Namaste: Appreciation or Appropriation?
If you visit India, you might feel inclined to greet everyone with ‘namaste,’ a traditional Hindu greeting that shows your…
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Why Song is a Lifeline for Sephardic Jews
Sunday 12th January marks International Ladino Day, a celebration of the Ladino (or Juedo-Spanish) language through story and song. Music…
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Black Panther: Shining a Spotlight on Xhosa
If you went to see Black Panther at the cinema last year, then you were far from the only one—Marvel’s…
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German Cuisine: Is It Really the Wurst?
Germany is famous for a lot of things—but its cuisine doesn’t really top that list. Most stereotypes around German food…
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Basque Boys’ Night Out—And Other Cultural Surprises
Speakers of the Basque language, a language spoken in self-governing parts of France and Spain, have a tradition of male-only…
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Un-bear-lievable: How Bears Have Invaded the Russian Language
The Russian people have a long and complicated history with their ursine neighbours. In today’s blog post, learn some bear-y…
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How The World Got Neapolitan Ice Cream
This spumoni day, we explain how Neapolitan ice cream came to exist. Chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla? Or maybe you’d prefer…
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Beware of German Gifts!
English speakers should be wary of receiving ein Gift from a German! That’s because Gift just happens to be the…
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The Story of Tea
Why every language in the world uses the same two words for “tea” and why in fact, that assumption is…
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French and the Language of Love, Deuce, Let and Tennis
Check out this quick guide to tennis terminology and where it comes from. (Answer: mostly French!) According to some experts,…
