Issue 5 - March 2021 - La Casa de las Lenguas

ISSUE NO.5 • MARCH 2021

LA CASA LENGUAS

CONTENTS SOCIETY & CULTURE 3

A TASTE OF ICE CREAM: FROM ANCIENT CIVILISATIONS TO MODERN TIMES

5

PLACES YOU NEVER KNEW EXISTED: MOUNT RORAIMA

8 DISH OF THE MONTH: FEIJOADA 10 THE MONTH IN FESTIVALS: MARCH 11

PHOTOGRAPHERS OF WAR: LEE MILLER

EL DÍA DE ANDALUCÍA: WHAT IS 14 ANDALUSIAN DAY? 16

THE KOREAN WAVE

K-POP & THE RISE OF KOREAN LANGUAGE LEARNERS Have a look around the Instagram and Twitter language learning community and you will be hard-pressed to not find an account that isn’t learning or at least interested in learning Korean, but why is this? / pg33

THE HISTORY OF ICE CREAM

NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

FROM ANCIENT CIVILISATIONS TO MODERN TIMES

THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF 17 PODCAST

The word “ice cream” evokes many images of the fluffy, velvety, refreshing, multicoloured dessert, but what are the origins of this extraordinary invention that is enjoyed all over the world? /pg3

LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS 21

25

DABBLE IN A LANGUAGE: GUARANÌ DYSLEXIA & LANGUAGE LEARNING: CAN YOU BE DYSLEXIC IN ONE LANGUAGE AND NOT ANOTHER?

28

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE POLYGLOTS: STEPHEN KRASHEN

31

THE LANGUAGE LEARNING GROUP: SPRING IMMERSION WEEK

31

35

K-POP & THE RISE OF KOREAN LANGUAGE-LEARNERS: THE PHENOMENON OF ‘THE KOREAN WAVE’

DYSLEXIA

THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF

CAN YOU BE DYSLEXIC IN ONE LANGUAGE AND NOT ANOTHER?

THE LINK BETWEEN THE MEDIA AND THE WORLD

Dyslexia is a well-known but often misunderstood learning difficulty that makes it difficult to process and comprehend verbal information. So what does this mean for dyslexics looking to learn a foreign language? / pg25

For the vast majority of us, we don’t have the luxury of traveling to all 195 countries in the world and forming our views from first-hand experiences, but what’s the one thing that is universal and can be accessed all over the world?

The media. / pg17

LEARNING LANGUAGES: THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING BILINGUAL LA CASA DE LAS LENGUAS

PAGE 3

Society & Culture

BY LANGUAGETUTOR4U

A TASTE OF ICE CREAM: FROM ANCIENT CIVILISATIONS TO MODERN TIMES The word “ice cream” evokes many images of the fluffy, velvety, refreshing, multi-coloured dessert, but what are the origins of this extraordinary invention that is enjoyed all over the world?

The origins of ice cream are quite uncertain, and there are various interesting sources to explore before forming a vague idea of the exact source.

According to some ice cream-like foods originated in Persia as far back as 550 BCE. For others, Roman Emperor Nero invented the first sorbet drink, mixing ice collected from the Apennine mountains with honey and wine.

Prior to that, snow was used to cool drinks in Greece around 500 BC and Hippocrates is known to have criticised chilled drinks for causing "fluxes of the stomach". Seneca condemned the lavish expenses related to the production of iced desserts in an era where refrigeration was a fantasy.

Hints of iced drinks can also be found in the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs showing ice mixed with fruit juice.

In 200 B.C. in China, some kind of icy dessert was created to what resembles a sherbet today. It was a mixture of milk and rice packed into snow. It was born to satisfy noble palates, but with the passing of centuries, it became a street food enjoyed by all.

But how did this heavenly smooth, tasty dessert reach Europe?

The Italian duchess Catherine de' Medici is said to have introduced flavoured sorbet ices to France when she married the Duke of Orléans (Henry II of France) in 1533.

One hundred years later, Charles I of England was so astonished by the "frozen snow" that he proposed a lifetime allowance to his own ice cream maker so that ice cream could be a privilege of royalty.

It is also thought ice cream mapped its road to Venice, Italy, thanks to Marco Polo in the 13th century after his many years spent in China over a thousand years after its invention.

Unfortunately, there are no actual records to back up these stories.

It was only in the 16th century that the recipe evolved into what we call ice cream today. In 1660, it was made available to the public by the Sicilian Procopio in Paris in the homonymous ‘Café Procope’. It was made of milk, butter, and eggs.

Truth is that the ice cream we know today went through many changes and evolutions throughout historical times, as well as being influenced by its different geographical locations.

Born into aristocracy, this beautiful culinary specialty is now appreciated all over the world with tastes ranging from fruits to vegetables to nougat, pistachio, stracciatella, and literally thousands more!

Although this heavenly nutritious food does not seem to find a historical or geographical location, it has found its best version in Italy where it is now an icon of the country.

Here, you can literally find an ice cream parlour at every corner and enjoy it as you wish. To give you an example, one of the many ice cream parlours in Rome sells 150 flavours!

An ice cream fit for a king - surely not to be missed!

did you know...

Instagram @languagetutor4u

Website langua

getuto r 4u.com

“Gelato” comes from the Italian “congelato” which means frozen

PAGE 5

Society & Culture

PLACES YOU NEVER KNEW EXISTED

PLACES YOU NEVER KNEW EXISTED: MOUNT RORAIMA If you have watched the Pixar film Up, you would know that the two main characters go on a journey to Paradise Falls, a mystical plateau in South America that floats above a forest. While this may not be real, Mount Roraima proves to be a good alternative.

