Languages and Culture!

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Here are some French YouTube channels I enjoy that you could check in order to practice and improve your understanding of French ! I will describe them a bit if needed, and I hope this post will be useful !

History

Les Revues du Monde - A channel about history and archaeology, more precisely about mysterious events

Horror Humanum Est - Animated videos about horrifying and bloody events in the world’s history

C’est une autre histoire -  Deals with mythology and arts, I would say

Nota Bene - Very interesting if you want to know about French history (but it is not the only thing the channel deals with !)

Sciences

Balade Mentale - The channel deals with many many things related to sciences but the thing I prefer about it is the fact that it deals with things related to the universe (among others)

Dirty Biology - It’s in the name

Dans Ton Corps - About health, health issues, human body !

Tu mourras moins bête - Animated channel about biology, physics, and much more

Languages 

Linguisticae - About linguistics

Le monde des langues - About language learning (you might find some tips to help you !)

Society (my absolute favorite category !)

Antastesia - Feminism, veganism, literature, travels… I also remember her talking about the LGBTQ+ community (my favorite channel e v e r !)

Data Gueule - Animated channel that teaches/proves you things about ecology, politics and so much more using A LOT of data

Antitésie - Education, feminism, books…

La Carologie - Feminism, spirituality, some videos deal with the LGBTQ+ community if I remember well

Esther - Weight, veganism, self love and just… Life I guess ?

Marinette - Femmes et féminisme - Feminism

Et tout le monde s’en fout - Humans, and their world

ASMR

PARIS ASMR

Elya ASMR

The goal of “fluency” is misunderstood by a lot of language learners to mean “total perfection”. There is no such thing as total fluency in that case. Even I, a native speaker of English, make mistakes in my native language. And there are times that I can’t understand someone’s accent in a different dialect/accent of English. That doesn’t mean I’m suddenly not fluent, or that I don’t know things. And as fluent as I am in my own native language, I couldn’t explain legal text or medical jargon to people in an effective way.

There’s this weird idea about fluency that’s sort of like “I need to understand everything and get everything right 100% of the time or else I’m not fluent”

Really what fluency means - at least to me - is to be competent enough to work around things I don’t know. It’s to be able to “flow” comfortably with grammar and words enough so that I can be understood. I don’t need to be right all of the time if someone else understands what I’m trying to say.

It’s hard to examine objectively because non-native speakers judge themselves as not fluent if they make mistakes, but there are “acceptable” mistakes that even natives make [like “who/whom” in English for example]

The other problem is that fluency is not something you can grade or gauge that well. If you judge it based on written language, then it doesn’t account for people who are maybe good at talking but can’t write essays to save their lives. If you judge it on reading, it doesn’t account for people who aren’t good at reading for whatever reason, or people who might be illiterate but still speak the language. If you judge it by speech, it doesn’t account for people who can’t speak, or who have speech impediments or people who don’t get understood based on their accents.

Fluency is more… part of your skill set. It’s like the ability to use your grammar and words effectively to be understood in a certain way. But it gets misunderstood with total perfection, so it feels like an unattainable goal.

What are you planning there, Duo?

Your name and username.

Where you’re from.

Pronounce the following words: Aunt, Roof, Route, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Pajamas, Caught, Naturally, Aluminium, GIF, Tumblr, Crackerjack, Doorknob, Envelope, GPOY.

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?

What is a bubbly carbonated drink called?

What do you call gym shoes?

What do you call your grandparents?

What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?

What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

Choose a book and read a passage from it.

Do you think you have an accent?

Be a wizard or a vampire?

Do you know anyone on Tumblr in real life?

A question mark walks into a bar?

Two quotation marks “Walk into” a bar.

A gerund and an infinitive walk into a bar, drinking to drink.

The bar was walked into by a passive voice.

This time of year often involves leaving the cozy sanctuary of your linguistics department where everyone knows what a wug is and spending quality time with your non-linguist friends and family. Who, bless ‘em, are often a little bit confused about linguistics. So I’ve compiled a list of common questions and some resources to help you answer them. And if you end up needing a break, check out the linguistmas tag and my extensive archive of linguist humour, or contribute to the linguistics baked goods file. 

What is linguistics exactly? 

