My younger brother is doing a Peace Corp stint in Senegal. His host family (with whom he's staying while he learns the language) has taken to calling him by the name of their son of the same age. While I'm sure this is a gesture of welcoming, I find it very odd. Is this customary? What's the convention and where does it come from. [more inside]
posted by es_de_bah on Oct 1, 2011 - 8 answers

I'm an Englishman married to a Lithuanian - so we have 2 different, though similar, alphabets between us - how can we orthographically regularise our surnames? Alternative spellings? Double-barrelled names? [more inside]
posted by KMH on Mar 4, 2011 - 16 answers

I'm moving to the UK for the next three years and have some questions about my identity and language use. [more inside]
posted by iamkimiam on May 5, 2010 - 41 answers

What language is this, and what is the translation of the part with my name on it? And who is the artist? [more inside]
posted by Sparx on Feb 12, 2010 - 17 answers

I'm half Dutch, but I've never been to The Netherlands. On my first trip there, where should I go, and what should I do, to get a better understanding of contemporary Dutch culture and language? [more inside]
posted by embrangled on Oct 8, 2009 - 11 answers

Is there a term for that feeling when you realize someone else notices (or notices in a particular way) something you had never thought of anyone else paying attention to, or viewing similarly? [more inside]
posted by phrontist on Dec 19, 2008 - 12 answers