I’m looking to learn #Japanese, and I tried Duolingo like a year ago and it didn’t really click for me so if anyone has recommendations for a good app/site/resource for learning conversational Japanese I’d love to hear about them!

(I’ve seen around the internet that the best place is to learn from a native speaker in person, but unfortunately I’m not able to do in person stuff right now. Maybe someday I’ll be able to take the course at my local community college).

#Language

Japan's kids have summer projects to do. From book reports to research projects, here’s how parents can help — with a grammar lesson to boot. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/07/24/language/japanese-children-screens-summer/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #life #language #nihongo #vocabulary #summer #parenting #children

Fun article about Australian English. @slevelt should find this informative. :)

'For a start, there are the many varieties of the word “mate”, ranging from the convivial to the downright threatening. There’s the ALP “mate”, for example, which has several repeats of the letter ‘a’, as in “maaaaaate”. It means you are about to lose preselection or be dumped from the Prime Ministership. There’s the terse “excuse me, mate” when someone’s blocking the entrance to a building, and the sunny “thanks, mate” when they finally make way. Meanwhile, “mate”, when used by a mechanic, means: “I’ve judged that you are the sort of chap who knows nothing about motor vehicles and so have elected to charge you double.”'

#language#Australiahttps://www.smh.com.au/culture/books/do-australians-have-the-best-possible-version-of-english-20250714-p5met7.html

Still haven’t made summer plans? This week’s Bilingual piece rounds up the major festivals happening across Japan — and teaches you a handy grammar point to practice when you go. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/07/18/language/japanese-summer-festival-listing/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #life #language #nihongo #vocabulary #grammar #jlptn2

July 17 is World Emoji Day! But is it only going to be Gen Xers and Millennials that celebrate it? https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/07/11/language/emoji-japanese-gen-z-texts/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #life #language #nihongo #emoji #vocabulary #jlptn3 #jlptn1 #grammar

YAY! Someone translated my Architectural Hostility of Doorknobs post to another language! Check out the thread at https://neopaquita.es/@microblogc/114828785191022658#Blog#Blogging#Blogs#IndieWeb#Language#Translation

Whether on approves or disapproves of swearing, curse words are everywhere, and now more than ever. New research reveals the most common vulgarity, and which countries curse the most. And I ask a linguist: Why are we hearing and seeing more swearing now, online and even among politicians on camera, as happened recently when the US president dropped an F-bomb on TV?

https://medium.com/wise-well/the-art-and-science-of-swearing-5fadb0b6c979

#culture #society #language

This is small, but feels right.

I’ve been trying to use “enslaved” instead of “slave.” For example “enslaved people in America” or “enslaved labor.” I noticed a number of Black folks making this subtle change so I followed their cue.

I believe it matters because “slave” names someone by definition, whereby “enslaved” names their situation.

Would you rather be a slave or a person who was enslaved?

(I’m writing a chapter in my book about this.)

#Language#Oppression#EnslavedLabor#Enslaved

What’s the first word that comes to mind when you think of a Japanese summer? A new poll reveals whether those in their 20s and those older than 40 think of the same thing. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/07/05/language/japanese-summer-words-fireworks/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #life #language #nihongo #vocabulary #heat #summer #heatstroke #jlptn3

Digital #language #inclusion is crucial for #equitable #participation in #socialmedia, especially for marginalised communities.

🤝 #Federated social services support vulnerable #languages, preserving #culturalidentity and fostering #belonging.

🏡 #Regional and #country-focused servers create #culturallyrelevant environments, promoting #civicdiscourse and #economicmobility.

👉 https://jaz.co.uk/2025/07/01/digital-equity/?Fedizen.EU#Fedizen#Fediverse#ActivityPub#News

For non-native speakers, reading Japanese books can expand your mind and offer fresh perspectives — about not only Japan itself, but any topic you can name. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2025/06/30/voices/japanese-books-gateway/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #community #voices #language #expats #reading #japaneselanguage #bookstores

Sometimes I think about how words in different languages don't match 1:1. Today it's hat - Hut

English "the hat" = German "der Hut" (pronounced, roughly, like "hoot"), more or less.

The thing is, German doesn't use "Hut" as an umbrella term as much as English does "hat". "Eine Kappe" is not ein Hut, while "a cap" is a hat.

Ein Hut must have a brim all around, otherwise it's eine Mütze, not ein Hut.

(cont.)

#Language #Hats

A little reminder to everybody on climatejustice.social (but it similarly also applies to all Mastodon servers).

If you're posting mostly in one language, please go to https://climatejustice.social/settings/preferences/other and set your primary posting language, if you haven't yet. It does not have to be the same as your interface language.

While you're there you can also filter languages. If you select any of the languages in the list, then only posts in that or those languages will display in public timelines for you. This does not work if people set their posts to the wrong language though.

If you regularly switch languages, please try to make a habit of manually selecting the posting language every time.

Apart from the language filters, some other advantages of setting the correct language:
* climatejustice.social and many other servers have a built in translation function, but it only works if the language is set correctly (this is especially important for moderators - you'll be making our live a lot easier)
* Alt text is also translated, so for accessibility, please always write your alt text in the post's language
* trends are language specific. if you set your posts to the wrong language, you could be spamming the trends for that language
* your account is recommended to people based on the set language(s) of your posts, if your privacy settings allow account recommendation
* if someone follows you and you post in different languages and actually set them correctly every time, they can go to your profile and select which of your languages they wand to subscribe to

#language #accessibility #translation #mastodon#BestPractices