Archive for March, 2008

Mr. Rude is French

Wednesday, March 26th, 2008

He’s got body odour, he breaks wind and is definitely not an example to follow as far as politeness is concerned. His name is Mr. Rude, and he is one of the new characters in the English TV show Mr. Men, which already features Mr. Messy, Mr. Stubborn or Little Miss Daredevil. Nothing striking so far, but the thing is, Mr. Rude speaks with a strong French accent! Shocking! I have always wondered how come France could be perceived as the capital of the world for fashion, perfumes, great food, good taste and whatever else is luxurious or elegant, while the French themselves have such a bad reputation of uncleanliness and rudeness. But rather than feigning shock or surprise, what about the French made more efforts to appear friendly and engaging to the rest of the world? Come on French people, give the lie to your nasty reputation… ;-)

Posted in French, News about languages | No Comments »

The International Year of Languages

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

Did you know that 2008 had been proclaimed the International Year of Languages? Sonka, one of our forum member, found this information on the website of UNESCO. So in 2008 everyone is invited to increase their own activities to promote and protect all languages, particularly endangered languages, in all individual and collective contexts.

UNESCO will promote projects on “cultural diversity, dialogue and exchange, protecting cultural heritage, safeguarding endangered languages (i.e. through translations and publications for instance)” or “communication and information initiatives that concentrate on building knowledge societies in which everyone can participate and benefit; promoting universal access to information and wider access to ICTs by ensuring the use of a greater number of languages; promoting cultural and linguistic diversity in the media and international information networks.”

That description fits well with what Freelang has been doing for more than 10 years, don’t you think so? That’s why we submitted the form to register our project. Let’s wait and hope that UNESCO will take an interest in Freelang!

Posted in Freelang's website, News about languages | 2 Comments »

I gotta a job to do and I’m gonna do it!

Sunday, March 16th, 2008

We had already written about US airports about to fingerprint all 10 fingers of foreign passengers. Now another story shows again how far the so-called “security agents” can abuse their power.

A teenage boy from Orlando (Florida, USA), said that a TSA (Transportation Security Administration) agent endangered his life by opening (and there-by contaminating) his backup sterile feeding tube that he carries with him in case of an emergency. He reportedly said: “Please don’t open it” and the TSA agent replied: “I have to open it whether you like it or not. If I can’t open it, I can’t let you on the plane.”

So it looks like another good example of the “I gotta a job to do and I’m gonna do it whether you like it or not” American mentality. But of course it could also be another good example of the “I found a mouse in my cheeseburger and I’m gonna sue you for 10 million dollars” American mentality… ;-)

Posted in USA | No Comments »

Freelang has a new home

Friday, March 14th, 2008

I have finally moved! I spent a few days sorting out my stuff, throwing away some of it, carefully packing the rest (carefully at the beginning, then you end up just dropping everything in the cardboard boxes), and finally the truck came and took it all away to its new destination. I won’t tell you precisely where it is, but the new home of Freelang, that is the place where the site is being managed, is somewhere along the south coast of Thailand. I haven’t even been to the beach, though, as I’m still busy unpacking (it’s amazing to see all the stuff you can pile up in just a few years), and tidying up the new place.

Some furniture got scratched in the process, but fortunately my computers arrived in good shape (probably because I took care of them myself in my own car). So the activity of the website will resume as usual, but only little by little, as I still have a lot of work to catch up with.

Posted in Freelang's website | No Comments »