A Brief Introduction to the Bantu Languages

Bantu languages are spoken by hundreds of millions of people around the world, including up to 30% of the population of Africa. In fact, you probably even know some Bantu words without realising it – like ‘safari’ from Swahili, or ‘banana’ from Wolof. So we’re really pleased that, when we added Kirundi to the uTalk … Read more

Language Classes – Designed for You!

You probably already know that, here at uTalk, we’re really into the speaking and listening side of learning languages. That’s why we’ve got all that native speaker audio on our app! But what about when you want to get that all-important practice in? Well, we just might have found a solution. Odds are, if you’re … Read more

Burundi’s Secret Language

The indigenous language of Burundi has a surprising secret – it has a hidden code which not every Kirundi speaker can decipher. Burundian-born translator Cédrick Irakoze shares his insider knowledge of the language, including why it’s a compliment to compare a woman to a cow! Many Kirundi speakers have a secret way of communicating with … Read more

A Beginner’s Guide to Swahili

Swahili is a Bantu language that is spoken by between 50-150 million people mainly across the African Great Lakes region, as well as other parts of Eastern and Southern Africa. It is a lingua franca but also an official language of Kenya and Tanzania. In this post, we’re going to find out more about Swahili, … Read more

Four Creative Strategies for Language Learning

Learning languages ​​has become the norm for modern people. Knowing several foreign languages significantly expands your opportunities in finding new acquaintances, in business, education, and many more areas. It is not surprising that in recent years private language schools, language learning services and the like have been gaining immense popularity. According to research, almost half … Read more

Live Life Multilingually: An Interview with Elle, from Speaking Tongues

With around 86 million people – in the US alone! – listening to podcasts at least occasionally, it’s definitely a fast-growing medium. We’ve covered before how you can use podcasts to learn languages, including some specific suggestions for Quebecois French, but did you know there’s a whole world of language-adjacent podcasts out there, where you … Read more