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For the first few months that you begin learning a new language, you'll likely feel a strong sense of excitement and urgency. This is the ideal time to immerse yourself...
Chinese pronunciation is very different from that of English. That's why it's such an important component of learning the language—and why professional teachers spend time explaining the differences among those similar sounds...
A mastery of Japanese idioms will help you understand the culture and speak a more authentic style of Japanese...
'You don't need to learn Swedish; everyone speaks English,' Jean's friends assured her. Armed with this knowledge, and without a single word of Swedish in her vocabulary, Jean set off to do her shopping...
Paintings seem clearer, people more congenial, food tastier, and places more beautiful if we can understand their background and origins...
Hangul may well be among the most rational and practical of the world's writing systems, since it was deliberately devised by a team of scientific experts, at the behest of the king, as opposed to developing organically...
Not every culture sees contracts as indispensable. And once a contract has been signed, different cultures may view its purpose in different ways...
Half a century since ABBA's debut, there is a certain comfort in hearing, in uncertain times, new music which sounds fresh in 2021 but could—almost impossibly—seamlessly have featured on some of the best loved pop albums of 40 and more years ago...
Many legends are associated with the 2,000-year-old Dragon Boat Festival. The most famous tells the story of Qu Yuan, a poet from the State of Chu during the Warring States Period (475 - 221 BC)...
In 1949, the first Volkswagen Beetle was shipped to the United States. Since then, VW's road in America has been full of twists and turns. Now, the company is preparing for electrification...
Companies' operations, chiefly marketing and management, need to adjust to the cultural environment existing in the countries the global company serves. The ability to do so often means success in international markets...
Ue o Muite Arukō (the Sukiyaki song). From Japan, here's an evergreen tune about smiling through the tears...
Portrayed as a thoughtful purchase that will reward its owner for years to come, Volvo has always had a strong, unique (and Nordic) identity...
Follow a dancing dragon down the street. Listen to the popping firecrackers. Scatter your home with Jí Xiáng Huàauspicious gold couplets of good luck across a red scroll...
The conscious use of East German words suggests Ostalgie - the tendency to reminisce about the former GDR in post-euphoric regret that its positive features were not preserved...
Cartier. Louis Vuitton. Chanel. And Avantime. That was the association Renault wanted you to make when it launched its latest segment buster more than fifteen years ago...
March 20th is World Macaron Day. With their bright colors, crispy exterior and delicious filling, macarons are fun, fanciful, and decadent in true French fashion...
My Mother's Persian Stories is a collection of thirty bedtime stories as told by Saeid Shammass' mother as the family was growing up in Shiraz, Iran...
The Balkans is in widespread shock over the recent death of singer and songwriter Šaban Šaulić. For many across the former Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, he was the undisputed 'King of Folk.'..
The latest example of Gallic cool is the new Peugeot 508, recently elected the prettiest car of 2018. It's the latest recognition of design head Gilles Vidal's attempts to turn the brand around...
Africa is as complex a linguistic area as it is vast. It has at least 10 times as many languages as Europe, with fewer than twice the number of people...
Language is fairly good at conveying simple pieces of factual information. It's also given to persuasion. Spatial information and feelings, however, are another matter...
Clearly designed, from the outset, around feedback from the global market - and America in particular - the family-sized Accord helped Honda more than double its sales by the close of the '70s. No Honda more embodied the company's giant-killing power and thoughtfulness in design...
By now, you've probably seen the film everyone is talking about. Did you know that Bradley Cooper speaks French?..
Perhaps you've owned a Saab. The research would indicate that you were among the most educated group of drivers on the road...
The Eight Most-Visited Monuments in this Southern Spanish Province's Eight Capitals...
From the other side of the world, we've got a report from the Belgrade Auto Show, first held eighty years ago, in March 1938. It's something of a Bluffer's Guide to the European car market...
In addition to completing text-based content in 'Outline' view before succumbing to the temptations of templates, clip art, and animations, here are ten points you may wish to consider before your next PowerPoint presentation...
Many an Alfa owner can tell painful tales. Yet, if you're a card-carrying 'Alfista,' all is forgiven. For nothing can make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end like the joyful cry of an Alfa at full song...
Known for beer and BMW, Bavaria is also home to the only Mazda museum outside Japan - and to the Fuggerei, one of the oldest social housing complexes in the world...
