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Category Archives: Linguistics
They look at the inner workings of language. Why language works like it does, in other words. Think of learning about linguistics in the same way you’d learn how an internal combustion engine works. Linguistics is what’s under the hood… you don’t need to know it to drive a car, but it helps understand what’s going on if you ever break down!
So… TEFL teachers should find these useful in providing more of a background to their teaching and students, too, will find them helpful in understanding language at a slightly deeper level.
Runes vs English
Runes are the letters in the runic alphabets. Runic alphabets were alphabets used by various Germanic tribes not only to write their own languages but also in divination and magic. They were used throughout northern Europe, Scandinavia, the British Isles, and Iceland before Christianity spreading from Rome took over and […]
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Italian vs English
Italian (= italiano or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 60 million people in Italy, and by another 10 million Italian descendants in the world, particularly in Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brazil and Venezuela where they form a very strong physical and cultural presence. Italian is also the […]
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Greek vs English
Greek is spoken by about 12 million people. The majority of these are in Greece and Cyprus whilst the Greek diaspora are generally bilingual. This article looks at the kinds of problems Greek as a mother tongue speakers have in learning English. Background In Greece English films are subtitled on […]
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French vs English
The English language was heavily influenced by French in the past and there is a great deal of overlap between the two languages, both in terms of vocabulary and grammar. However there are a number of major issues that French native speakers have when they learn English and this article […]
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