In every endeavor that we set ourselves into, there are challenges. In a way it is a challenge for the most of us to communicate with other people, and it is indeed more challenging if we do not know how to communicate with them in the language that they speak. In order to be able to communicate with more people, we should try various ways to do so and learning languages aside from our native languages is one of the best things that we could do.

Learning foreign languages is one of the popular learning trends in the world nowadays and it is actively participated by millions of people from different parts of the world who are practicing in different fields. Big portions of the world’s population learn a wide array of languages such as English, Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, Japanese, Russian and a whole lot more. There are numerous methods and techniques in language learning and there are also many places where you can learn a foreign language. Some language learners learn languages by themselves using language learning kits, audio, or software; or through language exchange with native speakers of their target language who are also interested to learn their native languages; or by enrolling in language learning schools in their area; or learning in language schools in the cities of the countries where they originated from.

Attending language classes in local language schools or schools in another country will give you a head start in foreign language learning compared to those who are total language beginners. If you are one of those new language learners who already have basic knowledge of your target language and who would want to improve your foreign language skills, you can check the following enjoyable ways to have a better command of foreign languages:

Build a vocabulary list. One of the most common ways to increase vocabulary in the foreign language is to build a vocabulary list. Listing foreign words in one column of a page and its translations in the corresponding column could be a helpful tool for you in building your foreign language vocabulary. Say out loud the foreign language words as you look at their corresponding translations at the other column. Play a mini quiz by trying to cover the foreign language column as you guess what words they are. This list will be helpful for you and it is easy to make. It is also flexible since you can add words you are interested to learn urgently.

Get a good phrasebook. Another very useful way to help you in your language learning journey is to acquire a good phrasebook which you can use and take with you anytime you want, anywhere you want! You will enjoy learning new phrases in your target language at your own pace when you have a good phrasebook with you. A phrasebook is also very helpful when you are exposed to your target language and you need a fast and easy way to communicate in the language.

Use other language tools. In order not to be bored with the usual lectures and language lessons, try alternative ways to enjoy learning languages in your free time. Using other language tools such as language tapes and CDs can help you improve your language skills in an entertaining way. They may just be passive learning tools which you can pop in your portable player and listen to subliminally but they can teach you how to pronounce the foreign words properly. You can also enjoy language learning by watching shows and movies in your target language. You will be able to follow a good story line and you will be able to exercise how you think in your target language.

Use the foreign language frequently. If you will use your target language frequently such as speaking it out loud will make you absorb it to your system quickly. Use your target language as frequently as you can in order to have improved language skills.

Write in your target language. Writing is a wonderful and enjoyable activity since it will allow you to express yourself creatively. You will be able to practice your spelling and grammar skills in your target language. You can practice your writing skills by starting a correspondence with native speakers of your target language and hopefully build strong friendships too!

Having a great time while learning your target language and having the amount of zeal and enthusiasm in learning it will make language learning easy and enjoyable for you. Have fun while learning languages and for sure it will be a great experience that you will cherish for the rest of your life!

The world is composed of thousands of languages. Each nation possesses an official language and contains multiple sublanguages, dialects, and vernaculars. Nonetheless, several of these numerous languages are becoming or considered as extinct already. An extinct language is considered such when it loses native speakers already. Eventually, it becomes dead when a certain language is in the process of replacement from one language to another. An example sited from Wikipedia is the Native American languages replaced by English, French, Portuguese, or Spanish.

Knowing the fact that languages could really die and become extinct opens a great possibility that even the most commonly used language today, once it will not be used any longer could have the same fate like the rest of the considered extinct or dead languages. Here are the lists of some of the extinct languages globally:

In Africa:

• Kwadi (Angola)
• Yeni (Cameroon)
• Horo (Chad)
• Esuma (Cote d’Ivoire)
• Ancient Egyptian (Egypt)
• Sened (Tunisia)
• Singa (Uganda)

In Asia:

• Jurchen (China)
• Silla language (Korea)
• Yugh language (Siberia)
• Akar-Bale (India)
• Arwi (Sri Lanka)
• Sabaean (Arabia)
• Hurran (Mesopotamia)

