Words from Latin

Britain was a province of Rome for almost 400 years but when the Western Empire collapsed Germanic invaders brought to these islands a language that eventually became English. Latin made a comeback, however. The British Isles converted to Christianity during the Dark Ages and Latin was the… Read More

Words from Sanskrit

Sanskrit: an ancient but still living language Sanskrit, unlike Latin, is still spoken to this day (although not by a huge number of people) but efforts are being made to increase its use as a spoken tongue. Many schools and universities teach Sanskrit, and anyone wanting to immerse… Read More

Welcome to CollinsDictionary.com

A huge welcome, bienvenue, bienvenida and Willkommen to our 501,458 (and counting!) pages of words, their definitions and translations which are now settling in here at www.collinsdictionary.com. They’re so excited to be in their new home that they can’t stop showing off and doing all sorts… Read More

French Expressions : Cats, Cockroaches and Buttered Spinach

Expressions. Idioms. Aphorisms. Whatever you call them, they add spice to any conversation. Tossing a few French idioms into your tête-à-tête adds that je ne sais quoi that makes learning a new language so much fun. Use French expressions correctly and you build rapport with your French-speaking friends. You… Read More

Social Networking in French

Social networking in French is one of the easiest, most fun and trendiest ways of learning the language while making friends in French-speaking countries. As of September 2011, 82 percent of internet users worldwide had used a social network. Almost 20 percent of time spent on the internet is spent… Read More

Texting in French

Texting your French contacts regularly is a great way to learn the language while making friends and building your social network. Textos The purpose of text messages – called textos in French – is to communicate in writing via your mobile phone while using as few… Read More

French Letter Writing

In our world of instant messaging, texting, tweeting and social media, letter writing may seem hopelessly old-fashioned. As American comedian Steven Wright puts it, “I stayed in a really old hotel last night. They sent me a wake-up letter.” For centuries, though, letter writing was an art form and an… Read More

French Pronunciation Guide

Seven Words That Say So Much Pronounce these seven words properly in French, and you’re well on your way to speaking the language. Give them a go but watch out – they may look familiar but they contain some tricky tongue twisters. 1. Restaurant This word sounds quite different… Read More

Spanish Letter Writing – Por favor, señor cartero

Writing letters in Spanish People often wonder whether, with phones, email, texting and the like, we’ve got out of the habit of letter-writing. The truth is that both in the UK and in Spain, fewer and fewer letters are written by the general public, while the tide of junk mail… Read More