Explaining what linguistics is using geology and biology analogies Brain surgeon analogy Car analogy Botany analogy Subfields of linguistics explained using toy metaphors “Becoming conscious of previously unconscious phenomena is one of the principle joys of linguistic work”

So, you’re a linguist? How many languages do you know? 

Why linguists hate being asked how many languages they know Learning languages linguistically

Wow, linguistics, I guess I’d better watch my grammar around you, right?

8 myths about language and linguistics On the interplay between copyediting and descriptivism We each have an idiolect, and they’re all okay How to have a conversation about language differences without being a prescriptivist

That’s not even in the dictionary! So many people are degrading language these days! 

Anne Curzan on what makes a word “real” xkcd on kids and text abbreviations and on grammar police vs fashion police Erin McKean, actual lexicographer, on what it means when a word isn’t in the dictionary The kilogram model of language and what’s wrong with the America’s ugliest accent challenge Language is open source Which English you speak has nothing to do with how smart you are People have been complaining about kids degrading language since the Middle Ages The many problems with the idea that emoji are in any way threatening the English language Kids these days aren’t ruining language

Don’t you just hate it when people say…?

In defence of “unnecessary” words Every argument you’ll ever need for singular “they” (plus the Canadian government’s support of it, why do we even have gendered pronouns, and a comparison with singular “you”) In defence of hyperbolic “literally” Vocal fry and can we stop hating on how young women talk? When it comes to Rachel Jeantel, who’s really on trial here?  Can we just, like, get over the way women talk? Move over Shakespeare, teen girls are the real language disruptors The problem with talking about “sounding gay” Why Chaucer said “ax” instead of “ask” and why some still do An interview with Alexandra D’Arcy about why “like” is so interesting

____ isn’t a real language! 

Indigenous languages, literacy, and the myth of the “unwritten language” What if we talked about monolingual White children the way we talk about low-income children of color? Myth-busting about sign languages The strange reason deaf children aren’t taught sign language

A linguistics degree? What are you going to do with that?

Check out the linguistics jobs series to help think about options beyond academia, or send people there to reassure them that options exist. 

What kinds of gifts can I give the linguist in my life?

An extensive list of pop linguistics books and lingfic (be sure to read the comments!) Here are linguistics merch/gift guide roundups from 2015, 2016, 2017, and Lingthusiasm merch: IPA scarves and descriptivist t-shirts, bags, and mugs

So I know this young person who might be interested in linguistics. Do you have any advice for them?

Any of the books in the list of books! How to teach yourself linguistics online for free  Intrigued by the linguistics in Arrival? Here’s what to check out next

Specifically for high schoolers: How to participate in the international linguistics olympiad and Linguistics resources for high school teachers

Advice on finding a linguistics undergrad, whether to go to grad school for linguistics (and more advice), and how to pick a linguistics graduate program

Tell me something interesting about linguistics! 

My go-to at parties is the script in Explaining English plurals to non-linguists, or put on any episode of Lingthusiasm.  

??? oh my god??

this man went from singing fifties hits in gold lamé pants to solving murders with grammar I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN WITH THIS

HE DISCOVERED HIS TRUE CALLING WHILE DECIPHERING RECORD CONTRACTS

THIS IS REALLY INSPIRING HONESTLY

I don’t usually make this kind of post, but I’ve been collecting these ideas on my phone for a long time, so I thought I’d share, since they’ve helped me.

1. Get A Conversation Partner A native or another learner – pretty much anyone who speaks the language to some degree. Make sure this person is nice(ish), so you can speak to them without worrying (too much) about mistakes. If there are speakers in your area, try to get yourself out there and talk to them! If not (or if you don’t feel ready for that yet), try apps or something (HelloTalk, Tandem, etc.) with voice message options so you can actually, you know, speak.

2. Find Non-Judgemental People (Things?) Find someone (something?) to talk to who doesn’t know the language (and therefore can’t judge your mistakes). My 3 year old brother only knows a tiny bit of Mandarin, so I talk to him in it a lot. I also volunteer at a humane society, and speak to the animals in Chinese. (Pets also work well, if you’ve got one.) If you don’t have access to animals or small children, I suppose you could talk to the wall or something. Or an imaginary friend. Idk.

