Barlingue

I find myself in quite a unique situation. Ironically, this uniqueness comes from not being “unique” in the French sense of the word in that I am actually an identical twin. What do I mean by a unique situation then? Let me clarify. Both my twin sister and I are linguists. She is fluent in French and Italian, but my preferences were always German and Spanish. We have both taught English as a Foreign Language, and I also teach English for Academic Purposes. As kids, we never had a special ‘twin’ language, and we were placed in different classes at secondary school so that we wouldn’t be compared but would…

Everywhere you go in Catania there are groups of retired men playing cards. In every park, in every quiet square you’ll find a rickety table and some old plastic chairs waiting for them.  They come here every day at the same time and stay for hours, chatting in the shade of the big olive trees.  It’s something I love about the Mediterranean culture so I couldn’t resist interrupting one of their games for a quick chat.   There are groups like this in most cities in the world – they are the people who meet to play chess in the thermal baths in Budapest, the women who spend their evenings playing…

Half a dozen young men from Somalia, four women from Iraqi Kurdistan, and six volunteers from Newcastle upon Tyne. Add some humour and sensitivity to the mix, and you have the perfect recipe for kindness and compassion. Entering the kitchen on that cold Sunday in November, I saw an array of ingredients on the table in front of us. I had decided to do some volunteering for a local refugee charity, but to be honest I had no idea what to expect.  I had been assigned to the middle table and would be responsible for cooking the ‘hot’ meal. There were two slight problems, however. Firstly, I’m not renowned for my culinary ability, and secondly, I don’t speak Somali, Arabic or Kurdish. Nevertheless, it was amazing how despite…

It’s only fair to share my story first! At school I had zero interest in languages. It would be easy to blame the attitude to language learning that English schools had 25 years ago but the truth is that like most teenagers I was more interested in the boy next door.  I remember a total of 4 words of the French I was taught at school – Bonjour and Pain Au Chocolat!  Fast forward to my mid twenties. I had finished university and entered the world of full time work but wanted to continue learning something.  I was looking around a second hand shop on my lunch break and found…

A topical question under our post Covid reality is can we really build or maintain a meaningful relationship with someone over skype? I use Italki quite a lot in my language learning and practice, it’s basically one on one conversations either with a teacher or informal language partner.  I say absolutely yes we can get to know someone and develop a relationship without being in the same room. Let me tell you why. There is a Spanish word ‘Sabiduría’. I’m not sure we have an equivalent in English – it means the wisdom that can only come with age and life experience. My Spanish conversation partner Rosa was the embodiment…