How Studying Artificial Languages Can Help You Learn Natural Ones by Ann Baker

An artificial language, also called a conlang, is one created by humans instead of one that naturally develops over time. They are often used for artistic purposes and many artificial languages in your favorite TV shows and movies were created by linguists and have real grammatical structures. This means you can learn to speak the languages from your favorite works of fiction or even use them to aid your natural language studies. Here’s how studying artificial languages can help you learn natural ones.

Studying and Applying Grammar

You have to study natural languages in order to create a conlang. Linguist David J. Peterson, who created Dothraki and Valyrian in Game of Thrones, has studied over a dozen languages. Though he had material in George R. R. Martin’s books series to work off of when creating Dothraki, he was inspired by multiple natural languages, including Russian, Turkish, and Swahili.

However, if you take the opposite approach and study a conlang first, you’ll begin to understand linguistic structures, which is knowledge you can apply to any language. For example, the Atlantean language from the Disney film Atlantis: The Lost Empire has seven grammatical cases for nouns. Many natural languages — including German, Japanese, and Greek — have multiple noun cases. Though Atlantean cases differ greatly from German ones, understanding what cases are and how they work as a grammatical structure can benefit you when learning another language.

Inspiration and Determination

If French class has got you down, reinvigorate your studies by examining an artificial language. Learning about an artificial language from a beloved fictional work can put personal studies in a new, more fun context. Use your interests to your advantage! The more interested you are in learning a language, the more diligent you will be about practicing and studying it.

Take that newfound enthusiasm and study. Once you learn a second language, your brain will be more receptive to learning a third (and fourth, and fifth). Learning another language is good for your brain, and it doesn’t care if you’re studying Russian or High Valyrian. Luckily, you can find courses in both.

Be diligent when working toward your linguistic goals. If you’re teaching English abroad and don’t want to be “that” person, study your host country’s language. If you want to watch The Lord of the Rings without the subtitles on, study Elvish. Conlangs are as real as natural languages, and studying them can benefit you in similar ways. 

And if you really want to take your language skills to the next level, try creating your own artificial language. Think about everything, from root words to punctuation to verb conjugations. You’ll gain a newfound appreciation and perspective for studying all languages.

At the end of the day, learning a language should be fun! Don’t be afraid to learn whichever language you’re passionate about. Just keep in mind that if someone can learn Klingon well enough to write an opera, you can learn any language, whether it’s “real” or not.

Ann Baker is a writer, language lover, and pop culture enthusiast who lives in Idaho. Literature and linguistics are her two passions, both of which she studied in college. In her free time, she enjoys hiking with her dog and binge-reading fantasy novels.

9 Top Tools to Help You Learn a New Language by Jennifer Scott

Learning a new language from scratch is no easy feat. Whether you’re learning from the comfort of your own home or trying to dive in at the deep in by moving to another country, it’s safe to say that you’ll still want all the help you can get.

Well luckily, there’s plenty of help about. You may have heard of Rosetta Stone or Google Translate, but these aren’t the only options available to you when it comes to broadening your verbal horizons. Here to get you off on the right foot are nine essential tools and apps you can start using today!

DuoLingo

To kickstart our list, we’ve chosen an absolute winner when it comes to learning a new language. Available online or on your preferred smartphone, DuoLingo is a unique approach to learning a new language.

What makes it so special is not only giving you the ability to learn words and phrases, you’ll also learn how to read effectively, translate quickly and match sentences to images for super-fast memory recall.

Essay Services

More commonly referred to as BAW, this is a custom writing service that allows you to translate any length of content into another language.

So, whether you’ve written out a list of phrases that you want to try and learn next, or you want to speak to a professional language writer, you can find all the services on their website.

Via Writing

Learning a language isn’t all about speaking in a conversation; it’s also about being able to read and write when you need too. 

Via Writing is a blog dedicated to sharing information on how to write accurately, no matter what language you’re learning about. Whether you’re looking for writing rules or tips, there’s a post here for you.

Top Canadian Writers

Similar to Best Australian Writers listed above, Top Canadian Writers is a service that dedicates itself to finding and reviewing the best writing services on the Internet.

