cafebabel.com

Itanglish: new Italian dialect?

('Sebastian Baciu',) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:00:00 -0000

With their trendy gossip over social media, sometimes in a chat live online, Italians have integrated English words into their common vocabulary to a surprising extent. Does Italy still speak Italian? Or has the country switched to Itanglish, the new Anglo-Italian hybrid dialect?

Nightlife in Vilnius: ethnic minority benders

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:12:17 -0000

6.7% Polish, 6.3% Russian, 1.2% Belarusian, 0.7% Ukrainian, 0.1% Yiddish, 0.09% Tartar…approximately 115 communities of ethnic minorities were listed in this vein in a 2001 census in Lithuania. How integrated are these groups in local society? One way of finding out is by hitting the tiles

European words of 2011

('Annie Rutherford',) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 11:03:26 -0000

Whilst lexicographers from the UK, Germany, France and Spain have released their sometimes odd ‘words of the year’, we’ve taken the liberty of grading the results from 1-10 and naming our own favourites

Tearjerker tips for Europe in crisis

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:01:07 -0000

Read ‘em and weep: ‘tearjerker’ is a noun which translates practically perfectly into other European languages. It is used mostly to describe a film, book, play or song which moves us to tears. The entertainment industry gets an excessively sentimental Europe down, but these pearls could also abate our crisis-ridden depression

Sexist grammar: the French and German cases

('Sarah Fisher',) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:37:50 -0000

Poor adjectives need take their husband's name no more. Sort of. Whilst one French association has attacked a centuries-old 'oversight', the Germans (or at least their moderate feminists) have taken plural forms to task. In all, the debate succeeds in desexualising our common language

Post-World Cup guide to language of European rugby

('ZoeBBee',) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:10:57 -0000

On 23 October, France lost to New Zealand at Auckland’s eden park. At the rugby world cup final, France had the 'all blacks' seriously worried, with just a point in it. If you’d have liked a European victory, this little article is your consolation prize: a chance to become multi-rugby-lingual

'Pie chart' becomes 'camembert' chart in French class

('ZoeBBee',) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 11:12:49 -0000

The current economic climate is enough to give you indigestion, but I rue our European economics experts having the idea of using charts resembling food. It gives students like myself grumbling tummies everytime we attend economics class

Feminist France: ‘mademoiselle’ vs 'madame'

('Annie Rutherford',) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 13:20:43 -0000

Is it discriminatory that women have to tick whether they are a ‘mademoiselle’ (unmarried) or a ‘madame’ (married) on administrative forms, whilst men can just put a tick next to ‘monsieur’? The feminist association Osez le feminisme says YES, and calls on women to claim their right to be ‘madame’

ABV guide to learning your Serbian (from your Croatian, Montenegrin and Bosnian)

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:38:35 -0000

To hail the European day of languages on 26 September, cafebabel.com tries to learn Serbian. The short rocket takes us past planet Cyrillic alphabet and planet Latin alphabet, before speeding through planet lexical history and firing off into next-door neighbour space

Belarus schools: language of peasants or programmers?

('Annie Rutherford',) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:26:22 -0000

According to its constitution Belarus has two state languages - Belarusian and Russian. Authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly emphasised the equality of both, but nationalist Belarusians view the state policy as 'russification'. The argument is being played out in the schools

Why the English love a bit of German ‘angst’ or Spanish ‘macho’

('Annie Rutherford',) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:12:37 -0000

We simply can’t help it. It’s practically impossible for a European to speak his or her native language entirely. Expressions crop up which have (almost) been taken on word for word from other European languages. Maybe the Norwegians should exercise caution though with their 'Vor-' and 'Nachspiels'...

Champagne socialism: rewriting the left

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 09:45:00 -0000

When the left become part of the bourgeoisie, the journalistic expressions describing them often take on an expensive culinary flavour. It’s almost as though the press had an appetite for delicious scandals…

Pure player

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 10:29:39 -0000

Two English words swim around a country where anglicisms have managed to stay out of fashion. An era of internet business models is turning that counter-trend around, focussed mainly on the French and American e-media landscapes. Backgammon and ladies men have nothing to do with it (anymore). Phrase of the week

Knecht Ruprecht and his motley crew of Christmas meanies

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 12:03:26 -0000

Santa Claus is coming to town...and so what? Europe’s christmas traditions don’t always bring nice surprises

Hung out to dry

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 10:20:31 -0000

Mutiny! Political culture is one funny subject in the European Union. Whilst one poor English politician’s body is likened to being hanged from a tree, a French one is being popped in a cupboard whilst the Czech media can’t even translate the sense of the term when covering the story, so rife is corruption. Idiom of the week

Brief status of sign language in Europe

('Rachel_Thomas',) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:00:00 -0000

