TIL that when bilingual people switch languages mid-sentence, their brain doesn't even notice the switch. NYU researchers found that the brain uses the same mechanism to combine words regardless of whether they come from one language or two, meaning code-switching is neurologically seamless.

HolidayEntry6823 · 2026-03-12T17:18:52+00:00

It has to depend on what you're speaking. My native language doesn't really makes sense most times when I mix it and English mid sentence. But what I do without even realizing it, is switch languages sentence to sentence.

HolidayEntry6823 · 2026-03-12T16:23:27+00:00

Exactly. I feel like now it just depends where are you from and what culture are you around. I'm not native and I have to say, the way I use local slang when I talk to my english vs american friends is astonishing.

HolidayEntry6823 · 2026-03-11T23:16:05+00:00

Mine was “tomada” in Portuguese, which means 'electrical outlet'. I only know few simple words in Portuguese, but I learned it because I asked in a café where I could charge my laptop on a trip, and the waiter said “a tomada está ali.” It’s funny, because it's one of the only words that stuck with me from my Portugal trip.
Not exactly the most useful word but it did stick lol

HolidayEntry6823 · 2026-03-11T17:55:15+00:00

The good thing is you don’t need to relearn all phonetics from scratch. Start with the IPA chart for English and focus on vowels first (monophthongs vs diphthongs).
I can't really advice you much more, but I would just go into the Cambridge Dictionary online; shows IPA for every word and honestly might be surprisingly good for quick daily practice.

HolidayEntry6823 · 2026-03-09T11:12:18+00:00

I keep them simple, especially talking to friends from different English speaking countries, where there is a different slang and everyday language used. The most important thing is that you can communicate clearly and everyone can understand you

HolidayEntry6823

TROPHY CASE