March 2011
1 post
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Learning Twi Resources
Twi (pronounced chwee ) is a language spoken in Ghana by about 6 million people.The Republic of Ghana is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south. Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which in turn belongs…
February 2011
2 posts
3 tags
What are the Origins of the Chickasaw Language?
The Chickasaw language is classified as part of the Muskogean family and is spoken by Chickasaw inhabitants. It is one of the less common Native American languages, as only about 1,000 individuals speak it. It was much more popular during the eighteen and nineteen hundreds, when all tribes along the lower Mississippi knew it. A few descendants of Chickasaws who pretended to be white during the...
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Sign Language Videos →
January 2011
9 posts
4 tags
Quechua Phrases for Beginners
Quechua is a Native American language spoken in the Andes region of South America. It is the most widely spoken language of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a total approximated population of 6 to 8 million speakers. If you need to learn Quechua words and basic Quechua phrases, then consider Talk Now Quechua . It is part of Eurotalk’s world’s best selling language learning...
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Who are the Pashtun People and What Language Do...
The Pashtun people are found primarily in Afghanistan and in northwestern Pakistan. Pashtuns are also referred to as Pushtuns, Pakhtuns, Pukhtuns, and Pathans, The primary ethnic characteristic is the use of the Pashto language and according to the Center for Applied Linguistics, the observance of Pashtunwali, set of ethnics and communal conduct. The Pashtun people are one of the principle...
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What Follows Pimsleur Spanish Comprehensive 3?
For years, students of Spanish who had selected the Pimsleur language system, had complained that nothing beyond Spanish 3 comprehensive was available. In fact, a fourth level, called Spanish plus was available. But since it was only 10 lessons, there was always a sense of disappointment that the Pimsleur series did not continue with a full fourth level. Luckily, Simon and Schuster heard the...
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Pimsleur Mandarin Torrent
If you were looking to learn Mandarin Chinese using the Pimsleur method and were hoping to find a link to a Pimsleur Mandarin Torrent, then I am afraid we have to disappoint. Torrents are illegal. We don’t endorse them, but we do endorse the Pimsleur method. Why? Because most people, not all, but most learn a new language audibly. In addition, its ease of use is not found in any other...
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Learning the Maltese Language
The Maltese language is the national language of the island of Malta, and according to the Maltese Constitution, is the co-official language of the country alongside the English language. Maltese serves as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. According to MED Magazine (2005), Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic. This Arabic dialect developed...
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Learning the Tagalog Language
Tagalog is a member of the Indonesian sub-group of the Malayo-Polynesian family of languages. This group also includes Malagasy, Malay, Indonesian, and Javanese. Tagalog is the first language of approximately 15 million people. The majority of these live in southern Luzon which includes Manila. The study of Tagalog is strongly encouraged by the Philippine government and approximately over 75...
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Are There Pimsleur Italian Downloads?
There are Pimsleur Italian downloads available. The Pimsleur method is world renown for its ability to teach conversational proficiency without extensive concentration on conventional textbooks. This makes the course extremely popular since it allows people to take advantage of its course while driving, traveling, exercising, etc.
The reality is that most people give up on their language studies...
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Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery
If you’re interested in learning a new language, and are considering the Pimsleur method, you might be wondering what level of language proficiency you will achieve when you finish the series.
Pimsleur courses will take you up to the Intermediate-High level of the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of ForeignLanguages) Spoken Language Profiency chart.
The technical statement of the...
Pimsleur French Download
If you need to learn French, then you’ve probably already realized that there are wide of choices. You use software, traditional text and audio courses, attend classes, learn with a tutor, or use a self study audio course. If you’ve narrowed it down to the audio side, then you probably know that Pimsleur is well respected and quite popular. Its popularity is connected to its ease...
December 2010
63 posts
8 tags
Basic Facts about the Italian Language
Modern Italian, as often happens with many national languages, is in fact a dialect that has succeeded in imposing itself as the proper language of a larger region than the one corresponding to the land where a dialect is spoken. In the case of Italian, the Tuscan dialect, spoken in Florence, Pisa and Siena, has become the dominant dialect. Interestingly, this is not because of political...
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What Does Pimsleur Japanese 1 Teach?
