English is very vast language and its ever changing vocabulary makes it ideal for etymological studies. The language contains various words that have an interesting history and facts associated with them.

Here are a few words of English language that have fascinating historic facts related to them.

Awkward

Awkward is an adjective that is centered on the ‘Old Norse Afugr,’ which means “turned the wrong way around.” Hence, apart from its general meaning ‘Lacking grace,’ the word could also be applied to an animal that is on its back and can’t get up.

Daisy

The word daisy comes from the concept of contraction of ‘day’s eye.’ This concept even applies to the daisy flower that is opened during the day, but closes during the night.

Squirrel

Squirrel lives on the tree and runs too fast that you cannot catch it. But, did you know that the word squirrel finds its origin from the Greek word ‘skiouros,’ which means “shadow-tail.”

Sarcasm

Though, a lot of people usually don’t get the sarcasm, the sarcastic souls enjoy having sarcastic conversations. The word evolved from Greek word ‘sarkazein’ meaning “to tear flesh.” Now you know why passing sarcastic comments makes you look so evil once the person gets the actual meaning.

Girl

In ancient time, the word girl was used to refer to a young person or child of either sex i.e. it wasn’t particularly associated with female child. However, the origin of the term is not certain, but it is related to the Low German ‘gör’ that means “child.”

In the End

These are some interesting words in English language. If we have missed out on something do let us know in the comments section. This post shows how vast languages are and if you are not proficient in them you can make some serious blunders. So, in order to avoid such instances, it is better to avail translation service when dealing with languages that you are not familiar with. Call 888-670-3369 to hire translators.

Korean is the official language of North and South Korea. It is not an easy language to master for foreign nationals and there have been many who have admitted to have fallen by the wayside in their quest to learn the language. Besides having nearly 78 million speakers across the globe, there are some interesting facts about the Korean language, which we have discussed in this post.

Part of Uralo-Altaic Group of Languages

Some people think that Korean is an original language; however, it appears to have links to the Uralo-Altaic group of languages including Mongolian, Finnish, Hungarian, Turkish and Manchu. Although, there’s lack of clear evidence to support this claim, some researchers who studied the history of the language have mentioned about the association.

Interesting Grammar

The grammar of Korean language is quite different and interesting; it doesn’t contain grammatical number, definite or indefinite articles, gender distinctions, etc. Also, there are seven speech levels in the language, with each level having its own set of verb endings that indicate a different level of formality of a situation. Moreover, Korean grammar is quite similar to Japanese, but sounds very different.

Chinese Influence

There are many words of Chinese origin (nearly 70%) found in Korean language, but with different grammar use.

Spoken Areas

There are about 78 million native Korean speakers present in different parts of the world. Then you also find Korean spoken as heritage language in the United States, China, Japan, and former Soviet Union.

Historical Alphabets

15^th century Korean alphabets are known as Hangeul in S. Korea. Their creation was ordered by the ruler of the time, King Sejong and is considered as probably the most scientific alphabet in the world. There are 24 letters with 14 consonants and 10 vowels.

Bottom Line

Korean is an interesting language to speak; however, like many other languages mastering Korean is not that easy. Need language translation? Call 888-670-3369 to know more.

Are you multilingual? What fascinates you about different languages? Share your thoughts with us in the comments’ section.

Our world wasn’t as we see it today. It has undergone major changes through centuries to reach this stage. From demographic to life on planet, a lot has changed. Humans created boundaries and divided the land into collection of different countries, with each country having its own culture and language.

Every language spoken in the world has its own history associated with it. In this post, we are going to discuss about Vietnamese language and learn how it has evolved over the years through some interesting facts about it.

Native Language

Vietnamese is the official language of Vietnam. Besides being the native language of the Vietnamese (Kinh) people, it is also first or second language of a lot of ethnic minorities of Vietnam. As a result of migration, the language has crossed the Vietnam shores and reached to other parts of the globe.

World-wide Reach

The immigration of Vietnamese nationals over the years has resulted in Vietnamese speakers being found in East and Southeast Asia along with North America, Australia, and Western Europe. Today, it is estimated that about 90 million people on the plant speak Vietnamese.

Chinese Influence

Vietnamese vocabulary is influenced by Chinese language. The language uses a formal modified set of Chinese characters like chữ nôm. There are also traces of Latin influences, as some Vietnamese alphabets being used today have additional accents for tones & certain letters.