Also known as Roraima Tepui or its Portuguese name of Monte Roraímã, Mount Roraima stands at 2,800 metres tall in the Pakaraima Mountains of the Guiana Highlands on the triple border of Brazil, Venezuela and Guyana.

Its name derives from the word ‘Roroi-ma’, meaning ‘big blue-green’ in Pemon, an indigenous language of the Cariban family.

It remains the highest of the Pakaraima chain of tepuis in South America and was first described to Europeans by the English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh in his 1595 expedition.

the ancient oceans around 2 billion years ago. This makes it older than Mount Everest (which is 60 million years old) and around half the age of the Earth (which is about 4.5 billion years old).

After it formed, the oceans receded and erosion took over, which chiselled down the areas around the tepuis and created a giant shelf made out of ancient rock. This giant tabletop look makes it unique to many other mountain ranges around the world. It is this single characteristic which means that the four sides, of which are formed from sheer cliffs standing at 400 metres (1,312 feet) tall, drop into oblivion as if they are a part of Earth that has randomly popped out of the ground.

The only way to climb to the top of Mount Roraima is to access the Paraitepui Route from the Gran Sabana side in Venezuela.

Image credit: Rough Guides While most mountains form as a result of two continental plates smashing together, Mount Roraima is the result of sand settling and turning into rock at the bottom of

Here you are able to hike towards the two main tepuis - Roraima and Kukenan - which allow you to reach the summit.

For the Pemon Indians, the mountain remains of massive significance as they believe it to be the stump of a ginormous tree which was once home to all the fruit and vegetables in the world.

The mountain is also at the centre of many other myths and legends.

Researchers are beginning to look into the different life forms that exist in this unique place. The main question remains: how did these species get there considering the height of it? Did they evolve on their own or did they migrate?

A study carried out in 2012 analysed the DNA of four different types of frog species from separate tupis across South America.

The aim of the study was to see if the frogs, which normally live in the same area for their whole lives, shared common ancestors from over 70 million years ago. This is an important timescale for researchers, as this is when it is believed that the height of these tupuis became inaccessible without assistance. If this would be proved true, then the frogs lived and evolved on the top of their individual tepuis. If not, then they likely found a way to migrate.

The investigation found that all the frogs shared a common ancestor dating back 5.3 million years ago.

This suggests that they found their own way to migrate, despite the inaccessibility of it. However, it is still very much possible that species have developed uniquely on the tepuis. For example, 35% of Mount Roraima’s species are thought to be unique to that specific tepui.

“NEVER JUDGE SOMEONE BY THE WAY HE LOOKS OR A BOOK BY THE WAY IT’S COVERED; FOR INSIDE THOSE TATTERED PAGES, THERE’S A LOT TO BE DISCOVERED” Stephen Cosgrove

PAGE 8

DISH OF THE MONTH

Society & Culture

DISH OF THE MONTH: FEIJOADA Image credit: The Cozy Cook

WHAT IS IT?

Feijoada is a stew of beans with beef and pork. It is one of the best known and most popular dishes of Brazilian cuisine and is a common dish in many countries all over the world.

THE ORIGINS OF FEIJOADA The most commonly believed theory is that the origins of feijoada stem from the slaves in colonial Brazil's mining districts, sugar cane growing regions, and coffee plantations. The food available to them was generally limited to rice and beans left behind from other households, and on rare occasions a few cuts of pork. The slaves collected their scraps of leftover beans and meat and created a type of stew which ultimately resulted in the creation of the feijoada. Although some have recently argued against this theory, considering it as modern advertising technique and instead linking the feijoada’s origins to Brazil's cultivation of black beans.

However, Brazilian culinary historians claim that the origins of the feijoada don't lie in Brazil. In fact, its history dates back to the pork and bean stews of Southern Europe, particularly those in Portugal. Studies into its origins reveal that there are links between the feijoada and the stews of the Portuguese regions of Extremadura, Alto Douro, and Trás-os Montes.

THE DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF FEIJODA As well as being considered the national dish of Brazil, in particular Rio de Janeiro it is a common dish in Portugal, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Angola, Timo, Macau, and Goa. However, there are variations in the recipe for each country.

Feijoada Poveira, the Portuguese version which has its origins in Póvoa de Varzim, consists of white beans, different types of pork and beef along with white rice.

Feijoada Brazilian, which was registered for the first time in Recife in the State of Pernambuco, differs from the Portuguese version due to its use of black beans, which are not typically used in that part of Europe. However, the type of bean used also depends on the region of Brazil.

For instance, regions such as Bahia and Goiás typically use brown or red beans more often.

Cachupa Image credit: Afro Tourism

Feijoada Brazilian Image credit: Curious Cuisiniere

Fun Fact Its name stems from the word 'feijão' meaning 'bean' in Portuguese. The dish is also normally served at noon on Wednesdays and Saturdays and sometimes on Fridays in restaurants in Rio de Janeiro.

Feijoada Poveira Image credit: Póvoa de Varzim

Feijoada à transmontana Image credit: Tele Culinária

PAGE 10

MARCH

Society & Culture

THE MONTH IN

festivals

1 St. David's Day

6

13

7

The Night of the Witches/Noche de Brujas

Starkbierzeit

Fairtrade Fortnight

Purim Street Party

15

16

17

20

Las Fallas de Valencia

National Close the Gap Day

St. Patrick's Day

Nowruz

21

27

28

29

Cultural Diversity Week

Pesach/Passover

Palm Sunday

End of Lent

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Pretzel Sunday

Holi

Harmony Week

PAGE 11

Society & Culture

BY FRANCESCA WOHLERS

PHOTOGRAPHERS OF WAR: LEE MILLER The Second World War (1939-1945) cemented a lot of individual places in history, however in this article, I would like to discuss an individual that isn’t as well known as others from her time period but who instead was responsible for documenting the time period that was unfolding before her.