So if you’re shopping around looking for language program to learn Japanese, you’ve probably already come across Pimsleur Japanese 1. If so, you have probably asked what exactly it teaches. The first comprehensive for Japanese covers a variety of basic Japanese phrases and vocabulary. The vocabulary and phrases taught cover the following scenarios. It includes basic introductions,...
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Learning Amharic Free
The population of Ethiopia is extremely diverse. With a total population of over 76 million, the country has more than 80 different ethnic groups. The three most important ethnic groups that make up nearly 70% of the population include Oromo, Amhara, and Tigray. Amharic however holds the distinction of being the official language. Learning any language can be an interesting, exciting, as...
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Learning the Greek Language
Greek constitutes its own branch of the Indo-European languages. It has a documented history of 3,500 years, the longest of any Indo-European language. It is spoken by 15 million people primarily in Greece and Cyprus but also in many Greek emigrant communities around the world. Greek is written in the Greek alphabet the first true alphabet (as opposed to an abjad or abugida) and the ancestor...
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Russian Status After the Fall of the Soviet Union
The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 did not reduce the importance of the Russian language. While it changed its distribution, the Russian language remains widespread and tremendously important. Russia has become increasingly important because of its oil and gas production and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Significant numbers of speakers are also found in Israel,Canada and the...
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Learning the Kirghiz Language
Kyrgyz or Kirghiz is known by a variety of names. It is also known as Kyrghiz, and Qyrghiz. Kirghiz is a Turkic language. Along with the Russian language, it is an official language of Kyrgyzstan. Kirghiz it is most closely related to the Altay language and more distantly so to Kazakh. Recent convergence has resulted in a degree of mutual intelligibility between Kyrgyz and Kazakh. Kyrgyz is...
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Learning Amharic: What Options are Available?
Pimsleur is world famous for ease with which students can learn a new language. Its a great method for learning a foreign language. Unfortunately, Pimsleur hasn’t produced a course for Amharic yet. Yes I know, its terrible! Hopefully, Pimsleur will come to its senses soon and provide Amharic, a language spoken by more than 40 million people, with a course worthy of this often forgotten...
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Arabic Around the World
The Arabic language is closely related to both Hebrew and Aramaic. The geographical reach of Arabic is quite impressive and is connected to Arab conquests beginning in the 8th century CE. Modern Arabic has a variety of dialects and these various dialects are spoken throughout the Arab world and beyond. Standard Arabic is widely studied and known throughout the Islamic world. The Arabic...
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What is the Pimsleur Instant Conversation Course?
The Pimsleur Instant Conversation course is perfect for someone who is not sure if they want to take the time and money to invest in mastering a foreign language, but at the same time would like a basic introduction for an upcoming trip or meeting some international colleagues. The Pimsleur Instant Conversation course contains the first 16 lessons of the first comprehensive level of the...
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Learning the Igbo Language with Talk Now Igbo
Igbo (also known, less commonly, as Ibo; asuòsuò Ndi Igbo in Igbo) is a language spoken in Nigeria by around 18 million speakers (the Igbo), especially in the southeastern region once identified as Biafra. The language was used by John Goldsmith as an example to justify going away from the classical linear model of phonology as laid out in The Sound Pattern of English. It is written in the Roman...
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Ethiopia's Diverse Languages
While Amharic is the most widely known Ethiopian language, Ethiopians also speak a number of other languages in significant numbers. Approximately 33 % of the population of Ethiopian speak Amharic natively. Yet another 32% speak Oromo as their native language. In addition to these two principal languages, there are a number of smaller languages which are spoken in various areas of...
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Looking to Learn Danish?
The Danish language is a member of the Scandinavian family of languages which are a branch of the Germanic languages, which in turn is part of the Indo-European family. It is spoken by approximately 6 million people. The majority of these speakers reside in Denmark, though approximately 50,000 or so live in the Schleswig-Holstein region in Germany. The Danish language has official status in...
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A Short History of the Choctaw Language
Choctaw is a language conventionally spoken by the Choctaw tribe. It is grouped under the Muskogean family and is used by Native Americans in the southeastern U.S. It was a very popular language in the Frontier days, even known by the likes of some American presidents. Today it is spoken by just under 10,000 people. Choctaw has been linked to Chickasaw, another Native American language, but...
