Adioukrou – Adyoukrou – Adyukru – Ajukru
a Kwa language of the Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), in the Atlantic-Congo family (Niger-Congo)
~ 100,000
Do you speak Adjukru or have an audio of it? Share it with us in the comments, or send us a message. We’ll feature it!
Gallong – Galo’
a Tani language of India, in the Sino-Tibetan family
~ 80,600
*Do you speak this language or have an audio of it? Share it with us in the comments, or send us a message. We’ll feature it!
I deserve a Grammy! Come on, I know none of you would vote for me. Still, it takes guts to affirm that — positive affirmations — and that’s exactly what this music duo was doing. This cover for “Grammy” by Purity Ring was released as a single in 2013. It takes inspiration from Soulja Boy’s song of the same name on his 2010 album, The DeAndre Way. Below are the lyrics for you to enjoy, as well as the music video. I’ll also add the original song for you all to compare the two. Go ahead!
For better practice, try: First, listen to the song while reading the lyrics. This will help you get familiar with the sounds and rhythm along with the words used. Second, read through the lyrics without the music. Take your time and make sure you understand the words and meanings. Third, listen to the song without reading lyrics. Notice if your understanding of the song / words has improved!
Feel free to ask in the comments if there is something else you didn’t understand or want to know more about. Want more songs like this? Let me know! Now enjoy, and happy listening.
*I want to reiterate that I am not trying to correct anyone’s informal speech or grammar. As native speakers, these concepts come easier to us, but English learners may need help in understanding what the correct way to speak is so they know when and where to break those rules! Thanks for bearing with me.
What do you want from me?
‘Cause I’ve given you everything
What do you need from me?
Are you not happy with anything?
[Verse]
Party like a rock star, hit ’em with the hot bars
Fast like a NASCAR, lime like my dad’s car
I deserve a Grammy; will I fly away
Or land on Miami? I don’t have time to rhyme
But I do have time to grind
S.O.D. pirates, I don’t need a hook
My lyrics illustrated verses taken from a book
I understand the fans, supply and demand
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Crunk at command, fight and we’ll stand
Lyrics from a true legend, livin’ life through God’s blessing
Big papers, long acres, top flight, no security
Black ice on me, call the jury
Yeah trick yeah, and we call it magic
My style may change if you call it drastic
Money so long and we is the measure
I love my business and I love my pleasure
Live now, die later, internet genius
Self proclaimed, he a critically acclaimed
For the fortune and fame, he’ll run through the rain
For a million in change, takin’ over the game
18-year-old with a drop top Phantom
Kidnap the world ’til they pay my ransom
DeAndre Way, look what’s tatted on my face
Four words to say: I deserve a Grammy
[Chorus]
What do you want from me?
‘Cause I’ve given you everything
What do you need from me?
Are you not happy with anything?
Is it not good enough?
Am I not good enough?
Have I not gave enough?
Tell me what do you want from me?
What do you want from me?
‘Cause I’ve given you everything
Then it repeats.
Thank you again for reading and practicing your English (or simply enjoying good music). Check Lyrics “Explained” to find similar songs and practice more. Make sure to post a comment or send us a message, if that sounds better to you 😉 Give Me a Shout! Otherwise, take care, y’all. Peace!
Abor – Lhoba
a group of Tani languages of India, in the Sino-Tibetan family
~ 150,000
*Do you speak this language or have an audio of it? Share it with us in the comments, or send a message!
Gidire
a Ghana-Togo Mountain language of Ghana and Togo, in the Atlantic-Congo family (Niger-Congo)
~ 37,000
ᓄᓇᕗᑦ
Inuktitut
/NOO-nah-voot/
from the Inuktitut language meaning “our land“
< 39,500
Mostly Inuktitut (~ 63%). The second most spoken language is the local variety of English (~ 31%). French and Inuinnaqtun are also official in the territory.
Iqaluit
Northern Canada, a federal territory in the general Arctic region. Has a lot of Arctic Ocean coastline along with islands in the Arctic Archipelago and throughout Hudson Bay, including Canada’s largest, Baffin Island. Location is split between the mainland section and its many large and small islands.
Nearctic Realm
Part of Canada’s Arctic tundra, taiga shield, and Arctic Cordillera mountains. Home to some of the world’s largest islands.
Eda – Kadara
a Plateau language of Nigeria, in the Atlantic-Congo family (Niger-Congo)
~ 300,000
Agotime – Dangbe
a Ghana-Togo Mountain language of Ghana and Togo, in the Atlantic-Congo family
~ 4,000
Realm? What are we, crossing through the wardrobe of Narnia? It sounds a bit fancy, but Biogeographic (or Zoogeographic) Realms are a way that scientists have divided the world to connect its main biological and geographic features. The continents in all their glory can be a confusing and misrepresentative way to look at the world. We’ve discussed if Bio-Realms might be a better way to divide our planet before. Here, I want to go deeper into one realm in particular, including some of its main physical and cultural features. Don’t mind me, I just love geography–and biogeography, apparently.