Who was Lee Miller?

Lee Miller started her career as a model, later becoming a photographer and then a photojournalist. She grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York, in the early 1900s. She was never good at following the rules, which lead to her being expelled from many schools. However, before she left formal education, she would travel to France on a school trip and attend L’École Medgyes pour la Technique du Théâtre, an experience that would get her into fashion.

By 1927 Miller was modelling for Vogue, but after an embarrassing incident in 1928-29, she left New York and moved to Paris where she would become the muse of one of the most famous surrealist photographers of the time, Man Ray. An experience that taught her a lot of what she knew about photography.

She married twice, which would first take her to Egypt and then to London by the start of the Second World War. Whilst in London she started taking photos of the city in the Blitz, later becoming a photojournalist for Vogue, with whom she would become an accredited war correspondent. By the end of the war she had been to field hospitals in France, seen the

Liberation of Buchenwald and Dachau, as well as being at the Battle of Saint-Malo.

Her work Some of Miller’s most striking and shocking work, in my opinion, comes from the liberation of the camps and the aftermath of Hitler’s suicide. The Holocaust had a massive impact on Europe.

Although there had been rumours of what was happening to certain groups such as the Jews, some did not believe it, while others that did know either turned a blind eye to it or focused their efforts towards the war and defeating the Nazis.

Journalists, civilians and soldiers were all encouraged to go to the camps to see what the Nazi regime had done during the war. However, after the first morning of the camps being opened, many had to leave as reports expressed how ‘American soldiers, despite belonging to battle-hardened units, simply broke out in tears or vomited uncontrollably at the sight’.

Nuremberg trials which took place in the years following the war.

Miller, like other photographers that were at the liberation of the camp, took many photographs to document the appalling conditions people had survived and many had succumbed to.

One that stands out is a photo from the death train. It was named as such as it arrived in Dachau, April 1945, carrying 1000s of people with only a few surviving. Thousands of photographs of this event exist however Miller is one of the few, if not the only one who takes a photograph from inside the train.

Her photo shows one of the victims, but the focus of the photo is instead aimed at the liberators who had unveiled this horror.

Others reacted with hatred and violence, attempting to enforce their own justice on the perpetrators rather than allowing them to go through a legal system which would happen at the LEE MILLER, DACHAU, APRIL 1945. ©LEE MILLER ARCHIVES

PAGE 12

Society & Culture

By getting the reaction of the allies in the photo, it breaks down a barrier - it shows how truly shocking the reality was. The look of the horror and disgust on the soldier and the doctor’s faces really puts the situation into perspective.

These individuals were trained to deal with death, they would have seen it firsthand. Even so, what lies before them is extraordinary, it is not a normal death, or even a wartime time death, it is something else.

The expression on the soldier's and medic’s faces as they look down at the poor soul who had been murdered by the Nazis adds a new layer to the photo. It adds a different perspective framing not only the events that took place but, in a way, adding a narrative from those that were there in 1945 which would have been lost otherwise.

As she trained with Man Ray, a lot of Miller’s photos have a surrealist aspect to them. For example, one of her most famous pictures is a selfportrait which she took of herself sat in Hitler’s bathtub not long after he had committed suicide. Earlier that day, she had been in Dachau.

Angered and disgusted by what she had seen, she said how she was using the Führer’s bath to wash away the ashes of those he had murdered, those that he did not think to be worthy. She took the photo to capture the irony of the situation, as she ‘sullied Hitler and his “social cleansing” by bringing the ashes that had been the people of the Mikvah into the private bathroom of he who had made them dirt’. Without remorse, she would later take a nap on Eva Braun’s bed, suggesting an abhorrence for these two individuals and they stood for.

BY FRANCESCA WOHLERS

Miller, and others like her, documented a dangerous and unpredictable era. What happened in the 1930s and 1940s still has an impact. Her work, both her photographs, and the articles she wrote to accompany them, can still be found and read today.

History is extremely important, for without learning history, we are doomed to repeat it. Miller’s photographs and articles are a reminder of this.

LEE MILLER WITH DAVID E. SCHERMAN/©LEE MILLER ARCHIVES

Although people such as Miller were politically biased and arguably had a political agenda, her photos highlighted the photos of the general populace. She shared her experiences in wartime Europe.

Unfortunately, we did not learn from the mistakes of this era, genocides continued to happen around the world, people continue to be persecuted for who they are, what they believe, what they look like. Sometimes we need to stop, reflect, and learn from the generations before us.

PAGE 14

Society & Culture

BY JACOB PRICE

EL DÍA DE ANDALUCÍA: WHAT IS ANDALUSIAN DAY? The Spanish region of Andalusia is internationally surrounded by Gibraltar and Portugal, as well as the autonomous communities of Castile-La Mancha, Murcia, and Extremadura. Today, it is renowned for being one of the 17 autonomous regions of Spain, however; it hasn’t always been this way.

Ask anyone what they think of when someone says 'Spain' and I can promise you that it will most likely have something to do with flamenco or bullfighting. What if I told you that these things aren't really 'Spanish' as such, in fact, they are Andalusian.

Blas Infante is coined as the founder of Andalusian nationalism and affectionately known as the “father of Andalusia”. He is the creator of the Andalusian flag and the author of the regional anthem, “Himno de Andalucía”.

The anthem, which was released just a week before the outbreak of the Civil War, is rooted in a religious song of the peasants.

