The class is a result of the National Security Language Initiative, introduced by President Bush in 2006 to teach the youngest students Chinese and other foreign languages considered critical to the nation's future security. "We're going to teach our kids how to speak important languages," he said. One goal, he added, was "to advance America's interests around the world, and defeat... read full post picked by muppet 2 months ago

He's not fluent I'm sure, but this kid's grasp of 13 languages is amazing. picked by ogri2003 1 year ago

The Nevada town of Pahrump is taking a stand not just against illegal immigrants but flags they may bring with them.The elected town board in the remote Mojave Desert community voted 3-2 on Tuesday to enact an ordinance making it illegal to fly a foreign nation's flag by itself. picked by sholom22 1 year ago

Isn't this the reason why you learn a foreign language in the first place? picked by gnikgnok 1 year ago

Foreigners studying in Britain but struggling with the culture shock of seeing students kissing and drinking in public are being offered an electronic lifeline. A mobile phone game called "C-Shock" and devised by a Indian academic aims to help overseas students overcome cultural differences experienced by thousands of foreigners who come to study in British universities. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

Some cultures use a whistled language to communicate. This means that speech is emulated in whistling, which can cover much larger distances (typically 1 – 2 km but up to 5 km). Link points to examples and the wikipedia page is incredibly fascinating and points to even more examples of people speaking in whistles. picked by 2manyusernames 8 months ago

We offered this site. Another place is LiveMocha offering lessons on English, French, Hindi, German, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese with more languages to follow. picked by 2manyusernames 11 months ago

Google goes gangbusters in releasing the latest version of a ‘Google for your computer’, the Google Desktop that lets users search their computers at the same speed they can search the Internet and easily find all their files. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

French manager expresses concern for English game picked by mrnelson 2 years ago

With all the attention on the dueling democrats, the media is ignoring John McCain. Few are paying attention to what he is saying, or subjecting it to any serious scrutiny.

He recently called to expel Russia from the G8. He suggested expanding it to include Brazil & India, but not China.

Insulting Russia & China may not be the smartest political move. picked by 2manyusernames 5 months ago

Throughout the world, and dating back to antiquity, deaf people have communicated using their hands and faces. Signed languages are still often regarded as inferior to speech and are perceived as relying on mimicry or pantomime. Most linguists now accept that sign languages have all of the grammatical and expressive sophistication of oral languages. Not all linguists have seen the light, though. picked by 2manyusernames 11 months ago

Obama merely commented about the benefits of Americans learning a second language. A few people took issue with his comments, perhaps they misunderstood or twisted his words. He clarified his comments to show he wasn't some sort of secret anti-english person. picked by BernardBlack 3 months ago

A true beer connoisseur would never pass up an opportunity to try the local brew, no matter where on Earth where they found themselves, and so it behooves the serious beerologist to know how to order a beer in as many languages as possible. Cheers! picked by Mitzuzake 6 months ago

Pressure is mounting on Finland's foreign minister to resign after he sent reportedly raunchy text messages to an erotic dancer.I think the pressure was already mounting.. picked by mutil8or 7 months ago

Japanese researchers have discovered a translation of Beatrix Potter's much-loved children's classic "Peter Rabbit" dating back to 1906, making it the oldest known foreign-language version of the book. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

A new book by Richard Woolcott, who ran Australia's foreign service for four years, points to the pitfalls of translating thoughts into different languages. Take the Australian diplomat in France who tried to tell his French audience that as he looked back on his career, it was divided in two parts, with dull postings before life in Paris. "When I look at my backside, I find it is divided in... read full post picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

A group of Israeli journalists were going to meet the Dutch foreign minister, so they emailed a preview of questions they'd be asking. However, they left the translation down to Babel Fish, causing much hilarity.

But we've seen Babel Fish's mistranslation before! picked by TheStep 11 months ago

There are 4 national languages in Switzerland. The Swiss version of German is by far the most common. The German spoken in Switzerland is quite different than spoken elsewhere. There is a difference between the written and oral languages. It can get quite complicated so a 17-volume dictionary is being written. picked by 2manyusernames 3 months ago

Have you ever searched around in vain for a word to describe someone who gets excited by eating garlic? Or wondered why there isn't a nice pithy term for a person who is only attractive if they're standing quite far away? Other languages do have such words. picked by maxriter 11 months ago

This is a chase seen from a some foreign movie. picked by beany11 2 years ago