Japan

Alternative Valentine’s Days

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Valentine’s Day is a moment we should all pause our busy lives to celebrate love and the important people in our lives with whom we share special moments – not only lovers but also friends or family. Obviously a popular holiday on the American continent, followed by Western Europe and in the last years Eastern Europe, … Read more

To tip or not to tip?

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A social dilemma you’re bound to fall into at some point is whether or not to tip – and how much! Tip too little and you risk the waiter chasing you down the street shouting abuse; tip too much and you might gravely offend the staff. Tipping customs vary all over the world, between different countries … Read more

10 reasons to visit… Tokyo

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To finish up our Japanese week, Safia’s written today’s blog post on her top ten reasons to visit Tokyo. Do you live in Tokyo, or have you visited? Please share your own top tips in the comments! 1. The old and the new Before I even start talking about specific points of interest, all you need … Read more

Language of the Week: Japanese

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As it was the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, we have chosen Japanese as our Language of the Week. First and foremost, our thoughts and good wishes go to Jules Bianchi for his full recovery following his crash on Sunday at Suzuka. Though in many respects I’m a complete petrol head, I have never found … Read more

15 cultural faux pas to avoid when travelling

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Before you go on holiday, or on a business trip abroad, it’s a great idea to learn a little of the local language. But getting along with people is about much more than just the words you say. There are other rules too, so here are our top tips to avoid misunderstandings abroad. 1. Be very … Read more

Know Your Colour Code

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Here at EuroTalk we love discovering interesting facts about the world around us, so from now on, on the third Wednesday of each month (or thereabouts!) we’ll be sharing some of these with you. The theme for this month is colours… Be a man: be yellow If you call someone ‘yellow’ in England, you’re calling … Read more

Pure and simple?

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Recently, Alex wrote about the way languages borrow words from each other. She pointed out that in English, we’re always using words from other languages, sometimes without even realising it, with déjà vu, karate and Zeitgeist being just a few examples. But is this mixing of languages a good thing, or should languages remain ‘pure’? … Read more

Valentine’s – it’s not all flowers and chocolates…

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Valentine’s Day is here again, and like a lot of people, I’m a bit fed up with it. I’ve lost count of the number of emails I’ve received over the last few weeks, inviting me to use Valentine’s as an excuse to buy everything from chocolates to an iPad – I even got one suggesting … Read more