However, it wasn’t until two years after the referendum that the autonomy of the Andalusian region was upheld by the Spanish government.

The Spanish Parliament only accepted Andalusia as a historic nationality in 2006.

The Day of Andalusia (Día de Andalucía) commemorates the anniversary of the referendum held on February 28, 1980.

On this day, the Andalusian people voted in favour of making Andalusia an autonomous region of Spain.

While the government may recognise Andalusian as one single nationality today, it is important to remember the many cultures, races, and histories that blended together to make what we now know as ‘Andalusian’. Perhaps the easiest influence to spot is that of the Arabs. Thanks to its prime location, the Moors occupied the south of Spain for over 800 years. Their traces can be found all over Andalusia; from the whitewashed walls and the beautiful patios, to the Mezquita-Catedral in Córdoba and the Royal Alcázar in Seville. It is clear that Andalusia is not a single nationality, but rather a melting point of many nationalities both past and present.

The referendum was due to be held in 1936, but the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War put a halt to these plans, pushing it back by nearly half a century.

The 28th February is today one of the many modern regional holidays celebrated in Spain every year. In Andalusia, most shops will remain

The anthem encourages the Andalusian people to push for “land and freedom”.

closed, as well as businesses, banks, and government offices.

In Malaga, the week of 28th February is known as “Semana Blanca”, or “White Week”.

During Semana Blanca, children have time off school to celebrate the autonomous holiday.

Just before the schools break up for the holiday, the children have a traditional Andalusian breakfast known as “tosada con aceite”, literally meaning “toast with olive oil”. This consists of toast with tomatoes and olive oil, sometimes topped with ham slices. Adults normally finish this off with a cup of coffee, but children have hot chocolate instead.

Some schools host exhibitions and put on plays. Perhaps most importantly, they learn the words to the regional anthem and do activities where they make the Andalusian flag.

tosada con aceite Image credit: Coosur

The towns and villages also host their own celebrations. The squares are decorated in the colours of green and white to represent the colours of the Andalusian flag, municipal bands will line the streets, and the regional anthem is sung.

PAGE 16

Society & Culture NIGER

ITALY

FORMER INTERIOR MINISTER WINS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

MILAN FASHION WEEK OPENED

BY AFRICAN-BORN DESIGNERS FOR THE FIRST TIME

F

NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

or the first time ever, this year's

movement within the fashion

Milan Fashion Week was

industry to highlight the

opened by designers of African

disparities amongst different

origin. The show, which went

races.

T

Bazoum, has won the presidential election by a landslide victory. The election, which has been praised for being the first democratic transition for

virtual this year, was named “We are Made in Italy” and aimed to

Consequently, this year's fashion

provide a platform for largely

week has come about after a

under-represented voices,

partnership between the

particularly those from diverse

National Chamber of Italian

backgrounds.

Fashion and the Black Lives

he former interior minister of Niger, Mohamed

the country which has been troubled by military coups, has resulted in protests with supporters of former president, Mr. Ousmane, alleging it is fraud.

Niger is ranked as the world poorest nation in the UN’s development rankings and frequently suffers

Matter in Italian Fashion In light of the Black Lives Matter

movement. The designers of

from droughts and extreme poverty. More

movement that shook the

African origin who opened the

controversially, the country only made slavery illegal

world, Italian designers such as

show immigrated to Italy in

in 2003.

Edward Buchanan, Stella Jean

search of a better life yet were

and Michelle Ngonmo started a

faced with numerous barriers in terms of progressing their careers.

INDONESIA

AMERICA

MOUNT MERAPI ERRUPTS IN INDONESIA

M

ount Merapi, Indonesia’s most

US SEEKS ASISTANCE FOR CHILD MIGRANT CRISIS Image credit: Agence France Presse/AGUNG SUPRIYANTO )

active volcano has erupted, with

The volcano is located on Java island and

sounds being heard from over 18

stands at 2,968 metres tall. It is renowned

miles away. It caused a stream of

for being the most active volcano out of

lava and gas clouds down its

the many that inhabit the land of

slopes. However, no casualties

Indonesia. As of recently, it has been

have been recorded.

inactive with its last major eruption in 2010, which resulted in the death of 347

Indonesia is renowned for being susceptible to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes due to its location on the “Ring of Fire”, also known as the Circum-Pacific Belt, in the Pacific.

T

he Federal Emergency

However, the sheer amount of

Management Agency, or FEMA,

children arriving at the border has

that normally handles

put pressure on processing system.

widespread emergencies and

On 8th March alone, there were

natural disasters, has been called

3,000 children held in the US

upon to assist the US

immigration facilities at the

government in the handling off

border.

the number of children arriving at the US-Mexico border.

FEMA announced that over the next 3 months they will work to

people.

This comes as Biden is fulfilling

provide shelter and transport for

his promise made on the

the children as they arrive in the

campaign trail to reverse and

US.

rewrite the many immigration policies brought in by Trump.

PAGE 17

Society & Culture

BY THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF PODCAST

THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF PODCAST For the vast majority of us, we don’t have the luxury of traveling to all 195 countries in the world and forming our views from first-hand experiences, so what’s the one thing that is universal and can be accessed all over the world?

The media.

According to MarketingProfs, there over 2 million articles are published every day on the internet alone. On average, a person consumes between 10,000 and 20,000 of these articles each year. Just spending 15 minutes a day reading the news equates to one whole working day a week - what are we even getting out of this?

Perhaps the answer to why the media is so negative can be found in our natural evolutionary instincts.

For our ancestors to survive, they needed to focus on the negative news that surrounded them. Be it was an impending storm, an enemy approaching, or anything else posing a threat, any negativity was a life or death situation.

