The Our Languages blog archives

Check out our archives to find blog posts that have already been published on the Language Portal of Canada. You can sort posts by title, author, posting date, number of views or number of comments. You can also search by entering the author’s name or keywords from the post title in the "Filter items" box.

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Post title Author Posting date Number of views Number of comments
“That” is a tricky one Josephine Versace 2018-11-13 12732 2
“Packaging” your job application with a cover letter Julie Lachance 2021-11-01 2106 2
“Latinx”: What does it mean, and how is it pronounced? Zachary Currie 2022-02-21 5339 1
“I” before “e” except after “c” ... or maybe not Bethany Brown 2022-05-16 1593 1
“Hot” summer quizzes Fanny Vittecoq 2018-07-23 7260 4
Yes, you can be gender-inclusive and use plain language! Chantal Turcotte 2024-02-19 109 1
Writing: Smothering the creative flame Hélène Massé 2021-02-22 1784 2
Writing as an organizational communication tool Yasmina El Jamaï 2022-04-04 1248 0
Writing about people with hearing loss: A primer on terminology Melanie Sexton 2022-02-07 4243 1
Writing a summary Elva Keip 2023-04-03 1666 2
Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? To cliché, or not to cliché: that is the question Desmond Fisher 2019-07-08 4503 2
Why we spell the way we do: Part 2 Anne-Marie Tugwell 2021-05-31 1889 2
Why we spell the way we do: Part 1 Anne-Marie Tugwell 2021-05-17 3310 4
Why I love learning French Jennifer S. 2018-06-11 6719 5
Why Canadian spelling is different Sheila Ethier 2017-11-14 176058 59
Why Canada needs a language museum Katharine Snider McNair 2017-11-20 5355 0
What’s up with "you" Sheila Ethier 2018-10-01 37884 5
What’s the easiest language to sing in? Ève Lyne Marchand 2023-02-20 1627 4
What’s my level of French? Caroline Gadenne 2020-12-07 3838 0
What language do you dream in? Lina Peralta 2021-01-25 6654 1
What Gallicisms are and why we use them Fatima Rizzo 2018-03-19 15005 3
What do puffins, parrots and clowns have in common? Josée Marie-Lise Robillard 2023-10-03 791 2
What bilingualism means to me Stéphan Déry 2017-09-05 22500 8
Wendat kwatatiahtah! (Let’s speak Wendat!): The resurgence of a language Steeves Gourgues 2021-03-22 3129 1
Views on bilingualism from 5 Canada 150 Ambassadors Marc-André Descôteaux 2017-11-27 8585 2
Valentine’s Day: Sweet nothings Sophia Désir 2024-02-05 342 5
Using verbs with flair! Lina Scarpellini 2022-05-02 1903 4
Update on the words “Inuk” and “Inuit” Language Portal of Canada team 2023-02-06 4271 0
Unconventional ways to learn a language if you’re stuck at home and on a budget Courtney Anderson 2020-10-26 2033 1
Two students, one cause Zachary Blanchard-Séguin 2017-10-16 3368 0
Troublesome verb pairs Josephine Versace 2019-05-21 6991 0
Tricky-to-translate terms and expressions Barbara McClintock 2019-09-23 6864 2
Translation: Let’s trust the professionals Alexandra Martin-Roche 2019-07-22 22411 5
Translation: It’s not just for translators! Lynne Bowker 2021-02-01 2828 3
Translation and technology: Where things stand Desmond Fisher 2017-11-06 6848 2
To baby talk or not to baby talk Amy Warr 2019-03-11 7923 4
The writing residency: An extraordinary experience Nathalie Rondeau 2023-06-27 670 0
The top 5 free terminology research 2.0 tools Olivier Doré 2017-09-05 11763 3
The singular “they” is gaining acceptance Gael Spivak 2017-10-23 109738 8
The round ball and its double identity Marise Guay 2018-07-09 5308 0
The role of French immersion programs in the vitality of British Columbia’s linguistic duality Alex Hughes 2020-01-06 5679 4
The Our Languages blog turns 1 Karim Adam 2018-09-04 2926 0
The Official Languages Hub® makes its debut on the Portal Mélanie Guay 2019-11-04 3642 0
