The European Union (EU) has 24 official languages, of which three – English, French and German – have the higher status of "procedural" languages of the European Commission. Irish previously had the lower status of "treaty language" before being upgraded to an official and working language in 2007. However, a temporary derogation was enforced until 1 January 2022. The three procedural languages are those used in the day-to-day workings of the institutions of the EU. The designation of Irish as a "treaty language" meant that only the treaties of the European Union were translated into Irish, whereas Legal Acts of the European Union adopted under the treaties did not have to be. Luxembourgish and Turkish, which have official status in Luxembourg and Cyprus, respectively, are the only two official languages of EU member states that are not official languages of the EU.
A regional language is a language spoken in an area of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area.
Language shift, also known as language transfer or language replacement or language assimilation, is the process whereby a speech community shifts to a different language, usually over an extended period of time. Often, languages that are perceived to be higher status stabilise or spread at the expense of other languages that are perceived by their own speakers to be lower-status. An example is the shift from Gaulish to Latin during the time of the Roman Empire.
A national language is a language that has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a nation. There is little consistency in the use of this term. One or more languages spoken as first languages in the territory of a country may be referred to informally or designated in legislation as national languages of the country. National languages are mentioned in over 150 world constitutions.
A modern language is any human language that is currently in use. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication and dead classical languages such as Latin and Classical Chinese, which are studied for their cultural or linguistic value. SIL Ethnologue defines a living language as "one that has at least one speaker for whom it is their first language".
Gollum browser is a web application for accessing the encyclopedia, Wikipedia. Since 2017, Gollum is no longer accessible online.
J, or j, is the tenth letter in the modern English alphabet and the ISO basic Latin alphabet. Its usual name in English is jay, with a now-uncommon variant jy. When used in the International Phonetic Alphabet for the y sound, it may be called yod or jod.
Google Voice Search or Search by Voice is a Google product that allows users to use Google Search by speaking on a mobile phone or computer, i.e. have the device search for data upon entering information on what to search into the device by speaking.
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
Bridget, Bridgit, Briget, Brigid or Brigitte is a Gaelic/Irish female name derived from the noun brígh, meaning "power, strength, vigor, virtue". An alternate meaning of the name is "exalted one". Its popularity, especially in Ireland, is largely related to the popularity of Saint Brigid of Kildare, who was so popular in Ireland she was known as "Mary of the Gael". This saint took on many of the characteristics of the early Celtic goddess Brigid, who was the goddess of agriculture and healing and possibly also of poetry and fire. One of her epithets was "Brigid of the Holy Fire". In German and Scandinavian countries, the popularity of the name spread due to Saint Bridget of Sweden.
Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived from the Greek: Ἀνδρέας, Andreas, itself related to Ancient Greek: ἀνήρ/ἀνδρός aner/andros, "man", thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "courageous", and "warrior". In the King James Bible, the Greek "Ἀνδρέας" is translated as Andrew.
The Lingo Show is a British flash animated children's television series created by Nicole Seymour, produced by the BBC and animated by Dinamo Productions for BBC's CBeebies channel and programming block. The characters and many other elements were designed by Kate Sullivan. The show, which combines flash animation with live-action footage, is designed to introduce preschool kids to new languages. The programme, which ran for 12 series totalling 185 episodes, initially began as an interactive minisite on the CBeebies website, aired on CBeebies between 2012 and 2013.
Fluenz is a digital language learning platform developed by Fluenz Inc., a U.S. entrepreneurial company. The interactive content can be downloadable or accessed online on computers and mobile devices. The product range consists of programs to learn Spanish as spoken in Latin America, Spanish as spoken in Spain, French, Italian, Mandarin, German, and Portuguese.
Yandex Translate is a web service provided by Yandex, intended for the translation of text or web pages into another language.
Steve Kaufmann is a Swedish-born Canadian polyglot. As of 2022, he has an understanding of 20 languages, to varying degrees.