A great number of languages exist within Europe – over two hundred in fact! Twenty-three of these are official languages of the EU; next to these national languages are many regional and minority languages. In addition to these are sign languages, whoich have had their first official 'deaf week 2010' in Berlin in September

Portmanteau words: Denglisch in Europe

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 12:58:27 -0000

Europe’s hybrid languages are little spoken of though oft spoken. Trend tour of continental mouths, including Franglais, Spanglish, Italenglish, Ponglish, and so on, and so forth

European politicians: Freudian slips

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 11:00:00 -0000

From a French MEP's 'fellation vs inflation' confusion to the Spanish prime minister’s 'shag vs support' shambles, it's our weekly moment to delight in the continent's Lapsus Politicus

France's anti-anglicism crusade

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 12:00:00 -0000

On 30 March 2010, English words like 'newsletter' and 'buzz' ceded their place to expressions created in 'Francomat', a French student contest. Will this initiative by Alain Joyandet, secretary of state for Francophonie, catch on in the rest of Europe?

Carme Riera: why Catalan’s 'days are numbered'

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 08:00:00 -0000

Whilst in Lisbon for BeBalears, the Balearic Islands cultural week, the Barcelona-based writer and Spanish literature professor discusses how she struggled to write in her native tongue and analyses the erasmus effect

Too many bank holiday Mondays

('Susannah Readett-Bayley',) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 18:28:00 -0000

Whether it's justified or not, France is always being accused by its neighbours of shirking and of always finding the best way to do the least possible. Is France not the birthplace of the 35 hour week and RTT (hours worked over the 35 week repaid in the form of days off) galore?

Chicken!

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:50:51 -0000

'Da lachen ja die Hühner,' cackle the Germans. 'Even chickens would laugh!' - it sounds so ridiculous that it's actually unbelievable! But don't undermine the global power of chickens, you cowards; these south-east Asia originating birds have oft harmed global markets and relations

Uncommon first names: 'Europa'

('Sarah Turpin',) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:00:00 -0000

As the launch of a new online database exploring the origins of strange surnames is announced in the UK, we think of the Scarletts, Nikes and Solidarities in this EU world

Annett Louisan: 'I don’t need to go the fake platinum blonde bombshell route anymore'

('Lindsey Evans',) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:00:00 -0000

The breathy German chanson singer hasn’t only changed hair colour over the years - she seems to have done a bit of growing up as well. We catch the 31-year-old entertaining the Franco-German relations ambassador and performing live in Paris for the first time

Meet the Erasmus elite: bright stars in a global recession?

('Tim Mac an Airchinnigh',) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:16:02 -0000

What do a loud-mouthed English ladette, a svelte Ukrainian vamp, a dashing Polish casanova and a bagpipe-playing Frenchman all have in common? Bar-stool jokes aside, they're all members of YRN - the association of European regions' youth network. About 150 people meet annually to discuss how to use Europe to hoist them out of the economic doldrums. cafebabel.com caught up with them in Paris this December

Domain names: internet puts accent on EU languages

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:47:13 -0000

Typing европа.eu (europe.eu in Bulgarian) into an internet search bar is now possible. Special or non Latin characters can be used when using addresses ending with .eu. Many more nationalities will be able to express themselves on the net

Baby language

('Paulina Dominik',) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:31:41 -0000

Scientists and parents were shaken by a recent discovery: newborns cry in tune with the melody line that they have most often heard while still in their mothers’ placenta. To that, we say ga ga - baby phrases of the week

Catchy songs

('Andrew Christie',) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0000

Creepy-crawly expressions for the irritating musical attacks of the ear-worm in Europe. Expression of the week

Sourpuss

('Sarah Pybus',) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:00:00 -0000

Being 'as sour as vinegar' is a saying that's recognisable across the continent, but why? It starts with the word itself - vinum acetum means 'wine turned sour'. Idiom of the week

Is your gran a 'silver surfer'?

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:57:36 -0000

French grandmas in stinging nettles, German grandpas at the European parliament and Polish grannies working in communist toilets - there's a visually colourful variety of 'ageing' expressions across the European continent

European versions of 'Nobody puts baby in a corner'

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:28:58 -0000

On 14 September American actor Patrick Swayze died of pancreatic cancer, aged 57. Generations of teenage – and grown-up girls – knew him as the hunky dance teacher of the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, a cult hit in Europe

All good things come in small packages

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:00:00 -0000

French and Italian heads of state Nicolas Sarkozy and Silvio Berlusconi are shorter than average but, depending on the country, this is not necessarily a fault! High heels ahoy: it's the weekly tour of European expressions

Tree huggers

('Aatish Pattni',) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:00:00 -0000

