LKL's Blog

Antarctica was represented by melting glace – this word play gets lost in English; in French, it means both “ice” and “ice cream.”

La fonte des glaces

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Thanksgiving, as celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, is a uniquely American holiday, but you still might want to talk about it in French or Spanish. Here’s some vocabulary related to American Thanksgiving:

French Thanksgiving Vocabulary
Spanish Thanksgiving Vocabulary

Most of our traveling is to places where we speak the language, and of course when we don’t, we can usually fall back on English. This is the case in Greece as well; since it’s the only Greek-speaking country, the vast majority of Greeks are (more or less) fluent in English. But since my husband and I are both language lovers, and enjoy the surprised yet pleased reactions of native French, Spanish, and Italian speakers when we are able to communicate in their language, I thought of a new twist for our trip to Greece: why not learn a bit of Greek? (more…)

It’s only a few days away – here are some links to help you celebrate with your beloved.

French love language
French terms of endearment
Spanish love language
Vegetarian aphrodisiacs

Book sale: if you buy Intermediate French for Dummies between now and the end of April, you can get a $5 rebate – just download the rebate form and follow the instructions here: Dummies rebate

If you didn’t already know about it, my book includes intermediate-level grammar lessons, writing tips, and practice exercises, and is the most extensive (and, all modesty aside, the best) book I’ve written. Check it out at Amazon.com or your favorite bookstore: Intermediate French for Dummies

Freelance journalist Nadine Visagie of Suite101 recently tracked me down to answer some questions about The Importance of Learning French.

Good-bye 2009 and the unnamed first decade of the new millenium! Hello 2010 and another difficult to name decade! I spent nearly the entire year in France, other than my three weeks in Italy, and I’ll likely be in France for all of the new year as well. Best wishes to all!

Here’s some reading material and ideas for New Year’s Resolutions for you:

New Year’s in France
French New Year’s Resolutions
Veggie Table New Year’s Resolutions

I hope you and your families are happy, safe, and warm this holiday season. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!

Vegetarian Christmas Menu
Christmas in France
French Christmas Vocabulary
Spanish Christmas Vocabulary

Just read a fascinating article about how metaphors reflect more than just the way we speak, but also how we think… and how we can be manipulated: The Boston Globe – Thinking Literally

My English site, e learn English Language, has information both for non-native speakers (ESL lessons), written in English, French, and Spanish, as well as a series of lessons on typically confusing English pairs for native speakers, (it’s vs its, affect vs effect, etc.) I recently created a blog to highlight new features – check it out!