About: The Global Language Network (GLN)

Via Haaretz.com: “During a Kitchen Talks meal, instructors share recipes and their personal stories. Photo by David Bachar”

Can food help bridge cultural divides? In Tel Aviv, Israel, two artists have started a project called Sihot Mitbah (Kitchen Talks), which brings together African migrants and Israelis to cook and learn about each other’s cuisine. From the article:

“Every recipe taught in the course is translated into the cook’s native language and into Hebrew,” says Ravid. “The result is that there are recipes in Tigrinya, Amharic, Arabic, French and Hebrew.”

It gives participants a chance to learn about more than food. The cooks share their experiences as migrant, journey to Israel, and the experience breaks down barriers and stereotypes. All while making delicious ethnic food.

Read more about this amazing project here. 

Anne Applebaum discusses the rediscovery of Poland’s national cuisine beginning in the early 1990s in this article for Foreign Policy.  Although during communism there existed expensive private restaurants that advertised unique menus, those offered by Poland’s more common state-run restaurants often lacked the flavor and diversity that reemerged in mainstream cuisine after the Cold War.  Addressing this variety in cuisine, Appelbaum writes:    

“With political stability came national self-confidence, and with that came a revival of Polish cooking on a national scale.  Today, the most fashionable Warsaw and Krakow restaurants no longer serve bland foreign food with fancy names.  Instead, there are robust pork and duck dishes, red cabbage, and wild mushrooms.  They serve smalec, an old-fashioned peasant spread made of pork fat and eaten with rustic black bread.  Trout, venison, and wild boar, all historically part of Polish cuisine, have reappeared on menus too.” 

Applebaum also discusses karczma, or roadside inns, which are among her family’s favorite locations for finding tasty meals.  Among the dishes that can be found at these inns are zurek, a soup made of sour bread stock, white sausage and vegetables; as well as a type of grilled pork filet served on a skewer.  

If you are interested in learning more Polish cooking, Appelbaum published last year the cookbook From a Polish Country House Kitchen: 90 Recipes for the Ultimate Comfort Food.

From the BBC: ” Michelle Obama described the most-tweeted picture ever (above) with the words, “That’s my honey giving me a hug.””

It probably comes no surprise that every culture has different common nicknames for people to address the ones they love. Even in English, “sweetie pie,” “honey,” and “darling” may be a little hard to explain to those unfamiliar with the language.

But even among the differences, there are commonalities. Little animals clearly reign supreme across cultures for terms of endearment: from “my flea” in French to “gazelle” in Arabic to “little elephant” in Thai, there seems to be an overwhelming urge to compare loved ones to small beasts.

To read more, check out the BBC’s  list of 10 unusual terms of endearment.

If you are looking to improve upon your pronunciation while studying a language, the free online pronunciation guide Forvo is a valuable resource to consider.  Choosing from over 300 languages (over 1.8 million words), users can also select from words according to numerous other categories.  If you are interested in hearing the pronunciation of sports-related words such as  sraithchomórtas (Irish for league) or čtyřhra (Czech for doubles), for example, you will be able to listen to a recorded pronunciation contributed by one of the website’s users.

Other features included are the option to download audio pronunciations, user-created lists of words lacking an audio pronunciation, and the capability to rate the pronunciations recorded by other users.

Want a bier in German? A Birra in Italy? Or a Cerveja in Portugal? Thanks to this cool map from The Drey, you can see what to ask for in every country in Europe if your thirsting for a beer. It also gives a cool glimpse into the different language trees in Europe for all you language geeks out there.  If you know olut, beir, cerveza, and pivo, that will cover you for most of the continent (except for Hungary, where you’ll need to ask for a “sör”).

To butcher a Shakespeare quote, “a beer by another name would taste as good.” What is your favorite place in Europe to get a beer?

“Hej! Salut! Wie geht’s?

My name is Daniel and I’m a volunteer here at the GLN. I work in the Marketing and Communications department, which involves thinking of creative ways to get students more engaged in the GLN community and increasing the GLN’s exposure in the DC area. From writing blog entries to setting up video shoots, there are tons of ways to get involved.

Volunteering at the GLN has been great — not only am I learning new skills, but I’m also glad knowing that my time spent here is fruitful and helpful for others. I’ve also had the opportunity to meet a bunch of fun people brought together because of their love of languages. It’s not often you get to meet people who have taken Yoruba or Georgian just for kicks.

I’ve studied several languages myself, both in an academic setting and through self-study. Swedish has been a current favorite, though I find the vast vowel system to be pretty intense, not to mention the weird pitch accent system. I’ve also had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe a bit during my undergraduate years, where I learned that I should have been born in beautiful Vienna (sorry, Chicago!). I can’t wait to get back and explore some more.”