The times in which eco-warriors and nature lovers raged unrest in the downtown areas whilst kitted out in hand-knitted wool jumpers and Birkenstocks are now over. Now that the trend of being eco-aware has come to the forefront of society, the whole of Europe is witnessing a bloom in eco-green ‘cusswords’

Europe's fugly munters and mingers

('Aatish Pattni',) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:16:18 -0000

'Ugly' is relative. Europe is creative with names when someone is ‘offensive to the eyes’. Tuna fish, veils, mussels or middle-aged pop stars beware - when Europe maligns ugliness they all have to pay the price…

Cervantes: torchbearer of Spanish culture abroad

('Darren Thompson',) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:00:00 -0000

The main function of this institution, created as recently as 1990, is to spread Spanish culture abroad, thanks to the diffusion of its language and its 'hispanidad'. The success of the Cervantes network may well inspire other great cultural nations in Europe to follow suit

Throw your toys out of the pram

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:06:59 -0000

The Irish kick off after a 'scathing electoral defeat', whilst the Germans can be heard to 'wail like cats'. Weekly language expressions from around Europe

Love story: a German teacher deals with an autistic child in Wales

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:28:43 -0000

German language assistant Alissa tells the story of a separation in the Welsh valleys in Glamorgan. This article was second runner-up of the 2009 German Youthreporter award, ‘Verliebt in Europa’ (‘In Love With Europe’)

Languages: Dutch amidst French in bilingual Brussels

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:27:21 -0000

On the footpaths of Brussels your ears catch a litany of languages. In this European city, the official status of the bilingualism can be seen everywhere, especially in job advertisements. Is this a question of identity or discrimination in recruitment?

Iran, Russia and the British council: getting geopolitical with Shakespeare

('Lindsey Evans',) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 06:15:00 -0000

The United Kingdom’s primary institution for representing its culture and language internationally has been embroiled in a diplomatic struggle for the past two years. Russia is pushing for the closure of its offices in Moscow and St Petersburg

Global European culture: a bad year for France

('Darren Thompson',) — Wed, 20 May 2009 12:00:00 -0000

Values, attitudes, and ways of life … European countries export their cultures and languages across the world in order to create a dialogue. In a new series on cultural 'diplomacy', we crack on with the wilting French network abroad

Why would you not do Erasmus?

('Hayley Wood',) — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:00:00 -0000

In France, around 4000 Erasmus bursaries found no takers in 2008. But why say no to an experience abroad? Efficiency, money, elitism…here an assortment of experiences shed some light on the situation surrounding the student exchange programme in Europe

For Czech students, European travel is not a priority

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Tue, 05 May 2009 15:00:00 -0000

Slap bang in the middle of the Czech Republic's six-month presidency of the EU, and not only does the state lack a little enthusiasm for European affairs, but Czech students too seem less willing to go and study in another European country

The longest word in Europe is...

('Darren Thompson',) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:00:00 -0000

A European anthology of the longest and most unpronounceable words. At the cafebabel.com newsroom, we’re suffering from European dyslexia. Including audio and some cheeky Mary Poppins videos

'You'll get a fat bitch for that'

('Lindsey Evans',) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:16:43 -0000

When dogs are mentioned in European sayings, it can range from anything to being related to money, your inner self or the weather in Poland - idioms of the week, plus audio

I love you my dropping

('Lydia Bigos',) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:23:00 -0000

My bunny-bear, baby, cabbage, sugar slug - just like Europe, love knows no boundaries. Yet some terms of affection for loved ones vary from being rather unsavoury to overly sickly on the continent – romantic sayings of the week, with audio

Talk of the city

('Annie Rutherford',) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:06:57 -0000

Madrid, Krakow, Rome? Europe discusses its genius loci

Obituary: alphabets, butterflies and Inger Christensen

('Lass\xc3\xab Jensen',) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:35:47 -0000

Why learn Welsh? They all speak English anyway. Why learn unpronounceable Flemish, impossible Finnish, self-assertive Catalan or miniscule Danish? But when the Danish experimental poet died on 2 January 2009 in Copenhagen, a loser language lost its most beautiful voice

Chucking up, European-style

('Lindsey Evans',) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:47:14 -0000

Did you have one too many? Was it something you ate? When Europe's head is over the toilet bowl, what kind of language comes out? Listen to the editorial team 'vomit'

Videos: Boris Johnson, Mariano Rajoy and Rachida Dati

('Astrid vW',) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:19:00 -0000

We reproach them for their stonewalling and evasiveness, but Europe's politicians sometimes say what they really think, whether by mistake or because they can’t avoid it. Watch them go

Idioms: Europe gets stuffed this christmas

('Astrid vW',) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:00:00 -0000

Warning! Over the holidays, the turkey with chestnut stuffing is waiting to ambush you. A little Christmas story about European languages