Children | Lingoblog

Fill in the blank: The ice is melting at the [ ]

09/12/2025 by Sergio Rojo

You can read a Danish translation of this article here.

There is a good chance that the word poles (or should I say pøules?) came immediately to mind. The Danish politician Villy Søvndal’s speech at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in 2009 became an instant meme because of the way he spoke English: with a (strong?) Danish accent.

People being judged (typically negatively) as a result of the accent they speak is not an uncommon phenomenon. Quite the opposite, in fact. Similar stories are found elsewhere. In 2016 Angela Rayner (UK Shadow Education Secretary) received abusive emails after an appearance on Channel 4 because she spoke with her native Northern British accent. Check The Accentism Project … ↪

The Power of the Written Word in the Mother Tongue

08/04/2025 by Anastasiia Tambovtseva

Today it is Romani language day. Anastasiia Tambovtseva-Koval writes about her experience as an educator teaching the Romani language in a written form.

It is well known that while the mind can perceive many languages, the heart is most deeply touched by the native one. Good teachers understand this and take it into account when educating their students. However, an interesting phenomenon arises with so-called “non-written languages.” I would like to share my personal experience with this in relation to the Romani language.

Romani is often considered an unwritten language. Although no single official standard for Romani writing exists, a significant number of written sources in the language can be found. These are typically based on the local alphabet, the … ↪