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17 votes
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I've got my IELTS speaking test in a few hours. Is there anyone here who has taken the test and has some tips to share?
It's my first time appearing for the test and I could use some tips. Thanks.
15 votes -
Thunderplump: Ten weird and wonderful words with Susie Dent
5 votes -
Sawing off the branch you’re sitting on: removing disfluencies in natural language processing
7 votes -
The mysterious case of the "lost positive"
8 votes -
Faneka y GUADA - Cortina (2023)
3 votes -
The French Scrabble Champion who doesn't speak French
9 votes -
Does the language you speak change how you think?
42 votes -
Thirty-nine volumes of the Swedish Academy Dictionary stand as Sweden's answer to the Oxford English Dictionary. And it's just been sent to the printers after 140 years.
18 votes -
The surprisingly subtle ways Microsoft Word has changed the way we use language
38 votes -
Have you learned a foreign language as an adult? What did you find effective?
I would love to know of your experiences. I do speak multiple languages, but was lucky to learn them through immersion as a child. I would be super interested to know how people learn languages...
I would love to know of your experiences. I do speak multiple languages, but was lucky to learn them through immersion as a child.
I would be super interested to know how people learn languages (with a goal to speak them fluently) as an adult. What techniques worked? What techniques didn't? Do you have any funny stories (perhaps miscommunication anecdotes)? Was it worth it? Or your things generally in relation to language-learning!
31 votes -
Japan uses blue instead of green on traffic lights
25 votes -
Grammagram
12 votes -
How native English speakers can stop confusing everyone else
26 votes -
There’dn’t’ve
53 votes -
Are you currently learning a new language? Are there any languages that are on your wishlist to learn?
I grew up semi-bilingual (English as my native language, Spanish spoken at least once a day at home), and went on to study Spanish as my language of choice in middle and high school. Despite this,...
I grew up semi-bilingual (English as my native language, Spanish spoken at least once a day at home), and went on to study Spanish as my language of choice in middle and high school. Despite this, I would still like to further my Spanish language skills/knowledge with some self-paced coursework, as the Spanish I grew up hearing in the house was much more colloquial and then the Spanish I studied in school was the "from Spain" Spanish, rather than the Central American Spanish my family spoke. I grew up being better able to understand more than what I could speak or write myself.
When I moved onto to college, I wanted to try studying a different language, so I chose French (bad idea; I could never really get the hang of it between the spelling challenges and the pronunciation being so different from the written word). I took one semester and passed just enough to get credit for the class but moved onto to German -- which was a little bit easier than French but more difficult than Spanish. Beginner classes in it were easy for me to learn, but I started to struggle when I got to upper-intermediate. Plus, I'm not always great at spelling in English, and French and German are not "speller-friendly" languages haha.
Now as I approach my midlife, I am thoroughly enjoying my ASL for Beginners course through my local community college. I find it incredibly intuitive whenever I learn new signs ("oh, that makes sense, cool" when I see a new sign). My mother-in-law has known and taught ASL (as well as SEE) for over 20 years so she is very helpful with me practicing and being able to correct any small mistakes I make. I don't know anyone who is Deaf, but have had a few friends growing up who used hearing aids (I don't think they knew ASL).
So what about you? Are you currently learning a new language? If so, what is it, how do you like it so far, and what led you to want to learn it? If not, are there any languages on your wishlist that you'd like to learn someday?
For me, I wanted to learn ASL as a way to connect more deeply with my MIL in our relationship, as well as have some level of ability to sign with those who are Deaf/deaf. I also wanted to learn it because I wanted an alternative way to communicate with my spouse if we are at a noisy event/party/etc. without having to shout to be heard.