In America

• Newfoundland Irish (Canada)
• Greenlandic Norse (Greenland)
• Tepecano (Mexico)
• Northern and Southern Costanoan (U.S.)
• Saraveca (Bolivia)
• Arua (Brazil)
• Mochica (Peru)
• Maipure (Venezuela)

In Europe:

• Gaulish (France)
• Latin (Italy)
• Germanic and Celtic languages (British Isles)
• Tartessian (Iberian Peninsula)

As these dead languages were detailed, you probably have not known most of these. Of course, these are not known to you because they are basically unused, that’s why they’re considered dead. Imagine the possibility that Spanish, French, English, or even Mandarin languages might not be used anymore, fifty or one hundred years from now. The modern languages of today would probably be just a part of language history in the future, considering the fate of the itemized languages above.

But there’s hope for extinct languages. There’s this recent news regarding a software company that helps in reviving “sleeping” or dead languages particularly, the Chitimacha tribe, a certain group of people residing in the wetlands of Louisiana. This tribe has only more than a thousand speakers but has tried to revive their language for several years already. It says in that news that the last speaker died in 1940.

The company’s goal in creating this software is to retain cultural identity. Aside from the Chitimacha tribe, they’re planning to have the same language project to Navajo, a language still spoken by thousands of people, but declining in numbers.

To desire this kind of objective will gradually restore extinct languages. There is indeed hope for dead languages since modern technology opens the doors for it. Yet, let us not wait for the time that globalization will take the possibilities in language extinction. Bear in mind that a language will not die unless spoken by numbers of people. Speakers of a particular language will determine the life of their own native tongue.

You probably heard how languages are ranked according to its influence, to its number of native speakers, to their mediums of communication or lingua franca, to their population, systems of writing, and the like. This time, we will know the recognized languages based on the number of internet users.

For the information of many, this is the list of the top 10 languages used on the internet.

1. English- has 326,781,864 users.

   

   Image by nofrills via Flickr

2. Chinese- used by 166,001,513 users
3. Spanish- has 100,966,903 users
4. Japanese- has 86,300,000 users
5. German- used by 58,711,687 users
6. French- used by 56,368,344 users
7. Portuguese- has 40, 216,760 users
8. Korean- has 34,120,000 users
9. Italian- used by 30,763,940 users
10. Arabic- has 28,540,700 users

Nevertheless, among the listed languages, there are some common phrases that can be useful to you, you can find them enumerated below:

Stop!

• Spanish- Para! o Alto!
• German- aufhören!
• French- Arrêter!
• Italian- Fermare!
• Arabic- توقف!

Good Day.

• Spanish- Buen día.
• German- Guten Tag.
• French- Bonne journée.
• Italian- Buona giornata.
• Arabic- نهارك سعيد.

You are beautiful!

• Spanish- Eres guapa!
• German- Du bist schön!
• French- Tu es magnifique!
• Italian- Sei bello!
• Arabic- أنت جميل

Please help me!

• Spanish- Por favor, ayúdame!
• German- Bitte, helfen Sie mir!
• French- S’il vous plaît aidez-moi!
• Italian- Aiutatemi per favore!
• Arabic- الرجاء مساعدتي!

Excuse me. I’d like to go to the bathroom.

• Spanish- Con permiso. Me gustaría ir al baño
• German- Entschuldigung. Ich möchte auf die Toilette gehen
• French-Excuse-moi. Je voudrais aller à la salle de bains
• Italian- Scusami. Mi piacerebbe andare al bagno
• Arabic-عذرني. أريد الذهاب الى الحمام

I am interested in learning other languages. Are you?

• Spanish- Estoy interesado en aprender otros idiomas. ¿Y tú?
• German- Ich bin in andere Sprachen zu lernen interessiert. Bist du?
• French- Je suis intéressé à en apprendre d’autres langues. Êtes-vous?
• Italian- Sono interessato a imparare altre lingue. Are you?
• Arabic- أنا مهتم في تعلم لغات أخرى. من أنت؟

Yes, I am interested in learning foreign languages.

• Spanish- Sí, estoy interesado en aprender lenguas extranjeras.
• German- Ja, ich bin beim Erlernen von Fremdsprachen interessieren.
• French- Oui, je m’intéresse à l’apprentissage des langues étrangères.
• Italian- Sì, sono interessato a imparare le lingue straniere.
• Arabic- نعم ، أنا مهتم في تعلم اللغات الاجنبية

Happy Valentine’s Day, my Love.

