The Language Learning Specialists
The Indonesian word for ‘dictionary’ (kamus) is almost the same as the Swahili word (kamusi) and is in fact an old borrowing from Arabic that somehow came from the Greek word for ‘ocean’. Confused? Here’s how multilingualism and trade spread three rather unusual words around the world. An ocean of words The Indonesian word for … Read more
Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many wonderful ways around the world. uTalk’s Language guru, Brian, presents five countries and their colourful customs all done in the name of love! Argentina Argentineans are so passionate about love that in addition to Valentine’s Day, they celebrate an entire week in July called La Semana de la Dulzura … Read more
Learn from our mistakes! uTalk’s Languages Manager, Emily, shares the things she wished she’d known before entering into the world of TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and tips on how to live out your English teaching experience to the max. ‘This cannot be happening!’ I thought to myself one cold, wet, dark morning … Read more
Learning Quebecois French can be an amazing choice for your career, personal life, and even your creative life. But because so much international emphasis is on learning Parisian French, finding online resources for learning Quebecois French can feel difficult. So since we ourselves are big fans of the Quebecois French dialect, we’ve built a list … Read more
Ever wondered how to say ‘Father Christmas’ in Cebuano? Zulu? Maybe in Māori? Well, wonder no more! We’ve collected together different ways of saying Father Christmas in over 100 languages – take a look and see if you can find the one you’re after. The festive season is upon us once again! And next to … Read more
uTalk’s Scottish Gaelic translator, Iona Macritchie, has grown up using one of the last remaining endangered languages of the British Isles. To mark St Andrew’s Day (Nov 30), she told us all about the dozens of different words Scottish Gaelic has for types of rain, the way the letters of the alphabet are linked to … Read more
One of the greatest mysteries to perplex the curious language lover during a Thanksgiving dinner is the ubiquitous turkey itself. Some people call them “Turkey”, others call them “India”, “Peru” and some even know them as “Roman”! Seriously, it’s enough to get our feathers in a ruffle! What we call the turkey is a tangled … Read more
If you’ve been learning languages for a while, then chances are good you’ve heard of using podcasts – even if you haven’t managed to give them a try. We spoke to Tamara Marie, a language coach and host of the podcast Learn Spanish Con Salsa (as well as the brand-new Dominican Spanish 101)! Find out … Read more
Imagine speaking a language separated from its closest relatives by thousands of kilometres. Imagine if these languages were part of an immense family that spanned more than three-quarters of the globe. Before Europe’s Age of Exploration, speakers of this language family had navigated the oceans without a compass and colonised a massive area from Madagascar … Read more
If you’re a native English speaker, then you may not ever have noticed your gender affecting the way you speak – at least, in terms of the words you use. However, this is not true across all languages. In this blog post, uTalk’s Language Guru, Brian, set out to find some languages where women in … Read more