This means you can find a dedicated language learning service that suits what you’re looking for perfectly, without having to waste your hard-earned money on a scam site.

Livemocha

Livemocha is a complete and utterly compelling online language learning community. There are over 12 million users on the website, all from 200 different countries with a total of around 38 different languages to learn.

Once you’ve signed up, you’ll be able to follow videos, chat with community members and partake in live classes in the language of your choosing. 

Cite It In

When you’re teaching yourself how to learn a new language, you’ll want to take notes and reminders from your learning experience to help you remember everything. When taking notes, it can be very wise to make a note of the resources where you got the information.

To do this easily, you can use this free online tool to quickly and professionally add your references and citations in a readable format for future reference.

Australian Reviewer

One of the most effective ways to learn a language is using flashcards. These are typically small cards, like playing cards, with something in English written on one side and then the language you’re trying to learn on the other. 

However, instead of buying a huge set with might not include what you’re looking for, why not try creating your own? To make this super easy, use this website to find a service who can do it for you.

Grammarix

Speaking and writing a new language isn’t all about the words you’re learning, it’s also about the grammar that you’re using. No matter what language you’re learning, this is a vital element that you can learn all about using the posts on this blog.

Easy Word Count

Sometimes, it’s hard to start motivated when you’re trying to do something new like learning a language. Instead of missing your goals, set a target to write and learn 500 words a day. This isn’t 500 individual words but more like 5-6 sentences or phrases a day. Use this free online tool to set a daily goal to achieve.

Jennifer is a business developer working in different areas of education, technology, security and various types of online marketing. Prior to business development, Jennifer was consultant at Deloitte and managed security service providers and developers for a wide range of security solutions.

How to Memorize Words in a Foreign Language by Amber Wilson

While learning a new language is always good for you, it can turn out to be a daunting task. Sometimes it feels like there are just too many words and they seem to go in in one ear and out the other.

So, what can you do to make those words to stick to your mind?

Professional dissertation writer Joanna Satchett says that concentration is key to learning new words and phrases. 

Here are some interesting ways and useful techniques that can help you boost your memory and become the polyglot you always wished to be. 

Music

It might sound like a bad idea to listen to music while trying to concentrate. However, it all depends on what type of music will you listen while you study.

It is scientifically proven that certain kinds of music may send you into a state of meditation and relax your brain that way which will help you concentrate and stay focused. The important thing with this technique is that you listen to instrumental music at a reasonable volume. Classical music is one of the best genres for this.

Nutrition

Another scientific fact is that some foods can have a good influence on your mental state and improve your brain functions.

Nuts are great for improving concentration. It doesn’t matter which ones you prefer they are rich in omega-3, zinc, and iron, which will help you concentrate and memorize those foreign words and phrases. A handful should be enough.

Caffeine is also good for concentration. It enhances certain memories and its effects  can last for up to 24 hours. This can  help you spend more time studying. Caffeine also has a calming effect on your mood which will make you more enthusiastic towards studying.

If you don't like coffee, don't worry, there are plenty of products containing caffeine like black tea or dark chocolate.

Interesting fonts

You should use unusual fonts when printing your study material. If you make words you're trying to learn harder to read, you'll make them more memorable. Try using different fonts or colors and make these words bigger than the rest of the text.

Mental Associations

This technique requires from you to make mental associations to the words you wish to learn by using images or other words. For example, draw a simple picture of a house or your street and on every object on that picture you can write a word that is used for it in a foreign language. This can make the words far more memorable.

You should take time to learn vocabulary as it's a crucial part of understanding foreign languages. These techniques should  improve your concentration and help you study. Whether you are a college student, an interpreter or just willing to learn a new language, improving your concentration will pay dividends next time you study.

Amber Wilson is a content strategist and a technical writer with more than 10-year experience as a thesis editor. She is an expert in educational technologies and game-based learning.

Languages Online: The Best of December 2017

Happy new year, everyone! We're back this year with a look at the very last month of last year. As per usual, we have our monthly look at our 10 favourite articles, posts, or news stories from around the web. Let's get to it!

10: Language learning experts’ top tips and advice of 2017 on 5 Minute Language

Given that it's January, you might have a resolution to learn a foreign language (or another!). With this in mind, 5 Minute Language put together a list of great advice for you.

