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Andrew Wenger
Nov 294 min read
Collective nouns: Un meurtre de corbeaux? / un asesinato de cuervos / ein Mord von Krähen
Collective nouns are quaint and expressive, often bizarre. Here's an overview of how they originated and how they are used in modern English
Andrew Wenger
Nov 202 min read
France has a new dictionary
The Académie Française has published a new dictionary. Here are a few selected highlights of new French words
Andrew Wenger
Oct 113 min read
Do you know about the Spanish verbs: conocer and saber?
These verbs can cause confusion because they both mean “to know”. However...
Andrew Wenger
Oct 113 min read
As camp as a mushroom
Camping, campaign, champagne, and champignons all derive from the same etymological place, but it doesn’t stop there...
Andrew Wenger
Sep 163 min read
How to order your language file
How to order your language-learning folder. A few basic tips on getting yourself more organised and becoming more effective
Andrew Wenger
Sep 132 min read
National mottoes and slogans
Luxembourg has a brilliant national motto. Those of most other countries are pretty dull, but there are some interesting things to learn
Andrew Wenger
Sep 112 min read
What about “Metathesis”
Metathesis is the evolution of words, where letters change places. For example: crocodile becomes cocodrilo in Spanish
Andrew Wenger
Aug 223 min read
Le h apsiré ou le h muet?
The French h: The letter that cannot decide whether to act like a vowel or a consonant. The difference between the h apsiré and the h muet
Andrew Wenger
Aug 73 min read
The Language of Chess: Etymology and word-connections
The ancient game of chess offers a fascinating array of word origin stories. This post barely scratches the surface
Andrew Wenger
Jul 254 min read
A few German idioms
Peppering your speech with idiomatic phrases is "next level". Here are some quirky phrases that are good to recognise, maybe even use
Andrew Wenger
Jul 186 min read
The present continuous and the present simple
Do you know the difference between "What are you doing?" and "What do you do?" This is a guide: present simple vs present continuous tense
Andrew Wenger
Jul 173 min read
On learning Polish
Learning Polish is not easy, but is extremely rewarding when you get it right. And it's informative for teacher to be on the receiving end
Andrew Wenger
Feb 33 min read
Language proficiency: how good can you get?
If you're learning a language, you might want to know how to measure your progress, and what you are aspiring to. What is "proficiency"?
Andrew Wenger
Jan 138 min read
Word origins: the animal kingdom
Learn the etymology behind some animal words. Some are surprising, at least one can be debunked and a couple stump even the experts
Andrew Wenger
Dec 26, 20235 min read
Where does the English language come from?
English is a Germanic language, right? Yes, but... it's more complicated than that. Read a brief summary of the origins of English
Andrew Wenger
Dec 16, 20231 min read
Festive word explanations (English language)
Singing carols, eating turkey and mince pies, decorating the tree with tinsel... Where do these words come from? Find out here
Andrew Wenger
Dec 15, 20231 min read
Weihnachten in Freiburg
Freiburg: the coolest and the warmest city in Germany. Fun and relaxed in the summer, magical in the Christmas Markets season. Join me...
Andrew Wenger
Nov 28, 20231 min read
Spanish question words
How to ask questions in Spanish. Transcript and link to podcast
Andrew Wenger
Nov 23, 20231 min read
Spanish Podcast 6: Pronouns
Spanish pronouns. Transcript for SameSky Langauges Spanish Podcast 6
Andrew Wenger
Nov 21, 20231 min read
French: Podcast transcript 7
This is the transcript for Episode 7 of the SameSky Languages FRENCH podcast. It covers adjectives, the subjunctive and 'verlan' slang
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