Venice Carnival, Italy

The Venice Carnival in Venice, Italy is known for its masks and is a magical spectacular a couple of weeks before Lent begins (on Ash Wednesday). This year the carnival begins on the 11th February. Traditionally, meat, eggs and butter were meant to be used up before the fasting of Lent began. The celebration and festivities before Lent gave way to many carnivals around the world, including the Venice Carnival. What makes this carnival memorable though are the costumes and, in particular, masks worn by its patrons.

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Mademoiselle … No More

Do you consider yourself a ‘Madame’ or a ‘Mademoiselle’? A ‘Senorita’ or ‘Signorina’? Well, it doesn’t matter in the French language anymore as a town in Western France (Cesson-Sevigne) has banned the word ‘Mademoiselle’ (or ‘Miss’ – UK equivalent) from all of its official documents. The reason for this is that the town’s community believes that women should not be defined by their status anymore. Men have always been addressed as ‘Monsieur’ once they become teenagers.

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Did you know … the Japanese love the Glasgow accent?

A survey by Northumbria University in the UK has shown that Japanese learners of English find the Glaswegian accent in Scotland the most socially attractive. More than 500 people were questioned in the study to find out how worldwide perceptions of the English language are changing. Read more

Did you know … Penguins are Welsh

Compilers of the new online version of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) have highlighted the influence of Wales on the English language.  The dictionary claims to be the only English dictionary that tries to get to the roots of the first known use of every word in the English language.   Read more

The Beckhams are learning … sign language

Did you know the Beckhams are learning sign language with their children Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz so that they can communicate with a friend of theirs who is deaf? David Beckham, wife Victoria and kids are all receiving tuition on a regular basis.

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Did you know … that elephants have a secret language?

Researchers at San Diego Zoo have been monitoring communications between African elephants and have found what has been described as a “secret language”.

Elephant’s are well-known for their trumpeting calls, but did you know that they also growl?   Read more

Laurel and Hardy … filmed in French & Spanish

Did you know that Laurel and Hardy, the 1930′s comedy movie stars, reshot a number of their films in French, Spanish, Italian and German?

Laurel and Hardy couldn’t speak any foreign languages, so had voice coaching, and often used native language speaking supporting cast members. These language versions helped to boost their popularity internationally. Pardon Us was reshot in all four foreign languages. Chickens Come Home, Blotto and Below Zero were re-filmed in French and Spanish.

Browse our foreign language film section and learn a language with a movie>>

Anne Frank exhibition … in 40 languages

Did you know that there are currently forty different language versions of the travelling exhibition ‘Anne Frank – a History for Today’, which will be on display all over the world.  Read more about the multilingual Anne Frank exhibition>>

Did you know … that ‘hotel de ville’ is not a French hotel?

Ah … the woes of not understanding a language very well!   One Friday night, a British tourist  dropped into  the hotel de ville in the small town of Dannemarie in France thinking it was a hotel. The tourist wanted to check into the ‘hotel’ but finding no-one at the reception desk, she used the toilet. Read more

Nelly Furtado sings … in Spanish

Did you know that the Canadian-Portuguese singer, Nelly Furtado, is writing her latest album entirely in Spanish? This is the first time that she will be releasing a non-English album. The album is called ‘Mi Plan’ and will be released on the 15th September 2009.

Find out how to learn to speak  Spanish and get the  Spanish language advantage

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