6 Different Tones

The diacritics written above and below the vowel determine the tone of the Vietnamese letters. Based on the influence and use of diacritics the Vietnamese language has six different tones. This makes it difficult for a non-native to master the language. In comparison, Mandarin Chinese has four tones (including neutral), while Cantonese has eight.

Periods of Vietnamese Language

Since the language has evolved over the years, there have been different periods of Vietnamese language, which are:

–          Pre-Vietnamese
–          Proto-Vietnamese
–          Archaic Vietnamese
–          Ancient Vietnamese
–          Middle Vietnamese
–          Modern Vietnamese

Modern Vietnamese is what people around the world speak today.

Final Word

While catching the accent is a little difficult because of different tone types, Vietnamese is definitely an interesting language to speak and learn. If you are expanding your business in Vietnam or need translation of medical or assignment papers, dial 888-670-3369.

A language that is known for its beautiful words and charismatic sentences, Urdu belongs to the Indic group of the Indo-Iranian subfamily and the Indo-European family of languages. Urdu is also one of the 15 languages recognized in the Indian constitution. About 100 million people of Pakistan and India understand Urdu and the language is also the official tongue of Pakistan.  In this article, we have focused on the popularity of Urdu in Asia and beyond Asian sub-continent.

Popularity in Pakistan

–          Pakistan is believed to be a home to about 10 million Urdu speakers.
–          It is the official language of all providences of Pakistan.
–          Urdu is mandatory for students.
–          Besides Punjabi, Sindhi, Gujarati, Balochi, Pashto, Kashmiri, Brahui, and Siraiki, Urdu is also a mother tongue of the country.

Popularity in India

–          There is a considerable Indian population that can effortlessly communicate in Urdu.
–          In India, Urdu is mostly spoken in various cities including Lucknow, Bhopal, Hyderabad, and Delhi, to name a few.
–          There are some schools where Urdu is taught as first language. Indian madarsas teach Arabic as well.
–          In India more than 2900 daily newspapers in Urdu are read. Newspapers such as Daily Pasban, Munsif Daily, Inqilab, Siast Daily, and Daily Salar are distributed across Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mysore, and Mumbai.

Popularity in Other Asian Countries

Afghan refugees who are believed to have made Pakistan their home in past, learned Urdu. After moving back to their country they took the language along; thus widening the horizons for the language.

Popularity beyond Asian Sub-Continent

–          Outside the Asian sub-continent, the language is spoken by a large population of workers who moved to major urban centers in Gulf countries and Saudi Arabia.
–          Urdu is also gaining popularity in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Norway, and Australia, where it is spoken by a substantial numbers of immigrants who moved to these major urban centers for better livelihood.

Final Words
Initially, it may not be possible to understand and catch hold of the language as well as you want to, thus, you will need assistance of experienced Urdu translators. Dial 888-670-3369 to talk to professionals.

Know any interesting facts about Urdu? Share with us in the comments’ section.

Every year Oxford English Dictionary expands its knowledge base by adding new and interesting words. While Flash Mob, Mouseover, Young Adult etc. were some of the exciting new words added in the year 2013, there are some more such words added to the dictionary in the year 2014 and 2015. Let’s take a look at these interesting new words.

Duck Face

Though the word is not new to the current generation, it is new for traditional English speaking people. Smartphones made it possible for people to access the internet while on the go and take as many selfies as they are willing to with the help of front cameras. Young girls and boys took it to new level with their duck face photos.

Oxford defines the word as “An exaggerated pouting expression in which the lips are thrust outwards, typically made by a person posing for a photograph.”

Some examples to use the word are:

• That’s another of her duck faced profile pics.
• Purse your lips into duck face for a photograph.

Hawt

Hawt is a very common word among youngsters these days. This is one word that is considered to be ‘cool’ by the tech-savvy generation of today.

There’s no formal definition for the word, but this is what Oxford has to say about Hawt “Informal spelling of hot.”

Let’s see how you can use the word to frame sentences:

• She’s looking really hawt in that dress.
• It’s getting extremely hawt these days.

Fone

Just like hawt, fone is also another way of writing ‘phone’. It was needless to write ‘ph’ to describe a fone and Oxford obliged by including the word in the dictionary.

No formal definition has been provided by Oxford apart from –“ Fone is a different spelling for phone.”

