch is the same and “odkrywać” in Polish is similar.  These words all have prefixes (s-, ont-, od-) which also mean “un-”, “away” or “from” in the respective languages.  If we identify these little parts of words, we can understand the gist if not the meaning of new words and remember them because of their theme (such as “un-“ meanings).

Can you think of other ways to group vocabulary together?  Share them with us in the comments!

Suzannah Young

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August 22, 2018

Talking the Talk: Slang and Idioms Help You Sound Authentic and Understand Nuance

When I moved to France, I thought I could speak French quite well – but, I soon realised that although I could hold a high-brow conversation about politics or recycling, I couldn’t have an informal conversation that would help me make friends!  One of the problems was that I hadn’t learnt any slang and the idiomatic expressions I had learnt were very out of date.  I didn’t have the right vocabulary for informal situations and the register I could use was much too high for conversations with people of my age.  My French was correct but it didn’t sound natural.  I didn’t have the same casual, effortless way of speaking that the people around me did.  We have all heard the expression “to talk like a book” – speaking much too formally for the situation – and we can relate to it.  This is how I felt because I hadn’t learnt slang or idiomatic expressions.

This experience showed me that to be able to understand and produce authentic spoken language and sound like a human, for use in interaction with humans, we should learn and use all registers of language, where they are appropriate, and slang and idiomatic expressions are as important as formal language.  If we don’t learn slang and idiomatic expressions when we are learning a new language, we shut ourselves off from a rich array of meaning and tools we need to really connect with other people.

Not everyone agrees with me, though.  Some commentators think that slang and idiomatic expressions are not that important in language learning, and insist that communication is the most important thing.  I will explore both viewpoints in this article.

What is slang?

Slang is an informal vocabulary that exists alongside formal language.  Slang words take the place of standard words in informal conversation.  Existing words can be used to mean something different, such as “cool” to mean “good” in English, or they can be new words altogether that have the same meaning as a standard term, such as “nosh” for “food” or “bloke” for “man”.  Slang words can be used to express emotion but can also be used as a neutral descriptor in an informal situation.  It is not usually possible to guess what the words mean without learning them.  Slang can start as a kind of secret language within certain group, such as Cockney Rhyming Slang.  Slang can be regional or generational.  It can be short lived – very popular for a short time and then replaced by something else.  Sometimes, though, the slang used by a certain group finds its way into the national language and is understood and used by the majority of the population in informal conversation.

What are idiomatic expressions?

Idiomatic expressions, or idioms, are phrases or expressions that have a figurative meaning. They are usually formulaic, meaning that their form does not change and only that particular phrase has the meaning intended by the idiomatic expression.  They should not be taken literally as their figurative meaning is totally different from their literal meaning.  Some figurative expressions have their origins in a literal practice that has become obsolete.  Examples in English are “to pull the wool over someone’s eyes” (meaning to trick someone or hide the truth from them), “to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth”, (meaning to hear something about someone from that very person) and “to beat about (or around) the bush” (meaning not to address a subject directly).

Why is it useful to learn slang and idiomatic expressions?

Slang is usually seen as being grammatically incorrect.  It breaks the rules that we learn in textbooks.  So why would you want to learn the “wrong way” to use language?

Language researcher Jane Reed, says that slang is used to create a sense of belonging and help create a community.  If you want to be included in conversations between native speakers as an equal, it is very useful to be able to understand and use slang and idiomatic expressions.  Learning slang helps you use language how it is really used by people who speak it.  Informal language develops stronger connections between people.

Slang and idiomatic expressions are also playful, creative and fun to use.  Some expressions are very suggestive, such as “he’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer”, (meaning he is not very clever), or “the elephant in the room” (meaning something that everyone knows about but does not talk about).  That is why slang is used a lot in advertising and literature.  Informal language can help us express emotions that we are feeling in a more “real” way.  A complete understanding of cultural artefacts that express emotion, such as film and music, also calls for an understanding of slang and idiomatic expressions from the period in which they were made.  Expressions used in advertising or literature can even find their way into common parlance.  Anyone who has spent some time in the UK will probably have heard the idiomatic expression “it does exactly what it says on the tin”, meaning that something is obvious.  This comes from an advert that was popular in the 1990s.  Not to mention the array of expressions in English that come from Shakespeare’s works.

Why is it not worth the effort to learn slang and idiomatic expressions?

It is of course possible to have a conversation with someone and be understood without using slang or idiomatic expressions.  Both participants in the conversation can communicate using terms that they share from their knowledge of standard language.  In this way, slang can be seen like a dialect that is shared by a certain group but is not used when members of that group have to communicate using the standard national language.

It is always necessary to have a good basis in the standard version of the language you are learning as you will always be able to communicate.  This is perhaps even more the case if you are learning a world language like Arabic, French or Spanish – there are many regional and national slang or informal words that will not even be known by people from different countries that share the same standard language.

It also depends who you are speaking to as to whether slang and idiomatic expressions are necessary.  If you are at work or at an academic conference, it is probably less likely that you will encounter these types of language forms than if you are having an informal conversation.

If you want to use slang, you must also be careful to use it appropriately and in the right context, to avoid causing offence.  This can be a bit of a minefield.   There can be very subtle differences between when it is appropriate to use informal language and when it isn’t – but native speakers can make mistakes with this too.

Informal language also evolves all the time and certain terms can become outdated, and someone who uses them may sound strange, or even stand out more as a learner of the language.  “It’s raining cats and dogs” is a classic example that is taught to learners of English, but it is rarely used by native English speakers.  It might be less useful to learn little-used informal phrases than it is to use commonly-used, standard terms.

So, what’s the answer?

