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Learn like a linguist. Tips and inspiration for lovers of language.

Hi! Welcome! My name is Sara Maria. I’m an American linguist (language specialist).

Latest blog posts

What You Need To Learn a New Language

Apps, textbooks, and tutors will definitely form the basis of your language study. However, without the right frame of mind, it will be hard to actually design and follow through with your study plan. Here are some …

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10 Hawaiian Words Everyone Should Know

Going to Hawaii? One thing I found really interesting about my trip to Hawaii was that nearly every local, regardless of their heritage or proficiency in the Hawaiian language, would frequently use Hawaiian words. Even more interesting, …

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The Languages Of Hawaii

Since my husband and I live in Korea, and my parents and sister live in California, this Christmas we decided to convene smack in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, on an American island called Hawaii (or, …

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#30DRYC: How To Use Challenges as Motivation in Language Learning

We’re at the end of the 30-Day Record Yourself Challenge, in which language learners are recording themselves speaking in their target language for at least a minute every day. It has been challenging to keep up, but …

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Sara Maria Hasbun 韩梅 사라 (misslinguistic)Follow

Yes, but then we Americans who have been repeatedly called out for this end up saying things like

American: and then I went to dongbonkles...oh, dongbonkles is a thing in America where...

Non-American: Of course I bl**dy know what a dongbonkle is.

americaning is hard

hannah@SATURNIlD

this is one of my favorites skshxjdh https://twitter.com/solodeauxleaux/status/1407433675432677377

Self-Study Starter Kit: Mandarin Chinese

Want to learn Mandarin? You’re not alone. In the last decade the number of English speakers studying Mandarin has skyrocketed as China grows in prominence, and as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan claim their rightful places on …

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Self-Study Starter Kit: Korean

Want to learn Korean? Fascinated by its legendary grammar, or just want to understand BTS and BlackPink? Even if you’re just here for the k-pop, you can definitely study Korean on your own. Here’s your free starter …

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A Note About Being a “Woman in Language”

Why we women in language should stop apologizing for our abilities, and learn to love the word “polyglot”. Recently, the New Yorker published a fascinating article about hyperpolyglots. It was wonderfully researched, with great color. But …

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misslinguistic

Founder: Meridian Linguistics (Asian Language Data Services).
Spare time: Learning languages, 📸 my drink
Current📍: China
Links and bio ⬇️

Out here in Xi’an the main language is Guanzhong

Out here in Xi’an the main language is Guanzhong hua, a variant of Mandarin that I’m sure native Mandarin speakers understand, but I’m pretty confused most of the time!

It is funny how when you first start learning Mandarin, tones feel so extraneous. Now, if you vary up the tones just a little bit, I’m lost. And out here even when they’re speaking Standard Mandarin they use Guanzhong tones. Oh well, I just point at the paomo or roujiamo (next post) and I do just fine!

Swipe for the tuk-tuk view!

My dog can DEFINITELY tell the difference between

My dog can DEFINITELY tell the difference between different human languages. Whenever I start speaking a language I don’t habitually speak at home, for example on Zoom with a new tutor, she trots over to my office door and peeks her head on the doorway, giving me her best skeptical look; before trotting away. Juuust checking if mom has gone bonkers.

She is also very much not a fan of middle-aged women speaking Korean. They must remind her of something in her past, before she was adopted. Chinese-speaking men and women, great! Korean-speaking men, the BEST 😂🐶

What does your dog think about human languages?

I’ve lived in a few countries now with very diff

I’ve lived in a few countries now with very different approaches to health. I’ve unlearned a lot of bad habits and probably picked up some new ones!

I no longer track outside germs around the house by wearing shoes indoors. But I still drink ice water in the summer (a big no-no in China). Actually, asking for ice is huge telltale sign of an American pretty much anywhere!

I’m not worried about leaving a fan on in a closed room (no-no in Korea). But I do incorporate a lot more pickled veggies in my diet now, and strongly believe in the revitalizing power of a seaweed soup and a good snail mask 🐌

Spain taught me to eat slowly, and to sit down to drink my coffee (if you’re carrying it, “you’ve not planned out your life very well and stress will kill you before anything else”). Ok, I haven’t been great at that one lately. Too many tempting coffee options on my walk to the office in Beijing!