Some ways of including the word in daily use are:

• Put your fone on silent mode.
• I’m just a fone call away.

So these are some really interesting words added by Oxford. What do you have to say about them? Let us know about your views in the comments’ section.

Want to remain ahead of the crowd? Make sure that your ads and business campaigns use correct translations and the words that may relate to the young generation. For translation services, dial 888-670-3369.

Television has a huge influence on our lives. From the way we dress up to the way we talk, we try to copy our favorite stars, act like popular television characters, and wear t-shirts that are printed with popular quotes and logos of TV series. There are some phrases and words that have become popular due to TV shows. Here is a list of words that own their popularity to TV series –

Boom-boom

Boom-boom is a popular word that is used to draw attention to a weak or obvious joke or pun. It gained popularity in Britain as a catchphrase when it was used by a children’s television puppet Basil Brush, which first appeared in 1953.

Cowabunga

The word first gain popularity in 1950s after it was used by a character on the US television program Howdy Doody. After that, it was used in a US TV cartoon program Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987-96), which made it common among people.

D’oh

The phrase was used by a highly popular character Homer Simpson from the hit American cartoon series The Simpsons (1989). Whenever things didn’t go well the character used to exclaim ‘d’oh!’

Mind-meld

In terms of Science fiction, the phrase points to a technique meant for psychic fusion of two or more minds, which permits deep understanding or unrestricted communication. It was originally used in the famous TV series Star Trek. However, the use of the word has extended beyond original sci-fi context.

Omnishambles

Used in the satirical TV program ‘The Thick of It’, the word points to a situation that has been widely mismanaged via strings of blunders and miscalculations. Omnishambles has also made it to Oxford Dictionary and the word was selected as Oxford Dictionary word of the year 2012.

What are your favorite words from your favorite TV series? Do let us know in the comments’ section. Need English translation? Dial 888-670-3369.

Grammar, for ages has been the most difficult subject to study for a lot of people. During childhood, most of us must have got scolded by our English teacher on numerous occasions to get those ‘commas’ and ‘apostrophes’ right. In addition to this, who can forget tenses, they were like albatross around the neck for some. If scolding wasn’t embarrassing enough, seeing the entire class having a laugh at your expense added salt to the wound. These are surely memories that no one will ever forget.

You must be wondering why we are recalling these childhood memories. Well, with this blog we are trying to show that some have issues in framing grammatically correct sentences even after growing up. Here’s a glimpse of how challenging grammar is for some people.

#1)

Looking at this error, you must have realized the level of difficulty people have with correct grammar. Putting comma can indeed save someone’s life.

#2)

This image depicts the importance of hyphen. What’s your say ‘is the squirrel eating pumpkin’ or ‘is it a squirrel-eating pumpkin’?

 

#3)

Avoid your girlfriend? It isn’t that easy–especially when your girlfriend starts correcting your grammar.

#4)

Wondering where to find such a human who is ‘disabled elderly pregnant children’? Either we haven’t seen all of mankind or someone needs to correct their grammar.

#5)

Agreed, that’s really creepy! It’s time people take grammar seriously, period.

#6)

Nothing left to say, the image says it all.

#7)

Different genders, different ideologies. Both tried to prove they are superior, but girls nailed it! Did anyone say ‘Powerpuff Girls?’

#8)

Don’t worry; even we’re trying to figure out what the person meant here. Start proof reading what you write people!

#9)

Being over smart is not always fruitful. Putting an apostrophe anywhere isn’t the way to get the things right.

#10)

That’s called a bad beginning. Wonder what the kid will learn.

If you are learning English, it is imperative to pay extra attention to grammar. Also, if you are looking for translation services, then you need to find a reliable service provider with knowledgeable professionals to ensure that you don’t have to face such grammatical blunders.

Have similar examples or stories to share? Let us know in the comment’s section.

English language has been evolving for a long time. There are many words in English that are adopted from other languages and a few of them are mixtures of different words. Here is a list of foreign languages that have influenced English.

French

French language is believed to be a high contributor to English, as nearly 30% of English words are believed to be of French origin. Legal, military, political terminology, words for meat of an animal, words referring to foods are mostly inspired from French. For example, chair (from chaise), bottle (from bouteille), stranger (from étranger), lizard (from lézard), etc. are some famous English words of French origin.

