Tanya Mozias

Are some languages richer than others? What does it mean to be rich when you’re a language?

I have a feeling that when people say “X is such a rich language” they mean it has many words, possibly multiple words for each concept (synonyms).

Is that what makes a language ‘rich’? And is that true that some languages are richer than others?

tanyamozias.substack.com/p/are-some-l...

Here is how to say Merry Christmas 🎄 in some of the languages I was learning this year:

1) Hyvää joulua! (Finnish)

2) Feliz Natal! (Portuguese)

3) Siku kuu ya Krismasi! (Swahili)

4) Meri Kirihimete! (Maori)

5) Nollick ghennal! (Manx)

6) عيد ميلاد مَجيد (3īd mīlād majīd) (Arabic)

Tell me your inspiring language stories and help me choose the 12th language

If you ever studied a foreign language, what inspired you to choose that particular language and not another?

Please tell me your inspiring language stories!!

tanyamozias.substack.com/p/tell-me-yo...

Thank you for reading, Rachel!

Everything you ever wanted to know about sewing machines (in Buru) but were afraid to ask OK, there are so many exciting things I need to tell you about Buru — the Austronesian language spoken on the island of Buru in Eastern Indonesia that I started learning two weeks ago — that I don’t e...

Exciting times.

I'm trying to learn a little-known Austronesian language whose only written resources are 1) an old reference grammar 2) some Bible stories, and 3) a sewing machine instruction manual.

tanyamozias.substack.com/p/everything...

What's the first word you ever said in a foreign language?

For me it was the word for 'iron' in Hungarian: vasaló.

Which is ironic because the one thing I never do is iron anything.

I was 11, in a summer camp in Hungary.

It was like magic. I said vasaló and voilá! I had an iron.

Took my kid to the playground so I could start learning a new mystery language…

It's time to start learning a new language I have been waiting for a sign from the universe as to what should be my next language. Until now, the universe kept sending me very reliable signs.Maybe this is another one?

I have been waiting for a sign from the universe as to what should be my next language. Until now, the universe kept sending me very reliable signs.
Maybe this is another one?
tanyamozias.substack.com/p/how-to-sta...

COOL LANGUAGE FACT OF THE DAY

The word “Ipanema” which originally referred to a river in the state of São Paulo, comes from Tupi, an extinct indigenous language of Brazil, where it means ‘useless river’

Way to ruin everyone’s favorite song 😁 🌊

We only need so many words to start communicating in a new language. If you don't know the right word for something just use the wrong one. Pointing at things also counts as communication.
#Langsky #Linguisticlandscape
https://buff.ly/3KOgus5

Don't know the right word? Use the wrong one or stay hungry

I ordered my lunch in a foreign language and survived.

(Now I just need to get me a T-shirt that says that in large balloon letters)
https://tanyamozias.substack.com/p/dont-know-the-right-word-use-the

Is Language Inseparable from Culture? People often say you cannot learn a language without learning about the culture. Here I usually want to ask what they mean by “can’t”: that it would be impossible or that it would be immoral?

Is language inseparable from culture?
It depends on what you mean by 'culture.'
Culture is not history or museums or mocassins.
Culture is the particular way that one group of people sees the world that is indescribably different from the way another group of people sees the world.
shorturl.at/YAvoi

I can relate

it's creepy, to say the least

COOL LANGUAGE FACT OF THE DAY:
In spoken Brazilian Portuguese, to say 'we' you use A GENTE more than 'nos' (the latter is more formal.)

A GENTE literally means 'the people')

I imagine my kids saying "A gente quer gelato" 'We (i.e. the people) want ice cream.' i.e. The people have spoken 🤨.

All You Need To Know About Language Learning ...you can learn from talking to a 4-year-old on a playground

4-year-olds live in the now and they want immediate gains.

Here is all you need to know about language learning. Inspired by a conversation with a 4-year-old

#Langsky #linguisticlandscape

tanyamozias.substack.com/p/all-you-ne...

The Spanish word legal means (surprise surprise) 'legal'. So does the same word in Italian, French, and Romanian (legale, légal, legale).

Well, it turns out that in Brazilian Portuguese 'legal' means 'cool' 😎

Language change is fascinating.

The better I know a language the lower my confidence level.

But maybe being (over)confident early on is not that bad because it makes you feel like you can move mountains when you only know 9 words and can form 4 sentences 😁

And then you go and try to move those mountains ⛰️

Friday Thai writing practice. Just a story about my Friday.

#Langsky #LinguisticLandscape

Portuguese writing practice.

I've (loosely!) translated one of my previous essays into Portuguese because porque não 😃 ?

https://tanyamozias.substack.com/p/20-seconds-of-mother-tongue

20 Seconds of Mother Tongue is all she can handle at this point

I grew up completely monolingual until the age of 15. That means that, no matter how many other languages I learn and how well, I will only ever have one mother tongue.

#langsky #linguisticlandscape #bilingualism

tanyamozias.substack.com/p/20-seconds...

I love dogs and writing in Thai script. So I wrote a story (transcribed from a learner's video) about dogs in Thai. Because why not.
#langsky #linguisticlandscape

Daily Thai writing practice. A story about turtles. This is much more fun than working.
#langsky

Mostly because I'm addicted to the learning process itself. I love learning languages more than knowing them :)

I wish could organize something - anything - in my life. I try to do at least some passive listening every day but it doesn't always work out. And it doesn't help that I'm learning too many languages at once 😅

Just wrote a story about my morning in Swahili 💃

Turns out the language is still tucked in somewhere in my brain even though I don't use it regularly.

I looked up some words in Google Translate.

HOT TIP: Use Google Translate as a pocket dictionary: one word at a time.

#langsky

Portuguese has three words for 'there':

aí means the cockroach you're pointing to is far from you but close to the person you're speaking to.

ali means the cockroach is far from both of you but still within sight.

lá means there are cockroaches somewhere in the world but you can't see them.

Embaraçada in Portuguese means 'embarrassed'

Embarazada (pronounced the same) in Spanish means 'pregnant'

or is it the other way around?? it feels important.

Imagine using the wrong one when talking about your ex: "His behavior made me so embarrassed that I decided to break up with him."

Strange but true:

"Academia" means "gym" in Brazilian Portuguese.

I watched a whole video of people describing their morning routine ("minha rotina de manhã"), amazed at how many Brazilians prefer to do their academic work before breakfast.

And then I found out.

How to choose your next language: What's your why? things (not?) to consider before embarking on your next linguistic adventure

A reader asked me last week how I choose which language to study next. I said something like: “Listen to your heart 🧘🏾‍♀️.”

What I really meant was “Listen to the song that’s been stuck in your head for days on end.”

tinyurl.com/5bdfr897