Language Centre (University of Groningen)

Welcome to the Language Centre 👋

The University of Groningen Language Centre offers a wide range of language courses aimed at helping you communicate more successfully, wherever you are. Whether you are a student, a professional, a participant in a civic integration programme, or a private individual - we are here to help you. Achieve your personal goals using our extensive range of language courses and services!

Find out more on our website! ✨

👉 Language courses: https://www.rug.nl/language-centre/language-courses/
👉 Course schedule: https://www.rug.nl/language-centre/language-courses/schedule
👉 Newsletter: https://www.rug.nl/language-centre/contact/newsletters

It is almost Valentine’s Day! On this day, we give a little extra attention to our loved ones with words of appreciation and love. Speaking of words of love, in how many languages can you say ‘love’?

Or does Valentine’s Day fail to win you over, and would you rather fall in love with a language instead? 💘 Join our Love Languages Event on 13 February and find your match! From first dates with a new language to going long-term, you can explore free workshops, meet our teachers, and attend as many sessions as you like. 💌

✨ Free entry
📍 Harmony Building
⏰ 1–5.30 p.m.

We would love to see you there! For all event info:
👉 https://www.rug.nl/language-centre/about-us/news/love-languages

Sometimes, it can be challenging to express yourself in a different language. Especially when there is no good translation for a particular word. When a language lacks a word or saying for something concrete in reality or for a particular concept, it is called a language gap. However, this word or saying may exist in another language. We have selected a few beautiful, unique words for you to discover!✨

Sometimes it can be hard to sound like a true native speaker of one of your non-native languages. And although this is perfectly fine, it can be fun to learn some more colloquial speech to surprise your Dutch friends! 🇳🇱 So next time you want to ask them to go for a cup of coffee, say: “Bakkie doen?” ☕✨

Language lookalikes, formally known as cognates, are words that look and mean the same or almost the same in different languages! The etymology (a fancy word for the study of the origin and evolution of words) of the word ‘’tea’ reflects the long history of Chinese tea culture and how it spread throughout the rest of the world. The word for ‘tea’ depends on the route it took! Countries that received their tea via land routes know it by the Mandarin word ch’a, such as the Russian word чай (chay). The tea that traveled to Europe via maritime trade routes became known through the Min Chinese word tê, which became the Dutch thee and the Spanish té! 🍵🍃

Clearly, tea has travelled a long way. Which route did your tea take? Let us know in the comments by saying ‘tea’ in your language! ✨

💘 Ready to fall in love with a language?
Join our Love Languages Event on 13 February and find your match!
From first dates with a new language to going long-term — explore free workshops, meet our teachers, and attend as many sessions as you like.

✨ Free entry
📍 Harmony Building
⏰ 1–5.30 p.m.

We would love to see you there! For all event info see👉https://www.rug.nl/language-centre/about-us/news/love-languages

“Good luck”: a simple phrase of encouragement, but a lot of different ways to say it! With exam season looming on the horizon, now may be the perfect time to learn how to wish your friends luck (and good grades) in their own language. 🍀🤞

How do you say ‘good luck’ in your language?

Happy New Year to all of you! 🎆 🥂 Have you made your list of New Year’s resolutions yet? If not, perhaps we can help! This might be the perfect time to start learning a new language or two — so start now!

Our group lessons, like the Speak Up! courses, are starting soon, so be sure to sign up. We also offer tailor-made training courses, which you can take year-round! ✨
https://www.rug.nl/language-centre

The world around us is constantly changing, and so is language! This results in new concepts and feelings, which in turn creates a greater need for relevant words to describe them. Consequently, we naturally come up with creative language when talking to friends, family, and colleagues in order to better express these unfamiliar things. Occasionally, these linguistic inventions are picked up by the public and officially recognized. This new vocabulary gives us a glimpse into the constantly changing cultural context of the French language. We have selected a small sample of these new French words, but surely there are many more! 🇫🇷🥐

Do you know any other words? Let us know in the comments!