The astonishing sound of Magyar
Having just returned from Budapest, I was happy to rediscover this galloping description of the way it can sound to...
An English view of Russian
Although ignorant of Russian, I am interested in how cultures see other cultures, and languages see other languages, even if...
Hoovering up ideas
There's such a zest to this account of the Armenian approach to dealing with invaders: translate everything you can get...
Language as refreshing as fresh-brewed tea
Such a fresh image to describe how a foreign language makes you feel. Here, a refreshing, fragrant black tea chucked...
Of time and tenses II
Another angle on language and how it shapes or at least influences our perception of time. Here Adam Nicolson discusses...
Of time and tenses I
A fascinating insight into how we fold our perceptions of time into language, or language influences such perceptions. It made...
All languages, all accents
Steinbeck sums up the polyglot strengths and quirks of his friend Robert Capa with whom he spent a month in...
Instinct with poetry
A fine and subtle way to depict a look which appears to express more than the person looking is capable...
Language like a wipe of garlic
What a way to convey the invigorating presence of foreign words in a language. Even if imperfectly grafted, they add...
Jangling the keys of your language
A lovely way to signal a pride and enjoyment of one’s language, a linguistic version of jangling your Ferrari keys...
Translation as hammering
Heaney conveys in a simple image the difficulty of translating poetry. Elsewhere, he refers to his progress as being ‘scriptorium...
Dead languages or dormant minds?
There are some marvelous characters in The Shadow of the Wind, several of them highly opinionated and articulate orators, who...
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