95% of headlines are said to be blown out of proportion.

In 2019, there was a 36% rise in media exaggeration.

How many times have you read the headline, just to read the full story and realise how misleading it was?

I'm sure many of those who have even a slight fear of flying have heard numerous of times that you are more likely to die in a car crash than in an airplane. So why is it that airplane crashes are always in the headlines? The truth is that we'd be much interested in reading about an airplane disaster over car crashes that many people witness daily.

Approximately 90% of all media news is negative.

If you scroll through any media site, it will be a challenge to find a positive article, particularly one concerning a foreign country.

Knowing that it is part of our natural instincts to want to keep up with negative news, why would a newspaper spend time publishing positive articles?

Put yourself in the position of a reporter: a fight breaks out amongst youths in a favela in Rio de Janeiro.

The police describe it as a ‘small incident’, but will people want to read about that? You could write it up as “a violent attack” or a “vicious brawl” instead. What one is going to get you the most publicity and attract more readers?

A Russian-based newspaper, The City Reporter, carried out a study where they published only positive stories for a day. The purpose of this was to evaluate the different effects that negative and positive news has on readers. As a result, they lost 66% of their readership.

Consequently, it is not surprising that the media is so negative.

After all, they are a business. If positive news = less business and negative news = more business, what one will they choose?

In his TED talk, Rolf Dobelli likens the news to a jelly bean. He says that news is to the brain what sugar is to the body. You can eat as many jelly beans as you like, but are they nutritious in any way? In fact, too many of them can be toxic. Dobelli describes news events as 'things that are flickering on the world's surface'. What we really want to do is to learn and understand what triggers these events. The media leads us to believe that we know everything, but we don't. It gives us an ‘illusion of understanding’.

"The more news you consume, the less you understand the world" ROLF DOBELLI

In 'The First Thing You Think Of Podcast', we will challenge the very first things that come to mind when we think of different countries around the world. We want to make you question how and from where you develop your opinions on different countries and cultures, and to ask yourself, ‘Is that really a reliable source to base my opinion on or is there more to it?’.

Ultimately, we want to break that 'illusion of understanding'.

"WHOEVER CONTROLS THE MEDIA, CONTROLS THE MIND" Jim Morrison

PAGE 21

Guaraní is part of the Tupi-Guaraní language family of South America. It is currently spoken by around 4.6 million people in southwestern Brazil, southeastern Bolivia, northeastern Argentina and Paraguay.

Guaraní is one of the most widely spoken American languages today. The 1992 constitution recognises both Spanish and Guaraní as the official languages of Paraguay and is spoken y nine-tenths of the population.

There are three main distinct groups of the Guaranï language. These include: Mbyà, Kaiowá, and Ñandeva. Today, the language is classified as 'vulnerable' by UNESCO.

As a result of the arrival of the Jesuits to Guaraní territory in the 17th century, there was a re-organisation of the political, social and economic structure of the Guaraní community. These communities were often referred to as 'missions'. The missions that the Jesuits constructed came to a total of over 100,000 Guaraní peoples. This created the false image of the Guaraní peoples as one homogeneous group. While the Spaniards recognised their social, economic, political, and spiritual differences, they failed to recognise this diversity in official documentation.

Language & Linguistics

DABBLE IN A LANGUAGE - GUARANÌ

Guaraní-Mbyá was officially recognised by Brazil's Institute of National Historic and Artistic Heritage as having significant cultural importance in the history of Brazil. This provided the opportunity for the Brazilian people to reconsider the importance of the Guaraní people in the history of their country.

The Treaty of Madrid made mandatory the displacement of the Guaraní people living in areas under the control of the Spanish monarchy. The signing of the treaty meant that the Portuguese monarchy gained control of areas which were previously under the power of the Spaniards. The condition of this was that the Guaraní people would be removed from the territory. Despite being a major part of the Treaty, the Guaraní people were left out of the negotiation processes. Just four years after it was signed in 1750, the Guaraní peoples fought for their territory in a war lasting until 1756.

When the Spaniards conquered the New World, they used a form of native labor organisation known as the encomienda. This differs from slavery in that the Crown imposed restrictions on encomenderos. The Guaraní peoples fell victims to this as well as to the slave traders of southern Brazil.

Paraguayan Guarani holds joint official language status alongside Spanish in the province of Corrientes. Western Argentine Guarani is also spoken by around 15,000 people in Jujuy and Salta Province. Another dialect known as Mbyá is spoken by about 3,000 Argentinan speakers.

Western Bolivian Guarani and Eastern Bolivian Guarani are widely spoken in the southeastern parts of the country. In particular, Eastern Bolivian Guarani is spoken by 33,670 people in the area of the Paraeti River in Tarija. In 2009, Bolivia also set up a Guaraní-language university in the southeastern province of Chuquisaca.

Guaraní enjoys the same status as Spanish in Paraguay. Paraguay's constitution is bilingual, and textbooks produced by the state are normally half in Guaraní and half in Spanish. A variety of Guaraní known as Mybá, also the one spoken in Brazil, is also spoken in Paraguay with around 8,000 speakers. Chiripà, another variety of Guaraní is spoken by 7,000 people in Paraguay.

Of the 280,000 Guaraní people residing in South America, Brazil is home to around 51,000 Guaraní peoples. In the past, there has been much question in the history of Guaraní, particularly the arrival of the Jesuits to Guaraní territory, the practices of the encomiendas, and the displacement of the Guaraní peoples under the Treaty of Madrid. However, the Guaraní language remains one of the most spoken indigenous languages in Brazil today.