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Basic Facts about the Armenian Language
Armenian is an Indo-European language spoken in the Caucasus mountains (particularly in the Armenian Republic) and also used by the Armenian Diaspora including the neighboring region of Nagorno-Karabakh. It is its own independent branch of the family of the Indo-European languages, with no living close relatives. It has its own script, the Armenian alphabet. Armenian is regarded as a close...
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What does Pimsleur German III Teach?
If you’re interested in continuing your German language studies and have already completed the the first two levels of Pimsleur German, then Pimsleur German III is the next step along your path. The third level of Pimsleur German starts off with with more sophisticated and a faster pace of instruction than that found in the Pimsleur German I and II. There is no big surprise here, but putting...
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Facts about the Lithuanian Language
The Lithuanian language is the official state language of Lithuania and is a recognized language of the European Union. There are approximately 3 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania with additional speakers abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language and is closely related to Latvian. Lithuanian is written in an adapted version of the Roman script. Lithuanian and Latvia are the two...
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Learning Vietnamese Resources
The Vietnamese language is spoken by more than 80 million people across the world. Approximately 65 million people in Vietnam speak the language but it is also spoken by people living in Cambodia, Laos, and the USA as well as in Cambodia, France, Australia, Laos, Canada and a number of other countries. 86% of the population in Vietnam speak Vietnamese as their first language. Though its linguistic...
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Facts about the Persian Language
Persian: ‘Farsi’ is the native name for the Persian languages spoken in Iran (Persia), Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and some other parts of the Caucasus and Central Asia (Ossetians speak Ossetic, which is a branch of Persian). Recently, as a misunderstanding in some Western countries, the word “Farsi” has been wrongly understood as a supposedly new language and not...
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Learning Canadian French
French is the official language of Québec,and native Canadian French refer to themselves as Québécois. Learning Canadian French can takes a little of work if you’ve only been exposed to what is commonly called Parisian French. In American high schools and in most colleges and universities, the focus of French classes lies on the French is spoken in France. One primary difference is...
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Basic Facts about Kinyarwanda
The Kinyarwanda language is a Bantu language spoken primarily in Rwanda, where it is one of the official languages of the country. French and English are also official languages in Rwanda. It is also referred to as Rwanda or Ruanda. It is also spoken well in southern Uganda as well as in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Interestingly , Kinyarwanda is related to Kirundi, which is spoken in...
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Facts about the Dutch Language
The Dutch language is a member of the West Germanic group of the Indo-European family of languages. Most native Dutch speakers live in the Netherlands, Belgium, as well as Suriname, with additional speakers in France, Germany and several former Dutch colonies. Dutch is closely related to other West Germanic languages such as English, West Frisian and German. There are 21 million native...
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Learning Finnish with Games
Learning a new language can be a challenging experience. Pronunciation, spelling, verb tenses, etc. can be very complicated. While traditional methods of study like classroom lectures or even personal tutors can be a great help, finding other ways to liven up your study can be extremely helpful. Part of this is related to the idea of maximizing how your mind works and taking advantage of its...
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Basic Facts about the Thai Language
Thai is the first language of the Thai people, Thailand’s major ethnic group and is also the official language of Thailand. The Thai people are divided geographically among the Central Thai, the Northeastern Thai or Isan or Lao, the Northern Thai, and the Southern Thai. The Central Thai have long dominated the nation politically, economically, and culturally. Due to education system...
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Learning Hausa Easily and Effectively
The Hausa language is the Chadic language with the largest number of speakers, and according to Ethnologue spoken as a first language by about 25 million people, and as a second language by about 18 million more. Hausa belongs to the West Chadic languages subgroup of the Chadic languages group, which in turn is part of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Native speakers of Hausa reside mainly...
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Facts about the Western Delaware Language
Western Delaware is a variation of a Southern Unami Native American dialect, taught by the Delaware Tribe of Indians. It is labeled Western because the language was used in the Western region of Oklahoma. The Unami language in its original form - also known as Lenape ‘is now an extinct language formerly hailing from Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The Delaware Tribe has struggled to create...
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Learning the Zulu Language
The Zulu language is a member of the Bantu language family, which constitute a sub-group of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo family. This is in turn part of the Niger-Kordofanian group of languages. The Zulu language is closely related to Xhosa and Swazi, the three belonging to the Nguni branch of the Bantu family. There are approximately 8 million speakers of Zulu. The Zulu...
