language
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?
language, italy, tower of babel, techno-media, multilingualism, society
Nightlife in Vilnius: ethnic minority benders
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
language, union of soviet socialist republic, best of cafebabel.com, multikulti on the ground, discrimination, vilnius, russian federation
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
language, tower of babel, angela merkel, nick clegg, david cameron, nicolas sarkozy, 'indignant citizens' movement
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
language, cinema, tower of babel, idioms, entertainment, languages, culture
Sexist grammar: the French and German cases
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
language, feminism, germany, best of cafebabel.com, men and women, languages, society
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
'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
language, tower of babel, food, europe, economical crisis, multilingualism
Feminist France: ‘mademoiselle’ vs 'madame'
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’
language, feminism, germany, best of cafebabel.com, men and women, society, france
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
language, tower of babel, paris, bosnia and herzegovina, croatia, serbia, montenegro
Belarus schools: language of peasants or programmers?
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
language, belarus, minsk, school, alexander lukashenko, multilingualism, politics
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'...
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…
Pure player
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
language, tower of babel, europe, internet, media, european media
Knecht Ruprecht and his motley crew of Christmas meanies
Santa Claus is coming to town...and so what? Europe’s christmas traditions don’t always bring nice surprises
language, italy, children, religion, tower of babel, christmas, germany
Hung out to dry
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
European politicians: Freudian slips
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
European day of languages: cat got the European tongue
The concept of ‘lost in translation’ isn’t really a valid one anymore. Why learn languages if French and Czechs are communicating with each other in English at any random conference in Madrid or Krakow? Why stuff your brain with vocabulary, young Brits ask themselves, if at the end your German degree doesn’t get you high up on the job ladder? And why try and understand your neighbour, if the Belgian melting pot hasn’t even worked out – today the country is threatening to split into French and Flemish parts. Even an EU commissioner from Luxembourg is criticised in the media for addressing a message to France in English whilst in Brussels. Language is the smallest common denominator of mutual understanding and integration. The European Day of Languages promotes each 26th of September for consistent language diversity on the old continent
- Read the special edition European day of languages: cat got the European tongue
- Romain Galati: 'In ten years people will be speaking more languages'
- Brief status of sign language in Europe
- Luxemburg: three languages, one nation
- Belgium: a linguistic laboratory
- ‘Learning German is pointless’: British students abandon foreign languages
- Portmanteau words: Denglisch in Europe
France's anti-anglicism crusade
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?
language, italy, tower of babel, anglicism, germany, languages, culture
Carme Riera: why Catalan’s 'days are numbered'
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
language, literature, carme riera, culture, lisbon, barcelona, multiculturalism
Too many bank holiday Mondays
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?
language, tower of babel, inglaterra, holiday, 9 de mayo, spain, france
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