The odd case of autrefois acquit and autrefois convict: How an obscure form of legal French influenced Canadian legal terminology Frédérique Bertrand-Le Borgne 2020-11-02 3107 1
The language of tweets and hashtags: A bilingual mini-glossary of social media terms Chantal Potvin 2018-02-28 52682 5
The language of music Pascale Bourque 2020-04-14 5292 2
The language of climate change Francis Pedneault 2020-04-20 2850 2
The language (and art) of stand-up comedy Nadia Helal 2020-11-30 5448 2
The ISO plain language standard: For most languages and cultures, and for all sectors Gael Spivak 2023-08-07 2389 2
The importance of writing Clarisse Bondoma 2021-01-18 1822 0
The good writer: Three tips to transform your writing style from good to great Charmaine Emanuel Ralph 2021-02-08 3885 0
The gift of language Shelina Adatia 2021-05-03 10051 2
The gift of expressing myself in both languages Jill Barber 2021-03-01 1600 0
The French spoken in New France Steeves Gourgues 2020-04-27 5369 2
The French legend of King Arthur Steffan Landry 2020-05-25 5283 2
The French invasion of English André Racicot 2020-03-16 3921 1
The Francophone minority: Living in French in British Columbia is possible Jade Turcot-Plante 2019-09-03 10342 1
The evolution of gender in the English language Sophie Martin 2023-10-30 1724 2
The charm of language Zhang Hui 2021-11-15 4783 11
The CEGEP English Exit Exam: Know what to expect and how to succeed Nadia Helal 2019-06-25 18483 4
The Canadian Francophonie: 21 years of celebration Philippe Daoust 2019-03-18 5446 4
The call to volunteer Suzelle Lavallée 2019-06-10 2065 0
The benefits of being trilingual in Montreal Nadia Helal 2018-10-15 13663 3
The august origins of August: A month and so much more! Sophia Désir 2023-08-21 1416 6
The art of writing effectively for the web Kimberley Bouchard 2019-12-09 2440 0
The advantages and disadvantages of a global language Alexandre Chemla 2021-07-26 176730 6
Ten good reasons to learn French Mélanie Roy 2019-04-23 9240 5
Téléfun: Case study of an informal language partners program Mélanie Rivet 2018-03-12 2899 0
Teaching both English and French as a second language in Quebec Julie de Belle 2021-04-12 3418 8
Taking the plunge into your second language Steven MacKinnon 2021-03-15 2249 1
Standard spelling in Cree Arden Ogg and Dorothy Thunder 2020-03-30 6723 1
Speech therapists, a.k.a. “word doctors” Sonia Routhier 2019-06-03 2236 0
Serving up environmental studies (or history, or visual arts, or just about anything) with a side of language skills Lynne Bowker 2021-07-12 2789 0
Second-language immersion: A year in Vancouver Mélanie Roy 2017-12-04 4687 0
Salutations and complimentary closes made simple Natalie Ballard 2018-03-05 156010 7
Revitalizing Indigenous languages in Canada Steeves Gourgues 2020-08-03 6425 1
Reflections on flavours and words Annie-Josiane Sessou 2023-03-20 718 0
Reflections on an Anglo-Gatinois childhood Arwa Ahmed 2019-11-12 1719 0
Reading and writing: Festive fun Marise Guay 2023-12-11 257 1
Readability formulas, programs and tools: Do they work for plain language? Gael Spivak 2023-07-10 8023 7
Promoting real and active bilingualism Jean-Pierre Blais 2019-09-09 3769 1
Projects BY and FOR official language minority communities Arwa Ahmed 2022-05-30 1310 0
Plain language: It’s not just for children Elva Keip 2022-08-22 1865 1
Passing on a love for words Monya Doryani 2022-12-12 837 1
Online vs. in-person language learning: Which works better? Nadia Helal 2024-01-08 493 2
Obscurité totale Marie-Claude Hickey 2023-07-24 836 4
Novice editors, reach up the value ladder Tom Vradenburg 2018-05-21 3701 0
My love for translation, interpretation … and Acadia Sandy Harquail 2019-01-28 7133 0
My love affair with English poetry Claudia Rathjen 2023-04-17 1125 1
My English language journey: Learning, improving and still having fun! Daniela Faillace 2022-06-27 2434 9