Knowing idioms in other languages is the difference between mechanically parroting a series of words in a grammatically correct fashion, and beginning to 'think' in that language...
Steve Jobs used to say that the details mattered. Emulating the aesthetic of physical objects on a two-dimensional screen was time consuming, but the effort required fit Jobs' design philosophy perfectly...
If asked to design a budget SUV for Africa, what would you engineer? A space frame, for durability? Long-travel coil springs, for better absorption? Or leaf springs, for better articulation? Aluminum panels, for sturdiness?..
While the curries which we eat today are a product of India's long history, that history has involved many cultural influences - from the indigenous Ayurvedic, through Portuguese, Mughal, and British...
Like Seinfeld restauranteur Poppie's opinions on what a pizza is and isn't, many will have strong feelings about paella...
We find that native-speaking teachers are best placed to communicate not only language, but the subtleties of the cultures in which that language is spoken...
Determined to regain its stature at the turn of the Millennium, Italy's Lancia pulled out all the stops with the colorful Thesis. It was, they said, a flagship for the enlightened bourgeois...
It is essential to be punctual for appointments in Denmark. If you are invited to a Danish home for a meal, you are expected to bring the host or hostess flowers or a bottle of wine...
A delight to the eye as well as a revelation to the tongue, sushi is an engrossing culinary happening that those who have tasted will not soon forget...
American Motors needed a front-drive compact. Renault needed a serious dealer network in America. The result was one of the first transatlantic deals in the automotive industry...
Language learning is not a set of easy steps that can be programmed in a quick do-it-yourself kit. That's part of why we strongly suggest you learn by immersion. The alternative is not pretty...
Hungary is a fascinating country, with a captivating culture - and a beguiling language which has a reputation for being among the most challenging to grasp...
You might imagine that the land of the Autobahn would appreciate every attempt to inspire confidence at speed. Mazda's relationship with Germany goes back much further, however...
What began in America to mark the start of the festive season in the 1950s is quickly turning into a global phenomenon...
It's the second time this year that we're writing about a French car with a milestone birthday. Endearingly, it's also the second time that Peugeot is celebrating a joyeux anniversaire on Twitter...
We've found that our Danish students can have trouble imitating the glottal stop used in that language...
Spanish and Hindi are reportedly the two most widely spoken non-English languages among American physicians...
Our students here at the Beverly Hills Lingual Institute are some of the most interesting and accomplished people you could hope to meet. One reminded us of Saab the other day...
As with so many things worth contemplating, there's a delicious irony to luxury - a concept which has wide appeal, but which is out of the reach of the majority. Luxury has always been somewhat ethereal and difficult to pin down...
Franz Liszt. Béla Bartók. The Austro-Hungarian empire. Paprika. Goulash. Esterházy cake. All of these things are part of the heritage of Hungary, a small central European country with a dramatic, 1,100-year history...
We are surrounded by type and typography. There's every chance that the typeface you see most is Helvetica. It has been dubbed the 'perfume of the city' - you don't notice it much, but you'd miss it if it went away...
The 1997 Tiburon signaled a change in Hyundai's goals and image. At its debut twenty years ago, it became the first Hyundai to turn heads on the freeway...
Why do we call a politician's verbal delaying tactics a 'filibuster?' Why is redistricting to gain political advantage called 'gerrymandering?'..
Imagine that you have decided to learn German abroad. Upon your arrival in Hamburg, you begin by memorizing a German grammar book and a table of the two hundred and forty-eight irregular German verbs...
Honda has surprised journalists and enthusiasts alike at the ongoing Frankfurt auto show, with the electrifying Urban EV, a modern take on the original Civic...
Language will become your guide to the ways in which different cultures express not only ideas, but emotions...
If you know any other Slavic language, you'll find more than a few cognates in Polish. If Polish is your first Slavic language, it makes a great gateway to the others...
Good news! You already know at least forty words in Portuguese...
Farsi shekar ast. This is how Farsi speakers refer to the Persian language. They believe that speaking Farsi is a sweet treat to the tongue...
As we recently wrote, vocabulary is the most difficult aspect of learning a language. Here are seventy-six common verbs for Dutch learners...
Any language has three distinct components: pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. Contrary to what many believe, pronunciation is not the hardest feature of a language to master...
When you learn the Hindi language, you will find the beauty, the simplicity, and the joy that lies therein...
Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman, who knew five languages, was once asked which she preferred...
We tend to associate the concept of 'lean production' with the Japanese; and with Toyota, in particular...
Japanese characters may look mysterious and impenetrable to the uninitiated - but we'll show in a few examples that they are not at all difficult to understand...
Audiences are difficult to capture and harder to retain. Knowing what to leave out - what detracts from the basic message - is just as important as knowing what to put in...
To look at the Rover 600, you'd be hard pressed to tell that it had come from a Honda Accord. A French poll - and they say the French know about these things - even saw it voted the world's most beautiful car...
Although Bob Dylan's 'Blowin' in the Wind' was a discussion of social change, he might just as easily have been referring to Dutch energy policy fifty-five years later. All Dutch trains now run on renewable wind energy...
How did people get around before GPS receivers? Nomadic tribes used the sun and stars to navigate. There is evidence that these rudimentary navigation systems were developed independently by very diverse cultures...
We all share the skies. In 1927, the standardized ICAO phonetic alphabet was created to help aircrews around the world communicate their names and locations...
We've all heard that there are benefits to being bilingual. However, picking a language to learn can be a daunting task...
The difference in the paths to domestication of dogs and cats could explain the difference in their behavior. Dogs tend to be dependent on their owner, whereas cats are often described as having a mind of their own...
The first Volvo - the ÖV4 - was not quite the vehicle the company founders had hoped for. However, its failings no doubt set Volvo on a path to developing the durability which would become a cornerstone of the marque...
The more comprehensively a speaker understands a language, the better they are able to use it to deliver their message accurately and memorably...
Many of us develop a keen interest in our origins - as evidenced by the number of our students who begin learning a language to better understand a culture that is part of their family heritage...
Believe it or not, there is an Unofficial International Emoji Day - and it is today, July 17th!..
The word 'robot' comes from a 1921 Czech play, 'Rossum's Universal Robots' (Rossumovi Univerzální Roboti)...
Success in the food export industry is probably best described as a combination of the flavor of the product (with some adaptation for local markets), satisfying expectations in preparation and packaging, and the product's image...
Let's take a look at grammar from the point of view of the linguist. To do that, we need to consider three distinct types of grammar for every language: Mental, Descriptive, and Prescriptive...
Unlike many a beauty trend, red lipstick has stood the test of time. Egypt is where the manufacturing of lipstick became what it is today...
You won't see BMW's 2 series 'Active Tourer' on the streets of Los Angeles. It's a Europe-only model, launched in 2015. And it is perhaps the most ill-advised move the Bavarians have ever made in modern history...
When you think of Italian cuisine, pasta is probably the first thing that comes to mind. But while we think of pasta as a culturally Italian food, it is likely the descendant of Asian noodles...
It has often been said that there isn't much love lost between the French voter and their chosen politician. Perhaps it is ironic, then, that French is widely known as the language of diplomacy...
Let's not forget - The words for America's favorite foods are German... hamburger, frankfurter, and wiener...
The East German Sachsenring Trabant has long been a symbol for the failure of communism. That's a pity, really, because it's an interesting car in its own right...
Tita de la Garza is a young girl who lusts for Pedro. He feels the same way. Unfortunately, a family tradition forbids Tita from marriage...
Traveling this summer? We've got you covered...
In many places across the United States, Spanish is encountered at every turn - on street signs, on buses, at banks, at restaurants... even in your junk mail...
Peugeot is very proud of the 405; so proud, in fact, that the Peugeot Museum at Sochaux is holding a 30th birthday party for the car tomorrow (Saturday, June 17th)...
Most babies speak their first words between their first birthday and eighteen months of age. In the very early stages of learning, there is a difference between what a child hears, and what they can say...
About thirty-five percent of English vocabulary is of French origin. Tou might be surprised by how much French you already know...
If you want to know what consumers think, ask them. It sounds simple enough. But when marketing research goes international, the problems multiply quickly...
Swedish engineering students have selected Volvo Cars as the most attractive employer in the country. The company is looking for hundreds of new software engineers to strengthen the development of next-generation technologies in safety, autonomous driving, and electrification...
Among the foremost reasons so many of our students give for picking Italian is that, for English speakers, Italian is among the simplest foreign languages to grasp quickly...
