callisto

 callisto = most beautiful (Ancient Greek) 

lingua franca

 

walrus etymology

 

my favorite bit of trivia

 

walk like an egyptian

 

The Bangles - Walk Like an Egyptian (Official Video)

milima haikutani, lakini binadamu, hukutana

 

Alan Escapes The Game Into New Reality | Jumanji (Robin Williams, David Alan Grier)

Mountains don't meet, but people do.

When you speak a foreign language, just use the words you know and pronounce them well, and others will understand. 

THE SKWOIDS (aka Good Business)

detente

 

open sesame - iftah yaa simsim

 

faith

 

"Although I don't like Islam or any other religion, I don't think Muslims are bad people." 

flipper

 

Thinking About Dolphins

***

Herman is using language comprehension to help map out that intelligence. He has demonstrated that dolphins can understand not only a complex vocabulary but also syntax, or word order-a basic rule of sentence formation that constitutes language as humans define the term. Two dolphins have learned a vocabulary of about 50 words, which Herman and his staff use to construct more than 1,000 different commands given in sentences with as many as five words. Each command produces an unrehearsed response, involving the animals' understanding of word order.

"Syntax is what tells us that a venetian blind is not a blind Venetian," says Herman. In the tests he administers, the dolphins have to take into account both word meaning and word sequence. And almost without fail, the animals have demonstrated consistently that they can distinguish between such commands as "get the Frisbee and take it to the surfboard" and "get the surfboard and take it to the Frisbee."

***

The phonology of sperm whale coda vowels

lingua franca

 

clue

 

new world order

 

communication

 

english

 

charades

 

close enough - تقريبا صحيح

 

I met US soldiers who "spoke" Arabic but didn't know what a mosque is. 

non verba sed rebus

 

efficiency

 

blessing and curse