Unlocking the Universe of Languages
Spanish and Japanese speakers seem to talk at breakneck speed, while German sounds measured and deliberate—but research reveals all languages transmit information at roughly the same rate of about 39…
Unlike its southern relatives such as Cantonese, standard Mandarin has completely lost the "entering tone" and the clipped final stops (-p, -t, -k) which characterized Middle Chinese. This linguistic deep…
The Vietnamese alphabet, Quốc Ngữ, presents a fascinating paradox with its Latin letters used for a tonal, Austroasiatic language. Originally created by 17th-century Catholic missionaries to spread their faith, the…
Mandarin is famously a tonal language, but what many learners quickly discover is that the tones they memorize often change in mysterious ways during conversation. This isn't a mistake—it's a…
Learning a new language is always a rewarding yet challenging endeavor, and Mandarin Chinese is no exception. Touted as one of the most difficult languages...