My 2 hats, and false ideas about linguistics Raina Schnider 2017-12-15 5413 2
Multicultural Book Club: An ambitious task Nazila Khalkhali 2020-01-27 15539 1
Moving? Changes to Quebec co-ownership rules Barbara McClintock 2021-06-28 3036 2
More about plain language Elva Keip 2023-05-29 1271 3
Misconceptions about multilingualism Raina Schnider 2018-08-27 6872 1
Micheline Marchildon: A natural ally of the Francophonie Marise Guay 2024-03-18 193 0
Meet the spokespersons for the 2018 Rendez-vous de la Francophonie Nicole Dugré 2018-02-26 5137 0
Maritime-isms Natalie Ballard 2019-02-25 11245 2
Making letters and emails gender-inclusive Josephine Versace 2018-02-05 268225 33
Make an impression with stylistic devices Ève Lyne Marchand 2019-09-30 7098 1
Machine translation literacy and an ethics of collective care Lynne Bowker 2020-10-19 3319 4
Long live the passive voice Geoff McGuire 2019-04-08 4667 1
Living and working in French in the National Capital Region Catherine Larose 2018-04-03 5922 1
Live, laugh and learn in French Laetitia Walbert 2021-11-29 3106 4
Literacy connections through food storytelling Lisa Trout 2022-10-31 1394 2
Linguistic duality according to Raymond Théberge, Commissioner of Official Languages Mélanie Guay and Julie Morin 2018-09-10 5542 0
Let’s talk noun strings! Lindsay Bach 2024-01-22 452 10
Let’s talk Agile Ève Lyne Marchand 2020-11-23 2618 6
Let’s take a butcher’s at cockney rhyming slang Line Lalande 2019-05-06 14004 1
Let’s celebrate our passion for languages this summer Nicolas Viau 2018-08-13 2730 0
LeFLOFRANCO: The art of juggling with languages Sophia Désir 2024-03-04 353 0
Learning to write: It’s child’s play! Marise Guay 2021-08-09 1957 0
Learning French without “dropping the potato” Patrick McKenna 2022-01-10 2270 2
Learning a second language: Being deaf won’t stop me Maryse Allain 2018-09-17 4218 0
Learning a language with joy, gratitude and persistence Min Ji Kim 2018-01-15 6409 1
Laugh and learn with holiday songs Marise Guay 2018-12-10 4102 0
Latin: The not-so-dead language you use every day Mary van Amelsvoort 2020-12-14 10526 1
Language: A window into seeing and appreciating the world Samson Young 2022-10-03 2530 11
Language: A bridge between people Yvette-Monique Gray 2022-09-06 3262 14
Language as inspiration Joanne Leclair 2022-06-13 1056 0
La Francophonie is about tourism, too! Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité 2020-02-17 2347 1
Kicking the em dash habit Line Lalande 2018-05-28 18305 9
jimchab and his passion for the Francophone culture Mélanie Guay and Julie Morin 2019-03-25 10430 0
Jessica Coon: Linguistic superstar Julie Morin and Denise Ramsankar 2018-09-24 8175 2
Introducing the improved Language Navigator! Mélanie Guay 2021-02-15 1303 0
Interlingua: An international language Martin Lavallée 2019-10-15 13875 4
Innu: A rapidly transforming language Jérémie Ambroise and Mélanie Guay 2021-06-14 4655 0
Indigenous languages: The road ahead Gina Wilson 2023-09-05 5034 11
Indigenous language resources: My treasure chest Mélanie Guay 2018-10-22 5067 2
Indigenous geographical names and the power they hold Jean-Luc Fournier 2019-06-17 7759 1
Inclusion and exclusion: A risk in bilingual education in Canada Monica Tang 2019-12-02 3837 0
In praise of old-fashioned language classes Caroline Gadenne 2019-10-21 2763 4
Improving the way you learn a language Valdiceia de Oliveira 2020-09-28 3836 3
I speak, therefore I am Pascale Bourque 2018-05-14 7990 1
I dance with words Annie-Josiane Sessou 2021-03-08 1976 2
How word origins can help you keep “-onym” words straight Natalie Ballard 2017-09-18 4442 0
How to pronounce the French “u” and “r” sounds Emily Power 2018-10-29 9849 1
How to evaluate using the sandwich method Anvita Saxena 2018-06-26 30634 8
How to deliver bad news Sheila Ethier 2018-04-09 10119 8
