Or should I say Hola? Because this column is about the Spanish language. There are approximately 405 million people in the world speaking Spanish as a native language, making it the second-most-spoken language by a number of native speakers, after Mandarin Chinese. Spanish is also one of the six official languages of the United [more…]
With spring marking the changing weather, when the cold winter winds are swapped for floral-filled days, it got me thinking about how the meaning of words also changes. One of the continuing controversies of my job is dealing with that fickle aspect of the English language, words that change their meaning – known as [more…]
While many of us crave the sunshine and heat of summer, one of the silver linings of the chilly winter months is that they offer the perfect excuse to cosy up at home and get lost in our silver screen favourites. As well as an almost endless source of entertainment, I’ve found films and [more…]
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Did you know that Ancient Egyptians held cats in the highest esteem, and praised the creatures for tasks such as killing venomous snakes and protecting the Pharaoh? It seems that cats have never forgotten this high regard, given the stereotype of cats being haughty and contrary with their affection. I’ve never found this with [more…]
What is Japan famous for? Quite a lot of things actually. From iconic landscapes like Mount Fuji and beautiful cherry blossoms to traditional tea ceremonies, pod hotels and bullet trains, there’s an amazing variety of exotic attractions people think of when you mention Japan.
But you may not have thought many Japanese words have crept [more…]
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Imagine growing up in a village where four separate groups of people speak only their own language, so that they cannot communicate with each other. That was the early life of L L Zamenhof, a Polish Jew who lived in what is now Bialystok, Poland. When he was born in 1859, it was under [more…]
Many of the ancient pre-Christian celebrations were hijacked when Christianity arrived, and adapted – or toned down. Some of them have been forgotten altogether. We take a look at the history of some of the well-known festivals.
Candlemas on 2nd February was known as the festival of light in pre-Christian times. It marked the mid-point [more…]
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We’re living in strange times now, times we have never known before. Distancing ourselves from our loved ones is very hard, being unable to work, or go shopping. However, it won’t be forever, and we may appreciate our freedom all the more when this is over. Being a word nerd, I’ve noticed the new [more…]
The English vocabulary is famous for having so many descriptive terms, but every language has words that are hard to translate into English and yet would be an interesting addition.
The Japanese language reflects the way Japanese people have a great respect for nature and the changing seasons.
Komorebi means ‘the sunlight that filters through [more…]
