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Given the amount of places around the world that English is spoken, various differences are bound to emerge. American English often differs in intonation, word stress and vocabulary, and, to a much lesser extent, grammar and sentence structure. The first large American dictionary, An American Dictionary of the English Language, known as Webster's Dictionary, was written by Noah Webster in 1828, ra...

The language of Estonia has a history of ancient song and rhymes, preserved down the ages verbally from generation to generation. Spoken by just 1m people in Estonia, they have one of the biggest collections of folk songs in the world, with written records of about 133,000 folk songs. The most famous local singers throughout history were able to recall up to 20,000 rhymes, earning the title "Seto ...

Finnish is beautifully elegant and economic, where you can say so much with just one word and each letter equals to exactly one sound, always. If you are thinking of visiting the Land of a Thousand Lakes, then over 90% of the population of Finland speak Finnish as their first language, and a few words will go a long way. Home to the sauna, the Aurora Borealis and the midnight sun, make sure you kn...

Learning a foreign language is more than just a boost to your CV or handy for travelling. Foreign language study is all about learning how to truly communicate and connect with others. There are many reasons you might decide to learn English, the most widely used language in the world. You might need it for study or work purposes, or simply to communicate with family or friends. You may just w...

Learning a language helps to break down barriers. Make sure you can express yourself in English when you are out and about, whether at the train station or airport, or having dinner with friends in a restaurant. You know you are making progress when you can make suggestions, ask politely for things and talk about your life. English is the most widely used language in the world, and it is employ...

Farsi (Persian, Iranian Persian, or Farsi) is spoken in Iran, and by minorities in Iraq and the Persian Gulf states, and is written in the Cyrillic script. Farsi is so called due to its origin from the capital of the Achaemenid empire, Persis (Fars or Pars), a language brought in by the Monguls. The modern Persian language or Farsi (the Arabic pronunciation of 'Parsi' spoken in India by the Persi...

Learn Turkish and be guaranteed to make new friends. One thing you will soon realize when visiting Turkey is part of the Turkish culture involves being very sociable. Turkish people love to meet new friends! The Turkish culture has its basis in the city that has been the capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, while the Turkish language is much younger, created in the late 1920's with the ne...

Learn Ukrainian and explore the Ukraine's fascinating culture and the resurgence of its rich history, charming traditions and inspiring heritage. Today Ukrainian is the state language in the Ukraine, thriving and expanding like never before. It is used in government, education, business, entertainment, the Internet and all types of media. Did you know? The tradition of the Easter egg has its begin...

Learn Urdu and communicate with close to 100 million people around the world. This gentle and sophisticated language, with many of its words used to show respect and civility, is the national language of Pakistan. It is also an official language of India, and one of the most critical languages for understanding the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, as well as South Asia as a whole. Did you know? Urdu i...

Vietnamese is one of a few languages in Asia that uses the Latin alphabet. This makes it much easier to interpret street signs and even to learn to speak. The other good news is that Vietnamese grammar is among the easiest to pick up, with very few rules to learn. Due to it being a "tonal" language, pronunciation is a bit trickier, and this makes learning Vietnamese that much more fun! Vietnamese ...