Home News Alphabets Phrases Search

• Home
• News
• Alphabets
  • What is writing?
  • Writing & Speech
  • Types of writing system
    • Abjads
    • Alphabets
    • Abugidas
    • Syllabaries
    • Semanto-Phonetic scripts
    • Alternative scripts
    • Undeciphered scripts
  • A-Z index
  • Writing direction index
  • Constructed scripts
    • For English
    • For other languages
    • For conlangs
    • Phonetic scripts
    • Adapted scripts
    • Fictional scripts
    • A-Z index
    • How to submit a con-script
• Languages
  • Language profiles
    • A-Z index of languages
    • Languages by family
    • Languages by writing system
  • Celtic languages
  • Chinese
    • Written Chinese
    • Spoken Chinese
    • Chinese numbers
    • Chinese classifiers
    • Video lessons
    • Learning materials
    • Chinese links
  • French grammar
  • Language learning tips
    • Why learn a language?
    • Which language?
    • Materials and tools
    • How to find time
    • How to study
    • General tips
    • Motivation
    • Pronunciation
    • Vocabulary
    • Spaced repetition systems (SRS)
    • Grammar
    • How to learn a new alphabet
    • Learning Chinese characters
    • Language learning FAQs
    • Careers using languages
    • My language learning experiences
    • Index
  • Language videos
  • Articles about language
  • Language tutors (USA)
  • Language tutors (UK)
  • Register as a tutor
  • Learn Hebrew online
• Phrases & Texts
  • Phrases
    • Useful phrases
    • Useless phrases
    • Telling the time
    • Kinship terms
    • Idioms
    • Proverbs
    • Tongue twisters
  • Numbers
  • Colours
  • Signs
    • Entrance / Exit
    • No smoking
    • Open / Closed
    • Toilet signs
    • Index
  • Names
    • Language names
    • Country names
    • Computer parts
    • Zodiac signs
    • Seven dwarfs
    • Omniglot in multiple scripts
  • Multilingual texts
    • Article 1 of the UDHR
    • Tower of Babel
  • Multilingual computing
  • Songs
• Other
  • About
    • About Omniglot
    • Omniglot - a potted history
    • About the author
    • Testimonials
    • Contributors
    • Copyright
    • Bibilography
  • Contact
  • FAQs
  • Sitemap
  • Links
    • Your name in ...
    • Translation
    • Dictionaries
    • Language courses
    • Phrases
    • Language and linguistics
    • Language learning advice
    • Language learning resources
    • Language exchange
    • Endangered languages
    • Writing
    • Index
  • More links
    • Sign languages
    • Foreign fonts
    • Online news
    • Online radio
    • Language jobs
    • Calligraphy
    • Bilingual resources
    • Conlangs
    • Links in individual languages
    • Suggest a link
    • Index
  • Book store
  • Gallery
  • Puzzles
  • My other sites
    • Omniglot blog
    • Omniglot forum
    • Facebook group
    • Twitter
    • Google+
    • YouTube channel
    • Multilingual musings blog
    • My songs on SoundCloud
    • My photos on Flickr
• Search

Language-related articles

This is a section for articles about language, languages, linguistics, translation, interpreting, lexicography, writing, learning languages, teaching languages and related topics.

• Articles
• Can I copy/re-use any of these articles?
• How to submit an article

---

Articles

---

Writing, writing systems and other visual communication systems

• The difference between dashes in the English language
• The Silent Language of Ships at Sea
• The Devanagari Script
• Revolutionary Scripts: The Politics of Writing Systems
• New Perspectives on Digraphia
• Globalization in the Information Age: Western, Chinese and Arabic Writing Systems

[top]

---

Language and language learning

Academic papers / articles

• Reduplication reflects uniqueness and innovation in language, thought and culture
• Can Having Highly Developed Cognitive Skills Stand in the Way of Learning a New Language?
• A Theory of Sentencoids
• Ancient Germanic Languages Documented – A Preliminary Sketch
• Categorisation, Categories and Prototypes
• Bilingualism
• Metaphors and Metonymy in Politics
• Language death and revival

[top]