Latin

A lot of scientific and technical words, medical terminologies as well as academic and legal terminologies in English have been derived from Latin. For example, mind (from mens), water (from aqua), dog (from canis), rainbow (from iris), etc. are famous Latin to English words.

Dutch

Dutch words have a wide influence on English language. Words like skipper (from schipper), landscape (from landschap), forlorn hope (from verloren hoop), cookie (from koekie), the very famous Santa Claus (from sinterklaas), etc. are English words that originated from Dutch language.

Indian Languages

Indian languages contributed to English in many ways. Various words related to culture, mathematical terminologies, and others have originated from the colonial era. For instance, Bungalow (from bangla), Shampoo (from champo), cushy (from khusy), juggernaut (from Jagannath), mother (from mater), etc. have been derived from Indian languages.

Spanish

Many words relating to warfare and tactics that are a part of English language today have been derived from Spanish. For instance, albatross (from alcatraz), cannibal (from caníbal), cockroach (from cucaracha), galleon (from galeón), etc. are famous English words that are derived from Spanish.

You see there’s a big influence of foreign languages on English. Hence, if you are finding it difficult to appropriately translate your documents in English, it is advisable to contact a translation service provider for correct translation. For further information, dial 888-670-3369.

Most of us must have read that the Polish language has its roots in Slavic group of languages, mainly in Eastern Europe, expanding from the Baltic States on the Adriatic and going up all the way to the Black Sea. But, this doesn’t explain how Polish is different from other ‘Slavic’ languages and how it has developed over the years to become what it is today. In this post, we will help you know about Polish, its history and origin.

Slavic Languages: The Term

Slavic language refers to a group of languages that were developed together with other languages of the dominant groups in mainland Europe. These languages are spoken by around 315 million people and are related closely to various other languages such as Lithuanian, Latvian, and the now-extinct Old Prussian.

Changes in Polish Language

Polish language started to witness changes in around 9^th Century AD, which is now marked as ‘Old Polish’ period. For approximately six centuries, numerous political, cultural, historical, and religious influencers played a part in altering and molding the language. This resulted in something similar to what we know today as ‘Modern Polish’ language.

Modern Polish Language

Today, it is estimated that the language has 200,000+ words and around one-third of these words is associated, in pronunciation and sound, with old Slavic originals. On the other hand, the rest of the words are adopted from various other languages. Also, the modern Polish language is vastly influenced by globalization. Not only it has become an identity of Polish people, but it is also the second most widely spoken language of the Slavic group, behind Russian. Furthermore, the modern Polish Language has a lot of influence of English-American words that are increasingly being adapted into the Polish system.

If you are planning to expand your business to a Polish language dominant country and are not well-versed with the language, then you need help of translator. Dial 888-670-3369 to know more.

Spain, the birth place of Pablo Picasso is one the world’s oldest cultures with right heritage. The country hosts millions of tourist every year who want to explore the beautiful culture of Spain and learn more about its rich history. Besides the eminent painter and rich history, Spain has a lot more to offer to the world; from chorizos and matadors to flamenco dance and Spanish guitar, the country is a paradise for travelers.

 

On this note, let us take a look at some known and some unknown, yet interesting, facts about Spain and its official language Spanish.

Fact #1: Spanish People Traditionally Have Two Surnames–The First From Their Father And Second From Their Mother.

For instance, your name is John Martin Garcia and your wife’s name is Emilia Gonzalez Lopez, then the kids’ surname will be – XYZ Martin Gonzalez.

Fact #2: Spain Is A Constitutional Monarchy, Just Like the United Kingdom.

The country is also acknowledged as the Kingdom of Spain. The head of state of Spain is Felipe VI (succeeded his father King Juan Carlos I) and the prime minister is Mariano Rajoy Brey.

Fact #3: Spanish is the Third Most Popular Language In The World, With 417 Million Native Speakers.

Spanish is the official language of 22 countries. The list includes Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, México, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Perú, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Fact #4: Spanish is one of the World’s Most Phonetic Languages.

This means that if you know how to spell a word in Spanish, you can almost pronounce it correctly. Though, the reverse isn’t true.

In the End

It is wonderful to know some interesting facts about a country and its language and if you are planning to visit Spain any time soon, the information might have increased your excitement level.

If you need Spanish translation, call 888-670-3369. Been to Spain? Share your experience with us in the comments’ section.