Language Exchange User Posts

Having the confidence to meet and chat with others is all about good communication. While many people think of communication as verbal speaking, which is important, much of communication that the brain recognizes between human is non-verbal gestures, facial expressions, and body posture. Improving both verbal and non-verbal communication can improve you confidence to chat with others, your love life, and even work to improve customer service.

One of the most important nonverbal signals people notice when they chat with others is eye contact. Looking someone in the eye while they are talking demonstrates your sincerity and interest in what they have to say. People who avoid eye contact while they chat with others, however, are viewed as sneaky and guilty. Also, it is surprising how many people chat with others and do not face the person they are talking to. This can have the same effect as eye contact, making the person believe you don’t respect or have time for them. These techniques are often taught at employee training as easy ways to improve customer service.

The obvious thing to pay attention to when trying to chat with others confidently is the verbal speaking part. Your nonverbal cues, while important, mean nothing if you can’t back them up with words. It is important to recognize that sentences all have key words that stand out. When you chat with others, try annunciating these words to better communicate your message. This is also used to improve customer service in businesses by avoiding misunderstanding between customers and employees.


Photo Credit: Pepe Pont

The four most widely spoken Romance languages are Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian. Despite these languages originating from different countries and cultures, this group of languages surprisingly shares many common similarities. The Romance languages are also referred to as the Latin languages since the roots of these languages all trace back to Latin. This article will describe each language, the commonalities between them, and the benefits that learning closely related foreign languages have to offer.

The origins of the Romance languages date back centuries ago. Spanish first appeared in the notes of Latin religious texts in the 9th century. Portuguese was first brought to the Iberian Peninsula by Roman soldiers all the way back in 216 BC. During the 17th to 20th century, French was the most used language for diplomatic and international relations. Italian first appeared in Latin documents and short texts in the 10th century. By the 15th century, Latin and Italian were being used for technical and scientific texts. Each of these languages began to appear around the same time and has clearly existed for quite a while now.

As old as these languages are, the top four Romance languages are still highly spoken world-wide by millions of people today. About 470 million people speak Spanish as a first or second language. Spanish, also known as Castilian, is predominantly spoken in Spain but also in 22 other countries mainly in the Central and South Americas. Portuguese, on the other hand, has approximately 220 million speakers. Portuguese, mainly spoken in Portugal and Brazil, is the most spoken language in South America and the second most spoken language in Latin America after Spanish. French, the third most spoken language in Europe, has over 338 million speakers. French is the official language of nearly 30 countries and, in addition to being spoken in Europe, is spoken in parts of Africa, North America, South America, Asia, and Oceania. Italian, mainly spoken in Italy, Switzerland, and Vatican City, is estimated to have 60 million speakers across the globe. Italian speaking communities can be found in countries such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, the UK, and the USA.

These languages, spoken by millions of people in all different parts of the world, share multiple commonalities due to the fact that they are all derived from Latin. Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian are all orthographic languages meaning that words are written as they are pronounced. Similarities between the Romance languages have been found in conjugations, grammar, and vocabulary. For example, one common factor shared is having masculine and feminine nouns. Also, common rules include adjectives following the noun and having the sentence structure of subject-verb-object. The Romance languages also tend to have similar vocabulary. While Spanish and Italian have 85 percent vocabulary similarity, Spanish and Portuguese share 89 percent. For example, the phrase “to come” is “venir” in Spanish, “vir” in Portuguese, “venir” in French, and “venire” in Italian. The phrase “I love you” translates to “Te amo” in Spanish, “Eu te amo” in Portuguese, “Je t’aime” in French, and “Ti amo” in Italian. Differences between the languages tend to be phonetic rather than structural and lexical (vocabulary). Even though French has an 89 percent lexical similarity to Italian and 75 percent similarity to Spanish and Portuguese, non-French speakers have a hard time understanding spoken French. Studies, however, have shown that written communication between the Romance languages is easier to understand than spoken communication. These results suggest how similar these languages are grammatically.

There are many benefits of learning more than one language. If you want to become a polyglot, a person who knows and is able to use several languages, consider learning two or more of the top four Romance languages. Knowing these languages is ideal if you are thinking of moving or travelling to areas of the worlds where these languages are predominantly spoken. Knowing several languages opens the door to many job opportunities and is essential for having successful business. In addition, knowing how to speak multiple languages opens the means of communication with many people from different cultures. The great thing about this family of languages is that if you learn one, it is a great foundation to learn the others since they are in many ways similar. If you want to improve your knowledge and linguistic skills, learning the Romance languages would be the best place to start!


Photo Credit: Sharon & Nikki McCutcheon
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More and more parents are realizing that speed learning Chinese languages and teaching their children how to speak in Chinese (Standard Chinese being based off the Beijing dialect of Mandarin), even if they are not of Chinese descent, is a great way to open unique opportunities for their children. China is a quickly rising influence on the international scene. They have one of the biggest markets and fastest growing economies in the world, simply on account of their massive population.

Through speed learning Chinese, being able to speak in Chinese will quickly enable one to do business with Chinese people in their native language. This goes a long way in building a bond of trust, and securing a successful business deal. Work opportunities for those who are speed learning Chinese and gaining bilingual skills are on the rise. Hundreds of business deals are made in Chinese each day, and that’s not to mention the other types of opportunities that are available for those who are speed learning Chinese and know how to speak it.

If you are interested in teaching your child to speak in Chinese quickly, there are several options available. Some schools, even public schools, have started offering Chinese classes. Enrolling in one of these schools will begin the process; the other options are tutoring and immersion. Chinese tutors are available both online and in person for speed learning Chinese. You can also purchase a tutoring program that teaches you how to speak in Chinese through computerized classes.

Immersion is probably the fastest and most effective way for speed learning Chinese and to fluently learn how to converse, but it is also the most difficult to pull off. It requires immersing your child in a Chinese environment, such as through a student exchange program, or spending the summer with a Chinese family in China. Obviously, this option is not possible for everyone.

If you are convinced of the advantages of offering your child the opportunity of speed learning to become fluent and speak in Chinese quickly, explore the options available locally and on the internet to begin with.


Photo Credit: Norman Tsai