Speaking Tongues Podcast: Celebrating Voices, Stories, and Flavors From Around the Globe

Thank you for joining me for this episode of Speaking Tongues- the podcast in conversation with multilinguals. Today, my guest is Eugene from @lingojunkie and I’m so happy to finally, finally, be able to bring you a conversation about Romanian & Russian. 

I’ve always been so interested in Romanian since growing up and learning that it was a romance language but I’ve never learned anything about it. In this conversation with Eugene, we talk about Romanaian and Russian as they are spoken in Moldova, what it was like for Eugene to speak Russian at home and then speak Romanian at school. We talk about some of the variations of Romanian and Russian throughout the countries that speak both of those languages and Eugene even helps us with pronunciation of certain diacritics in the Romanian language. We’re getting a well rounded conversation here, friends! This conversation was so much fun to have and I learned so much from Eugene about a part of the world and languages that I previously knew so little about. Even some insight on telling jokes in Russian! 

Big thank you to Eugene for talking to me about your languages and heritage. If you enjoy this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show! 

And, If you’ve been a long time listener of the show or a recent listener, you can now support the show on Buy Me a Coffee dot com. Links to all platforms are in the show notes!

To Find Eugene: 

Website: lingojunkie.com 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lingojunkie/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thelingojunkie 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCux9dlzQZEAwYN8CtCoR7YQ

Speaking Tongues Podcast:

Follow on IG: @speakingtonguespod

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Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/speakingtongues

Thank you for joining me for this episode of Speaking Tongues- the podcast in conversation with multilinguals.  My guest today is Josie, the founder of Lumina Translations. 

In this episode Josie talks about growing up in a Venezuelan Spanish & Sicilian speaking home and how those two cultures came together in her life. We talk about learning French in Canada and the dialect of French that was taught during her studies. Josie tells us that she not only taught herself to speak Spanish but she also learned to speak standard Italian through her husband. 

And because Josie is a translator, she’s telling us all about her career path from interpretation into translation and talks about the important distinctions between the two rather distinct career paths. I think translation is such important work and I hope that anyone out there listening to this episode with their eye on becoming a translator will find some inspiration in Josie’s story! Big thank you to Josie for having this conversation with me for this episode. If you enjoy this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show! Oh, and one more thing! If you’ve been a long time listener of the show or a recent listener, you can now support the show on Buy Me a Coffee dot com. Links to all platforms are in the show notes!

Lumina Translations

Instagram: @lumina_translations

Speaking Tongues Podcast:

Follow on IG: @speakingtonguespod

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Thank you for joining me for this episode of Speaking Tongues- the podcast in conversation with multilinguals. My guest this week is Belal and we’re talking about his two dialects of Arabic from both Iraq and Palestine.

In this episode, Belal tells us about growing up in an Arabic speaking home with his family but veering away from the language as he grew up. Our conversation centers around how he is taking the steps to improve his Arabic but we also talk about the realities of learning a language as an adult and some of the up and down and often reluctant feelings we all encounter as adult learners.

What I loved about talking to Belal, is how he’s been able to observe the way that the language is structured - and he gives us some amazing examples in this conversation. He also tells us some really fun stories of his encounters with Arabic speakers from other countries and we talk about how being able to communicate can be such a small thing but can also turn out to be so meaningful. I love conversations like this because there are so many ways to connect to a language and culture and I think it’s really important to emphasize the journey that some of us take to fluency and not just celebrate and emphasize the end result.

If you’ve been listening to the show for a while now you know how much I admire the Arabic language so having this conversation with Belal was truly an honor and a privilege for me. I want to say a big thank you to Belal for sharing bits of your language journey with us and for inspiring other adult language learners, myself included! As always, if you enjoy this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show! Ok, let’s chat

Speaking Tongues Podcast:

www.speakingtonguespodcast.com

Follow on IG: @speakingtonguespod

Follow on Twitter: @stpodcasthost

Like our Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/thespeakingtonguespodcast

Support the Show! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/speakingtongues

This week's conversation with Marissa centers on North American French and North American Spanish. Marissa is a multilingual content creator and champion for all language learners!

For this episode, we focused on dialects of French and Spanish spoken, and often marginalized, in North America. We were both eager to shift the French discussion away from Europe and talk about our French speaking neighbors here in our own country. Marissa talks about the Acadiens and Cajun French and how the language was distributed from Canada all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. We discuss stereotypes that affect French speakers in North America and how misrepresentations of Parisian French in the US have been harmful to North American francophones.

