Exciting news for all fans of hygge! I was delighted to discover this morning that ‘hygge’ has now officially been added to the Oxford English Dictionary. So, this ‘untranslatable’ word which kind of means ‘cosiness, togetherness, a feeling of warmth and belonging’, now exists in the English language! As a Linguistics graduate, I know that…
Tag: language
7 untranslatable Nordic words you’ll love
In case you hadn’t heard, I’m quite fond of hygge. One of the things I really love about it is that there is no direct translation into English – this is the Linguistics graduate in me. I love the different characters of languages that give us terms we can’t say neatly in our own language….
My language love affair
I only speak English. I feel that I should get that over and done with from the outset in case you’re hoping this will be some gorgeous long love letter about my relationship with all the languages of the world. I speak a little French (GCSE level, so essentially none at all) but it’s hardly…
A way with words: What is Linguistics?
Hello! As a Linguistics student, I get asked two questions: “What IS Linguistics?” “How many languages do you speak?” To answer the latter: I only speak English, and GCSE-level French, which I would like to develop if I had the time. I would also like to learn Icelandic and Norwegian, but let’s face it: when…
Dulces sueños, second language shirkers!
In 2004, the decision was taken by the government to remove the compulsory status of foreign language GCSEs. Although this move may have left some schoolchildren jumping for joy when they could leave their un deux trois behind for good, it wasn’t necessarily a fantastic way of quashing the stereotype of the ‘Brit on holiday’,…
Hello Hygge 