Happy Friday, everyone! And welcome to another Fact or Fiction Friday.

Today’s trivia question is: The Finnish language has three of the world’s longest palindromic words (Refresher: A palindrome is a word, phrase, number, or other sequence of characters which reads the same backward or forward.) Fact? Or Fiction?

Drum roll, please… This one is :

The Finnish language does indeed have three of the world’s longest palindromic words. They are (in no particular order):

1) ‘saippuakivikauppias’ – a soapstone seller,
2) ‘saippuakuppinippukauppias’ – a soapstone trader
3) ‘solutomaattimittaamotulos’ – the result from a measurement laboratory for tomatoes.

See you next week for another Fact or Fiction Friday!

Happy Friday, everyone! Today’s trivia question is: In English, the Rice Crispies slogan is ‘snap, crackle and pop‘.  In German, Rice Crispies go ‘Knisper! Knasper! Knusper!’ Fact? or Fiction?

In English, the Rice Crispies slogan is ‘snap, crackle and pop’.  In German, Rice Crispies go ‘Knisper! Knasper! Knusper!’ Fact? or Fiction?

This one is a…

In Germany, Rice Crispies don’t go ‘snap, crackle and pop’ they go ‘knisper, knasper, knusper.’ In France, they go ‘Cric! Crac! Croc!’ And in Spain, they go ‘Cris! Cras! Cros!’

Tune in next week for another Fact or Fiction Friday!

Happy Friday! Today’s trivia question is has two parts: There are 2,000 characters in the Chinese language. You’ll need to know about 600 to read a newspaper. Do you think this is Fact? or Fiction?

There are 2,000 characters in the Chinese language. You’ll need to know about 600 to read a newspaper. Fact? or Fiction?

This is…

There are 50,000 characters in the Chinese language!  You’ll need to know about 2,000 to read a newspaper!

Visit the following site to see the most common Chinese characters : http://www.commonchinesecharacters.com/Lists/MostCommon2500ChineseCharacters

We’ll see you next week for another Fact or Fiction Friday!

We took a small break from Fact or Fiction Friday, but we’re back and better than ever! Today’s trivia question is as follows: There are 2,400 languages classified as being ‘endangered’. Fact? or Fiction?

There are 2,400 languages classified as being ‘endangered’. Is this Fact? or Fiction?

Sadly, this one is a fact.

A language is considered “extinct” when the last person who learned it as his or her primary tongue dies. In 2009, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launched an online atlas of endangered languages, labeling more than 2,400 at risk of extinction.

Trouble spots where languages are considered most endangered include Siberia, northern Australia, the North American Pacific Northwest, and parts of the Andes and Amazon, according to the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages, a nonprofit partnering with National Geographic to record and promote disappearing tongues.

Language extinction has been a phenomenon for at least 10,000 years, since the dawn of agriculture.

For a list of the languages that are considered endangered head over to UNESCO’s website: http://www.unesco.org

Information found on http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/15/AR2009031501857.html

Source:
Kari Lydersen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 16, 2009

Welcome to our third Fact or Fiction Friday! Today’s trivia question has two parts, both are either fact or fiction (one is not fact and the other fiction). This one should be fairly easy if you know your regions! The question is… New England French is a variation of European French and is primarily spoken in Pennsylvania. Fact? Or Fiction?

New England French is a variation of European French and is primarily spoken in Pennsylvania. Fact? or Fiction?

The answer is… 

New England French is a variation of Canadian French spoken in the New England region of the United States. The largest communities are in Maine.

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

New England French is one of the three major forms of the French Language that developed in what is now the U.S., the others being Louisiana French and the nearly extinct Missouri French. The dialect is considered endangered, but its use is supported by bilingual education programs that have been in place since 1987!

Below I have listed the number of French-speakers by state:

Whether you need translation, interpreting or global marketing into New England French, or anyone of the over 200 other languages we serve, reach out to us.

Come back next week for another Fact or Fiction Friday! Have a great weekend.

It’s another Fact or Fiction Friday here at INGCO International! Today’s question is: There are 5 ways to spell the ‘o’ sound in French. Fact? or Fiction? Click our blog to find out if you answered correctly!

There are 5 ways to spell the ‘o’ sound in French… Fact? or Fiction? The answer is…

If you answered Fact, you were wrong! Remarkably, there are more than 5 ways to spell the ‘o’ sound in French. There are actually 13!

The 13 ways to spell the /o/ sound in French are:

1) o
2) ot
3) ots
4) os
5) ocs
6) au
7) aux
8) aud
9) auds
10) eau
11) eaux
12) ho
13)  ö

Today marks our very first “Fact or Fiction Friday”.  Each Friday we will post a trivia question pertaining to language, interpreting, or translation. Today’s trivia question is: In Japan, four (shi) and nine (ku) are considered unlucky numbers. Fact or Fiction? 

In Japan, four (shi) and nine (ku) are considered unlucky numbers.

Fact or Fiction? 

In Japan, four (shi) and nine (ku) are considered unlucky numbers because the words sound the same as those for ‘death’ and ‘pain or worry’. Because of this, some hospitals don’t have room numbers 4, 9, 14, 19 or 42. Forty-two (‘shi-ni’) means ‘to die’, 420 (‘shi-ni-rei’) means ‘a dead spirit’ and 24 (‘ni-shi’) is double death.