She also talks to us about how learning to speak the dialect of Spanish that her neighbors and clients speak has opened doors for her and enabled her to make connections in her community. And, because Marissa has been working on relearning her heritage language of Polish, she even gives us a little bit of insight into how that personal and emotional journey has been coming along.

This episode is so full of facts and data and even a mini quiz for us where I find out a surprising fact about Cajun French that I never even realized.  Big thank you to Marissa for this fact filled conversation and for sharing all of your knowledge with us. As always, if you enjoy this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show! Ok, let’s chat

To Find Marissa:

Instagram: @multilingualmarissa

Website: https://relearnalanguage.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMvi1KPAwXNWYSa5AeJn89g

Puerto Rican Spanish Learning Resources: https://relearnalanguage.com/puerto-rican-spanish/

Learning Louisiana French: https://relearnalanguage.com/learning-louisiana-french/

Speaking Tongues Podcast:

www.speakingtonguespodcast.com

Follow on IG: @speakingtonguespod

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Support the Podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/speakingtongues 

Thank you for joining me for this episode of Speaking Tongues- the podcast in conversation with multilinguals. This week’s episode is packed with languages, 11 of them to be exact so get ready! I couldn’t even get them all into the title! In this episode, I’m speaking with Petra, who is a hyperpolyglot and a translator from Belgium about how she has come to learning all of the languages she speaks and translates.

Petra tells us what the term hyperpolyglot means to her and for her career as a translator. We talk about the Flemish language and how similar and different Dutch is in Belgium and the Netherlands. She even taught me a fun fact about the variety of Flemish dialects in Flanders that truly blew my mind. We discuss her goal of learning Germanic languages and she tells us how she’s been finding the experience of learning Afrikaans. And she tells us why she’s completely loving Luxembourgish and what, in her opinion, makes the language so special.

We even had a chance to talk about Petra’s career as a translator and I’m so excited to talk about this. I’ve always been curious about how translators work and what a day in the life of a translator may look like. And if this has ever fascinated you, you won’t want to miss hearing her take on this career.

By now, you’re wondering which other languages we’ll be discussing but you’ll have to stay tuned to hear her tell us in her own words. Big thank you to Petra for sharing your language story with me and with all of us. As always, if you enjoy this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show! 

To Find Petra:

Website: https://www.petravancaneghem.be/en/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk6db0gDf_Z__NCkTPZBqOw/videos

Twitter: @petravc

Speaking Tongues Podcast:

www.speakingtonguespodcast.com

Follow on IG: @speakingtonguespod

Follow on Twitter: @stpodcasthost

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Hello Language Lovers. Thank you for joining me for this episode of Speaking Tongues- the podcast in conversation with multilinguals. This week I am joined by Desta, the founder of Languages Through Music to talk about her language journey through so many languages that I  couldn’t fit them all in the title! While Desta has studied and spoken and taught different languages in her lifetime, in this episode we talk mainly about speaking Tigrinya, French & Portuguese.

I loved this conversation because, as I’m sure you all know by now, this show celebrates not just language but culture as well. So, I had a chance to talk with Desta about living in different parts of the world and learning new languages in new places. We talk about taking culture with us as we move through the world and Desta tells us some of her experience she’s had learning Portuguese when living in Rio and taking part in the ‘big family’ dynamic while living in Jordan. She also tells her what her experience has been like learning Tigrinya and how learning to speak this language has truly become a part of her life.

Big thank you to Desta for having this conversation with me. I loved taking this trip around the globe and learning bits and pieces of your story and your travels and your heritage. As always if you enjoy this episode, don’t forget to like and subscribe on Instagram & rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show! Ok, let’s chat

To Find Desta:

Website: https://www.languagesthroughmusic.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/languagesthroughmusic

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/languagesthroughmusic/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMww6KhEHciyMU1X52bLLGw

Twitter: https://twitter.com/langthrumus

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6i4Nv5xG75Ty9oEg80J1wT?si=a8ePcb-pQ1KRPoXBh8Fzvg&nd=1

Speaking Tongues Podcast:

www.speakingtonguespodcast.com

Follow on IG: @speakingtonguespod

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Thank you for joining me for this episode of Speaking Tongues- the podcast in conversation with multilinguals. This week I’m joined by Kerstin Cable of The Fluent Show and I must say, I can barely believe it. I’ve been such a fan of The Fluent Show for a long long time.

So what does one talk about with another language podcaster who has seen it all?! We talked about her language journey through loads of different languages, including her love of the Welsh language and culture. Kerstin tells me about her native German as well and we had some fun pronouncing some German words and because Kerstin is from a winemaking family, I also had a chance to learn about German wine and wine culture in Germany. So much fun. We laugh a lot in this episode.