How to capitalize holiday greetings Josephine Versace 2019-11-18 29593 2
How my love of words shaped my life Ana Conan 2018-01-08 9980 3
He pūkoʻa kani ʻāina (A coral reef grows into an island): Building our Indigenous language capacity Candace Galla 2020-02-24 4234 2
Grammatical gender in the Cree language Arden Ogg and Dorothy Thunder 2019-10-28 8829 3
Geographical names and the mysteries they hold: The case of the Lairet River Steeves Gourgues 2020-02-03 3254 1
Gender-inclusive, non-binary, and gender-neutral language in English writing Natalie Kouri-Towe and Danielle Bobker 2022-09-20 4574 6
Gender-inclusive writing: A unifying force Language Portal of Canada team 2023-09-18 492 0
From “the three Rs” to machine translation: A new kind of literacy for the digital age Lynne Bowker 2019-10-07 4929 3
From Vancouver to Jonquière Tolga Yalkin 2020-02-10 2929 1
French in Canada: Some interesting facts you may not know Katharine Snider McNair 2018-02-19 33815 7
Francophone identity and community support: Why they’re important! Marie Anich 2022-11-14 880 0
Franco-Ontarians: A formidable force to be reckoned with Arwa Ahmed 2022-08-08 1787 0
Francization in Laval: The state of the issue Samuel d’Haese 2018-08-20 6376 2
Four tips for writing short, simple poetry Maria Magdeleina Lotfi 2018-08-06 6471 4
Food for thought: Exploring the origins of culinary terms Marc-André Descôteaux 2017-10-30 154302 30
Five ways to achieve total immersion in a language without leaving your house Brandon DeRiggs 2019-04-29 4040 1
Five new words for tech buffs Marc-André Descôteaux 2019-02-28 7129 0
Explore and Destination Clic: Two language immersion programs Mélanie Roy 2019-01-07 5751 0
Even though I’m tiny, I’m mighty Mélanie Guay and Julie Morin 2020-03-09 2305 0
Even in a headwind, never give up on your dream Mélanie Guay and Julie Morin 2020-03-02 1907 0
Esperanto: A fair international language Nicolas Viau 2018-11-19 8532 5
Embracing the singular “they” as a gender-neutral pronoun Christopher Tate 2019-08-19 28542 24
Elisapie: A woman who cherishes tradition Sophie Martin 2022-03-07 2454 2
Editing matters: Helping your text to shine Anne Louise Mahoney 2017-09-05 10712 3
Doubling down on the letter “w” Amanda Kenney 2023-11-27 461 6
Discovering the Atikamekw language Ève Lyne Marchand 2022-01-31 1951 0
Discover the world of sign language interpretation Frank Folino and Mélanie Guay 2020-09-21 2745 0
Dictionaries and Indigenous languages Julia Fischer 2020-01-13 6702 7
Cultural revitalization: Drawing on the past for a better future Kevin Lewis 2020-06-19 10970 7
Cryptocurrency vocabulary: Genesis of a terminology project Xavier Darras 2020-03-23 4225 1
Cree language facts for editors of English and French Arden Ogg and Dorothy Thunder 2019-08-05 5605 1
Creating a bilingual lexicon: A collaborative approach Christiane Arsenault 2018-04-30 4233 0
COVID-19 and learning a second language: Embracing the unknown Maria Kalsatos 2021-01-05 1818 0
Condo terminology for those who dream of buying a condo Barbara McClintock 2018-10-09 5978 1
Condo dreaming in Quebec Barbara McClintock 2019-04-15 2660 0
Comparative revision: An essential step Marie-Christine Payette 2017-10-02 5899 0
Comic books and graphic novels: A primer Ève Lyne Marchand 2020-07-06 3494 0
Cométique: Beyond the cosmetics of a street Josée Marie-Lise Robillard 2022-11-28 844 0
Chuchotements d’éveil: A writing workshop like no other Nathalie Rondeau 2019-05-27 2827 0
Changing times, changing vocabulary Charles Slowey 2020-09-08 2059 1
Challenges Chinese students encounter when studying Shakespeare Haiyi Yan 2022-04-19 1812 2
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Official Languages Act: Personal testimonies Françoise Giboureau, Carole Melanson and Robert Beaumier 2019-12-16 4346 1
