This is the brain on multilingualism. We try to keep all our languages going, and the more we practice, the more they wrestle for space. The eternal question: how can we keep our languages in good shape while welcoming new ones? Should we just sit back and enjoy the learning process, while being cognizant of our neuroplasticity?
This lovely illustration is available as print, sticker and further stationery on the Expat Gone Foreign Store! ✨
A few months ago I had the pleasure of meeting an inspiring woman who shared with me her migrant story. A story of strength, resilience and kindness that the world really needs to hear. Pay ears!
Do you have an inspiring story that the world needs to hear? Get in touch!
#MigrantStories #LetsTalkRacism #Diversity
If you are into languages, you are probably familiar with those conversations with your multilingual friends: you take arbitrary elements from the languages you both speak, and randomly squeeze them together into sentences. That is any regular Monday for the Swiss. Schwyzdüütsch, a.k.a. Swiss German is a colorful amalgamation of German, French and Italian.
This week, French gets its turn with an illustrated collection of tongue twisters or virelangues.
Tongue twisters are somewhat humorous phrases that rely on alliteration 1, rapid alternation between similar but distinct phonemes 2, and other phonetic devices that make them fairly difficult to articulate, even for native speakers.
Due to their phonetic complexity, tongue twisters are a fun way to train your ear and pronunciation in foreign languages. They can help you differentiate minimal pairs, train muscle placement and develop clearer speech patterns.
Thanks to my friend François, you can listen to the pronunciation of each virelangue. Just click on the audio track below each illustration. Allons-y!
C’est fini! Do you have a favorite virelangue, or maybe one that is impossible to pronounce? Do you know more tongue twisters? Leave me a comment!