3. Have Shower Conversations This is one you’ve probably heard before, but it actually helps. Just talk to yourself in the shower, in your target language. You have to keep up both sides of a conversation, plus you’ll find any gaps in your knowledge. The shower is a nice, private place (usually) to practice. But if talking in the shower is too weird for you, do it in your bedroom or something. It doesn’t really matter where, as long as you’re practicing.

4. Narrate Your Life (Aloud!) Try to say what you’re doing as you do it. (Or what you want to be doing, it doesn’t have to be realistic.) Again, this forces you to find gaps in your knowledge. Even if it’s as simple as “I am sitting. I am walking. I am eating food.” You’re practicing your speaking skills. If you don’t know the words, look them up and practice those. Try narrating other people’s lives too. (See how long it takes them to catch on.)

5. Say New Words Out Loud This one is pretty self-explanatory. Say new words aloud as you learn them.  Exaggerate it – say it slowly, drag out the sounds, then say it quickly. Then say it normally. Use it in a sentence, even if it’s a really simple sentence. Learned ‘love’? Say ‘I love you. You love him. She loves me.’ Whatever. Just say it, preferably in context. (And make sure you’re saying it correctly! Don’t learn incorrect pronunciations!)

6. Work on Your Pronunciation This seems like a no-brainer, but make it a priority. I’ve kinda failed at this with Swedish, and it’s taking forever to actually learn proper pronunciation. It’s a hard habit to break, but if you want to be understood, you need to know how to pronounce stuff. Especially in tonal languages like Chinese, pronunciation is incredibly important. Learn what rules there are, and practice practice practice. (Forvo is usually pretty helpful for checking your pronunciation.)

7. Learn (and Sing!) Songs I know from experience that singing, whether you’re good at it or not (I’m not), is very helpful for pronunciation. You don’t have to understand all the words, you just need to practice saying them. Focus on saying the words together, not just separately. Do they kind of blend together? Try to mimic that. Try to sound like the singer does, at least in the sense of pronunciation.

8. Read Everything Aloud Remember when you were a little kid and people read books to you? Now you get to do that for yourself, your dog, your imaginary friend, whoever. In your target language. It can be a book, a dialogue, journal entry, song lyrics, anything really. Again, you don’t have to understand all the words. If you can’t sound words out (looking at you, Mandarin) or aren’t sure how to pronounce it, hum and move on. (But remember it and learn how to pronounce it later!)

9. Record Yourself Speaking I know a lot of people hate hearing their recorded voice. I do too. But it’s a requirement for my Chinese class and it’s actually been really beneficial. I read a dialogue, record myself, then listen to it and read along (silently). I figure out what I’m saying incorrectly, then repeat until I’m satisfied. Basically, just record yourself reading something. Then “grade” yourself (but not too harshly). Figure out which words you’re saying wrong, and work on fixing them. It helps.

10. I actually don’t have any more tips right now, ten was just a nicer number than nine.

Anyway, hopefully this is at least a little bit helpful for somebody. Please feel free to add any other tips you might have, as well!

I had a lot of fun making this, but I also found out that words that have to do with love ARE SO CULTURE RELATED!! I tried to make the best translations possible, although it was very hard sometimes haha! Enjoy!

De liefde = the love Het hart = the heart De kus = the kiss De zoen = the kiss Het gevoel = the feeling De romantiek = the romance Het afspraakje = the date De relatie = the relationship De vriendschap = the friendship De verloofde = the fiancé De vriend(in)* = the girl/boyfriend Het huwelijk = the marriage De trouwerij = the wedding Het liefdesverdriet = the lovesickness De seks = the sex De maagd = the virgin De huwelijksreis = the honeymoon Mijn man = my husband Mijn vrouw = my wife

Ik ben verliefd = I am in love Ik houd van jou = I love you Jij houdt van mij = You love me Wij houden van elkaar = We love eachother Ik vind je leuk = I like you Valentijnsdag = Valentine’s Day

Trouwen = to marry Knuffelen = to cuddle Zoenen = to kiss (Iemand) versieren = to flirt (with someone) De liefde bedrijven = to make love Scheiden = to divorce Vreemdgaan = to cheat

Lekker ding! = hottie! Schatje = baby/cutie

Liefde op het eerste gezicht = love at first sight Vlinders in je buik  = butterflies in your stomach De bloemetjes en de bijtjes = The birds and the bees Kom je hier vaker? = Do you come here often?