41 votes -
Why it’s time to stop worrying about the decline of the English language
40 votes -
Pato Fu - Sobre O Tempo (1995)
5 votes -
How languages steal words from each other
10 votes -
Danish dictionary to weed out gender stereotypes – ‘career women’ are now paired with ‘career men’ and manslaughter is a linguistic offence
26 votes -
Denmark's parliament to introduce interpreters – Aki-Matilda Hoegh-Dam spoke and answered questions in Greenlandic, causing protests from some lawmakers
12 votes -
Europe talks to itself in many languages. That’s why English is vital to its democracy
17 votes -
BABYMETAL - Metal Kingdom (2023)
7 votes -
Books about… books? More specifically, books about writing?
Not too long ago, I came across a book that changed my life, or at the very least, my writing. While I have some trouble remembering specifics, I do remember it going deep into the world of...
Not too long ago, I came across a book that changed my life, or at the very least, my writing. While I have some trouble remembering specifics, I do remember it going deep into the world of philosophy and psychology, exploring the intricacies of what makes a book, and what our writing really means. The book analyzed the craft of writing, discussing how humans perceive the differences between good and bad writing, the difference between a good speech and a dull monologue, and how good writing becomes great. This, as well as the nuances of human perception on language in general. Alas, I have since lost the book's title and author, but the captivating writing style and genre remains with me, and I’d really enjoy some recommendations of similar works. I don’t expect to ever find it, as my search has led me to other good books about this sort of writing.
*Please forgive me if this is not the method I should be following when I post, this is my first post here. *
16 votes -
Could a language learning model talk to whales? Or a human who speaks a language besides English?
The New Yorker has a provocative article asking the question "Can We Talk To Whales?" It boils down to utilizing language learning models to process a dataset of sperm whale clicks, their codas,...
The New Yorker has a provocative article asking the question "Can We Talk To Whales?" It boils down to utilizing language learning models to process a dataset of sperm whale clicks, their codas, and crossing one's fingers to see if "ClickGPT" can produce actual sperm whale language.
Which makes me wonder if a language learning model been given a library of Chinese sounds and ideograms, without context, then communicated in workable Chinese?
Using a language learning model to learn to speak to whales is an interesting idea, but I'm thinking any LLM assigned the task will wind up chunking out a word salad or something akin to Prisencolinensinainciusol. I'd like to learn more.
24 votes -
Ukraine is becoming a country of traumatised people (Polish, translation in comments)
25 votes -
University of Eastern Finland has received more funding from the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland to continue the Karelian language revitalization project
8 votes -
Daði Freyr – Bitte (2023)
11 votes -
BABYMETAL feat. Tom Morello - メタり!!(2023)
40 votes -
Much of the innovation in natural language processing comes from the US, resulting in an English language bias – Finland decided to change the game with a collective approach
12 votes -
What's a word from another language that you wish was a thing in English?
I think Sitzpinkler from german is really cool. It literally means "sunday emptiness", and refers to a feeling of emptiness/boredom on a sunday afternoon. Edit: I meant sitzprinkler lol
66 votes -
Historian finds evidence for use of y'all in London from 1600s
69 votes -
Hatsune Miku - JPop Heart Sutra (2011)
9 votes -
Icono: A universal language that shows what it says
25 votes -
Mini: The minimal language
43 votes -
Retired Komusubi Gagamaru visits Miyagino stable to observe the training by retired Yokozuna Hakuho (English translation)
5 votes -
Looking for sources related to "The Repetitive Nature of Human Tribulations"
Hello everyone :) I write as a hobby and have had an article in my drafts for a long, long time. In essence, I'd like to discuss the "repetitive nature of human tribulations/suffering/life", that...
Hello everyone :)
I write as a hobby and have had an article in my drafts for a long, long time. In essence, I'd like to discuss the "repetitive nature of human tribulations/suffering/life", that is, the fact that regardless of superficial characteristics we all are confronted with extremely similar circumstances throughout our lives.
Whether it's 10 years into our lives or 40, there's joy, heartbreak, loss, a need to belong, some desire for freedom, a need for a purpose, lack of direction, obsession with a newly found direction, etc.
