Easy Languages: Stories of Language Learning: Recent Episodes
Rita, Raffaele and the teams from Easy Languages
Who said language learning has to be difficult? Join Rita, Raffaele and the teams from the Easy Languages network as they share their stories of language learning and answer your questions. Members get bonus content, monthly Q&As, discounts and many more perks. Learn more at easy-languages.org/podcast!
In the first part of this episode, we tell the story of Vilfredo Pareto, the Italian economist who discovered a distribution law that changed economics, and how we can all apply this principle to language learning, especially acquiring vocabulary. In the second part, we go into more detail and spill the beans on how we go about learning new words in the first stages of studying a language, and why it’s a bad idea to learn from lists of words. Show Notes Pareto Principle Pareto principle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle) (Wikipedia) Vilredo Pareto (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilfredo_Pareto) (Wikipedia) 8 Ways To Apply The 80/20 Rule To Language Learning (https://storylearning.com/blog/7-ways-to-apply-the-8020-rule-to-language-learning) (Storylearning) The Pareto Principle (80-20 Rule): Minimize the Effort, Maximize the Results (https://www.fluentin3months.com/80-20-rule/) (Fluent in 3 Months) 80/20 Rule: How to Learn Languages with the Pareto Principle (https://www.theintrepidguide.com/the-pareto-principle-in-language-learning) (The Intrepid Guide) How to Master the ‘Magical 2,5%’ (https://languageboost.biz/pareto-principle/) (Language Boost) Simple English Wikipedia Wikipedia Article about it (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_English_Wikipedia) (Wikipedia) The free online encyclopedia in Basic English and Learning English (https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page) (Simple English Wikipedia) Japanese Kanji (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanji) (Wikipedia) Kanji Frequency List (http://web.archive.org/web/20080919234047/http://nozaki-lab.ics.aichi-edu.ac.jp/nozaki/asahi/kanji.html) (Aichi University of Education) Mandarin Chinese Chinese characters (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_characters) (Wikipedia) Pareto Principle & the Chinese Language (https://www.mandarinblueprint.com/blog/pareto-principle-the-chinese-language/) (Mandarin Blueprint) Easy Languages Videos on the World Cup 2022 Foreigners Trying to Pronounce the Names of Polish Football Players | Easy Polish 192 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fICUInholc) Brazilians Predict the 2022 World Cup Winners | Easy Portuguese 73 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY4MiYWY5gs) Support the Easy Languages Podcast and get bonus content, monthly Q&As, and many more perks: easy-languages.org/podcast
Go on Dying! Do you wonder why Icelanders keep cursing each other regularly or where their names originated? Would you be able to name the God of Poetry in Icelandic mythology or even pronounce Thor or Odin's name correctly? Join Rita and her guest from Speak Viking, Óskar Bragi Stefansson, through Eddas, Sagas, on a journey to learning about an alluring language: Icelandic. Learn about the unofficial motto of Iceland and listen to Óskar explain how to implement the KISS principle effectively in learning Icelandic. And for those who joined our beautiful community, you'll get to know how to greet people in Icelandic during this jolly season along a few fun facts about Icelandic and much more. Bless, bless! Show Notes Speak Viking Media: * Website & Newsletter Subscription (www.speakviking.com) Youtube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/SpeakViking) Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/SpeakViking) Old Norse: What is Old Norse? (https://oldnorse.org/what-is-old-norse) (OldNorse.org) Old Norse | Can Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic speakers understand it? (https://oldnorse.org/what-is-old-norse) (Ecolinguist) Bragi: * Norse Mythology (https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/the-aesir-gods-and-goddesses/bragi/) Eddas & Sagas: * The Icelandic Literature Center (https://www.islit.is/en/promotion-and-translations/icelandic-literature/the-edda-and-the-sagas-of-the-icelanders/) Gunnar: * Norse and Viking Mythology (https://blog.vkngjewelry.com/en/gunnar-hamumdarson/) Þetta Reddast! It will all work out ok! Iceland’s Unofficial Motto: * BBC (https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20180603-the-unexpected-philosophy-icelanders-live-by) How to ACTUALLY pronounce names from Norse Mythology (Icelandic): * Hrafna Youtube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0lWOLhoCUE) Pronunciation of Iceland’s Famous Volcanic Glacier: The Icelandic Volcano Tongue Twister (April 20th, 2010) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uCKSYTH-4o) (DennisMenice10) Secret Life of Walter Mitty - What is "Eyjafjallajökull"? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=4a1xMY3DAZk&ab_channel=IDX) (ID X) Eyjafjallajökull (https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2207072/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) (imdb) Support the Easy Languages Podcast and get bonus content, monthly Q&As, and many more perks: easy-languages.org/podcast