But, before you get into it, I just want to announce that Women in Language is coming up this weekend from March 4 to March 7 and yours truly will be presenting during the event! How fab is that?! Women in Language is an incredible event bringing together a diverse group of women sharing what we know and what we’ve learned about languages. I’m honored to be able to participate this year. To learn more about the event, Kerstin fills us in during the episode but you can also click the link in my bio to get your ticket. And FYI, it’s open to everyone to attend, not just women!

Thank you to Kerstin for taking the time to talk with me in this episode and for continuing to champion women’s voices in the language learning community! As always if you enjoy this episode, don’t forget to like and subscribe on Instagram & rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show! Ok, let’s chat.

To Find Kerstin:

Women in Language Tickets Available Here! https://womeninlanguage.com/courses/women-in-language-2021?affcode=195210_e6m083-j

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kerstin_fluent/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefluentshow

The Fluent Show: https://www.fluent.show/

Fluent Language Courses: https://www.fluentlanguage.co.uk/my-courses

Weingut Hammes: https://www.weingut-hammes.de/

Speaking Tongues Podcast:

www.speakingtonguespodcast.com

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Thank you for joining me for this episode of Speaking Tongues- the podcast in conversation with multilinguals. My guest today is Gloria, an Italian teacher and founder of SpeakIta.

In this episode, Gloria and I talk about having patience when learning another language and she tells me a strategy that she used to help her learn English while living in the UK. We talk about mindfulness not as a practice but as an attitude that one can apply to learning another language and we discuss the issue of spontaneity and the trouble you can run into when you try to anticipate what someone will say in a conversation.

But one very important point of discussion that we make is about confidence and finding confidence when speaking a new language and how mentality can be so important on your language journey. You’ll also hear us talk about some popular things in Italian culture including the all important language of the Italian hand gesture.

Thank you to Gloria for having this conversation with me and sharing your story with all of us and for such an insightful conversation. As always if you enjoy this episode, don’t forget to like and subscribe on Instagram & rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show!

To Find Gloria: 

Website: http://speakita.com/

Instagram: @speakitalanguagecoaching

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Speakita

Speaking Tongues Podcast:

www.speakingtonguespodcast.com

Follow on IG: @speakingtonguespod

Follow on Twitter: @stpodcasthost

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I’m so excited to bring you this episode where I’m speaking with Rebecca, a student at Georgetown University and the founder of Project Olas, student-led social impact venture that provides sustainable income opportunities for moms in vulnerable Central American communities, by offering Spanish language lessons live via WhatsApp.

In this conversation, Rebecca talks about how her experience studying abroad in Spain led to her desire to start this initiative working with mothers and families in Guatemala. She talks to me about how Project Olas is able to make an impact in Guatemala, how the venture is growing and which directions they will be moving in the future.

I don’t want to give away too much so I will just say that this is such an important and impactful venture and I’m happy to be able to bring conversations like this to the table. I think it’s so important that we’re able to see the different ways in which learning another language can not only just change one person’s life but may even change the lives of an entire community.

Thank you Rebecca for sharing so much of your story and for telling us about Project Olas. To get involved with Project Olas, you can visit the link in the show notes for more information. As always, if you enjoy this episode, don’t forget to like and subscribe on Instagram & rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show!

To find Project Olas:

Website: https://www.projectolas.com/

Instagram @projectolas

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/project-olas/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectolas

Speaking Tongues Podcast:

www.speakingtonguespodcast.com

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My guest this week is Sausan the creator of Learn Bangla and online resource for learning the Bangla language and for learning about culture in Bangladesh.

In this episode, Sausan tells me about the ways Bangla stands out as a language in south Asia, we learn about how she typically approaches language lessons with her students and we learn how the Bangla language became the catalyst for Unesco’s International Mother Language Day.

Sausan also tells us about life in Bangladesh, from how the parties and festivals are celebrated, the beauty of the landscape (think mangrove forests and royal bengal tigers) and how the people in Dhaka celebrate some of our western holidays like Halloween and Valentine’s Day. We also had a moment to discuss artisanship and our laments on the way handmade goods are viewed in the modern society.

Big thank you to Sausan for sharing your language and culture with me and with our listeners and for such an insightful conversation. As always if you enjoy this episode, don’t forget to like and subscribe on Instagram & rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show!

To Find Sausan: 

Website: https://sausan-s-school.thinkific.com/

Instagram: @learnbangla

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/LearnBangla2/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/learnbangla

Speaking Tongues Podcast:

www.speakingtonguespodcast.com

Follow on IG: @speakingtonguespod

Follow on Twitter: @stpodcasthost

Like our Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/thespeakingtonguespodcast