• Spanish- ¡Feliz Día de San Valentín, mi amor
• German- Alles Gute zum Valentinstag, meine Liebe
• French- Bonne Saint Valentin, mon amour
• Italian- Buon San Valentino, amore mio
• Arabic- سعيد عيد الحب ، حبي

These are just few of the millions of phrases and sentences people commonly speak. To know some of these popular statements is good, you can use an automatic translator to learn other phrases that might be helpful to you.  Would you like to make a difference? I urge you to start now.

I’m looking forward to list down other common phrases and statements using these languages. Do you know any? Feel free to add.

Image via Wikipedia

Man is created as a social being, hence he is fashioned to socialize and build relationships towards other people, whether for business, friendship or romantic purposes. And in order to socialize naturally, he ought to communicate with other people in languages everybody can understand. Therefore, language plays an important role in building relationships.

Discussing the marital context, people from different countries meet in a certain place and end up in marriage and relationship. Despite their differences in language speaking, they still have mutual understanding. They enable themselves to learn the language of their spouse just to communicate properly with them.

Take this as an example: a Chinese guy decided to marry a French lady, so for them to nurture their marital relationship, either the husband will decide to learn French or the wife will bridge their gap by learning Chinese language. It won’t be difficult for both of them to learn either of these languages. Their commitment as married couples motivates them to learn both languages because they simply love each other. The husband wants to say “I love you” in the language his wife is speaking. Likewise, the wife will mutually learn her husband’s language for them to effectively communicate, since communication, is actually, the relationship itself.

“Marriage is like a beautiful garden,” a statement quoted from to Dr. Renee Colclough Hinson, executive director of The Association for Couples in Marriage Enrichment. “It requires skill and constant attention. If tended to, it will thrive, but if neglected, it will wither and die.” That’s why constant communication is an essential way to nurture marital relationships. Particular to couples who speak different languages, learning the spouse’s native language bridges their gap—the gap of miscommunication.

Since communication plays a vital role in building relationships, it must be constantly practiced among couples. Honestly speaking, even couples who speak the same language often argue for certain things, how much more could couples who speak different languages? Nonetheless, effective communication is not close to understanding the language of each spouse, but also includes the nurture of their relationships through other deeds as well, e.g. rendering quality time, giving gifts, presenting acts of service, and the like.

Wouldn’t it be nice for the French lady if her Chinese husband takes the effort in learning her native language? The husband only shows his love towards his wife through his effort to learn and there is no question about that. In the context of marital relationships, learning languages plays a very essential function. It is a natural act of showing love towards the person he or she delights.

Image via Wikipedia

Other synonyms for pirpo are: galantería, alabanza y halago. In English some synonyms for piropo would be praise, flattery, a compliment. The Spanish language is famous for being romantic and with its richness and variety there are a lot of popular piropos. Taking the opportunity that Valentine’s Day is coming soon, we have posted a list of piropos that you can learn and use with your girlfriend or boyfriend. But don’t worry if you do not have someone to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, perhaps learning some of this will help you to have someone next year. Now you will know the secret to the art of using Spanish pick up lines…

No te vayas por el sol, porque los bombones se derriten
Don’t walk in the sun because the best sweets melt

A San Pedro se le escaparon los angelitos del cielo
Saint Peter is loosing his angels in heaven

La próxima vez que llame procuraré que Ud. no me atienda otra vez.
The next time I call I’ll try to get some one else to talk to me
¿Por qué?
Why?
Porque Ud. es demasiado dulce y como yo soy diabético…..
Because you are too sweet and since I am diabetic…

No sabia que las muñecas de la calesita salían a dar unas vueltas
I didn’t know that dolls went out to take a walk

¡Si la belleza fuera pecado, no tenés perdón de Dios!
If beauty is a sin, then you have no forgiveness from God.

Las rosas se ruborizan ante tu belleza
Roses blush upon your beauty

Si ser sexy fuese un delito, te pasarías la vida en la cárcel
If being sexy was a crime, then you’d spend the rest of your life in jail.

¿Sabes porque el mar es salado? Porque tú te llevaste toda su dulzura.
¿Do you know why the ocean is salty? Because you took away all of its sweetness

Quién fuera bus para andar por las curvas de tu corazón.
I would love to be a bus so that I could drive in the curves of your heart.