Salam! This episode discusses how Arabic varieties around the "Arab world" differ from each other and where a beginner should start their journey with a fascinating yet not fully appreciated language. Therefore, we interrogate which variety one should learn and how long it takes to learn Arabic. And last but not least, we risk asking the taunting question: isn't "darija" -the ugly duckling of the Arabic dialects- underrated? We share our views on these highly controversial topics and a few fun facts surrounding this West Semitic language. And for those who took the leap and joined our community, you'll be able to learn some basic phrases in Arabic, along with Raffaele, in the aftershow! Yallah! Show Notes Introduction to Arabic (in English): La langue arabe: Son histoire étonnante et fonctionnalités (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDg3yPSzsEg) (Paul, Langfocus) Arabic Language (https://www.britannica.com/topic/Arabic-language) (Britannica) Comparison between dialects: Moroccan DARIJA (An Arabic Dialect??) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6x_6K0OR3w) (Paul, Langfocus) Arabic Dialects - Which Arabic dialect to learn? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9prfM2wAp24) (Al Andalusi) Resources to learn Arabic (Levantine): Read & Write ANYTHING in Arabic in only 6 lessons! Alphabet #1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RcgfyuBlz8) (LearnArabicwithMaha) Learn Lebanese (with Dalia) (https://www.instagram.com/learnlebanese/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D) (Instagram) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLnr17rEFrQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLnr17rEFrQ)(Language Simp) The Alphabet: Arabic Alphabet Explained by an American (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLnr17rEFrQ) (Language Simp) Challenge: Saying the Arabic Alphabet for 10 Hours Straight (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugcbH6OTb-U) (Language Simp) Fun Facts: Transliteration and texting in Arabic - Why So many numbers? (https://talkinarabic.com/arabic-texting/) (talkinarabic) Arabic in Easy Languages What makes you happy? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gX7hqsHBZc&list=RDLVyutt-bl9ODY&index=4) (Easy Egyptian Arabic 23) We Asked Egyptians What They Were Doing! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zsz0ou4VX2g) (Easy Egyptian Arabic 36 with Tim from Easy Dutch) What Are Your Hobbies? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzQ7bmyRsDQ) (Easy Tunisian Arabic 13) Support the Easy Languages Podcast and get bonus content, monthly Q&As, and many more perks: easy-languages.org/podcast
In this episode, we meet José, a polyglot from Bolivia who moved to Spain and currently studies linguistics, but only when he's not creating content for Easy Spanish. We discuss how Spanish varieties around the world differ, and what is voseo. But most importantly, we answer the ultimate question for those who want to learn Spanish: which variety should you study? Finally, should grammar be the priority when you learn a new language? Does grammar even exist? We share our views on these hotly debated topics and more! Show Notes Easy Spanish Easy Spanish YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/EasySpanish) Easy Spanish Podcast (https://www.easy-spanish.org/pagina-nueva) Easy Spanish Winter School 2023 (https://www.easy-spanish.org/winter-school-2023) Wikipedia Bolivia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boliviahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolivia) Saint Seiya (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Seiya) Spanish language (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language) Spanish dialects and varieties (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_dialects_and_varieties) Voseo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voseo) Kingdom of Naples (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Naples) Rioplatense Spanish (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rioplatense_Spanish) Italian Argentines (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Argentines) Support the Easy Languages Podcast and get bonus content, monthly Q&As, and many more perks: easy-languages.org/podcast