PAGE 23

Language & Linguistics

DABBLE IN A LANGUAGE - GUARANÌ

Colours

General Vocab Bon appetit /Have a nice meal Pekaruporãnte Bon voyage /Have a good journey Peguataporãnte I understand - Hesakâmbáma la ereséva I don't understand - Ndaikuaái la ereséva Yes - Hêe No - Nahániri Maybe - Ikatu Thank you - Aguyje I don't know - Ndaikuaái Please say that again - Ere jeý péa Do you speak English? - Reñe’êkuaápa inglépe?

Months of the Year January - jasyteĩ July - jasypokõi February - jasykõi August - jasypoapy March - jasyapy September - jasyporundy April - jasyrundy October - jasypa May - jasypo November - jasypateĩ June - jasypoteĩ December - jasypakõi

Black - hũ White - morotĩ Red - pytã Yellow - sa'yja Blue - hovy Green - morongy Brown - hũngy Pink - pytãngy Purple - pytaũ

Numbers 1 - peteĩ 2 - mokõi 3 - mbohapy 4 - irundy 5 - po 6 - poteĩ 7 - pokõi 8 - poapy 9 - chau 10 - pa

Days of the Week Monday - arakõi Tuesday - araapy Wednesday - ararundy Thursday - arapo Friday - arapoteĩ Saturday - arapokõi Sunday - arateĩ

Greetings Welcome/Hello - Eguahé porá How are you? - Mba'éichapa reiko?

Pleased to meet you - Che roryete roikuaávo

Introduce Yourself What's your name? - Mbaé’chepa nderéra?

My name is - Che cheréra Where are you from? - Moõguápa nde?

I'm from - Che ... gua

Good morning - Mba'eichapa ndepyhareve?

Good afternoon - Mba'eichapa nde ka'aru?

Good afternoon - Mba'eichapa nde ka'aru?

Good night - Mba'eichapa nde pyhare?

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Language & Linguistics

BY ELLA WILSON

DYSLEXIA & LANGUAGE LEARNING: CAN YOU BE DYSLEXIC IN ONE LANGUAGE AND NOT ANOTHER? Dyslexia is a well-known but often misunderstood learning difficulty that makes it difficult to process and comprehend verbal information. So what does this mean for dyslexics looking to learn a foreign language?

The word ‘dyslexia’ itself is made up of two parts: ‘dys’ meaning not or difficult, and lexia which means ‘language’ or ‘reading’. Together, this literally translates as ‘difficulty with words’.

On the other hand, there is more activation in the right hemisphere, which is less efficient in processing language. This is believed to be a compensation method for the lack of activation in the left hemisphere.

Dyslexia is believed to develop during the early stages of fetal development and is linked to certain genes. It’s important to remember that there is no correlation between dyslexia and the level of intelligence of a person.

In fact, dyslexics tend to be very creatively-minded.

written English is vastly different from written Japanese, with the distinguishing factor being its writing system which takes on a different alphabet. It is this factor that makes it easier for a dyslexic person to speak and understand the language.

The left hemisphere is mainly used for reading alphabetic language.

Languages such as Spanish, English, Italian, and German are alphabetic languages.

Around 15-20% of the population has a reading disability.

Studies have found that dyslexia primarily targets the left hemisphere of the brain. Those who are good readers have a higher activation in the left hemisphere while showing less activity in the right. Alternatively, when analysing the brain of a dyslexic, it becomes clear that there are disruptions in the left hemisphere which interrupts the ability to read fluently, phonological processing, as well as there being less memory storage capacity to hold such language.

While the left hemisphere of the brain is specialised in speech and language, the right hemisphere is activated during tasks that have to do with creativity and the arts.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that dyslexics are more creatively minded. But what does this mean when it comes to learning a foreign language? It is a case of using different methods, or is it a lost cause?

In the BBC’s radio documentary, Dyslexia: Language and Childhood, the journalist Toby Withers speaks to Alex who was born in the UK but grew up in Japan. His dyslexia affects his English but not his Japanese.

Francisca Serrano, a professor at the University of Granada, said that this was down to the characteristics of written Japanese. It is clear that

Japanese, however, has two different types of characters that make up its writing system. These are kana and kanji. Consequently, Japanese differs from English by the fact that it is a logographic language.

For your average learner who speaks English as a mother tongue, learning a language like Japanese is a little bit more complicated than learning a romance language, like French or Catalan. In fact, it requires using a completely different part of your brain that you would not use when learning a language of the same alphabet.

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Learning a logographic language requires an extra step.

It would be extremely difficult to learn your typical Japanese/Chinese greetings without learning the characters (unless using Pingyan or an equivalent writing system). Learning these languages requires the process of memorisation and not learning the structure of the sounds.

The most recent studies on this topic show that the difference between reading a language like Chinese and an alphabetic language is that Chinese uses the bilateral region of the brain.

Languages such as Chinese and Japanese require use to be more visual.

In fact, we have to learn the characters as pictures - something that we do not do in English.

For this reason, in Alex's case, it is possible for those with dyslexia to be dyslexic in English but not in a language such as Japanese as the learning process requires different steps. For logographic language, the right hemisphere is used alongside the left hemisphere. As a dyslexic brain processes words as images, these languages work in their favour as they are required to be learnt and processed as images in order to learn the language.

Language & Linguistics

BY ELLA WILSON

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Language & Linguistics

BY ZACK CALLARD

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE POLYGLOTS: STEPHEN KRASHEN We all know that foreign languages are one of the hardest things to learn and, possibly, even harder to teach. But what about those of us who have to do both? Maybe being more scientific in your language learning could be the answer for you.

