Tower of Babel

PANORAMA tower of babel : Europe-gate. Or how to name criminal investigations across Europe

Europe-gate. Or how to name criminal investigations across Europe

Things are hotting up in Spain’s courts with the 'Gürtel' case. How does a Spanish juridical affair end up with a German name? European investigation titles go on trial

by Cristina Cartes @ // 08/02/12

tower of babel, corruption, spain, society, justice

PANORAMA tower of babel : Salami strategy: the art of ‘wullfing’

Salami strategy: the art of ‘wullfing’

With its Hungarian origins, this sausage of a saying provides European inspiration to help the German head of state Christian Wulff worm his way out of the current corruption scandal

by Katharina Kloss @ // 24/01/12

tower of babel, corruption, germany, hungary, christian wulff, multilingualism, languages

NEWS tower of babel : Dinner for one in 2012

Dinner for one in 2012

The Brits have spent the end of year in a 'lull' whilst the Germans are going through 'new year's fatigue'. In their new year's addresses at least, Europe's Franco-German leaders warned us it won't be getting any better this new year

by English language version of cafebabel.com @ // 09/01/12

tower of babel, christmas, germany, cinema, new year´s eve, united kingdom, television

PANORAMA tower of babel : Itanglish: new Italian dialect?

Itanglish: new Italian dialect?

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?

by Daniele Mazzacani @ // 05/01/12

tower of babel, italy, techno-media, society, multilingualism, language

NEWS tower of babel : European words of 2011

European words of 2011

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

by Annie Rutherford @ // 20/12/11

tower of babel, angela merkel, nick clegg, david cameron, nicolas sarkozy, 'indignant citizens' movement, language

OPINION tower of babel : Tearjerker tips for Europe in crisis

Tearjerker tips for Europe in crisis

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

by English language version of cafebabel.com @ // 07/12/11

tower of babel, love, music, idioms, entertainment, culture, cinema

PANORAMA tower of babel : A-Z glossary of European terms of endearment

A-Z glossary of European terms of endearment

From the coasts of Portugal via the Balkans to the Urals, locals become cannibals, zoophiles, astronomers and gastronomists when they give their lovers pet names. Here are some tips on nicknames to use when trying to hit on that cute foreign boy or girl, whether you are serious about hooking up abroad or just having a good-natured laugh

by Fabijancka @ // 30/11/11

tower of babel, love, europe, society, lifestyle, languages

PANORAMA tower of babel : Big city life: Europe’s pigeons

Big city life: Europe’s pigeons

Doves and pigeons are one and the same except that the former got the 'symbol of peace' gig and the latter became the grey critters affectionately known as ‘rats with wings’. Whence the flight of fancy?

by Christina Heuschen @ // 25/11/11

tower of babel, italy, germany, animals, europe, spain, united kingdom

ANALYSIS tower of babel : Pan-Slavism, Slovio and Polish the 'status symbol'

Pan-Slavism, Slovio and Polish the 'status symbol'

The Slavic languages all have their roots in Proto-Slavic. Since the twelfth century, however, they have drifted apart. One of them reached its zenith in the seventeenth century: Polish

by dennis maschmann // 16/11/11

tower of babel, russian federation, belarus, alcohol, languages, esperanto, bulgaria

PANORAMA tower of babel : Post-World Cup guide to language of European rugby

Post-World Cup guide to language of European rugby

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

by Matthieu Amaré @ // 27/10/11

tower of babel, sport, rugby, france, language, languages

tower of babel : 'Pie chart' becomes 'camembert' chart in French class

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

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

by Annika Schlüter @ // 24/10/11

tower of babel, food, europe, economical crisis, multilingualism, language

FOCUS tower of babel : ABV guide to learning your Serbian (from your Croatian, Montenegrin and Bosnian)

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

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

by Nabeelah Shabbir @ // 05/10/11

tower of babel, paris, bosnia and herzegovina, croatia, serbia, montenegro, politics

PANORAMA tower of babel : Holy summer of '63

Holy summer of '63

Be it the word for ‘dead leaves’ in German, holiness or simple Latin - how European use of the word 'holiday' has evolved

by Katharina Kloss @ // 30/09/11

tower of babel, holiday, vacation, languages

PANORAMA tower of babel : Why the English love a bit of German ‘angst’ or Spanish ‘macho’

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

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'...

by Birke Gerold @ // 21/09/11

tower of babel, language

PANORAMA tower of babel : Holy wow!

Holy wow!

Are you more a Sacre bleu! or a Gosh-Golly-Goodness squealer? Do you Mamma Mia! or prefer a bit of Jesus Christ in that equation? Blasphemy and the art of exasperation are part and parcel of the phrase of the week, as seen through cafebabel.com's six official tongues

by Cristina Cartes @ // 14/09/11

tower of babel, religion, culture, jose maria aznar

ANALYSIS tower of babel : Champagne socialism: rewriting the left

Champagne socialism: rewriting the left

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…

by Birke Gerold @ // 31/08/11

tower of babel, language

PANORAMA tower of babel : Germans ban ‘I Like’ facebook button, Spanish want to ‘Dislike’

Germans ban ‘I Like’ facebook button, Spanish want to ‘Dislike’

The north German state Schleswig Holstein has announced that it is banning facebook’s famous ‘I like’ button, with websites which haven’t removed it before the end of September facing fines of up to 50, 000 euros (44,000 pounds). Whilst Germany and the UK have raised more general concerns, the Spanish were there first

by Annie Rutherford @ // 25/08/11

tower of babel, germany, spain, united kingdom, google, social networks, copyright

PANORAMA tower of babel : Pass the buck, Murdoch and Brooks

Pass the buck, Murdoch and Brooks

During the British parliamentary hearing of the news tycoon Murdochs on 19 July, a friend analysed the 'father-and-son's game of patty-cake': 'I pass the buck to you, you pass it back. Pass pass pass pass, oh, and then pass it to competitor papers, because it's clearly their fault. And then pass it to News of the World because how can one or two men be responsible for a company that's just SO big?' Is it a phrase which translates well to other European idioms?

by English language version of cafebabel.com @ // 20/07/11

tower of babel, scandal, idioms, society, newspaper, media, united kingdom

PANORAMA tower of babel : Handbag politics: Italian Thatcher would've eaten pasta from off the top of your head

Handbag politics: Italian Thatcher would've eaten pasta from off the top of your head

To celebrate the former British prime minister's handbag fetching £25, 000 at a charity auction on 27 June, we looked for European equivalents to her famous 'handbag politics' to intimidate those around her. A German or Polish Thatcher would have used lyrical 'sleeves' and 'pockets' to put the pressure on you. Word concept of the week

by Matthieu Amaré @ // 29/06/11

tower of babel, churchill, margaret thatcher, politics, languages

PORTRAIT tower of babel : One man show

One man show

Ultimately, 'babelians' all self-identify as one-men shows of sorts: young journalists who write, take photos, film reports, translate and freelance as well as look for other jobs on the side. But enough about us. Idiom of the week

by Aleksandra Sygiel @ // 24/06/11

tower of babel, culture, jasmine revolution, revolution, politics

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