In this episode, we delve into the dark depths of the etymology of words like Halloween and Samhain! But fear not, it’s just an excuse for us to talk about Celtic languages and some words that creeped into the English language! We also covered a hotly debated topic: can you really learn a language in 3 months? And if not, how long does it really take to do so? We’ll check what scientific studies say, but we will also share our own opinions and experiences. Show Notes Wikipedia Hogmanay (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogmanay) Halloween (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween#Etymology) Samhain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain#Etymology) Languages of Scotland (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Scotland) Scots Language (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_language) Scottish Gaelic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Gaelic) Celtic Languages (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_languages) Welsh Corgi dog (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Corgi) Whisky, etymology (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisky#Etymology) Book series read by Raffaele: The Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Warlord_Chronicles) Benny Lewis, Fluent in 3 Months (https://www.fluentin3months.com) Steve Kaufmann, Lingq (https://lingq.com/), The Linguist (https://www.youtube.com/c/Thelinguist) (YouTube) Language Learning Timelines (https://www.state.gov/foreign-language-training/) (Foreign Service Institute, US Department of State) What are the hardest languages to learn (https://voxy.com/blog/2011/03/hardest-languages-infographic/) (Voxy) Five Factors That Determine How Long it Takes to Learn a Foreign Language (https://www.studyandgoabroad.com/meaningful-travel/language-travel/long-does-learn-foreign-language/) (Study and Go Abroad) How to learn any language in six months (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0yGdNEWdn0), Chris Lonsdale, TEDx (YouTube) Omniglot (https://omniglot.com/) A short passage from a movie (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KzmZ17uD1M) in which a young Chinese guy enters a bar in Ireland, speaks Irish, and… (YouTube) Support the Easy Languages Podcast and get bonus content, monthly Q&As, and many more perks: easy-languages.org/podcast
In this episode we celebrate a new milestone: the Easy Greek YouTube channel has reached 50k subscribers! We invited Dimitris to learn a little bit more about his passions but also his family, heritage and languages. We also discussed the history of the Greek language and its influences on today's Europe and why his students decided to learn the language of mythology and philosophy. Finally, Dimitris shares his approach to raising multilingual children and his language-learning tips for grown-ups. Show Notes Easy Greek Videos (https://www.youtube.com/c/EasyGreekVideos): How to Make Spanakopita Like a Greek Mum | Easy Greek 92 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McnBMce3fc8) Do Modern Greeks Know Ancient Greek? | Easy Greek 12 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2fRTS8DZ8U) Modern Greeks Try to Read Ancient Greek | Easy Greek 56 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe0_BKkfg6g) The Greek Alphabet 1: Pronunciation | Super Easy Greek 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYYkGYdqDds) Little Kook, Athens (https://www.tripadvisor.it/Restaurant_Review-g189400-d9710322-Reviews-Little_Kook-Athens_Attica.html) (Tripadvisor) Strange Brew, Athens (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g189400-d17425329-Reviews-Strange_Brew_Taproom_Bottleshop-Athens_Attica.html) (Tripadvisor) Saganaki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saganaki) (Wikipedia) History of Greek (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Greek) (Wikipedia) The Ingenious Language, Andrea Marcolongo (https://www.amazon.com/Ingenious-Language-Nine-Reasons-Greek/dp/1609455452) (Amazon) Book Review (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/nov/07/ingenious-language-nine-epic-reasons-love-greek-andrea-marcolongo-review) (The Guardian) Easy Greek Podcast 94: Οι κατηγορίες των Easy Greekers (https://www.easygreek.fm/94) Big Fat Greek Wedding, "Give my any word" scene with Mr Portokalos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL9whwwTK6I) The word for orange (fruit) in many languages, map (https://mapsontheweb.zoom-maps.com/post/110890462230/the-word-orange-in-different-european-languages) (Maps on the Web) In Greek mythology, apricots were believed to be "golden apples" (https://www.jogobella.com/en/jogobellas-fruits/detail/tc/Taste/ta/show/ti/apricot-86/#:~:text=In%20Greek%20mythology%2C%20apricots%20were,by%20a%20dragon%20named%20Ladon) (Jogobella) Greece-Italy relations (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece%E2%80%93Italy_relations) (Wikipedia) "Una faccia, una razza" (https://greekreporter.com/2019/11/16/una-faccia-una-razza-the-fascinating-story-of-greco-italian-bonds/) (Greek Reporter) One person, one language (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_person,_one_language) (Wikipedia) Support the Easy Languages Podcast and get bonus content, monthly Q&As, and many more perks: easy-languages.org/podcast