---

Articles related to languages and language learing

• A quick guide to the language of the Internet
• Learning a Foreign Language: Are You Making These 8 Mistakes?
• How Technology Changes the Meaning of Familiar Words
• Language Immersion that Should Work for You
• Vocabulary Volume: How to Find Your Perfect Word Count for the Day
• Accelerated Language Learning: 6 Ways to Boost Learning a New Language
• Astrolinguistics: Is Anybody Out There?
• How the "R" in English differs from other languages
• Multilingual Accessibility in International Communities
• Basque: Not So Exotic, but Uniquely Interesting
• The Future of Foreign Language Learning?
• How to choose a good book to learn a language
• 7 Fun Language Learning Activities
• Child Language Acquisition: It’s Not Just Baby Talk
• Learning the Basics of Any Language Fast - 7 Tips and Tricks
• 10 languages that are easiest for native English speakers to learn
• How Language Learning Helps You Become A Broad-Minded Person
• The Most Valuable Languages for an MBA to Learn
• The Psychology of Language: How Humans Convey Emotion through Speech
• How Writing Skills Can Help You Master a New Language
• Why is a turkey called a turkey? And why is Turkey, too?
• How a Library Membership Can Help Save Money When Learning a Language
• How to Learn New Words By Reading Stories About Them
• How Similar (and Different) Are European Languages
• Cases in Italian, German, English
• Tips for learning languages "on the go"
• Best way to learn a foreign language? Not the usual way
• About Vietnamese
• Social networking sites to help you learn a new language
• How Introverts & Extroverts Learn Second Languages
• Tips for learning languages while on holiday
• How the Language You Speak Affects Your Worldview
• Speech Errors and What They Reveal About Language
• About Pidgins and Creoles
• On the Origin of Language
• Benefits of Learning a Second Language
• Subliminal Language Learning – Fact or Myth?
• 10 Apps for Studying Language
• Start Learning Spanish with a Great App
• Can you successfully learn a language online?
• Learning New Languages Online - An Enriching Experience Indeed
• Language Learning on the Go
• "Tip-of-the-Tongue" Syndrome: What It Reveals About Language
• Are you embarrassed by your lack of foreign language skills?
• 5 Ways Language Learning Can Improve Your Life
• Should You Always Go for the Lingua Franca? Niche Languages - Useful or Not?
• Why you can never learn a foreign language the way you have learnt your mother tongue
• Still Tongue-tied in America
• Days of the week
• 5 Forecasts for the Future of Turkish
• The Puzzling Popularity of Languages
• The use of mnemonics in mastering a language
• Combinese - an international auxiliary language
• Three Challenges of Second Language Acquisition
• LINGO 300 - The Miyagi Method
• Can Having Highly Developed Cognitive Skills Stand in the Way of Learning a New Language?
• Form, Meaning and Use ... oh my!
• Worlds Apart? The Deaf and Hard-of-hearing Learn Foreign Languages
• Words Upon Words
• Pros and cons of learning a language "in classroom"
• The benefits of learning a second language
• Can A Dog Reach A Toddler's Level of Language Acquisition?
• The Keys to Improving Language Education
• Learning a New Language? Don't Forget the Teacher!
• How Early Should We Teach Kids A Second Language?
• Tips To Get The Most Out Of Paid Language Classes On Skype
• Is it better to learn a language in a class or on your own?
• Learning the Local Language Can Help Immigrants Integrate Into Their New Home
• The Business Case For Bilingualism: Why Multilinguals Earn More
• Language Matters: Is There Still A Case To Study Languages In An English-Dominated World?
• How to Avoid Mixing Up while Learning to Speak Multiple Languages
• The Listening Process: Reception vs Response
• Online Vs. In-Person Language Learning: Who Wins?
• Student Language Exchange
• The Best Way To Learn A Language Is To Have A Personalized And Diverse Approach
• Collecting Foreign Tongues
• Methods that Help You Learn and Retain a Language of Choice
• Learning a Language with Games and a Travel Story
• How to Master a Foreign Language without Enrolling for a Formal Course
• Language School Discounts - How to Save Money When Booking
• How to Learn a Language Through Interaction
• The Link Between Economic Decision-Making and Speaking in a Foreign Language
• Augment Your Language Learning Coursework To Enhance Your Foreign Language Skills
• An Added Reason to Learn a New Language: It Increases Brain Size
• 3 Ways to Maximize Language Learning through a Study Abroad Experience
• How the Internet is Making Learning a Language Easier
• Children's Literature: A Natural Way to Learn New Languages
• 4 Unconventional Ways to Learn a Foreign Language Outside the Classroom
• The Value of Being a Multilingual Nurse
• Free Educational Resources for Language Lovers
• Want to Speak a Foreign Language Better? Learn to Write First!
• Language Immersion and International Volunteering
• 5 Reasons to Learn Languages
• The Benefits of Learning a New Language
• Traveling Abroad? 3 Apps You Need to Download Before Departing
• 4 Reasons Why Learning a New Language Requires Immersion
• How the Learning of Language in Children Encourages Education Leadership
• The Language-Learning Toolbox for Online Students
• Top 5 Twitter Accounts for Language-Related Information
• Language Learning Methods
• 5 Language Apps for the iPhone
• Compulingual: Online Language Programs That Actually Work
• The Importance of Learning the Language in a New Country
• There is nothing impossible in language learning
• Learning through music and the media
• WordSteps - personal online vocabulary tutor
• Rhotics Ready: Getting a Handle on the Consonant "r"
• The language learning classroom
• SLANG - Are you In or Out?
• That Squiggly Dash above an 'n' (and its linguistic significance)
• Why do many language courses not work?
• Lang-8 - language learning and social networking
• Spaced repetition learning systems (SRS)
• Medvedev: hard to pronounce for some!
• How Not To Learn A Foreign Language
• 5 Reasons Why you Should Learn a New Language
• Secrets of Speaking with a Genuine Accent
• First language attrition
• A little multilingualism please
• Short words, basic ideas
• The pleasure of learning languages
• Foreign Language Study for Homeschoolers: Problems and Solutions