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Learning the Finnish Language
The Finnish language is a member of the Finno-Ugric sub-group of the Ural-Altaic family of languages. The Finno-Ugric languages were first spoken in the Ural Mountains. Finnish is closely related to the Estonian and Saami languages. While Finnish is not as widely spoken as other languages, there are plenty of Finnish language learning resources. Be sure to check them out and start learning...
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Learning the Nepali Language
The Nepali or Nepalese language is a member of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is official language of Nepal and is also spoken in neighboring Bhutan, areas of India and in Myanmar (Burma). India recognizes it as one of its official languages. Nepali has official language status in the state of Sikkim and in West Bengal’s Darjeeling area. It is widely ...
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Learning the Afrikaans Language
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia with smaller numbers of speakers in Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Due to the outflow of primarily white South Africans, there are an additional estimated 300,000 Afrikaans-speakers in the UK, with other substantial communities found in Perth, Australia and Toronto, Canada. It is the primary...
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Learning a New Language with Pimsleur
The Pimsleur Language System isn’t the most popular audio language learning program because its the most comprehensive course out there. And it isn’t the most popular language learning course because its the least expensive. Pimsleur’s popularity stems from two sources. First the idea that the optimal method for learning a language for most people is to replicate the manner in...
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The Uzbek Language
The Uzbek language is an Eastern Turkic language and is part of the Altaic family. Much of its vocabulary is Persian rather than Turkish due to the influence of Tajik (Persian) speakers which have long been prominent in the country. The Uzbek language was originally written in Arabic script. This was replaced by the Roman alphabet in 1927 and then again by the Cyrillic alphabet in 1940....
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The Chichewa Language: Facts & Resources
The Chichewa language is spoken in Malawi where it served as the national language until 1968 until recently, it has served as the national language. Chichewa is of the Bantu language family. It is also referred to as Chinyanha. The resources for learning Chichewa are limited, but there are a few programs available for learning Chichewa.The Chichewa language is spoken in Malawi and in areas...
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Learning theTagalog Language
The Tagalog language is an Austronesian language. It is spoken in the Philippines with more than fifty million speakers. Speakers of Tagalog are primarily found in Manila, in the central and southern parts of Luzon, and also Lubang, Marinduque, and areas of Mindoro. Because of emigration, Tagalog speakers are now found worldwide increasing numbers. Large concentrations of Tagalog speakers are...
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Facts about the Papiamento Language
The Papiamento language is a mixture of Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English and French. It also includes elements of various African languages. It is spoken by more than 300,000 people on the islands of the Aruba , Curaçao, and Bonaire which are referred to as the Netherlands Antilles. Along with Dutch, Papiamento is an official language of the aforementioned islands. While the language is...
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Facts about the Sinhala Language
The Sinhala language is also referred to as Simhala or as Helabasa. Sinhala is the mother tongue of the Sinhalese, who make up the largest ethnic group of Sri Lanka, numbering about 15 million. Sinhala is also spoken as a second language by other ethnic groups in Sri Lanka (Ceylon). It belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. The oldest Sinhala inscriptions found are...
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A Brief History of the Muskogee Creek Nation
The Muscogee or Muskogee nation is also known as the Creek or Creek nation. The are also referred to as the Muscogee-Creek nation. According to the Sequoyah Research Center, Muscogee are a Native American people traditionally from the southeastern United States. Members of the Muscogee-Creek live principally in Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. The Muscogee-Creek language is also referred...
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The Importance of the Arabic Language
The importance of the Arabic language in the Islamic world is tied to it being the language of the Koran. Islamic conquests beginning in the 7th. Century CE carried the language beyond its original borders replacing the previous languages of the Middle East and North Africa. While there are dialectical variations between Egyptian and Eastern Arabic as well as other regional areas, the core of...
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Facts about the Persian Language
‘Farsi’ is the native name for the Persian languages spoken in Iran (Persia), Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and some other parts of the Caucasus and Central Asia (Ossetians speak Ossetic, which is a branch of Persian). Recently, as a misunderstanding in some Western countries, the word “Farsi” has been wrongly understood as a supposedly new language and not as the...