My 2-year-old daughter is growing up in a two-language household. Any advice on ensuring a balanced retention of vocabulary?
[more inside]
posted by Tenacious.Me.Tokyo
on Nov 22, 2011 -
19 answers
What’s a sure-fire way of knowing the difference between “their” and there; I always end up getting confused between the two.
[more inside]
posted by hadjiboy
on Nov 21, 2011 -
19 answers
How can I work on a more "natural" delivery (emphasis, pitch, etc.) when reading books aloud?
[more inside]
posted by yersinia
on Nov 16, 2011 -
9 answers
Planning to attend a language course in Bremen, Germany early next year. Need extensive MeFi advice/help!
[more inside]
posted by naskar
on Nov 12, 2011 -
14 answers
The user's actual email address ends with ".com", but it is POST'ed to the application as ".cPr". This has happened with multiple users. Any ideas on what would cause that?
[more inside]
posted by foggy out there now
on Oct 26, 2011 -
14 answers
Latin American people and/or people who have studied Latin American lore/mythology and/or art: I need to know all about the phrase "El duende", or "duende".
[more inside]
posted by jitterbug perfume
on Oct 25, 2011 -
9 answers
I have lived and worked with a lot of people from different places around the world. From one of these people I have picked up the habit of saying "
Thank you kindly" instead of simply "Thank you". Is there a country or region where this is particularly common?
[more inside]
posted by alby
on Oct 15, 2011 -
21 answers
Is there a term for when a word or piece of media or other undefined thing is an example of itself?
[more inside]
posted by FritoKAL
on Oct 11, 2011 -
15 answers
Why do people in German dubs of American movies use the second-person plural form of the verb so strangely? They often use it in place of either the polite form or just the second-person singular, z.b. in the
Pirates of the Caribbean, the Commodore says to Will Turner (just Will Turner), "Ihr seid kein Seemann." What?
[more inside]
posted by colfax
on Oct 9, 2011 -
8 answers
How can I most effectively learn a language (specifically Spanish) while in a college Spanish class?
[more inside]
posted by R a c h e l
on Oct 5, 2011 -
20 answers
Which entertaining Korean-language podcasts intended for native speakers can best help a Korean-learner improve his listening skills?
[more inside]
posted by colinmarshall
on Oct 4, 2011 -
3 answers
If I had never seen the internet before, where would you direct me in 2011? What are the best news, film, music, art, fashion, history, technology, gossip, sports websites and blogs out there?
[more inside]
posted by maca
on Oct 3, 2011 -
14 answers
Is there a common English word or a technical term that names the process of taking a page or picture from the real world to the virtual? In other words, if I took a physical page and, with a scanner or camera, turned it into a file on my computer; what would you call that action?
posted by millerizer
on Oct 2, 2011 -
21 answers
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
Search terms and/or citations for research on teaching the reading and writing of languages written in cursive scripts?
[more inside]
posted by bardophile
on Sep 28, 2011 -
9 answers
Pottery is made in a pottery. What else is made in its namesake? Is there a name for this?
[more inside]
posted by lukeo05
on Sep 22, 2011 -
31 answers
In Korean, the words for 'mom' and 'dad', respectively, are umma and appa. In Hebrew (maybe other Semitic languages, too), they are ima and abba. Is there a link between Korean (maybe other east Asian languages?) and the Semitic languages?
posted by KingoftheWhales
on Sep 22, 2011 -
19 answers
How can I actually learn to speak Korean? I have a few materials, but they're not hitting the spot for me. Or I need to do something else with them.
[more inside]
posted by Not Supplied
on Sep 21, 2011 -
7 answers
Does this app exist? I want a utility for my Android that will provide on-the-fly translations for selected sections of a body of text I am reading, without requiring me to leave the text or manually type in the section I need translated.
[more inside]
posted by Scientist
on Sep 21, 2011 -
5 answers
Is there a way to find out if 'petrol' or 'gas' is the most recognized word for vehicle fuel by country?
[more inside]
posted by pb
on Sep 20, 2011 -
9 answers
I'm trying to track down a French book, published recently, 2010 or 2011. It's either a conlang book or a book about an invented society. Possibly both. It is not a novel or a collection of stories but a description of the language/society. This is the author's first book. It was published by a respected publishing house and garnered positive notes in France.
posted by Kattullus
on Sep 18, 2011 -
2 answers
I am a professional translator, Japanese to English. I work almost entirely in comics and novels, at home, alone. My Japanese language skills are atrophying, and I don't know what to do about it.
[more inside]
posted by anonymous
on Sep 15, 2011 -
25 answers
What's the proper Romanian phrase said at weddings to the newlyweds or bride (assuming it exists)?
[more inside]
posted by RolandOfEld
on Sep 14, 2011 -
5 answers
"American English is like a mugger in a back alley who, instead of taking your wallet, takes your pocket dictionary".
I read a quote in this vein a while ago and I'm trying to identify the actual quote and the source.
posted by chara
on Sep 12, 2011 -
4 answers
What's another term for "part time", that would be more appropriate when attached to someone who is on a company's board of directors?
[more inside]
posted by farce majeure
on Sep 7, 2011 -
22 answers
Good, fast, and cheap way to learn basic conversational Mandarin?
[more inside]
posted by kmz
on Sep 1, 2011 -
5 answers
I like ClicheFinder and use it often to help me brainstorm clever titles for events and programs. What are some other sites that aggregate common word associations and turns of phrase? Or more general creative wordplay?
[more inside]
posted by Miko
on Sep 1, 2011 -
8 answers
Can you recommend textbooks and offer any other advice for me to work my way up the JLPT tests.
[more inside]
posted by mairuzu
on Aug 31, 2011 -
4 answers
Hey MeFites: I'm studying Latin and Greek at a university and starting to feel overwhelmed. Help me study more effectively!
[more inside]
posted by anonymous
on Aug 29, 2011 -
19 answers
Is there a name for the practice of transliterating between alphabets, but doing substitutions based purely on
shape, not sound? e.g., Я becomes R, З becomes 3, И becomes N...
[more inside]
posted by soma lkzx
on Aug 25, 2011 -
6 answers
I'd like to learn Norwegian. Caveat: I'd like to learn specifically the Bergen dialect/accent. Is that possible?
[more inside]
posted by Busoni
on Aug 21, 2011 -
3 answers
What are some good English-language TV shows for toddlers where the characters aren't speaking in overly affected voices?
[more inside]
posted by holterbarbour
on Aug 18, 2011 -
25 answers