Quiero ser bolsa de mano para andar de tu brazo.
I would like to be a hand bag to hang from your arm.

Quisiera ser ministro de cultura para poderte nombrar monumento de interés turístico nacional.
I would like to be minister of culture to appoint you as a national monument

Si fuera superman te llevaría volando, pero como no lo soy te acompaño caminando.
If I was superman I would take you flying, but since I’m not I’ll walk you home.

Si te llevara a los lugares donde ahora están en guerra, con esa cara tan linda lograrías la paz.
If I’d take you to any place where there is a war, with your face we would achieve peace.

Me gustaría ser lágrima: para nacer en tus ojos, vivir en tu mejilla y morir en tus labios.
I would love to be a tear, to be born in your eyes, live in your cheek and die in your lips.

Ojalá fueras oceano para navegar por tu cuerpo.
I would love it if you were the ocean so that I could navigate through your body.

Si tuviera que regalarte algo, te regalaría un espejo porque después de ti lo mas lindo es tu reflejo.
If I had to give you something, I would give you a mirror because alter you the best thing there is, is your reflex.

¿No estas cansada?, “¿yo?,¿de qué?”… de dar vueltas en mi cabeza
Are you tired? Me? Why?… from turning in my head al day.

Quien fuera bizco para verte dos veces
I would love to be cross-eyed so that I could see you twice.

Dichosos son mis ojos por ver tanta belleza
Blessed are my eyes to look at such beauty

No quiero dinero ni riqueza, a mi me basta con tu belleza.
I don’t want money or riches; I am satisfied with your beauty.

Si yo fuera pintor te haría un retrato y lo llamaría: perfección.
If I was a painter I would paint your portrait and call it perfection

Cuando Dios inventó la belleza se inspiró en ti.
When God invented beauty he inspired himself in you.

Las flores al verte, celosas están, no comprenden como una de ellas, caminando va.
Flowers become jealous when they look at you, because do not understand how one of them is walking around.

Si la belleza fuera un instante, tú serías la eternidad.
If beauty was an instant, you would be eternity.

These are just a few examples of some spanish lines, but there are a lot more to choose from. We have chosen a sample of lines related with beauty, romance, silly and funny ones. .. sense of humor is always important.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY from ABROADLANGUAGES!

Image via Wikipedia

Valentine’s Day is gradually approaching already, and people nowadays are perhaps planning as to how they’re going to express their love towards their special someone. Either they’d give flowers or chocolates to their darlings, spend time somewhere in a romantic restaurant for a date, or just simply give a Valentine card with words of love sweetly written on it, the lists go on.

Do you know that mouths are not just the only medium of language expression, but it also include the hearts?

For years of counseling and service for love, divorce, and marriage, a certain counselor in the name of Gary Chapman conducted a famous study called “Five Love Languages”. With his long-term analysis of marriage, he understood the pattern that couples undergo. It seemed like each person has his or her own love language, a principal way of conveying or expressing love.

In the marital context, miscommunication and the feeling of being unloved will occur to the wife if the husband fails to express her love language. However, the success of expressing one’s love language towards each other makes them feel loved and understood.

The five love languages, as presented by Dr. Chapman are the following:

Words of Affirmation

This certain love language refers to a positive reinforcement. If a person possesses this kind of love language, he or she feels loved upon hearing genuine complements, words of encouragements, or expressions of approval. Failure to express this language tends to make the speaker feel reviled. Verbal abuse, for example, makes him or her feel irrelevant.

A person with this love language appreciates hearing “I love you” from his or her love ones. Words of affirmation like “You’re the love of my life”, “Honey, you look so beautiful tonight. I really appreciate the dress you’re wearing” and “Thank you for your love, Dear. I’m so grateful for it” will make this speaker feel like heaven on earth.

People with this kind of love language understand the difference between affirmation and flattery. They have this natural instinct if the words released to them do come from the heart or not. They admire genuine appreciation but disappoint insults and harsh words.

Quality Time

If “I love you” according to the previous love language is expressed through words, then this love language interprets love by rendering undivided attention. From a simple conversation of spouses before sleeping at night to an extravagant family beach vacation fills the love tanks of the person possessing this love language. A wife may feel unloved if her husband refuses to spend time with her or postpone their anniversary date, since time is demanded by such speaker.