[top]

---

Motivation

• Why Staying Motivated When Learning a Language is So Hard
• How To Stay Motivated When Learning A 2nd Language: Tips And Quotes

[top]

---

Articles about particular languages

Arabic language

• 8 Top Reasons to Learn Arabic
• Learning Arabic

Chinese language(s)

• I Want to Learn Chinese, Should I Learn Mandarin or Cantonese?
• Learning Mandarin Chinese: 3 key things to consider
• Chinese Language Myths
• 8 ways to simplify your Chinese language learning
• Why you should learn Chinese for business
• A Chinese Language Journey
• How to Learn Chinese and Not Get Discouraged
• What's in a Name?
• Family Matters
• 5 Tips to improve your Chinese
• Learning Mandarin Chinese for Beginners
• Learning the Value of Chinese Characters
• The Easy Thrills of a Difficult Language: Chinese For All of Us
• How I Became (and Remain) Fluent in Mandarin Chinese
• How foreign teenagers learn Mandarin in Taiwan the natural way!
• Taiwan: probably the best destination in the world for learning Chinese
• Tips to help you learn the Chinese language
• 2008 Beijing Olympic Game Meets Challenge: Chicken without sexual life?
• Why is Chinese so efficient? Good morning East Asia

[top]

English language

• A Few Tricks to Understanding the Difference between American and British English
• An American Traveling to the UK? Learn a Little Vocabulary
• The Evolution of The English Language
• Unbearable English Sounds for the Japanese “Transplant” to America
• Black English in Washington, D.C.
• Guide to Australian English for tourists
• Beware! English is Tricky
• Category Conquest
• 20 Mistakes For Every English Learner To Avoid
• Pronunciation and vocabulary practice with homonyms, homographs, homophones
• building a phon'emic alphabet for the english language
• 5 biggest challenges of learning English
• Why Foreign Languages Can Help Us Better Understand English
• 10 Words English Language Wouldn't Have Without Shakespeare
• How to Improve Your English Pronunciation
• Advance Your English & Stay Happy
• The Origins Of Pidgin English
• Studying English in the USA
• Good grammar makes you happy
• İngilizce öğrenmek için yapılmaması gerekenler / Errors that Shouldn't be Made While Learning English
• Why learn English in Malta
• How to improve your English if you are an EAL student
• Using etymology in English language learning
• English Evolution Over The Last Millennium And Where It May Be Heading
• The Jabberwocky of English Language
• Are you Enrolled in a Doctoral Program? 3 Ways to Improve your Academic Writing in English
• Common Pitfalls in British Versus American English
• Free Online Resources and Tools to Learn English
• How Can I Improve My English? - A breakthrough answer for Chinese college or university English-language nuts
• Tips to Complement your English Lessons
• Learn English in New York City
• Some tips on learning English
• Top 5 Techniques for Improving Your American Accent
• Simpel-Fonetik Spelling
• English as a Universal Language
• Brief Etymological Review of the English Word-Stock
• Idioms: Piece of Cake or Hard Nut to Crack?
• A Glance at the Chinese 'English Learning Frenzy'
• Tips and advice on learning English conversation and vocabulary
• The wonders of English spelling explained
• Expand your Horizons with a Second Language

[top]

Esperanto language

• The Challenge of Esperanto
• Esperanto in Toronto?

French language

• 8 Reasons Why You Should Learn French
• Best games to teach children how to speak French
• How To Learn French the Fast Way Before Traveling Abroad
• The Best Way to Study French for Speaking
• The Best Way To Study French For Listening and Understanding
• How to improve your French with French movies
• Tabeetousa? Tufaykoa? The new French language
• How to Find the Best French Language Schools - Reviews, Associations and Awards
• Learn French in Paris
• 5 Great Tips for Learning French
• Learning French, a pleasant adventure for everyone!
• Why learn French in France?

