Articles for Fun with languages

17.09.2020

Addressing cross-cultural issues in emoji “translation”

Published in: Evolution of language, Fun with languages, Languages/Linguistic curiosities

by Pisana Ferrari – cApStAn Ambassador to the Global Village Emoji have become an immensely popular form of online communication. The numbers about their use are staggering: it is estimated that more than 700 million are used every day on Facebook alone. Many consider emoji simply a way of adding ... Read more >

29.04.2020

The odd semantics of Belgium’s machine gun (mitraillette) sandwiches, aka américains

Published in: Fun with languages

by Pisana Ferrari – cApStAn Ambassador to the Global Village A mitraillette (French word for machine gun) is a type of sandwich commonly served at friteries and cafés in Belgium. The food editor of Taste Atlas says that the name comes from the fact that the baguette bread, on account of ... Read more >