One classic example of quality time is couples sweetly sitting on the couch in their living room, with TV turned off, chores on standby, and ears attentively listening to one another as they mutually chat about anything they feel like talking. A simple get-together for people who speak this love language really means a lot to them.

Receiving Gifts

This love language interprets love through tangible things. A person with this love language appreciates given gifts from love ones not just on special occasions but even on ordinary days as well. Receiving Gifts is not mistaken from materialism because the receiver appreciates the love behind the given gift. Even a simple daisy picked from a nearby lot, once given to the person possessing this love language will surely jump her heart to gladness.

Such gesture is highly appreciated by these speakers because they look to these given gifts as efforts of sacrifices from their love ones. They feel special, loved, cared, and worthy to be given with everything. They are also particular to love ones remembering special holidays like Christmas and Valentine’s Day.

However, an inconsiderate gift of a missed birthday or anniversary frustrates the speaker of this language. Even a simple gesture like not wearing the wedding or engagement ring of the spouse is a grave discouragement.

Acts of Service

The fourth love language screams that “action speaks louder that words”, since Acts of Service speakers feel appreciated when their love ones goes out of their way to make things more pleasant. In other words, mopping the floor, washing the dishes, or fetching kids from school is an act of love for them. Doing things like household chores without being told or granting their requests melts their hearts with joy.

However, laziness and other form of making their responsibilities more complicated disregard them. They suffer unimportance and seems like all their efforts are not appreciated. They feel that they don’t really matter to their love ones.

People who speak this kind of love language know the difference between genuine assistance and obligatory work. The latter creates resentment for the speakers because they don’t want to be helped out of requirement, but out of real love.

Physical Touch

Love according to this love language is demonstrated through bodily contact. This doesn’t concern with sexual intercourse alone, though it’s a part of it. Physical Touch compasses all kinds of touch, from a tap of a concerned friend to a passionate kiss of a dedicated lover. Nothing beats the hug of a special someone during the lowest times of the speaker of this love language.

When physically abused, a person with this love language feels dreadfully unloved. Slaps, punches, and other hurtful gestures break the hearts of such language speakers. They feel insignificant, making relationships vicious and destructive.

Similar to the preceding love languages, Physical Touch speakers know when their respondents are genuine or not. When a husband forces the wife in bed, turmoil is the effect of it. Unless the husband expresses his real love and not just sex alone, couples will surely have a great night on their bedrooms.

These love languages are not limited to marital relationships only but to other relationships as well. Bear in mind that language is a medium of expressing one’s thoughts, feelings, and points of view. Therefore, in the context of love language, people can also express their thoughts, feelings, and points of view in the language their friends or siblings speak. The process of learning languages to understand other people is also applicable in these love languages— to learn these love languages and to relate it to those who are speakers of it.

Have you known your love language already? Are you the speaker who prefers an “I love you” through quality time? Or you appreciate the simple but sincere words from your love ones? Do you prefer the gifts you received from them, or the sweet kiss of your special someone swifts you away?

Image via Wikipedia

Many studies have already revealed that children can learn foreign languages while they are still very young yet a new study finds that babies already start learning languages from their mothers’ wombs.

A new study published in Current Biology has found that newborns already bear the mark of the language that their parents speak. The research results suggest that infants begin picking up what would be their first language from the womb, long before they make their first sound.

Kathleen Wermke of the University of Würzburg in Germany has said that “The dramatic finding of this study is that not only are human neonates capable of producing different cry melodies, but they prefer to produce those melody patterns that are typical for the ambient language they have heard during their fetal life, within the last trimester of gestation. Contrary to orthodox interpretations, these data support the importance of human infants’ crying for seeding language development.”

Earlier studies have showed that human fetuses are able to memorize sounds from the external world by the last trimester of pregnancy with a specific sensitivity to melody contour in both language and music. Newborn babies prefer the voices of their mothers over other voices and they perceive the emotional content of messages conveyed through intonation contours in maternal speech. The perceptual preference of newborns for the surrounding language and their ability to differentiate between different languages and pitch changes are based mainly on melody.

