The language barrier can be a challenge when vagabonding. At the time, it can seem frustrating. Usually, it's funny in retrospect when you talk about it with friends. Technology is evolving fast, however. Smart people around the world are working feverishly to break down the walls separating us from communicating with each other. Voice and...

In how many languages do you know how to say "hello"? If you can answer, "11 or more," you qualify as a hyperpolyglot, according to this article in The Economist : Foreign Languages: The Gift of Tongues . The article starts with a historical figure, Cardinal Mezzofanti of Bologna, Italy. He was famed as a...

There has been a lot of talk on Vagablogging lately about the merits of slow travel and taking time to understand local culture when traveling. This was my goal when I came to Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, to volunteer at an after-school program for a month, and I quickly discovered an even better, unexpected outlet for cultural...

Do words construct worlds? That's the idea behind this Wall Street Journal article: Lost in translation . Scientists and linguists have been doing some fascinating research into how languages affect cultures. Even the simple act of reading can be quite complex and revealing. English speakers read from right to left, but Hebrew speakers read from...

Are you a traveling linguaphile? Many of us that are drawn to travel are also drawn to the study of different languages. Moreover, the seductive accents and quirky slang terms found within our own mother tongue can be endlessly intriguing. If you can’t leave language alone, Adam Jacob de Boinod’s book The Wonder of Whiffling...

French – the language of love. Actually, when the sexiest phrase that comes can come out of someone’s mouth is “j'ai un chien appelé Pongo” - maybe not so much. The beauty of travelling the world is that you can intentionally and unintentionally further your language skills so much quicker than back in the Motherland....