Can our personalities shift when speaking a different language? Do we suddenly become more punctual when expressing ourselves in German and more joyful when communicating in Brazilian Portuguese? In this episode, we take you on a journey from Berlin to Rio, talk about music for our tip of the week, and present you with three of the most interesting untranslatable words in Portuguese. To your headphones! Show Notes Easy German & Easy Brazilian Portuguese Video Collaboration Germany vs Brazil (Easy German 470) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eju8DypBm7U) (Easy German) What Do Brazilians Think About Germans? (Easy Portuguese 67) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55BdacugR-w) (Easy Brazilian Portuguese) Untranslatable Words Korean "Noonchi" explained (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi8hZFHdHDk) (Kozziecom) Saudade (https://www.eurolondon.com/news-and-blog/my-5-most-beautiful-but-untranslatable-portuguese-words/) (Eurolondon) Xodó & Cafuné (https://caminhoslanguages.com/blog/portuguese-words-cant-be-translated/) (Caminhos Languages) Languages and personality shift Switching languages can also switch personality (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-languages-personalities-idUSSP4652020080624) (Reuters) How switching languages can change your personality (https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14202-how-switching-language-can-change-your-personality/)(New Scientist) Illustration of the three untranslatable words via Brazilian Music Dominguinhos - "Eu Só Quero Um Xodó" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPm6YnDNyj0) Elba Ramalho - Ai Que Saudade D'Ocê (Live) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77EiccDmCPQ) Support the Easy Languages Podcast and get bonus content, monthly Q&As, and many more perks: easy-languages.org/podcast
In this episode, we invite you to meet Cari. You'll get to hear the following: The story of the birth of Easy Languages, told by Cari, and how it all started with Janusz and Cari. The meaning of a mysterious German idiomatic expression. Something you didn't know about Cari, and you learn exclusively in our podcast. And for our Patrons, a special bonus in German with Cari! Show Notes Easy German * Easy German website (https://www.easygerman.org/about) * Easy German Podcast (https://www.easygerman.org/podcast) * Easy German LIVE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnqTeFypXjk) Cari * Cari's personal website (http://carisafari.de) Easy English * Easy English Podcast (https://www.easyenglish.fm) * Janusz on Easy English (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5QP8Gc52qw) Support the Easy Languages Podcast and get bonus content, monthly Q&As, and many more perks: easy-languages.org/podcast
Learning a new language from scratch? You might already know thousands of words! In this episode, we show you how to improve your language awareness and possibly save months in your language journey by using this infallible trick in our tip of the week section: cognate vocabulary and how to navigate the intricacies of false friends! Show Notes Easy Languages Schools Easy German Summer School (https://www.easygerman.org/summerschool) Easy Spanish Winter School (https://www.easy-spanish.org/winter-school-2023) Channels celebrating a milestone Easy French (https://www.youtube.com/c/EasyFrench) Easy Italian (https://www.youtube.com/c/EasyItalian) Easy Portuguese (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGItHJHk5zoYHRQD6ZQ-mrA) Easy Turkish Podcast (https://www.easyturkish.fm/) Lexical Distance among the Languages of Europe (https://www.wired.com/2014/01/web-semantics-lexical-distance-among-the-languages-of-europe/) (Wired) Untranslatable Words (Wikipedia) Fika (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_culture#Sweden) Lagom (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagom) Janteloven (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Jante) Podcast Episodes Easy Italian Podcast 33: Casa dolce casa! (https://www.easyitalian.fm/33) Easy French Podcast 1: La Genèse d'Easy French (https://www.easyfrench.fm/1) Support the Easy Languages Podcast and get bonus content, monthly Q&As, and many more perks: easy-languages.org/podcast
Hi, it's Rita and Raffaele! In this first episode of the Easy Languages Podcast, we introduce ourselves (and our accents) and discuss why we love languages. We are both part of the Easy Languages network and just recently met in Barcelona, where we produced videos about funny idioms, among other things. As our week's tip, we explain why you should stop translating individual words in your head. Show Notes Videos on idioms: Foreigners Trying To Guess The Meaning of Weird French Expressions (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFTVx_mstKQ) (Easy French) Foreigners Try To Guess the Meanings of Weird Turkish Idioms (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O18PiklwfDo) (Easy Turkish) Foreigners Guess 9 Weird German Idioms (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcbI5gIhxFU) (Easy German) Foreigners Guess What 7 Weird Greek Idioms Mean (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QRnhNbyFG4) (Easy Greek) It's all Greek to me (https://omniglot.com/language/idioms/incomprehensible.php) (Omniglot) Easy Spanish Podcast 61: Curiosidades de la LL, Y y X en español (https://www.easyspanish.fm/61) Support the Easy Languages Podcast and get bonus content, monthly Q&As, discounts and many more perks: easy-languages.org/podcast
Who said language learning has to be difficult? Join Rita, Raffaele and the teams from the Easy Languages network as they share their stories of language learning and answer your questions. Members get bonus content, monthly Q&As, discounts and many more perks. Learn more at easy-languages.org/podcast!