9: A totally tubular guide to the language of Stranger Things on Oxford Dictionaries

If, like me, you watched the second season of Stranger Things, you'll have no doubt picked up on some of the interesting slang and vocabulary they used throughout the show. In this article by Oxford Dictionaries, you can see just where some of the series' most important vocabulary and expressions comes from.

8: 23 Fun German Interjections: from Ätsch to Igitt! on Fluent on 3 Months

Whether you're learning German or already an expert, it never hurts to learn how to express interjections for joy, surprise, or happiness and this article has a good selection of them!

7: To save dying languages, use ‘evolutionary trees’ on Futurity

While we often say that languages are dead or living, you probably wouldn't think that biology could help that much, right? Wrong! There's an argument for using 'evolutionary trees', a tool from conservation biology, to help us save languages that would otherwise be on their way out.

6: Language of the Rohingya to be digitised: 'It legitimises the struggle' on The Guardian

The stateless Rohingya people in Myanmar cannot use digital communication in their own language since there's no digital version of their writing system (unlike the Latin alphabet you're reading now). However, plans to give them a digital script of their own could greatly help them as well.

5: 14 of my Favorite Quotes About Language on Eurolinguiste

If you've just started learning your first foreign language, this is one post that you should definitely consider looking at. If you're struggling with the language that you're currently learning, take inspiration from some of these great quotes.

4: Learn a Language By Reading: 5 Easy-to-Follow Steps on Fluent in 3 Months

If you're an avid reader, here's some great information for how you can use reading materials in order to help you learn a language.

3: How to Choose Language Learning Resources on Eurolinguiste

There are a lot of language learning resources out there. Luckily for you, this article on Eurolinguiste has advice on choosing the right ones.

2: The battle to make French a “gender-neutral language” is emphasizing the country’s inherent sexism on Quartz

The debate on whether the French language needs a gender-neutral form rages on and shows no signs of slowing down. Now people are wondering just how sexist France is a result. An interesting read.

1: Wales launches strategy to double number of Welsh speakers by 2050 on The Guardian

Our top article of the month focused on the Welsh language and efforts to make this minority language more widely-spoken as part of a number of government programmes in the UK.

If there were any great articles or or resources we missed, feel free to tell us about them in the comments below.

10 Resources for Improving Your Language Learning Productivity by Chris Richardson

When learning a new language, you have several essential skills to improve. Most of all, you’re focused on reading, writing, listening, and speaking. That’s what all language learning programs revolve around.

What about productivity? It’s an aspect of the language learning journey we often tend to ignore. We expect the structured program to give everything we need to learn the language. However, the effort we put into this goal on a daily basis is crucial for developing all language skills. 

Productivity is all about learning more in a shorter period of time. How do you boost it? Here are 10 resources that will get you on the right track.

1. Forvo

With Forvo, you listen to the way words are pronounced in your target language. The recordings are by native speakers.

How does this improve your productivity? Forvo gives helps you understand the genuine speech. With regular practice, you’ll master the foreign language much more effectively.

2. Couchsurfing

You will truly become a fluent speaker of a foreign language when you hang out with natives.

Thanks to Couchsurfing, traveling doesn’t have to cost much. You can connect with people from your country of interest as well as welcome other travelers into your home. They will help you learn some of their language, too.

3. Google Calendar

You’ll become a fluent speaker only if you turn language learning in your daily routine. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a student or a worker; you can always find some space for this practice during the day.

Use Google Calendar to plan each day really carefully. You'll need at least half an hour for learning new words, phrases, and grammar rules every single day. This practice should also include writing, listening, and speaking.

4. Language Learning Unlocked

This is a book that every foreign language learner should have in their home library. It helps you develop a strategic approach towards this process. The author explores the most common issues that language learners face and provides effective solutions.

5. Amazon

Speaking of books, you have to read more of them. Start with children’s books in your target language. These can help you boost your vocabulary and master grammar in its most essential form. From there on, you can continue with books written by local authors. This can help you understand the culture of the country, too. Where do you get these books? Amazon is the answer.