Celebrate Halloween with a twist! Marise Guay 2022-10-17 756 0
Canadian, British and American: It’s all English, but the spelling is different Virginia St-Denis 2020-10-13 25294 1
Canadian authors who lull my children to sleep Marise Guay 2021-03-29 1074 0
Building bilingual brains: The importance of French second-language education in Canada Rianna Crawford 2020-11-16 4938 0
Bonjour my friend!: Promoting Canada’s linguistic duality Marc-André Descôteaux 2019-11-25 3076 1
Bilingualism: A gift from my father Michael Vandergrift 2021-09-03 1813 1
Bilingual Service Centres: Serving Franco-Manitobans for 15 years Bilingual Service Centres of Manitoba 2018-01-29 3720 0
Behind the scenes at Parliamentary Debates Katey Thompson 2020-08-31 4862 7
Be daring: Speak in your second language Caroline Bowden 2019-02-11 6125 4
Back to the pen: Writing letters by hand Lina Peralta 2020-09-14 3825 5
Award-winning titles for Asian Heritage Month Josephine Versace 2018-05-07 3712 0
Australian English in a nutshell Line Lalande 2020-05-04 14283 2
Are you a multilingual speaker? Haiyi Yan 2021-04-19 12973 4
Anacoluthon: A stylistic error Ève Lyne Marchand 2021-04-06 2812 2
An ode to libraries Caroline Gadenne 2020-10-05 985 0
Alexis Normand: Fransaskoise, and proud of it! Marie-Claude Picard 2023-03-06 989 1
Add a little poetry to your life Nathalie Rondeau 2023-01-09 720 0
Adapted books for persons with a disability: Copyright law terminology Barbara McClintock 2020-01-20 2270 0
A tale of two translation-related residencies Lynne Bowker and Veronica Cappella 2022-01-24 1028 0
A simple “Bonjour” can change everything Pascale Bourque 2018-01-22 7190 2
A knack for languages and a nose for wine Alexandre Faster 2020-08-17 1576 0
A historical overview of the “grammar-translation” method for teaching foreign languages Alejandro Hernández Jaramillo 2019-05-13 24491 2
A conversation with Patrick Chan and Caroline Savoie, spokespersons for the 2019 Rendez-vous de la Francophonie Marc-André Descôteaux 2019-01-14 6180 1
A certain je ne sais quoi Annie-Josiane Sessou 2022-03-21 1245 0
A brief guide to inclusive writing resources Barbara McClintock 2023-01-23 3976 1
8 French words I miss in English: Untranslatable words chez les Anglais Lauren Shapiro 2020-11-09 6912 7
7 wonders of literary language Nadia Helal 2020-05-11 8264 1
7 proverbs and expressions that Granny used to use Ana Conan 2019-09-16 4339 0
7 careers for the literature major Fatima Rizzo 2018-04-23 8518 0
5 tools to discover in the Language Portal Fatima Rizzo 2017-10-10 12142 4
5 tips to improve your email writing skills Catherine Haggerty 2018-02-12 212722 64
5 reasons why reading aloud isn’t just for children Julia Sandford-Cooke 2018-03-26 17594 7
5 places to visit to practise your second language Lucie Séguin 2017-12-11 5014 0
5 festive songs and their origins Ève Lyne Marchand 2021-12-13 2098 4
4 ways French has influenced the English language Chad Emery 2020-06-08 76948 15
4 tips for simplifying your PowerPoint presentations Ève Lyne Marchand 2022-07-11 2716 4
4 simple tips for writing an effective speech Stanley Igboanugo 2020-07-20 3444 2
4 differences between English and French writing conventions Ève Lyne Marchand 2023-06-12 2189 4
3 stylistic differences between English and French Ève Lyne Marchand 2020-04-06 8335 2
2SLGBTQI+ allyship in language: Words matter Giancarlo Cerquozzi 2023-05-15 1884 3
2018: An important year for the Council of the Network of Official Languages Champions Debbie Beresford-Green and Stéphan Déry 2018-11-26 6495 0
10 practical tips to enrich your French vocabulary Lorrayne G. Camper 2018-04-16 21985 9
10 interesting facts on translation and translators Marc-André Descôteaux 2017-09-25 66109 9
10 interesting facts about the Guidelines for Inclusive Writing Ève Lyne Marchand 2023-11-14 543 4