It was known that prenatal exposure to native language influences newborn’s perception, scientists has thought that the surrounding language affected sound production much later. Now with the new study, what was thought to be is not so.

Kathleen Wermke’s research team recorded and analyzed the cries of sixty healthy newborn babies when they were three to five days old. Thirty of the babies are born into French-speaking families while the remaining thirty are born into German speaking families. The analysis of the babies’ cries revealed clear differences in the shape of the newborns’ cry melodies based on their native tongue.

The analysis shows that French newborn babies tend to cry with a rising melody contour while the German newborns prefer a falling melody contour in their crying. Wermke said that the crying patterns are consistent with characteristic differences between the French and German languages.

The researchers say new research data show an extremely early impact of native language since earlier studies of vocal limitation had shown that infants can match vowel sounds presented to them by adult speakers but not only from twelve weeks onwards. That language skill depends on the vocal control that just isn’t physically possible much earlier.

The researchers said that “Imitation of melody contour, in contrast, is merely predicated upon well-coordinated respiratory-laryngeal mechanisms and is not constrained by articulatory immaturity. Newborns are probably highly motivated to imitate their mother’s behavior in order to attract her and hence to foster bonding. Because melody contour may be the only aspect of their mother’s speech that newborns are able to imitate, this might explain why we found melody contour imitation at that early age.”

This new discovery may help produce more than just and understanding of how language develops. Wermke said, “Further analysis of human infants’ crying and other utterances may contribute to resolving the enigma as to how language may have emerged in early human ancestors.”

The researchers include Kathleen Wermke and Birgit Mampe of the University of Wurzburg, Wurzburg, Germany; Angela D. Friederici of the Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; and Anne Christophe of Ecole Normale Superieure/CNRS, Paris, France.

Would you agree or disagree that babies start learning languages from their mothers’ wombs? Share your thoughts with us.

Learning foreign languages is exciting and fun however, there are so many things to consider when you are learning foreign languages. We are all aware that learning a language other than one’s native tongue can help reap a lot of benefits in the future yet since there are so many tips out there, we should consider which ones that work for us – or do not!

Many people attempt to learn foreign languages and succeed, some try lo learn and then eventually fail. However, one of the keys to be able to learn languages is to keep learning, and keep trying until you succeed. So many language learners halt in the middle of the process because of sheer frustration either for lack of progress in learning the target language, or lack of motivation and support from family and peers.

If you are among those language learners who have seen bleak skies towards a multilingual future, you better not fret because you have other options to keep you going! If there are do’s in learning foreign languages, bear in mind that there are don’ts too!

Here are some of the don’ts in learning foreign languages:

• Don’t quit when your progress seems slow. You have to realize that learning languages does take time and if you don’t learn as fast as you ought to, don’t be frustrated and then throw in the towel right away. Learning foreign languages takes more than just skill but also your concentration, determination, and will to learn. Just imagine your target foreign language as a seed that is planted in your brain which is the soil. You have to water it frequently for the seed to grow into a sturdy plant. If you can’t see the plant growing as fast as you expect, you should bear in mind that even though it is not growing the way you want it, there are roots beneath the surface that will help you in the future!
• Don’t listen to the “nay sayers” around you. While you are still on the early stage of language learning and you make mistakes in spelling, pronunciation, and other stuff, you might have a hard time coping up especially if there are negative people around you – don’t listen to them! Don’t allow them to get into you and discourage you from continuing to learn your target language. When you give them a chance to win over your determination, you will never learn your target language at all! As much as possible, have a strong will to learn what you want to learn and it also helps if you surround yourself with people who are supportive of your goals.
• Don’t be pressured with time limitations. Time is essential in learning a foreign language and you should be aware that you should give time in learning your target language. What should you do and how much time should you spend on such an endeavor when you have other things to do and commitments to work on such as schoolwork, your job, or your family? If you are not on a language program in a language school, you should be aware that there are ways to help you improve your language skills on the go! When you are in your car and stuck in traffic, you can brush up on your listening and speaking skills by listening to and doing exercises with a language CD or tape. On your free time you can also read a language book or do exercises with language software on your computer or laptop! There’s so much you can do just be creative and determined to learn!

Those don’ts mentioned above are just few of the things you should avoid when you are learning foreign languages. Keep them in mind so that you will know how to persevere with language learning!