At the end of the day, whether or not you wish to learn slang and idiomatic expressions depends on what you want to get out of your language learning adventure.  If you want to get by, learning slang and idiomatic expressions won’t really help you, but if you want to interact on a deeper level with people and you want to understand native speakers, a smattering of slang and an inkling of idioms will go a long way.

If you want to use the language you are studying for work or to attend university abroad, then you will need to learn more formal language than informal language.  If you want to settle somewhere and make a life for yourself outside of work or study, it is likely that you will need to learn and use informal language.

This excellent article on slang in language-learning (about English-language learning but relevant to other languages too) is a good summary of this topic.

Where can I learn slang and idiomatic expressions?

It is unlikely that you will learn modern and appropriate slang in textbooks classroom settings.  You can increase your knowledge of slang and idiomatic expressions by using language actively: reading fiction, listening to songs, watching films and talking to native speakers.  If at first you do not understand a term that someone is using, you can of course ask them what it means, but it is also a good idea to pay attention to their body language and to the context of the conversation.  Hot English Publishing gives the English example of when you ask your friend what they thought of a film and they say, “It was wicked!”  Even though you know that the standard meaning of “wicked” is “evil” or “bad”, you can see that your friend looks enthusiastic, which will help you realise that “wicked” means “good” in this context!

There are also a number of online dictionaries where you can brush up your knowledge of slang and idiomatic expressions.  Here is a list by language:

French

http://www.languagerealm.com/french/frenchslang.php

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/french/french-slang-argot/

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/france/paris/articles/15-french-slang-words-to-make-you-sound-like-a-local/

https://www.thelocal.fr/20171116/french-slang-everyday-words-you-need-to-know (PG rating)

http://www.coolslang.com/in/french/index.php (user-generated content)

German

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/german/casual-informal-german-slang/

http://www.coolslang.com/index.php?OL=deu&TL=eng (user-generated content)

https://takelessons.com/blog/german-slang-z12

https://www.fluentin3months.com/german-slang/

Italian

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/italian/italian-slang/

https://www.smartling.com/blog/40-italian-slang-words-phrases-you-need-to-know/

https://www.thoughtco.com/italian-slang-dictionary-2011657

Polish

http://polish.study-time.org/polish-slang-insults.htm

https://culture.pl/en/article/a-short-glossary-of-polish-urban-slang

https://matadornetwork.com/abroad/10-ultra-meaningful-polish-expressions/

http://www.coolslang.com/index.php?OL=pol&TL=eng – user-generated content

https://polishforums.com/language/slang-phrases-popular-7406/ – user-generated content

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:Polish_slang

https://www.polishpod101.com/lesson-library/must-know-polish-slang-words-phrases/ – with audio

Spanish

Be aware that Spanish is a world language and there will be different slang used in different Spanish-speaking countries:

https://www.smartling.com/blog/65-spanish-slang-words-phrases-you-need-to-know/

http://www.languagerealm.com/spanish/spanishslang.php

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/spanish/spanish-slang-dictionary/

http://www.gueyspanish.com/browse

https://www.proz.com/glossary-translations/english-to-spanish-translations/149

If you have come across and slang and idiomatic expressions in the language you are learning, please write them in the comments!

Suzannah Young

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July 25, 2018

Learning a Language: Learn Arabic with BLS online & FREE!

As you remember, we introduced a new series of blog posts (see Spanish, French, German, Russian, Italian, Portuguese & Mandarin Chinese) where we teach you some useful phrases in different languages. Sounds amazing? And it’s ARABIC today!

Are you planning your beach holiday in Monastir, Tunisia? Do you travel frequently to the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia? Do you dream of exploring Morocco or Egypt? If so, we would like you to taste & learn some essential Arabic first. Below you’ll find a list of useful phrases in Arabic (greetings, polite phrases, closed question words, numerals and simple questions & sentences). We also video recorded Enas, our Arabic tutor, to help you with reading, pronunciation and accent (also available on YouTube). We hope you enjoy this series and that you’ll come and learn Arabic with us! Good luck!

Which language would like you like to learn next? Let us know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

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July 18, 2018

Learning a Language: Learn Mandarin Chinese with BLS online & FREE!

As you remember, we introduced a new series of blog posts (see Spanish, French, German, Russian, Italian & Portuguese) where we teach you some useful phrases in different languages. Sounds amazing? And it’s MANDARIN CHINESE today!

Are you planning your beach holiday on Hainan Island? Do you travel frequently to Beijing or Taipei? Do you dream of exploring rural China? If so, we would like you to taste & learn some essential Mandarin Chinese first. Below you’ll find a list of useful phrases in Mandarin Chinese (greetings, polite phrases, closed question words, numerals and simple questions & sentences). We also video recorded Zhao, our Mandarin Chinese tutor, to help you with reading, pronunciation and accent (also available on YouTube). We hope you enjoy this series and that you’ll come and learn Mandarin Chinese with us! Good luck!

Which language would like you like to learn next? Let us know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

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July 11, 2018

Learning a Language: Learn Portuguese with BLS online & FREE!

As you remember, we introduced a new series of blog posts (see Spanish, French, German, Russian & Italian) where we teach you some useful phrases in different languages. Sounds amazing? And it’s PORTUGUESE today!

Are you planning your beach holiday in Ilha de Tavira? Do you travel frequently to Lisbon or Porto? Do you dream of exploring Azores or Madeira? If so, we would like you to taste & learn some essential Portuguese first. Below you’ll find a list of useful phrases in Portuguese (greetings, polite phrases, closed question words, numerals and simple questions & sentences). We also video recorded Patricia, our Portuguese tutor, to help you with reading, pronunciation and accent (also available on YouTube). We hope you enjoy this series and that you’ll come and learn Portuguese with us! Good luck!

Which language would like you like to learn next? Let us know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

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