The document discusses the Guugu Yimithirr language spoken in northern Australia, which uses cardinal directions like north and south instead of relative directions like left and right. It provides an example of someone being told to massage someone a little more to the west.

1. In some languages,
most famously the
aboriginal Guugu
Yimithirr, there are
no words for left and
right, front and back,
only the four cardinal
directions – west,
east, north and south.
In Guugu Yimithirr
towns in the far north
of Queensland,
Australia, you could be
giving someone a
massage, and be
kindly told “oh, that’s
good. Just a little
more to the west”…
CAN YOU
ALWAYS TELL
YOUR NORTH
AND SOUTH?
Immersia.Org
| AUSTRALIA |

2. The year is 1755: Marie Antoinette
is born; a horrible earthquake
destroys the Portuguese city of
Lisbon; and the internet is
invented.
Well, not exactly. British writer
Samuel Johnson chose
“internets” at the best word of
1755. Internets, of course, as in a
series of tubes.
The more observant of you might
have noticed the fine print. If that
last sentence at the bottom isn’t
the most prophetic piece of text
you’ll ever see, we don’t know
what is…
THE INTERNETS
OF 1755
Immersia.Org
| ENGLAND|

3. The scientificallyperfect flashcards
(1) Don’t place similar-
sounding words in the
same card.
(2) Short words are easier
to remember.
(3) But mix in some long
words with the short
ones.
(4) Cognates rule.
(5) Don’t put word of similar
meaning or semantic
field together.
(6) Use frequency charts.
(7) Use both sides!
(8) Use “know it” / “don’t
know it” stacks.
(9) Rehearse the "know it"
stack with spaced
repetition.
(10) Shuffle, shuffle,
shuffle!
THE
SCIENTIFICALLY
PERFECT
FLASHCARDS
| Universal |
Immersia.Org

4. The English word
“Avocado" comes
from the Spanish
“Aguacate" which
comes from the
Nahuatl word
āhuacatl
which means
"tree testicle".
DID YOU KNOW?
Immersia.Org
| Spain |

5. The Ayapaneco language is
on the verge of extinction.
The native Mexican language,
spoken in the state of tabasco
(yes, that’s right), has only
two people who speak it. And
for over a decade, these two
people hadn’t been talking
to each other!
Apparently, the two had a
falling out at some point, and
although they live about 1000
feet from each other, they
refused to exchange a word.
But all’s well that ends well:
in 2014, the two men, now
ages 79 and 73, agreed to
bury the hatchet, and are
now back on speaking terms.
| Mexico |
MEXICAN QUARREL
Immersia.Org

6. ETYMOLOGY | IMMERSIA.ORG
Here’s one way to never
forget a word in Spanish –
realizing just how silly it is.
The word “burro” in
Spanish means donkey.
The suffix ito in spanish is
diminutive, and so the
word burrito actually
means “little donkey”.
One of the possible
reasons for the name is
that the dish reminded
people of the package on
the back of the donkey, as
in the picture.
And if you find this weird
or just plain stupid, just
think of the last time you
yourself had a nice warm
canine for lunch, with
extra mustard on top.
Immersia.Org
| Spain |
ASS BURRITO

7. During the middle
ages, Spanish children
would sing songs to
saint maría , saying
“María, posa!”, or
“Mary, come and
pose for us”.
maría rarely seemed
to show up, but
apparently one time it
was a butterfly who
landed and struck a
pose.
From here comes the
Spanish word for
butterfly: mariposa.
MARÍA IN THE SKY
| Spain |
Immersia.Org

8. Ever wonder why are the
word black in English
sounds so similar to the
word blanco, “white” in
Spanish?
You haven’t, ah? In any
case, wonder no more!
Both words probably come
from the ancient word
blakaz, meaning burned.
English speakers took it to
mean “burned to ashes, or
black, while Spanish
speakers (and also French
and Italian speakers) turned
it into a bright, fiery glow,
or white.
DON’T MATTER
IF IT’S BLACK
OR WHITE
| Spain |
Immersia.Org

9. English and spanish are
realmente similares.
Take this foto, por ejemplo.
It reads “recuerdo de todos
tus hijos (menus ricardo que
no dio nada)”. The english
translation is: “a memory from
all your sons (except ricardo
who didn’t give nothing)
Recuerdo is sinónimo with
memoria, and comes from
obvious similar roots as
“record”.
Todos, meaning “all”, shares
the ancestro latino “totus”
with the english “total”.
Hijo is simplemente son, and
indeed all sons contributed,
menus (minus) ricardo that no
gave nada.
About this foto:
probablemente no es real,
but it definitivamente helps
us practicar our español.
THE TUMBA
| Spain |
Immersia.Org

10. Today marks the 42
aniversario of the passing of
the great pintor pablo picasso.
He was más famoso for the
introducción of Cubism. On
una ocasión,he comentó on
his arte:
“el mundo de hoy no tiene
sentido,
así que ¿por qué debería
pintar cuadros que lo
tuvieran?”
“the world of today doesn´t
have sense,
so why should i paint pictures
that have it?”
If you’ve practicado your
Spanish with us, muchos of
picaso’s palabras should
suena familiar.
42 AÑOS
WITHOUT
PICASSO
| Spain |
Immersia.Org

11. 111 años ago, Salvador Dalí was
born under the
compacto nombre Salvador
Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí I
Domènech.
He is famoso por his bizzare and
fascinante works, including “La
persistencia de la memoria”.
Pero Dalí didn’t only paint. His
repertorio included sculpture and
fotografía, and he was also un
talentoso filmmaker.
Dalí once said:
“Lo importante es que hablen de
ti,
aunque sea bien”
“The important thing is that
people talk of you,
even if it’s good things”
We hope that he would have been
muy feliz that we are talking
sobre him today. Even if it is
solamente good things…
FELIZ BIRTHDAY,
SALVADOR!
| Spain |
Immersia.Org

12. To really start talking
Spanish, it’s not enough to
know the words – you have to
feel them rrrrolling down your
tongue.
For that, nothing beats a good
ol’ tongue twister.
Here is one we really enjoyed:
Compadre, cómpreme un
coco.
Compadre, no compro coco,
Porque poco coco como,
poco coco compro.
The translation goes
something like this:
Dude, buy me a coconut
Dude, i don’t buy coconut
Because i eat little coconut,
I buy little coconut.
And there’s a tune, too
(check out the link)!
DUDE, BUY ME A
COCONUT!
| Spain |
Immersia.Org

13. CÓMO COMO
| Spain |
Oh, what punctuation can do…
The word cómo in spanish means
how, as in cómo estás, how are you?
It can also mean “how? What was
that? Excuse me?”
The word como can also mean 2
things:
- I am eating (conjugation of
comer, to eat)
- like, in that way
Now, can you read this sentence?
Cómo como cómo cómo como
como cómo como
You can’t?! Shocking. Try now:
¿cómo como? ¿cómo “cómo
como”? ¡como cómo como!
Still nothing? Yeah, we suspected
that. It reads:
How do i eat? What do you
mean “how do i eat”? I eat
the way i eat!
*in the picture, another como.
Como Como ?
Immersia.Org