Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

Beyond the clear benefits on the brain, bilingualism also offers a host of cultural benefits.

The Beijing dialect of Mandarin Chinese is a victim of language standardization in schools and offices, urban redevelopment and migration. To the untutored ear, the Beijing dialect can sound like someone talking with a mouthful of marbles, inspiring numerous parodies and viral videos. The dialect is a testament to the city's tumultuous history of invasion and foreign rule. The Mongol Empire ruled China in the 13th and 14th centuries. The Manchus, an ethnic group from northeast Asia, ruled from the mid-17th century into the 20th. As a result, the Beijing dialect contains words derived from both Mongolian and Manchurian. The intervening Ming dynasty, which maintained its first capital in Nanjing for several decades before moving to Beijing, introduced southern speech elements.

Could understanding other cultures' concepts of joy and well-being help us reshape our own? The Positive Lexicography Project aims to catalogue foreign terms for happiness that have no direct English translation. The brainchild of Tim Lomas, a lecturer in applied positive psychology at the University of East London, the first edition included two hundred and sixteen expressions from forty-nine languages, published in January. Lomas used online dictionaries and academic papers to define each word and place it into one of three overarching categories, doing his best to capture its cultural nuances. The glossary can be found here: http://www.drtimlomas.com/#!alphabetical-lexicography/b5ojm

Learning to play a musical instrument leads to changes in the brain's auditory system. The resulting auditory fitness may aid in other forms of communication, such as speech, reading, learning a foreign language, and understanding speech in a noisy environment.

This campaign, a part of Speak to The Future, aims to urge people to learn at least 1,000 new foreign words because of a decrease in multilingualism throughout the UK. These 1,000 words would allow for simple conversations and are believed to help improve social diversity and increase economic opportunities.

I've always wondered if listening to foreign music helped when learning a new language. This article explains the difference of being bimusical and bilingual, both of which yield benefits.

While brain games can't avert dementia in those genetically inclined toward the condition, one can ensure better brain fitness and long-term health. The brain thrives on continuous stimulation. Here are takeaway tips from the article: 1. Brain exercises should rely on novelty and complexity, including board games that are played with others. 2. All kinds of concentrated activities, like learning a foreign language or how to play a musical instrument, can be fulfilling. 3. Along with exercising and good nutrition, a brain that is fully engaged socially, mentally and spiritually is more resilient. 4. New, interactive learning is helpful. 5. Cognitive training that uses thinking, such as problem solving and learning, like reading a newspaper article and discussing it with a friend, has staying power in the brain - even 10 years after the training ends.

President Joe Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci mispronounced the new COVID variant at a recent White House speech, calling the variant "omnicron" instead of the Greek letter "omicron." However, linguists explain that this is an expected error, as it is common for humans to take words from other languages and 'nativize' foreign sounds to make it more natural-sounding in their mother tongue. The abundance of English words with the prefix omni- seems to serve like a magnet, drawing in speakers to the similar set of letters and tempting speakers to mispronounce the omi- prefix as "omnicron."

Very interesting article on how English will change in the future. It includes clips of what Old English, Modern English, and Future English sound like compared to each other. It's interesting to see how English could start to sound like foreign languages as it picks up characteristics given by non-native speakers.