I've been where many of you have been - having to learn a language all by yourself or having to catch up on a class because your teachers aren't up to scratch or you didn't 'get' the work. As I delve in deeper into the linguistic world, I find myself reflecting more and more on those years I was forced to do it 'solo' and I ask myself, 'what really is the best way to learn a foreign language?' and 'is there really a right way?'.

Stephen Krashen, a professor at the University of Southern California, is an expert in the field of linguistics, in particular language acquisition and development.

Krashen says to ditch those 'tedious' grammar exercises. I'm sure very little of us would argue with him on that - but alternative does he provide?

Luckily, Krashen has written over 100 books and articles and conducted numerous university lectures, so we are far from short of answers! Most notably, his famous 'theory of second language acquisition' contains 5 principal hypotheses: the acquisition-learning hypothesis the monitor hypothesis the input hypothesis the affective filter hypothesis the natural order hypothesis

In his 209 page 'Principles and Practice' study, Krashen makes no mistake in emphasising the importance of the acquisitionlearning balance as the most fundamental of them all. He states that 'adults have two distinct and independent ways of developing competence in a second language'.

Language acquisition is very, very similar to how we pick up languages as children. Do you remember learning your native language? Do you know all the grammatical rules?

I bet you don’t. Until a year ago I didn't even know that we use 'an' in English before words that begin with a vowel, but I sure was the one to police my friends when they slipped up. That is because I acquired English rather than learnt it.

Acquiring a language is a subconscious process rather than a conscious one. But can we really just learn a language and not realise it? Sounds almost ridiculous as it does amazing, right? Well, no.

Krashen clears this up by explaining that 'language acquirers' are not usually aware of the fact that they are acquiring language, they are only aware of the fact that they are using the language for communication. So when I speak English, I know that I'm using it to communicate with my friends, but I'm not aware of the linguistics of it.

Have you ever looked at a word and just 'knew' it was wrong? For Spanish learners, have you ever read something like 'las niños' and instinctively 'knew' it was wrong without having a flashback to those dreaded Spanish grammar lessons?

This is what Krashen means. You have probably acquired that part of the language at some point.

The second half of this equation is language learning. 'Learning' uses the conscious mind and often relates to the study of grammatical rules. Can you explain when and how to use the passé composée or whether to use parce que or car?

That is because you learnt it.

There is what Krashen would label a ‘myth’ that adults cannot acquire a language, only learn it. However, he states that 'adults can access the same natural "language acquisition" device that children use'. Therefore, the acquisition-learning balance may be just part of the solution to your language learning problems.

'The 'monitor hypothesis' looks deeper into this acquiring-learning relationship. In most cases, acquisition is responsible for our fluency. If you are in Spain and have to ask a local for directions to the shops and end up having a conversation with them, are you thinking of the verb you want to

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use, getting rid of the infinitive and adding on the relevant endings? If you are, it's probably a very long and tiring conversation! In these types of situations learning plays a very small role and this is to 'monitor' or 'edit' the language you are using. Have you ever said 'la sistema' and immediately corrected it to 'el sistema'? This is where the learning comes into play. You have learnt that it is irregular, but you have only realised that after you have said it.

In everyday language, using learnt material is not very useful. Krashen says that for learnt material to be used, three criteria must be met.

Firstly, you need time to be able to think about the rules and put the sentence together, you then have to focus on form, and above all, you have to know the rule. Can you even begin to imagine how difficult conversations would be if we went through this process every single time we opened our mouths?

Next we have the 'input hypothesis'.

This is fairly simple and *almost* glaringly obvious. It deals with acquisition and so is a very important part of Krashen's theory, particularly as his findings in the 'monitor hypothesis' shows how integral acquisition is.

It poses the question of, 'how can we move from one level to another?'. So if we were to give a 'level' to our language skills and maybe I was on level 3 in Spanish how would I progress to level 4?

Krashen says that, if my current level was 3, I would have to incorporate level 4 material into my language learning. To be able to ‘understand’ this level 4 material would be sufficient for me to move up a stage. However, it's important to note that Krashen defines 'understand' as 'the acquirer is focused on the meaning and not the form of the message'. So the point of this is not to analyse the grammar but to know what is being said.

Language & Linguistics But how do we even begin to understand material that is beyond our current capabilities? Well, when are faced with more challenging language, we use, as Krashen states, 'more than our linguistic competence to help us understand'.

Quite simply, we use context or any extra linguistic knowledge we may have. Have you ever read something before, in a foreign language or your native one, even though didn't understand every single word but you could still make sense of it?

That's context in play.

Krashen's very last hypothesis is the 'natural order' (based on the research findings of Dulay & Burt, 1974; Fathman, 1975; Makino, 1980). This has been described as one of the most exciting findings in language acquisition research and is certainly a very interesting concept.

It says that we learn different grammatical concepts in a 'natural order'. Krashen gives the example of the possessives in English as being one of the grammatical rules last acquired. This 'natural order' is irrespective of language or individual capability.

As you read at the start, Krashen doesn't seem to be a massive fan of grammar. He thinks that teachers are deceiving themselves by thinking that they need to teach grammatical lessons in school. He says that the study of grammar is 'language appreciation' or a form of linguistics which does not lead to fluency.

So what do you think? Have you got your grammar textbooks ready to burn, or are you going to hold on to them for a while longer? Are there any aspects of Krashen's theory that you already follow or a willing to implement? It's definitely interesting, but is it really the answer to all of our struggles? Who knows...

BY ZACK CALLARD

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Language & Linguistics

BY AYA PATEL

K-POP & THE RISE OF KOREAN LANGUAGE-LEARNERS: THE PHENOMENON OF ‘THE KOREAN WAVE’ Have a look around the Instagram and Twitter language learning community and you will be hard-pressed to not find an account that isn’t learning or at least interested in learning Korean.