I'd love to come across poets, philosophers, psychologists, etc who have touched upon this subject: we are not defined by our circumstances, as they are, in very broad strokes, largely the same, but by how we are able to adapt and reinvent ourselves amidst those same circumstances.
Looking forward for your answers :)
Thanks!
7 votes -
Researchers have decoded more than half of the characters in the so-called Kushan script by comparing them with inscriptions in a known ancient language called Bactrian
13 votes -
AI often mangles African languages. A network of thousands of coders and researchers is working to develop translation tools that understand their native languages
17 votes -
Lumière - A.M.I.E.S.A.M.O.U.R (2021)
4 votes -
Madredeus - O Pastor (1990)
7 votes -
A simulation of first contact ran on May 24, 2023. Here is the website with the details.
15 votes -
Tuna chewing: Why some say "chube" and some say "toob"
19 votes -
Duolingo alternatives for learning Ukrainian
Hello! Привіт! Pryvit! I started learning Ukrainian on Duolingo in February 2022 following Russia's attacks. It was my first time attempting to learn a language for 10+ years and it just clicked....
Hello! Привіт! Pryvit!
I started learning Ukrainian on Duolingo in February 2022 following Russia's attacks. It was my first time attempting to learn a language for 10+ years and it just clicked. I grew to love the language, became entranced with the culture, and had desires to keep learning. Prior to Duolingo's redesign, I had a year+ streak and made it fairly far in the course.
The redesign has absolutely killed that passion. Maybe it's just the Ukrainian course, but it felt like I was going in circles and not really progressing as I once had. I've shelved my learning for a few months, but I really desire an alternative to Duolingo. Unfortunately, there's not many options that offer Ukrainian and I want to ensure I am learning the language as intended. I've read into how Russian influences have attempted to modify the language and I desire to learn the form that Ukrainian's would use.
I'm not quite at a level to learn from books or more static resources, and would prefer the interactivity of an app to help get me to that comfort level again. I've tried Pimsleur and wasn't as much of a fan of their format that reminded me of language tapes. One of the things I enjoyed with Duolingo was the verbal parts of it that helped with my pronunciation, and Pimsleur didn't appear to offer that.
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! I have seen old posts referring to a SubStack and other resources, but at this time I need a refresher before I feel comfortable diving into those. I would love to incorporate learning a little bit of Ukrainian everyday again! Слава Україні!
19 votes -
Learn a foreign language before it’s too late
25 votes -
A very interesting video on the phonetics of English regional accents, spoken by a polyglot in the accents
22 votes -
The art of translation
29 votes -
PassCode - GROUNDSWELL (2023)
2 votes -
Who else partakes in worldbuilding/mapmaking and those sorts of things?
Looking for some worldbuilding buddies here on tildes. What's a brief history on your current world? What's your favorite creation? Person, animal, location, etc.
8 votes -
Overuse of commas
First I thought to myself, "I seem to use too many commas." Now I'm no writer, but I've noticed that professional writers (and editors) clearly use less commas than I do. For example, here's a...
First I thought to myself, "I seem to use too many commas." Now I'm no writer, but I've noticed that professional writers (and editors) clearly use less commas than I do.
For example, here's a sentence in a book that I'm reading: “As the victim was usually unconscious it was obvious they were totally reliant upon third parties and whatever action they took would determine their fate.”
I thought it was interesting, because I would've put a comma after "unconscious" and a comma before "and."
So, I found this helpful resource on grammar rules: https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/commas.asp. 4a and 5b in particular were situations where I learned I could get rid of commas.
Still however, in the example sentence above, you'd think to put a comma before the "and" to separate the two clauses. I haven't found an explanation for omitting it, other than some writers are grammatically correct in a stricter sense, and others use commas more stylistically.
Is the use of commas more of an art, if you will, than I thought? How do you use commas personally?
Interested to read others' opinions!
74 votes