Slanguage - Talk like the locals in cities around the world

Slanguage is a humorous app to teach you how to talk like the locals in cities around the world.

Slanguage was born in 1987 at the Board of Trade in Chicago. Slanguage author Mike Ellis overheard a Japanese translator speaking Japanese. He caught part of a phrase as "cuda sigh," like a fish sighing. Research at the library (there was no internet) helped him learn that cuda sigh (kudasai in kanji) meant "May I please have...". An image of a sighing fish helping people to learn a difficult language was the basis for the launch of slanguage. He got to work on a macintosh computer, created some slanguage booklets on how to speak Japanese, French and Spanish with his new method and his hobby was launched.

Slanguage.com, the website, was launched in 1995 and over 15 million people have visited since then. Ellis owns one of the largest collections in the world of slanguage based on geography and location. In addition to teaching foreign languages, slanguage has also helped teach English as a second language to millions of folks from countries all over the world.

The ipad is a natural fit for slanguage. Ellis started with 17 of his favorite cities. He really finds it fun to display a phrase that may sound normal to the locals, but totally foreign to visitors. For example, if you're not from Philadelphia, "donnashore" may not mean much to you. But the locals know it refers to a popular vacation destination at the Jersey seashore.

Foreign slanguage is just as fun. Ask someone in France, "Do we ski?" and they may bring you a glass of whiskey. The French for "du whiskey" is translated as "Do we ski?" in Ellis' world of slanguage.

Teasers for the cities are accompanied by fun images and sound bytes so you know you're pronouncing the slanguage correctly. The ipad app links to slanguage.com where thousands of phrases from hundreds of cities can be seen, spoken and heard via the sound bytes.

If a phrase is not on slanguage.com that you'd like to see, there are links to send Ellis your request for your own slanguage phrase and he'll post them.

Anyone, just about any age, can speak another language with the help of slanguage.