But anyway, the important question: have we decided wine is healthy yet or nah?

And what health tips have you picked up from going abroad or getting to know other cultures?

The Ningxia Hui Autonomous region is home to many

The Ningxia Hui Autonomous region is home to many of China's Hui Muslim minority. Funnily enough, it is also home to China's best wine!

I'll be completely honest that I did not go with the highest expectations, I was just planning on enjoying the food and the scenery. But I was blown away by how good the wine was!

A little bit of wine was also crucial towards understanding the Lanyin dialect of Mandarin - which to be honest, was usually beyond my abilities. Not that it ever stopped anyone: I met so many friendly locals that were completely happy to carry on a mostly one-sided conversation!

Fun fact: While Lan-Yin Mandarin is usually written with Chinese characters, the Hui also write it using the Arabic script!

(Swipe for more)

My treat for myself this week was a Mongolian less

My treat for myself this week was a Mongolian lesson with @iamoyuntana who had so many incredible stories to share about the history of this language!

My favorite was the story of Tata-tonga, a Uyghur man from the 13th century who was captured by Genghis Khan in order to help adapt the Old Uyghur alphabet to one that could be used for Mongolian.

That alphabet is still used in Inner Mongolia today!

Gotta show off my new Mongolian hat! It says “Mo

Gotta show off my new Mongolian hat! It says “Mongolia” in the traditional Mongolian script that is used in Inner Mongolia.

I realize it is one step away from full-on Korean ajumma visor, but it is definitely necessary in the Mongolian summer sun!

The Mongolian empire once stretched from Bulgaria

The Mongolian empire once stretched from Bulgaria to the Sea of Japan, so the Mongolians have left traces of their language, culture, and genetics pretty much all over the place 🐎

But the epicenter of Mongolian language and culture is definitely now somewhere between the modern borders of the country of Mongolia (which the Chinese call "Outer Mongolia") and the Chinese province of "Inner Mongolia", where Mongolian is still spoken, written and studied.

I've mentioned this a few times but it is worth mentioning again - while the country of Mongolia no longer uses their original Mongolian alphabet (they switched to Cyrillic while part of the Soviet bloc), Inner Mongolia (in China) has continuously used the original Mongolian script. So while in Hohhot, I couldn't resist stocking up on some learning materials!

Fun fact: Mongolia (the country) now has plans to get rid of Cyrillic, and switch back to the original script by 2025!

There are so many different languages to be found

There are so many different languages to be found in Buddhist temples…at first I thought this was an a variant of Tibetan, but looking more closely I wonder if this is actually Sanskrit (can anyone weigh in?) This is Inner Mongolia’s Da Zhao temple, in Hohhot.

You’ll also often see Mongolian and Manchu, which I tend to mix up as well. They are both derived from old Uyghur—not the Arabic script used by many Uyghurs today, but one that was original to the Uyghurs. They do actually all look a bit like Arabic flipped on its side and written vertically.

What a pleasure to see so many ancient scripts, while hearing all around me the whispery burble of modern Mongolian. There is so much more to China than I ever imagined, when I first started learning Mandarin!

Classic laowai, I remembered my instant coffee pac

Classic laowai, I remembered my instant coffee packets but forgot my thermos for the train. Since Chinese travelers are never without their thermos, the train didn’t have cups. But a creative and enterprising attendant recommended I try their 八宝粥（8-treasures congee) and then wash out the can for a post-lunch coffee. It worked very well!

I drank my coffee, and let the Dianping app do the planning for Hohhot, provincial capital of Inner Mongolia. At this point this app (sort of like Yelp) knows me better than I know myself!

There’s no place like home. But how can you sta

There’s no place like home.

But how can you stay home when China is full of so many different languages and cultures, many just a high-speed train ride away?

I have been dabbling in a new alphabet, one that is used in a part of China. It is also used outside of China.

Any guesses?

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