For many, that first cup of coffee can make or break the start of the day. For our language students, a stop at the coffee pot before class is an important ritual. Coffee is rarely just a stiff shot of caffeine...
Since the 16th century, France has been the center of design and haute-couture, exuding grandeur and refinement. Today, French fashion continues to maintain its olde-worlde tastes of elegance and glamor, while assimilating modern styles through original design approaches...
Being fluent in different languages has been shown to improve an individual's concentration, while warding off the onset of dementia, Alzheimer's, and other diseases that cause deterioration...
SEAT's customers are eight to ten years younger than those competing brands. It's not just about Latin flair; SEAT focuses mainly on small cars...
As July approaches, so does Italy's traditional summer sale; and my favorite sport - window shopping...
The Arabic alphabet is not difficult to learn, and some aspects of Arabic grammar have been compared to algebra. However, plural nouns, verb conjugation, and vocabulary can be challenging to master...
The American and European car markets are roughly the same size. However, there are several differences between vehicles popular in, and made for, the United States, and Europe...
Tulips are known as the flower of springtime in the Netherlands. Tourists and locals alike flock to visit the country's many beautiful flower gardens. Yet this iconic flower is not Dutch!..
Hebrew was virtually dead as a spoken language - until a father and son persuaded their community that all could have a hand in restoring Hebrew, and modernizing it, word by word...
French motoring journalists had long been muttering over their Gauloises about the need for a new mid-market Renault. The R16 of 1965 was the first modern hatchback, versatile and comfortable...
'Most,' in Serbo/ Croatian, means bridge. 'Stari' means old. 'Mostar' could be - and has been – loosely interpreted to mean 'Keeper of the bridge.'..
Ask most people when Volvo began to change its frumpy image, and many will have forgotten the dramatically wedge-shaped 480 ES hatchback of 1986, a curiosity in the herewith staid Swedish automaker's offerings...
Filipinos are quick to point out that their colonial past has seen them spend three hundred years in a Spanish convent, and fifty more years in Hollywood. This has given Filipino culture the opportunity to selectively adopt religious and cultural influences...
Some Zulu have opened up their homes and villages to tourists who want to learn about traditional Zulu culture. The villagers offer unusual vacation packages...
As CAR magazine once put it of the Ferrari 348 - the final V8 mid-engined model to be developed by Enzo Ferrari himself - 'A Ferrari – even a flawed Ferrari – is simply too bewitching.'..
Enka music is very Japanese - the tear-stained crystallization of the long-suffering Japanese heart. And country music, being quintessentially American, is by definition the exact opposite...
Toyota had made its name on reliable small cars. Now, Toyota wanted to increase its profitability – and that meant Cressida: a larger, more prestigious car...
The problems that arise when something is mistranslated can be comical – indeed, dangerous – and can have far-reaching consequences. NASA reminds us of an unusual instance which dates back to the late 19th century...
There's no point arguing. Any dish that evokes the spirit of a particular Armenian community, any dish that makes them feel that it is Armenian, is Armenian...
The Jetta and its irreverent advertising led legions of Gen Y drivers to Volkswagen, lured by the fun image the company projected...
These thinly pounded cutlets that are first breaded and then fried are so beloved that they've even made it on the menus of such elite restaurants as Wolfgang Puck's Spago in Beverly Hills...
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. This evergreen story of a young man in love with a girl whose father does not approve, celebrates the best of Bollywood...
A Dutch physician once claimed that his mother tongue was the best and oldest language in the world. According to him, Adam and Eve spoke Dutch in paradise...
The best Lancias have been faintly mad, evincing the uneven dollops of brilliance that played a role in their conception. The 1976 Lancia Gamma, particularly in coupé form, certainly fit that description...
English comprises over ninety percent of the 20,000 loanwords currently used in Korean, and new words are being added on a daily basis...
At its inception, a chorus of opposing voices rose to protest France's Eiffel Tower, attacking it as a meaningless gesture, devoid of function and too reminiscent of an industrial smokestack...
After a twenty-one-year absence from America, Italian Alfa Romeo is back. Will initial attraction translate into a long-term partnership?..
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Students are discovering how much fun Italian classes can be at our language institute in Beverly Hills. Learning about the culture and language of Italy is such a treat that students regularly meet in one of the area restaurants to practice casually over lunch...
It's that time of year when many of us look to making a New Year's Resolution. As you ponder your own, you might consider learning a new language...
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