A businessman arriving in Boston for a convention found that his first evening was free, and he decided to go find a good seafood restaurant that served Scrod, a Massachussetts specialty. Getting into a taxi, he asked the cab driver, "Do you know where I can get Scrod around here?" "Sure," said the cabdriver. "I know a few places... but I can tell you it's not often I hear someone use the third-person pluperfect indicative anymore!"
One of the most difficult things to understand in a foreign language is jokes. Often the problem doesn't lie in translation. It's not just the words and grammar involved. It's the other cultural nuances that go along with them that make them funny. Have you ever been told a joke by someone who tried to translate it word for word from their native language? Not so funny, right?
We at langoLAB totally understand. In the upcoming months, you should be seeing an influx of new comedy clips appearing on the site, which will give you ample opportunity to figure out "what're they laughing at, anyway?". Learn the words using one-click dictionary look-up, make them into flashcard sets, and read the notes that other users have left for you. Ask a question, read lesson pages. Soon we'll have phrase level support to help you understand phrasal verbs and much more. Stay tuned!
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