Where you around for the Gangnam Style phase? If not then where were you? If so, you too were sucked into the KPOP craze - whether you like it or not! Many of us sang (and danced) naively to the lyrics of Gangnam Style not knowing what on earth they could mean, but enjoying them nonetheless. Some of us, at least at that point, may not have been completely aware of what K-pop is. So for those of you who are still unsure - what is K-Pop and what’s this craze all about?

The wave of popularity for South Korean culture is known as "Hallyu".

K-pop is short for Korean pop which specifically originated in South Korea. In short, K-pop is a genre of music mixture of other genres, particularly rock, R&B, hip-hop, and electronic. It is the desire to learn the lyrics of K-Pop hits like Gangnam Style that has skyrocketed the number of people studying Korean in countries like the US, Canada, Thailand, and Malaysia.

Korean is one of the hardest languages for an English speaker to learn, yet it is one of the languages that has grown the most amongst

English speakers over recent decades. A report written by the Modern Language Association shows that the number of students studying Korean in the US have increased by around 14% in the years between 2013 and 2016.

However, during this time the overall percentage of university students enrolling in a language course was decreasing.

Korean has seen the biggest increase in learners for any language, followed by Arabic and Japanese.

It is no surprise that language resources for learning Korean are becoming increasingly prevalent. In 2017, Duolingo launched its Korean course that quickly amassed over 200,000 learners and became their sixth most popular course.

The demand has increased so much over recent decades that the South Korean government set up a new Korean proficiency test. Before this, the only ‘proficiency test’ for Korean learners was TOPIK, however, this was only for those wishing to attend higher education in Korea. This comes as the TOPIK has been in increasingly higher demand. In 1997 online, 2,200 people

registered to take the exam; today that number rests at 265,000.

The latest statistics show 14,000 students are learning Korean in the US, compared to only 163 two decades earlier.

Obviously, this comes with great economic benefits. The South Korean government has capitalised on the increase in Korean learners by founding over 170 branches of their King Sejong Institute which specialises in language learning.

They teach nearly 60,000 students Korean in nearly 60 countries - an increase of nearly 40 countries since 2017.

K-pop is quickly becoming South Korea’s biggest export.

Today, the Korean boyband BTS sells out their concerts in the US and UK. They also have over 15 million followers on social media and are the first K-pop group to top the US charts.

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There is even a nightclub in London that is the biggest Korean pop party in Europe - “Young Bros”. Before around 230 used to attend, now there are around 1,300. Only around 10% of these are said to be Korean and about 30% Asian.

“It’s as cheesy as the Spice Girls” The language barrier means nothing when it comes to K-pop fans.

Rather, they bond over the music than the meaning of the words.

The question that arises for me is that, is this a lesson that we can apply to other languages? The UK and US are particularly notorious for their naivety to foreign languages, so can music be the answer? K-pop certainly was for Korean.

Language & Linguistics

BY AYA PATEL

"LEARNING ANOTHER LANGUAGE IS NOT ONLY LEARNING DIFFERENT WORDS FOR THE SAME THINGS, BUT LEARNING ANOTHER WAY TO THINK ABOUT THINGS." Flora Lewis

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BY AISHA SHAHID

Language & Linguistics

LEARNING LANGUAGES: ADVANTAGES OF BEING BILINGUAL It comes as no surprise that speaking an extra language or two comes with it's advantages, Either if it your mother-tongue ,passed down by your parents or learned through school, watching dramas or self-studying.

Gaining an extra qualification.

If you know a language why not get an extra qualification in it .Especially if you are fluent in a language you can get a very good grade without having to spend to much time on studying .E.g. as I know two languages I did a gcse in one and got a grade nine and an a level and got an A.As I knew both languages very well I didn’t have to struggle to much and got extra grade and ucas points which add to and look good on my resume .

Bilingualism can improve your competitiveness in the job market.

Companies today serve increasingly diverse, multilingual populations at home and abroad. Managers know that multilingual consumers are a huge commercial force and represent a significant opportunity for future business. So when looking for potential employees

they pay attention to those who speak more than one language .

Knowing more than one language can make your resume stand out and get more job opportunities .

Be an interpreter.

Knowing an extra language can also help you get some extra money or even form a career by having this advantage by some work on it you can be an interpreter /translator or even write subtitles for shows ,being an airhostess etc. have many more career perspectives .

Speaking another language gives you a new perspective.

Even if you don’t travel overseas, getting to be bilingual can assist you see the world in a diverse way and get it yourself better. Research has found that bilinguals truly see the world in an unexpected way.

Individuals who frequently speak more than one languages see the world from different perspectives that are not recognized by monolinguals! How’s that for a modern perspective? Many individuals who talk more than one dialect moreover report feeling “like a diverse person” when they talk the other dialect.

Investigate by a teacher at the College of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign has found that bilinguals emphasize distinctive character characteristics depending on which dialect they are talking.

The teacher met Parisian grown-ups who were familiar in French and Portuguese and found that they acted in an unexpected way when talking one dialect or the other. For case, one young lady sounded like an “angry, hip suburbanite” in French and a “frustrated, but persistent, well-mannered bank customer” in Portuguese.

Speaking two languages and interacting with people who speak it lets you see the world from different views ,cultures ,colours and emotions

Lets you see how the word mom is similar in so many languages with the same emotion and happiness and nostalgia when you call this but also how despite the world being so forward they are still so many children dying from hunger in the world and it doesn’t matter whatever language they speak or which country they live it’s the cruelty of the world that are being overlooked.