Easy Languages: Stories of Language Learning

It’s a wrap for season 1! The Easy Languages Podcast is taking a break. We hope you have enjoyed the past 21 episodes, found our language stories interesting, and our tips useful and actionable. As for the future… stay tuned on the Easy Languages YouTube channel and on our website: easy-languages.org On behalf of the Easy Languages team, thanks for listening, and happy language learning!

Join Rita in this special episode and listen to our remarkable guest, Tim Keeley - a hyperpolyglot & author - as he tells us about his fantastic life journey in 30 languages and gives us valuable insights into the historical and cultural ties that bind 4 of the major East Asian Languages: Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese. Tim explains - examples in support - the fascinating similarities these languages share and how it is an advantage to learn them together. Show Notes Polyglot Conference Polyglot Gathering Polyglots mentioned in this episode: Richard Simcott Luca Lampariello Judith Meyer Map of Japan Ryukyuan languages, Japan Chinese Dynasties Timeline Scripts & Language Structure: Alexandre de Rhodes & the Vietnamese Script Hiragana, Katakana & Romaji Old Names for Japan Korean Script (Hangul) “Japan Made English” (Wasei-Eigo) Particles in Korean & Japanese

In this episode we introduce artificial languages: a group of languages spoken, among other places, on Avatar's Pandora, or Tolkien's Middle-Earth. But the first stop of our trip is actually in Eastern Europe, where Esperanto was created in 1887. In the second part of the episode, we answer questions from two of our listeners, Anna and Joanna. Tune in and join the language talk! Show Notes Esperanto Esperanto (Wikipedia) 16 Grammar Rules (Wikiversity) 6 Basic Phrases in Esperanto (HiNative) World Esperanto Congress (Universala Esperanto-Asocio, in Esperanto) Other Constructed Languages (Wikipedia) Latino sine Flexione Klingon Naʼvi Dothraki Valyrian languages Elvish languages Toki Pona 13 Sentences to Deconstruct a Language How to Learn (But Not Master) Any Language in 1 Hour (The Tim Ferriss blog)

What makes some languages harder to learn than others? In this episode, we attempt to entangle the objective factors - as to why a language is complex - from the subjective ones. We also dedicate a section to talking about our experiences with those languages which we traditionally think are the most difficult to master. Show Notes Foreign Service Institute Language Rankings (Foreign Language Training) Can We Measure Language Difficulty by the Numbers? (Ofer Tirosh, TowardsScience) Rank of Language Difficulty (Michael Campbell, Glossika Blog) What is the Hardest Language to Learn? (Steve Kaufmann, The Linguist Blog) Past tense ending in Turkish: ‑mış (TurkishTexbook) 13 Russian Verbs of Motion to Move Your Learning Forward (Kelly Virginia Phelan, FluentU) Chinese Classifiers: What Are They And How To Use Them ( Angie, ChineseEdge) Japanese Formal & Informal Speech (Lydia Thron, Wyzant) Conjugation of The Verb To Eat in Japanese (JapaneseVerbConjugator)

Join Rita and Raffaele in this new episode as they discuss the importance of using comprehensible input throughout your language learning journey, and how a certain degree of difficulty is needed and welcome while consuming language-related content. In the second part of the episode, they share a few resources like apps, books, and courses that make use of this principle and have helped them in the past and can help you too! But what does Rita really think about all this? Can you believe that even in-comprehensible input can help? Show Notes Comprehensible input (British Council) Linguist (definition) (Cambridge Dictionary) Dog/Language Learning meme (Fluent Forever) Resources mentioned: Rosetta Stone Lingq Storylearning Books Interlinear Books YouTube videos: Does Input Have to Be "Comprehensible"? (Matt vs Japan) Why Did You Learn Esperanto? (Easy Esperanto 1)

Yakutia, also known as the Sakha Republic, the land where the Taiga meets the Tundra, is one of the coldest inhabited areas in the world and home to one of the most unique and thrilling languages and cultures in the Russian Federation. At Easy Languages, we are happy to count Easy Sakha as one of those languages. In this episode, you'll listen to Tatiana O. & Olga Y. share all the essential facts about their fascinating language, the Sakha language, and give us their tips for learning languages in the second section. And if you want to learn some basics in Sakha, become a member & join us for a fun after-show! Show Notes What is Sakha/Yakut? Sakha Tyla (Britannica) Yakut Alphabet/Script (Omniglot) About Yakut language / Sakha tyla (Life in Yakutia Channel) How similar are Tatar and Sakha/Yakut languages? With Eli from Russia (Life in Yakutia Channel) Similarities Between Turkish and Yakut (Siberian Turkic language) (Bahador Alast Channel) History of Sakha: The Story of an Indigenous Siberian People (Left Handed Asians Channel) YAKUT PEOPLE, CULTURE, & LANGUAGE (IloveLanguages! Channel) 10 Facts You Didn’t Know about Yakutsk (theculturetrip) Map of the Sakha Republic in the Russian Federation Resources for learning Sakha: What People Wear in the Coldest Place on Earth (Yakutsk, Russia) | Easy Sakha 1 (Easy Languages Channel) Language Links Database Sakha Lessons Wordle in Sakha: https://sakhatyla.ru https://sakhatyla.ru/blogs/news/wordle https://wordle.afanasev.net https://wordle.tylytaay.ru Application to learn Sakha

