Albania - european language factsAlbanian can get pretty confusing! Did you know that shaking your head means ‘yes’ whilst nodding means ‘no’?

2. BASQUE

Basque, which is spoken in regions of France and Spain, is the only European language that isn’t related to any other language; it’s origin is still unknown.

3. CZECH

If you thought Albanian was complex, try pronouncing these Czech words: krk (neck), prst (finger), smrk (pine tree) and smrt (death). As many other words in this language, they are made up entirely of consonants!

4. DUTCH

Scheveningen is a shibboleth (a word that – pronounced correctly – distinguishes you from a certain regional group). During WWII the Dutch identified Germans by asking them to pronounce the name of the Dutch city, Scheveningen.

5. ENGLISH

Did you know that every 98 MINUTES a new English word is created?! The clock is ticking, start thinking… you can come up with the next one!

6. FINNISH

Did you manage to read the longest Finnish word? In English it can be translated as “I wonder if it’s not with his act of not having made something be seen as unsystematically“. Yep, went completely over our heads too.

7. GEORGIAN

Untranslatable words are some of our favourite European language facts. Shemomedjamo is a very useful Georgian word that can’t be translated into English. How else would you describe the feeling of eating without limit (even when you’re full) simply because the food is good? Yep. Shemomedjamo.

8. ITALIAN

The longest Italian palindrome (it reads the same backwards and forwards) is onorarono which means ‘honoured’. Hats off to you Italy, to make such a long symmetrical is a pretty impressive feat!

9. IRISH

Another problem with yes and no. In Irish there’s no word for these two. Despite this, answering questions is still possible, you “just” have to use a verb form.

– Did he hear? – Ar chuala sé?

– Yes: Chuala (heard) / No: Níor chuala (didn’t hear).

10. LITHUANIAN

Did you know that Lithuanians are very fond of the great outdoors? This is why they have plenty of personal names that take after nature concepts like Rūta (Rue), Aušra (Dawn), and Giedrius (Sunny).

11. MALTESE

These objects can be found in Malta‘s Quccija (1st birthday party). They are placed on the floor and the baby is left to choose one. Each one of them represents a different future:

an egg for abundance of happiness

a ball for sport

a wooden spoon for cooking and great appetite

coins for wealth

paintbrush for an artist

thread for fashion

pen for a desk job

calculator for an accountant

a book for a lawyer

rosary beads for the church.

12. PORTUGUESE

English words like cobra, flamingo and piranha have a Portuguese origin: they entered the English language during the times of Portuguese exploration.

13. RUSSIAN

If you are still doubting if you should learn Russian, this fact may help you decide: 60 to 70% of all scientific literature is published either in Russian or English.

14. SILBO GOMERO

What would you think if you were told that people can have a conversation by whistling? In fact, a whistling language exists: Silbo Gomero is “spoken” by inhabitants of the Canary Island La Gomera.


15. SLOVENE

Of all the European language facts, this one will make you will fall in love with the real love language (arrivederci, italiano). Slovene is one of the few languages that uses a grammatical dual form, when referring specifically to two objects or subjects. Can you imagine how intimate and romantic this can be when 

16. PERSIAN

Persian is a very sweet language. It is pretty hard to learn but the efforts worth the beautiful fruit of the Persian language. Most people in Persia, Iran. Some people also call it Farsi. It is also very sweet, soft, and romantic language. Persian has very rich poetry which is the beauty of languages. Persian is the official language of Iran. In the case of Persian, language learning is a little tough.

17.WELSH 

Welsh is the language people speak in Whales and England. Most European languages are related to each other in some ways. Welsh is a very gorgeous language.

Welsh is very much like English, the tone, some words, and accents have a lot of similarities. It is a very beautiful sounding language in Europe.

18.URDU

Urdu is derived from many other languages. It is one of the beautiful exotic languages in the world. It is a combination of different languages like Turkish, Arabic, Sanskrit, Persian, and many other Asian languages. Because it is a blend of many languages it has a very wide range of vocabulary. Urdu has very rich and organized literature.

19.TURKISH

Turkish is a very delicate and complex language at the same time. For beginners or new learners, Turkish may be very complex because it is such a precise language. And the length of sentences in Turkish is relatively smaller than in other languages.

20.LAVIAN AND LITHUANIAN  

Latvian and Lithuanian are the only two living languages from the Baltic languages family.