6. EssayGeeks.co.uk

What about the writing part? How do you get more productive? If you work with professional writers, you’ll understand the essay format easily. Plus, they can clarify grammar and vocabulary issues for you. Essay Geeks puts you in direct contact with talented writers. 

7. Skype

What if you can’t afford to travel? Well, there’s another way to connect with native speakers. Use Skype! Your friends online can make you a more effective learner by correcting your mistakes. You can listen to proper pronunciation and practice with them. Practice is the best way to improve how quickly you learn. 

8. Italki

Do you find it difficult to connect with native speakers via Skype? Are you too shy to introduce yourself and start a conversation? This is where italki can help. This is a platform where language learners from all around the world come together to connect with native speakers. You’ll still use Skype to talk, but connecting with new people is much simpler.

In addition to native speakers for practice, you can also find native language teachers on italki. They will give you one-on-one lessons, which will definitely make you more fluent in your target language.

9. Strict Workflow

The Internet is a source of endless distractions. Instead of spending half an hour learning, you end up scrolling through Instagram for an entire hour. That has to stop!

Strict Workflow is a Google Chrome extensions that will block all distracting websites for 25 minutes. You’ll use those 25 minutes for learning. Then, you’ll get a break of 5 minutes. You can use it to scroll to Instagram or do whatever you want before you get back to learning.

10. Duolingo

Duolingo is both a language learning and a productivity tool. When you’re learning a language on your own, you absolutely need a structured program. Duolingo gives you that structure. You get learning modules and practice sessions. It encourage you to work every single day, too. That’s how it makes you a more productive learner. 

Have you ever wondered how your productivity affected the language learning process? It’s crucially important! Your approach helps you learn the language faster and more effectively. Fortunately, there are tools that will amplify your productivity. Have you tried some of them? Do you have another tool to suggest? Share your ideas!                                                                                                           

Chris Richardson is a journalist, editor, and a blogger. He loves to write, learn new things, and meet new outgoing people. Chris is also fond of traveling, sports, and playing the guitar. Follow him on Facebook and Google+.

Languages Online: The Best of November 2017

Here are our favourite stories about language from last month. Let's dive straight in...

10: 6 Steps To Listen Your Way To A Better Accent In Any Language on I Will Teach You a Language

If you're struggling with accurately replicating the accent in your foreign language, this article shows you how to do it by just listening. While it only features 4 steps when we first published it on our Facebook Page, two more steps have been added. This article just keeps on giving.

9: Kazakhstan Is Changing Its Alphabet - Here's Why on The Independent

This article covers the news that Kazakhstan is looking to adopt the Latin alphabet. While the country has traditionally used the Russian Cyrillic script, decisions have been made to use the same alphabet as many countries in the West do in order to improve the country's global integration.

8: J.K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter' Translated To Scots, Marking 80th Language on NPR

Harry Potter fans north of the border (if you're in the UK) should rejoice at the news that the first book has been translated into Scots. You should listen to the interview on NPR to hear a sample of it.

7: We put Google's new language-translation headphones to the test with 10 different languages — here’s how they did on Business Insider

There's been a lot of buzz about Google's headphones and how they'll do away with translators by giving everyone access to live interpreting wherever they go. However, as Business Insider found out, they're not ideal.

6: Why written languages look alike the world over on Science

While you wouldn't say that the Latin alphabet and the Cyrillic script are the same (Kazakhstan is looking to change from the latter to the former, after all), there are a number of characters in both that have very common roots. In this article, you'll find out why there are so many similarities between human writing systems.

5: No more middots: French PM clamps down on gender-neutral language on The Guardian

The French language's latest controversy comes in the form of gender. French is now trying to include gender-neutral versions of words to rectify the problem with middots, a punctuation mark that looks like a full-stop but in the middle of a line. Traditionalists, including the French PM, are not happy.

4: Five languages Brexit Britons should learn on Financial Times

Without trying to speculate on the future of the UK, it's fair to say that it probably wouldn't be able to survive as an isolated nation like North Korea. This means that languages are still going to be useful in the future and here's an interesting article on which languages might be useful for those in the UK.

3: From inboxing to thought showers: how business bullshit took over on The Guardian

If you're like me and you hate business English, you should definitely check out this article. Unfortunately, it looks like the ridiculous use of English employed in offices and boardrooms around the country isn't going anywhere, though.

