I've caught the travel bug. But instead of relying on Word Lens or Google Goggles (both awesome apps) for my translation needs in different countries, I've decided to learn a new language. So I was pretty stoked when Rosetta Stone sent me the brand-new Learn Japanese Level 1 ($209) program. I've been wanting to take a trip back since my last excursion, so now is the perfect time to incentivize Read more

You know the end of the year is nigh when words of the year are announced. It seems like just about every dictionary has one, but today the Global Language Monitor, an organization that tracks trends in languages, named "spillcam" — the camera that turned into a live feed of the Gulf oil spill — the 2010 Word of the Year. Nominees (all are in the word bubble above) range from Jersey Read more

When reader SamBourdain said he wanted to pick up Spanish as his professional development goal, I thought it was a great idea — a second language can strengthen your global understanding and increase job opportunities. Not to mention, you'll also have a lower risk of developing dementia. I decided to take an online language lesson, and of course, I tried to keep it low-cost, so I picked one Read more

It's all too obvious when couples dress alike, but talking alike is much more subtle. And if you're lucky, it happens to you. University of Texas researchers studied the poetry and letters of two famous literary couples — Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning and Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath — to determine that couples matched each other's language when relationships were intense and in Read more

I admit, I say it. Not in a pathological, valley-girl way, but in a casual, filler way. Sometimes it's unconscious, a nervous tick, and other times it punctuates a thought and just sounds right. It's easy, it's colloquial, and it's so widespread that I thought nobody cared anymore. After all, this is a language where BFF can make it into the dictionary! But this week actress Emma Thompson brought Read more

There are so many dictionaries, it seems like any combination of letters could call itself a word, find an agent, and be accepted into one. Not a month ago the Oxford English Dictionary added 39 words to its centuries-old collection, and this week the New Oxford American Dictionary released its 2010 words. Standards seem lower, but not much, for American dictionaries. There were a few crossovers Read more

Most of the always-polite Brits now only use "thank you" as a last resort when expressing gratitude, and "cheers" has become the preferred way to say thanks. Forty percent of British people polled said "thank you" sounds too formal — isn't that why there's "thanks"? — and would rather dole out praise with terms like "brilliant," "lovely," and, apparently, "you star 11, all right." Get the Read more