Old-school news, just in time
by Kevin Burton At one of my newspaper stops I was introduced to readers as speaking “fluent Spanish” That wasn’t, and isn’t, quite true. But I do speak some Spanish and it has done me some good over the years. How much Spanish do I speak? I once described it as “enough …
Continue reading “Now The Dictionary Is Speaking My Language”
by Dictionary Scoop Language is like a passport to the world; it connects us, teaches us, and sometimes leaves us scratching our heads. With more than 7,000 languages spoken globally, the world of words is full of surprises and stories. If you are a language lover, these 13 facts about languages will keep your curiosity …
by Kevin Burton There was a brief time in my life when I got paid in pesos, as I was teaching English to Mexican nationals in a language school in Puebla, Mexico. I don’t remember all the specifics now, but for some reason I wanted change for (I think) a 1,000-peso bill. I …
Continue reading “Careful How You Navigate Foreign Exchange”
by Kevin Burton There was a time when I had multiple dozens of penpals from around the world. More than once I heard this joke: What do you call a person who speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you call a person who speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call a …
by Kevin Burton Sometimes the people news is too depressing to deal with. Sometimes as a remedy, I turn to the world of my cats. You will notice that people tend to creep into the cat news. This may be unfortunate but may be inevitable. So here on Page 7, all the …
Continue reading “Quibbles And Bits Feline Edition: Bilingual Cat”
by Kevin Burton Surely you’ve heard this old joke: What do you call a person who speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you call a person who speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call a person who speaks only one language? American. A wicked, sweeping generalization that. Not entirely fair. But …
by Kevin Burton My career as an English as a Second Language teacher came to an abrupt early end one night under the streetlights outside a small taco shop in Puebla. To tell you how and why that happened, I first turn to BBC writer Nicole Chang, who recently wrote about what speaking …
by Kevin Burton Hello Mexico, are you there? Are you listening? Happy birthday! Yes, I know I’m just a shade early. Tomorrow is Independence Day in Mexico. Viva Mexico! You’re 211 years young. Just one question though: what does a respectable, kind-of-bilingual, ex ex-pat blogger have to do to get …
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