Me: Yeah, no problem. 我的名字

Conjugation, subject-verb agreement, verb tenses…is there anything more clinical than learning a language at school? While these are all necessary elements of language learning, real fluency is born from listening to native speakers in their natural element.  

I’m talking about the type of mannerisms and peculiarities even native speakers don’t know about themselves! Sure you can write a 10-page essay in impeccable french, but can you gab with the girls at the hair salon? Here are the five languages nuances your teacher won’t teach you. 

1. Inflections 

Languages don’t sound the same. That’s an obvious statement. But even the inflections and vocal tones don’t necessarily translate. In english, depending on the context, we don’t necessarily need to go up at the end of a question. But in french, its essential. I’ve even been told before that even thought my american accent is often undetectable, I speak in an american manner. I’m not sure what that means but it just emphasizes how these subtle differences can make a difference. 

2. Interjections

I always thought interjections were intuitive. Actually, I never thought about them much at all until I moved to France. But I quickly realized that interjections are a learned part of language. If you stub your toe, you’re not going to say “ouch”. You should say “Ouïe”. If you eat something gross, you’ll get quite a few looks if you say “yuck” instead of “Beurk”. Even animals aren’t safe. Ducks don’t quack and pigs don’t oink. One of my classes (embarrassingly) had me imitate the entire animal kingdom because they found the differences so peculiar. At any rate, it’s definitely worth looking these interjections up because they’re a huge part of language. 

3. Facial Expressions

The french are quite facially expressive people. It’s quite entertaining as an outsider and all expats notice this right away. My favorite expression is the dumbfounded look my students give me when they have no idea what I’ve said. They widen their eyes and puff their cheeks like a blowfish…it’s hilarious. You can see that look HERE at 0:49. 

4. Hand gestures

The french start counting with their thumb instead of their index finger, the “Ok” sign actually means “zero”,  and rubbing your nose means you’re drunk. Hand gestures are definitely cultural. It’s recommended before going to any country to look these up because you may think you’re giving the thumbs up but instead you’ve just started a fight in public. Typically, you won’t find these cultural differences in a textbook. 

5. Idioms 

One day I asked a friend what she thought of this guy she was seeing. 

Her response: “Il est sympa, mais il se regarde le nombril (He’s nice but he looks at his bellybutton). 

My first thought: “….That’s weird” 

What I didn’t know (and didn’t find out until a week later) was that se regarder le nombril is an idiomatic expression that describes someone as egotistical or narcissistic. 

Studying any language is difficult. But here are a few of my top tips:

1. Find a good online dictionary that you can trust. My favourite is Spanishdict.

2. Listen to music in the target language. I listen to loads of Spanish music and I love it. If any one wants me to do a post on Spanish music then let me know. I’d be happy to!

3. Buy your favourite books/ books you want to read in the target language. Read it as if you would a normal book but each time you have to look up a word write it down in the margin of the book. Always reread a chapter.

4. Think in the language. Its often really hard to find someone to practise with you but by just trying to think in the language you are revising. So next time you are washing the dishes start thinking about your future goals but in the language.

5. Work abroad. I’ve done this twice now. I went to work in Spain as an Au Pair (I can also do a post on this if you want.) I learnt loads of colloquial Spanish. I also volunteered as a teaching assistant in the younger years when I was at school.

6. When you buy something new, check the label or the side of the box, bag etc to see if it has instructions or information in your target language. Read that first then only if you have to read it in your mother tongue.

7. Turn a notebook into your own personal dictionary. Every new word you learn right it in here then each week test yourself on a new page.

8. Watch films and tv shows in the language. Let me know if anyone wants any Spanish recommendation.

9. Don’t just learn the language, learn the culture and the history. Grab a book on the history of the country that speaks your target language and learn. The more you know and that!

10. Never give up. Put the grammar book down for a day or two and sulk about how hard it is and that you will never be fluent, but just never give up. If you do, you waste all the effort you’ve already put in!