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The Basque country is a region that spans borders, and is one of the oldest communities in Europe, located in northern Spain and southwestern France and straddling the Pyrenees Mountains. Basque culture has always emphasized innovation, while maintaining strong cultural roots. Did you know? Basque, or Euskara, was once a language on the brink of extinction and is now spoken by approximately one...

Bulgarian was the first Slavic language to be written. It first appeared in writing during the 9th century using the Glagolitic alphabet, which was gradually replaced by an early version of the Cyrillic alphabet over the following centuries. Bulgarian is very closely related to Macedonian, the two languages being largely mutually intelligible. Bulgaria is located at the crossroad between Eur...

This beautiful language is steeped in a culture of close family relationships and traditions, with a strong cultural heritage of songs, costumes, dancing, cultural rituals, and folk tales Learn Croatian, a language born in the 9th century and now the official language in six countries, all in South-Eastern Europe, and spoken mainly in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Did you know? It's also ...

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...

Learn Norwegian, the language of explorers such as Roald Amundsen (first to reach the South Pole and also the first to fly across the Artic Ocean) and Thor Heyerdahl (the famous Kon-Tiki raft). For such a small population (just over 5m), Norway has an incredible rich and varied cultural heritage. Think of the composer Grieg, the writer Ibsen and the painter Munch, to name just a few. Did you...

The story of Tagalog started when the beautiful islands of the Philippines were home to Indo-Malay and Chinese merchants, followed by seafaring Spanish explorers. Today it is the language of the second largest cultural-linguistic group in the Philippines, and its now official language Filipino is based on Tagalog. Did you know? The name Tagalog comes from the native term tagailog, meaning 'p...

Its unique geographical position at the heart of Europe means that the Czech culture has embraced influences from both Eastern and Western Europe, developing a very distinctive culture. The great thing about learning Czech is that you will also be well on your way to picking up the other Slavic languages, such as Slovak and Polish. Did you know? The capital city of Prague is also known as th...

Danish has developed from 'Old Norse', a north Germanic language, once spoken in Scandinavia. It is a language of culture generating many pioneering major works of literature; think of Kierkegaard, Hans Christian Andersen, and Karen Blixen. Historically, the Danish combine an initial reserve with a friendly outlook. Embrace Danish and embrace the culture of ‘hygge’. ‘Hygge’ roughly tran...

If you learn Icelandic, you will have a very strong understanding of 'Old Norse', the mother of all Scandinavian languages. Icelandic has remained more or less untouched since medieval times, and the 12th-century texts can be understood even now. From the ancient Icelandic sagas to the haunting music of modern day Björk, the Icelanders celebrate their culture and protect the purity of the lang...

Catalan is a Romance language named after Catalonia, in northeastern Spain and adjoining parts of France. It's spoken in three regions of Spain: Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands. Outside Spain, it is the official language of Andorra. It is also spoken in some parts of France and Italy. This beautiful language is not, as some believe, a dialect of Spanish, but developed independently...