[top]

German language

• Learning German in Berlin
• 5 Reasons to Learn German
• Denglisch - The German language under attack?

[top]

Greek language

• Greek transliteration is all fun and games
• Knowing Your Greek Root Words Can Help You Learn New Languages

[top]

Hebrew language

• Hebrew Dictionary Review: What to look for?
• Learning Hebrew with a Pen Scanner

[top]

Indonesian language

• Bahasa Indonesia
• Malaysian versus Indonesian - divided by a common tongue?
• Learning Bahasa Indonesia the Easy Way!
• Useful Tips on Indonesian Translation
• How to Speak Indonesian
• Some tips on Learning the Indonesian Language

[top]

Italian language

• Studying Italian around the world: what, who and why
• Italian: Not Just for Italians
• Is the Italian language difficult for English speakers to learn?
• Discover Italy, its language and culture in Bologna
• Italian Language School Review - How to Find the Best Courses in Italy
• A homage to Italy: Why Brits love the Italian language
• Learn Italian in Rome
• How to choose a good Italian language school in Italy

[top]

Japanese language

• 7 Odd Japanese Words Gleaned from Other Languages
• 9 reasons why Japanese is easier than you think
• Top apps and books for studying Japanese language
• The Ki to Japanese

Korean language

• Five Common Misunderstandings About the Korean Language
• Why Korean Hangul (한글) is such an attractive written language
• Studying Korean: The Surprising Joy-Ride of a New Language

[top]

Latin language

• 7 Best Apps for Learning Latin
• 5 Reasons to Learn Latin

[top]

Portuguese language

• Portuguese and Spanish: Some Musings
• Língua Estrangeira para Lusófonos
• Comparação Português e Castelhano
• Obrigado - how to express your thanks in Portuguese

[top]

Sign languages

• American Sign Language - More Than Just Hands
• Reasons to Learn Sign Language

Spanish language

• Lunfardo (Lunfa): Slang in Buenos Aires
• Spanish Immersion
• 11 Great Spanish Learning Tools
• Why is Spanish, well, Spanish?
• European Spanish vs. Latin American Spanish: The differences explained
• Top 10 Spanish phrases to get by in Argentina
• Why is Learning Spanish More of a Necessity Than a Choice Today?
• Portuguese and Spanish: Some Musings
• Choosing the Best Spanish Language Schools in Spain - Reviews and Beyond
• Learning Spanish through a cultural immersion experience
• Mexico's Hidden Gem - Querétaro
• Learn Spanish for Free and Improve Employment Opportunities
• Mexican Spanish
• Why choose Argentina to learn Spanish
• What's the best way to learn Spanish?
• Spanish Prepositions - and Why You Need to Get These Right!
• 5 Top Tips For Learning Spanish
• Studying Spanish at Spanish Universities
• Learn Spanish While Studying Abroad to Broaden Your Mind
• Does anyone there speak Spanish?
• Learning Spanish to Improve Your Mind
• Latin American Spanish or Spanish For Latin America

[top]

Other languages

• Catalan Language Today: Between Catalonia of North and South
• Filipino: A new language excursion
• Approaching the Thai Language
• Learning a Slavic Language
• Путешествуйте вместе с русским языком
• A bit of Sundanese
• Reduplication in Filipino names and words
• Serbo-Croatian language issues
• Konkani, A dialect? NO!
• When Languages Combine
• Four is better than one - bahasa rojak, a uniquely Malaysian treasure

[top]

Minority and endangered languages

• Technology Gives New Spark to Minority Language
• Preserving The Irish Language: A Possible Resurgence In Popularity?
• 5 Interesting Endangered Languages With Fewer Than 10,000 Speakers
• The Last Livonian
• 6 Last Living Speakers of Dying Languages
• Can Minority Languages Be Saved? Globalization vs. Culture

[top]

Constructed languages (conlangs)

• Conlang - It's Not Pig Latin!

[top]

Reviews of language courses and books

• On Language, Thought, and Mind
• A review of Rocket Hindi
• Language 101 Review
• The Last Lingua Franca, English Until the Return of Babel - A Review
• Empires of the Word - A review
• Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin - A Review

[top]

---

Teaching languages

• Online Tools for your ESL Classroom
• ESL Pull-out projects vs. Total Immersion - Which Language Learning Method is More Effective?
• Language Teaching in Second Life
• Teaching new languages through video chatting
• Teaching English in China
• 5 Reasons Why You Should Teach English Abroad
• Inexperienced Teachers and EFL
• Should College Students Teach EFL?

