So how hard can it be, learning a new language?

Jun 11, 2010 by

Some time ago I was asked by a former student of mine if there is a scientific confirmation to the idea that speakers of certain languages may find it difficult, if not impossible, to learn a certain other language. Or perhaps...

read more

Yiddish Revival

Jun 2, 2010 by

In yesterday’s posting I mentioned Norn, a now-extinct Germanic language that a group of enthusiasts is trying to revive. Another Germanic language that has been seeing a revival lately is Yiddish. Once the language of the...

read more

Faroese

Jun 1, 2010 by

To continue with our Scandinavian theme, let’s look at another Scandinavian language today: Faroese. It is spoken by 48,000 people on Faroe Islands (formally, part of Denmark, but self-governing in most matters). Faroese is an...

read more

Finns, genes and languages

Apr 8, 2010 by

The Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) has compiled the Finnish Gene Atlas, which contains genome-wide gene marker data for more than 40,000 Finns. Among the findings are two interesting points: (1) Finns are unique on...

read more