language
Chicken!
'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'
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
language, tower of babel, society, parents, children, translation
Annett Louisan: 'I don’t need to go the fake platinum blonde bombshell route anymore'
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?
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
language, economic crisis, youth, regions, travel, society, paris
Domain names: internet puts accent on EU languages
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
language, european identity, nationalism, languages, internet, society
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, tower of babel, christmas, germany, religion, children
Baby language
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
language, tower of babel, languages, eurovision song contest, henning studte, children, expressions
Catchy songs
Creepy-crawly expressions for the irritating musical attacks of the ear-worm in Europe. Expression of the week
language, tower of babel, health, ohrwurm, animals, languages, music
Sourpuss
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
language, tower of babel, food, rome, expressions, translation
Is your gran a 'silver surfer'?
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
language, work, tower of babel, age, pensioner, languages, consumers
European day of languages: we love tongues
Every 26 September since 2001, Europe has celebrated the international day of languages – and why not, as the EU has 23 official languages. A Eurostat survey shows that English is the de facto EU lingua franca, which is also a source of constant polemic in the continent, whilst over 35% of EU’s adults speak one language. Will the Italian language be the solution?
European versions of 'Nobody puts baby in a corner'
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
language, dance, cinema, tower of babel, film, united states, expressions
All good things come in small packages
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
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’
language, italy, bioethics, tower of babel, lifestyle, green cities, germany
Europe's fugly munters and mingers
'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…
language, tower of babel, animals, music, audio, expressions, translation
Cervantes: torchbearer of Spanish culture abroad
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
language, spain, culture, education system, cervantes institute
Throw your toys out of the pram
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
language, identity, tower of babel, declan ganley, european elections 2009, expressions, translation
Love story: a German teacher deals with an autistic child in Wales
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’)
language, health, culture, youth, school, love, united kingdom
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