[top]

---

Languages and careers

• How being multilingual can bring you career success
• Exciting Careers Where Language Skills Are Vital
• Best Careers for French Majors
• Benefits of learning Spanish for career advancement
• Looking for a New Job? Boost your Opportunities by Learning a Second Language
• Start a Dynamic Career by Learning a New Language - Arabic

[top]

---

Being and becoming bilingual

• This is Your Brain on Languages - And It's All Good
• Raising Bilingual Children - 5 Common Myths
• Key Advantages and Disadvantages of Being Bilingual
• Challenges in bilingual families no one tells you about
• Bilingualism Around The World: The Amazon To Siberia
• Warning to New Parents Who Dream of Raising a Bilingual Child
• The Ten Commandments (of Raising a Bilingual Child)
• The Secret to Raising a Bilingual Child
• Fathers' Communication Skills and Why They Matter in Raising Bilingual Children
• Who Receives The Benefits of Bilingual Education?
• Bicultural Identity: What Does That Mean?
• The Benefits of Being Bilingual: People Think You're a Genius
• Parenting Techniques for Bilingual Children to Promote Bilingual Education
• Being Bilingual: Connecting With Others
• Supporting Bilingual Children: A Call to Authors
• Raising Bilingual Children: Is It Too Late?
• Raising Bilingual Children: 10 Tips for Boosting The Minority language
• Raising Bilingual Children: The Different Methods to Success
• Raising Bilingual Children: The Snags
• Raising Bilingual Children: Fact or Fiction?
• Raising Bilingual Children: The First Five Steps to Success

[top]

---

Language and culture

• Language in International Negotiations - Avoiding Embarrassment
• Cultural Awareness: Know Before You Move to a New Country
• The Geography of Thought ... and Language
• 10 Cultural Differences And Facts That Make The World Interesting
• Japan's Bean-Throwing Ritual
• Islam And The West - We Are Culturally Closer Than We Accept

[top]

---

Translation and interpreting

• New Technology Offers Translation on the Go
• Don't Make This Common Multi-Language Contract Mistake
• The Pitfalls of Literary Translation
• Interpretation through the Ages
• What Free Online Translation Means to Translation Companies
• A Translator's Guide to an International Conference
• How Interpreters Make the World Go Round
• The Future of the Interpretation & Translation Industry
• The Translation Profession
• Four Skills You Pick Up Through Interpretation
• About MT, CT and Getting Lost in Translation
• So you think you have what it takes to become an interpreter?
• Translation Services for Medical Device Companies
• Translators Dictate
• Translating a website: mistakes to avoid
• Difficulties Faced in Legal Document Translation
• The Difficulties Involved in Spanish-English Translation
• What does an interpreter do?
• Google or Bing Translator: Which One Should You Choose?
• Online Context-Specific Translation Programs and Courses
• The Advantages and Disadvantages of Machine Translation
• Lost in translation: traps for translators
• Becoming a nationally certified medical interpreter
• Tales from Eastern Europe: Challenges and Benefits of Running a Translation Company in Poland
• Quebec's New Video Game Language Laws
• Avoid that workplace accident waiting to happen
• Translation Market Statistics (in Russian)
• How Eastern Europe fits into the European Translation Market
• How to get the most from your translation services provider
• Spanish Translation Translates To Higher Profits
• Polish immigrants' growing role in British consumer spending

[top]

---

Multilingual websites, databases and coding

• Why a business needs a multilingual website
• Building multilingual websites
• Databases, SQL and Foreign Character Sets: It'll be O.K. in the N
• Breaking the Codes: Preparing for Changes to Medical Coding Language

[top]

---

History

• The First Emperor

[top]

---

Travel

• Visiting the Homeland
• Top 5 Things to Do and See in Argentina
• El Camino de Santiago
• Dubai
• The Vanishing Batak Tribe
• Cham Muslims of Phnom Penh

[top]

---

Food

• Shabu Shabu

[top]

---

Spoof articles

• UKIP to revert to Anglo-Saxon Runic script
• Chinese characters to be phased out in China
• European Parliament to adopt Latin as official language

[top]

---

Can I copy/re-use any of these articles?

If you would like to copy or re-use any of these articles, please ask the authors for permission. Contact details of the authors can be found at the bottom of some articles. If they're not there, please contact me, and I'll try to find them for you.

---

• Other sites with language-related articles
• Language related books and other materials
• Electronic dictionaries and translators