How Different Languages Say ‘Hello’!

Greetings are so important that every language on Earth has a different way to say hello. Have you ever wondered what hello actually means and why we greet people with it? What are some more colourful ways to say hello in other languages around the world? Are there languages where greetings don’t exist? Brian Loo … Read more

A Class Act: uTalk at the Southern Primary Languages Show

The Association for Language Learning held their Southern Primary Languages Show this past Saturday in Wokingham, run by language professional Sue Cave, and we sent our uTalk Senior Education Consultant, Susannah, along to take part. She was there to try and promote our Junior Language Challenge and also have a fun day talking all things … Read more

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 second-highest-grossing film of the year raked in over one billion dollars, putting the spotlight not only on its talented actors but also its setting, the fictional Wakanda, and Xhosa, the very real language that is … Read more

Yes, the Whole World Really Does Drink ‘Coffee’—Except Ethiopians and Armenians!

Happy Cappuccino Day! In today’s post, uTalk’s guest blogger Brian investigates the many different ways of saying ‘coffee’—and where the word used around the world actually originates! Forget about tea. Linguistically speaking, coffee is the one beverage whose name sounds the same in almost every language in the world today.  Just landed in South Africa … Read more

‘Wang Wang’: The Siren Call of the Philippines

The sign saying ‘this is a no wang wang zone’ can be puzzling for foreign visitors to Manila International Airport in the Philippines. It’s written in English, one of the two official languages of the country (the other being Filipino, a standardised form of Tagalog), but what does it mean? Well, ‘wang wang’ is used … Read more

All-Singing, All-Dancing: Bollywood, the Gem of Indian Cinema

India boasts the largest film industry in the world, with nearly two thousand films released in 2017. Despite the recent economic slowdown, Indian Cinema still makes money—with the majority coming via Bollywood. Even if you’re not learning Hindi or Urdu or Tamil, or even any other language spoken in India, watching a Bollywood film can … Read more

The Spooky Season Around the World

Children everywhere look forward to Halloween with glee. And why wouldn’t they? They get to dress up in fun costumes, galavant about town with their friends and have all sorts of sweet treats to look forward to. In this post, uTalk’s guest blogger Brian explores festivals that are similar to Halloween and are celebrated around … Read more

uTalk Junior Language Challenge: How Many Points Have You Got?

We’re halfway through Round One of the 2019/20 uTalk Junior Language Challenge and so thought it would be a good idea to update you all on how that’s going. If you’re on the fence about having your student or child participate, keep reading and see if we can convince you to join in the fun! … Read more

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 include sausages, potatoes and lots and lots of beer. And while these stereotypes may be somewhat grounded in fact, Germany has much more to offer—as we’ll share with you today. If you’re in any city … Read more

My Week Learning Scottish Gaelic with uTalk

With over 2,500 basic words and phrases in more than 150 languages, there’s plenty the uTalk app offers for you to learn. But as we all find ourselves getting busier and busier, how much time do we realistically have to spend on language learning? We decided to find out by having Charlotte, our Marketing and … Read more