In this episode, we have a guest: Fredrik grew up in a small town close to Gothenburg, Sweden, but has lived in Australia, Turkey, Hungary, and Spain, where he lives now. When he's not studying languages, he teaches Swedish as the Swedish Linguist. In the first section of this episode, Fredrik tells us a bit more about his story. In the second section, we discuss the intelligibility between Scandinavian languages, and one of the features that make Swedish unique: språkmelodi, or the distinctive intonation of this beautiful language. But we also investigate the unusual meaning hidden behind a Swedish day of the week... Finally, in the last section of the episode, Fredrik opens up about how he really learns languages, and what lesson Hungarian taught him... Tune in and enjoy Fredrik's language journey around the world! Show Notes Fredrik’s projects: https://www.swedishlinguist.com/ https://www.swedishlinguist.com/podcast/ Are the Nordic languages mutually understandable? (Nordics Info, Aarhus University) Why is the Swedish language so melodic? (Transparent Language) Fredrik’s resources to learn Russian Lingq Russian with Max

In this episode, we discuss why you should consider joining an online language-learning community if it still needs to be made the case. And there is no lack of reasons to do so! You can also listen to us share our experiences with language Apps, Forums and how you could use those cooperative settings to level up your language game! Besides, we talked about how a language challenge could benefit your learning and how to choose the community that suits you best. There's so much power when language enthusiasts come together! Listen up and join the fun! Show Notes Rita’s suggestions: - Samuel Vieira and Marjolein Benschop's Language Community - Speaking Challenge (Jonathan Huggings) Raf's suggestions: - https://www.hellotalk.com - https://www.easy-languages.org/our-languages Examples of forums Top language learning Apps James Kenny's article Constance Porter's quote

Happy New Year, language lovers! Have you ever set a new year's resolution to learn a new language? If so, you're not alone! Learning a new language is a common goal for many people at the start of the new year, but unfortunately, a majority of these resolutions fail. Why is this? Rita and Raffaele discuss the common pitfalls of language learning resolutions and how to avoid them by setting SMART goals instead. In the second half of the episode, Rita and Raffaele will share their own experiences with language learning resolutions, including the challenges they've faced and the strategies they've used to overcome them. Plus, there's a resolution they want to share with you... Join us and get ready to kick off your language-learning journey with confidence! Show Notes New Year’s Resolutions Are New Year's resolutions powerful or pointless? (BBC) New Year’s resolutions at work, can work (Asana) SMART Goals SMART criteria (Wikipedia) How to Set Smart Goals For Learning a Language (Storylearning) How to Set Smart Goals For Language Learning (Lindsey does Languages) 5 Tips for Setting Realistic Language Learning Goals for 2023 | Super Easy Polish 53

Meet Marian Brosschot from Easy Welsh as she discusses, with Rita, how Culture and language are inseparable. Marian was raised bilingual Welsh-Dutch at home in Wales. She traveled quite a bit and has been teaching Welsh and English abroad for some time. In 2020, Marian B. went to Argentina for a year to work as a Welsh teacher in Patagonia and is currently studying Linguistics at the University of Bangor in North Wales. In this episode, she shares valuable tips for those who want to join the ever-growing number of students learning Welsh and other critical cultural facts about Wales, mysterious names in Welsh, and the biggest Cultural event in Europe. "Hoffech chi gael coffi" before starting? Show Notes Super Easy Welsh 1: How to order drinks in Welsh Marian’s Brosschot Youtube Channel (Galés con Marian) Names of places in Wales mentionned in this episode: Castell y Gwynt (“Castle of the Wind”) – rock formation on the summit of Glyder Fach Pen Llithrig y Wrach (“The slippery head of the witch”) – Mountain Event in Wales: Dydd Gŵyl Dewi (St David’s Day) 1st of March. People wear a daffodil, which is the national symbol of Wales. Eisteddfod – biggest cultural festival in Europe. Numbers of learners of Welsh in the UK Quote from Jacques Leylavergne and Andrea Parra