A new study has now shown that Johannesburg ranks as the second sweariest city in Africa, and considering South Africans’ penchant for telling it like it is, we’re surprised we don’t feature at the top of the list.
The word has for ages been pigeonholed as a sign of laziness and stupidity, but research has actually placed a substantial amount of functionality on ‘like’.
Be glad if you missed this word from last week because those that didn’t were full of four-letter expletives.
A few of the words or terms that would usually be followed by “as the kids are saying” actually date back a long, long way.
The BBC looked into language politics in South Africa to determine whether or not Afrikaans was in danger of “dying out”.
Over the years scientists have tried to solve the problem of interstellar communication in some incredibly weird and wonderful ways.
If you’re a first-language English speaker, you probably take the language for granted. Have you ever stopped to think about just how weird it actually is?
Looking to expand your vocabulary and learn a new insult perfect for our political climate? You’re in luck, my friend.
In 2018, Google, Microsoft, and Instagram have unveiled AI programs that mimic their users, and now we’re mimicking them.
Learning a language often requires following a number of rules. Sometimes, it turns out, we’re not even aware of those rules.
As an increasing amount of Francophiles move to South Africa, local perceptions of the once Eurocentric language have shifted. So has the way its being taught in the classroom.
It’s one of those sayings many of use very regularly, but do you have any idea where the phrase originated from? We’re here to help.
Girls at Sans Souci have joined in the nationwide stand against discriminatory codes of conduct, highlighting some ridiculous rules at their school.
Parents, it’s going to be okay. Thanks to the UK, here’s a guide to what your teens are saying online when they write in all caps.
When in the National Assembly, it seems participants should be reduced to school children and have to hold the “talking stick”. Also, language should be kept to a respectful level.
Schabir Shaik is our country’s favourite fraudster. If he isn’t lying about his qualifications, he is staying at private game lodges instead of being in prison. Now he can add this to his list of amazingness.
Ever wondered where those crude swear words originated from? Swearnet founders Trailer Park Boys provide an educational journey through the history of those naughty sayings.
Swearing isn’t as easy as it looks in the movies sometimes, so an Englishman has traveled and decided to help out some of the locals get their F-bombs out.
For those of you that are just SO SICK of reading the subtitles when the Dothraki people speak in their mother tongue, then this may just be the answer you’ve been waiting for. Travel search engine, Cheapflights.com.au, has created a useful guide for Game of Thrones fans that teaches them how to speak basic Dothraki. The infographic is categorized into […]
Who knew talking gibberish on YouTube could change your life? The latest viral YouTube sensation is Sara Maria Forsberg. Since posting her video titled “What Languages Sound Like To Foreigners,” she has become an overnight hit.
If english isn’t your home language in South Africa, there is a very high chance that you speak more than one language. And if you do, take this moment to bask in the glory that is your superior brain.
SHUT. UP. eNCA has broken more amazing details pertaining to Thami Jantjie, the sign language interpreter who played air guitar through Nelson Mandela’s Memorial on Tuesday. eNCA reports that Jantjie faced charges of kidnapping, rape, attempted murder, and murder.
If you think this is a story about a talking dog, you’re wrong. This is a groundbreaking story about what researchers at Duke University are calling “the most scientifically important dog in over a century.”
Tourism agencies across the globe are kicking it in to high gear lately. Holland kicked a whole lotta ass recently with their “Original Cool” campaign, and South Korea has come to the party, enlisting Gangnam Style gift-giver, Psy in the creation of YouTube spots to promote that country. ‘Psy’s WikiKorea’ has been translated in to […]
British moral fabric eroded further on Monday when a video was uploaded to YouTube showing a man teaching his three-year-old son how to sing vile chants about Robin Van Persie.
A group of Ukrainian students are deservedly receiving a large amount of attention for a very impressive student project that has seen them qualify as one of the six finalists at this year’s Microsoft Imagine Cup. They’ve invented a glove that can translate the movements made by sign language into speech.
We sometimes underestimate the importance of language, especially when swimming in the ubiquitous sea of English. Language is bound tightly with identity, and when you imagine a language going the way of the Dodo, it is scary to think what else is lost with it. Google’s philanthropic arm, Google.org, has launched the Endangered Language project, a website devoted to preserving languages that are close to dying out.
This is going to be one of those columns that is more useful if you get involved. That’s why I’m telling you now, right at the start, that it would be fantastic, absolutely bloody marvelous in fact, as wonderful as a ham sandwich and a cup of tea on a bright spring day, if you add your two cents once you have finished reading. I’ll try to keep it short, so you have more time to type your comments. This column is about tasting notes.
Here is a great example of how easy it is to ensure yourself a long, celebrated career in politics. After attending a conference in Washington recently, Barack Obama greeted some audience members. A deaf student in the crowd signed to him: “I am proud of you.” Not missing a beat, Obama signed back: “Thank you.” Video after the jump.
Well, this is the fight against sexism taken to a whole new level. The word “Mademoiselle” has been banned from all official documents in the French suburb of Cesson-Sévigné, in Rennes. Formerly regarded simply as the title given to an unmarried woman, the term is now considered sexist, apparently.