WHAT IS 16KINDS.COM?
Check back often for language learning news, reviews and hints. Read, learn and join the conversation.
Join a growing tribe of language learners to exchange stories, tips and experiences. Learn any language with us!
QUALITY CONTENT
Subscribe to the RSS feed to receive instant and relevant updates.
Don’t miss out on the email newsletter – comes with a FREE PDF guide to learning languages!
WHO ARE YOU?
Hi, my name is Wiktor and I am in love with languages.
Everybody has this one thing that gets them going. A thing they can talk about for ages, a thing worth arguing, working and living for. Everybody has weird beliefs and opinions about one topic they’re passionate about.
Well, this is my website. And it’s about what I love and believe. So if you can spare me a moment, I’ll show you around.
What’s with the name?
You might have heard this one before: rumour has it that Eskimos have 16 words for snow.
Actually, we may safely declare that myth “busted” – it’s Sami people, not Eskimos – and the number is closer to several hundred. That’s several hundred words for different kinds of snow and pasture – depending on thickness, freshness, amount and so on.
I want you to think about it for a minute. Think about how it would be to really, REALLY learn a language. Not to see 16 words for snow, but to know 16 kinds of snow. To know them and be able to name them.
Actually, let’s leave the Eskimos alone and think about any other language. Imagine being able to feelwhat “saudade” really means. Imagine the control you could wield over Polish and its bizarre case system. Consider how your working day could be different if you really understood Urdu and its speakers – how your evening out in Paris could benefit from some cute French skills – or how very different haiku could read in Japanese.
Creepy? Sure. But probably also immensely rewarding. This is what I’m after – whenever I learn, teach and write about languages.
Twitter
Facebook
GooglePlus
RSS