2: What are the Most Spoken Languages in the World? on Fluent in 3 Months

Which is the most spoken language in the world? Should you just count native speakers or should you consider how many people speak it as a foreign language? What about those who learn the language as a foreign language? There are a lot of questions to answer just to answer a seemingly-simple question. This article aims to address a few of them.

1: A ‘critical juncture’ for language learning in the UK on Times Higher Education

Our most popular article this month was on the future of learning languages in the UK. As you may have heard, the UK is leaving the European Union. With a potentially-massive political shift occurring, the UK has a lot of questions to answer about how it's going to conduct itself in the future and how it teaches foreign languages is one of the biggest questions.

Were there any great language articles in November that we missed? Feel free to tell us and our readers about them in the comments below.

How to Get Better at Speaking a Foreign Language by Brenda Berg

Learning a foreign language can be difficult at the best of times and it’s thought that the older we get, the harder it gets. However, thanks to the internet, there are tonnes of resources readily available at the click of the button that can help us learn a new language in ways that was never before possible.

To help you get started, here’s everything you need to know to help you improve your ability to speak a foreign language.

Practice, Practice, Practice

As with anything in life, the only way you’ll be able to learn to speak a language fluently is to set aside the time to practice. This means practising every day, even if it’s only for half an hour some days. Any practice is better than no practice.

Video Conferencing Software

Programs like Skype have never been more accessible to people all over the world so why not use this to your advantage? By using social media and video chat, you can connect with like-minded people from around the world who may speak another language and want to learn yours.

“This is a great way to learn as you can then speak to each other, teaching each other the language as you go. This is a great way to learn about someone else’s culture, and you might even make a new friend!” Martin Dulmer, language tutor at Academized.

Smartphone Apps

To list all the language learning smartphone apps for both Android and iOS would take all day (although the best are listed below). However, there's definitely an app out there that that'll work for you.

Simply head over to the Play Store or the App Store, search ‘language apps’ and simply see what comes up! You can start with the best and easy apps such as HelloTalk and Memrise. But that’s not all great apps you can find.

Watch Foreign Media

Thanks to the internet, you can now have access to all kinds of films, movies and TV series from around the world, directly to your computer. By streaming them to your TV, you can learn how to speak a foreign language.

Imagine watching Spanish TV all day every day instead of English TV? It’s actually a great way to learn, especially if you’re watching something that you know in English because you already know what they’re talking about. With YouTube you can even choose what to watch.

Using Conversation Clubs

Much like searching for an individual online to speak to or using social media, forums, and chatrooms, you’ll also be able to find lots of conversation clubs that you can join to chat with locals from all over the world.

These can be a great way to meet other people, make new friends, learn about a new culture and learn a language!

Using Tools & Resources

As mentioned earlier, there are a lot of resources online to make speaking a new foreign language as easy as possible. Here’s a few to get you started.

Busuu

This is a comprehensive language learning website with 12 unique languages to get you started. In addition to speaking help, you’ll also be able to practice reading and writing.

Babbel

Babbel is home to over 15 language training programs and is very heavily in the visual learning styles, using pictures and photos to help you remember words and sentences.

Academadvisor

This is a free blog you can use to improve your grammar in English and other languages.

DuoLingo

With over 26 languages available, DuoLingo is one of the most popular learning platforms and is used by people all around the world. You can even learn on the go while using the app.

Flashcard Apps

There are plenty of flashcard apps and websites out there that can help you to learn how to speak a language quickly and fluently with flashcards. Write down a sentence that you want to remember or learn and then writing the English version on the other side, making it super easy to have all the information you need in one place.

As you can see, there are so many options available to you when it comes to improving your language speaking skills when using the internet. All you need to do is find the one that works best for you.

Brenda Berg is a professional with over 15 years of experience in business management, marketing and entrepreneurship. Consultant and tutor for college students and entrepreneurs at Oxessays and Paper fellows. Brenda is also a part-time educator and Editor in Chief at Big assignments
She believes that constant learning is the only way to success. You can visit her personal blog at Letsgoandlearn.com.