The Nearctic Realm is a part of the wider “Arctic” Biogeographical Realm that stretches across much of the Northern Hemisphere. It’s Ne-arctic, as in “New,” because it’s in the New World. That is, the world that was unknown by Eurasians and Africans up until a recent point. That is, the Americas. Put together with the Palearctic (“Old World” Arctic), they can be called the Holarctic (or the whole Arctic!). The Nearctic happens to coincide with what most people think of when they picture “North America.” It includes everything in that continent starting from the Arctic — including Greenland — and goes down until we reach the tropics. In the Southwest, this cutoff is somewhere in the middle of Mexico, while in the Southeast, the cutoff is Central Florida.
Since we’re talking about the limitations of the realm, let’s look at the political geography. Only two countries take up the bulk of the Nearctic:
A good chunk of Mexico is in the Nearctic, though most of the country probably isn’t (it depends on definitions). Nearctic Mexico would be the deserts, shrublands, and temperate mountains in the north. The Kingdom of Denmark sneaks its way in by way of the massive constituent country, Greenland. France also has a piece by way of a tiny territory off the coast of Newfoundland called St. Pierre & Miquelon. Otherwise, that’s it!
The Nearctic is known for having large, somewhat continuous biome types. Some major ones to remember are the Arctic tundra, Boreal forests / taiga, the Great Plains, the Nearctic (or North American) deserts, and the Eastern temperate forests. Much of those forests have been heavily urbanized or used for agriculture, but there are still some trees if you look. Oh, it’s not that bad.
The realm is home to tons of lakes, big and small, with the largest (Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, etc.) being in the Great Lakes region. There are also some seriously long rivers here too, with some notable mentions being the Missouri, the Mississippi, the Yukon, and the Rio Grande.
Major mountain systems include the famous Rockies, the Pacific Ranges (or Cordillera), the East and West Sierra Madres, and the Appalachians. They are all very extensive too. The Rockies stretch from the Southwest United States up into Northern Canada. The Pacific Ranges basically run up the entire Pacific Coast. Depending on definition, the Appalachians go from the hills of Mississippi to the rocky shores of Newfoundland. Another big one is the Arctic Cordillera, a set of rugged mountains that stretch from Northern Labrador and Quebec all the way up to Canada’s Arctic Archipelago.
There are a couple of biomes that stand out from the rest of the realm. The Pacific Northwest is home to the biggest — or longest — temperate rainforest in the world. On the other end, Appalachia is home to pockets of temperate rain and cloud forests. A large section of the Gulf Coast, especially around Louisiana, is home to vast wetlands and swamps called bayous.
Another distinct area is Greenland’s Arctic desert (that’s right, they can be cold). That biome is a dry, snowy wilderness covered in snow year-round. Since we’re in the “Ne-Arctic,” the weather is just about everything but tropical. As we saw, it ranges from moist forests to dry prairies and arid deserts. Mediterranean climate is common in the matorral and chaparral shrublands of the West. Parts of the southeastern Nearctic aren’t quite tropical, but do have a humid subtropical climate. The main ecoregions include subtropical forests, temperate mixed and conifer forests, boreal forests, temperate and subtropical grasslands and plains, tundra, Mediterranean wood and shrublands, deserts, and even mangroves off the coast of Northwestern Mexico.
The Nearctic is home to many plants and animals. Some of the common big fauna are antelope (pronghorns), bison, wolves, foxes, bobcats, lynx, cougars (or mountain lions), deer, bighorn sheep, moose, bears, and musk oxen. There are also tons of rodents like rabbits, gophers, and squirrels, as well as beavers and porcupines. Armadillos, peccaries, and opossums came from further south. There are lots of bovids (cows) and horses too, but those were mostly introduced later. Camels, horses, and even a kind of cheetah were native to this region but endemic species have all died out.
Alligators are common in some parts, as are many other reptiles, amphibians, and everything else. Major birds are crows, cardinals, turkeys, and hummingbirds, as well as many owls, hawks, eagles, ducks, geese, condors, and pelicans. Different berries and flowers, as well as specialized desert, tundra, and temperate zone plants are also found here. See this article for some interesting flora in North America.
As I mentioned before, one of the cool things about Bio-Realms is how they kind of coincide with human cultural interactions too. The dominating cultures in this realm tend to be this “Neo-Anglo” culture of the North American variety (it’s quite different from Neo-Anglo culture in the Caribbean, for example), and a Latin American culture, also of the North American variety. Neo-Anglo culture is strongest throughout, especially in much of the U.S. and Canada. Still, Latino culture is strong in the Southwest of the region. This is mostly in Mexico (duh!), but also in bordering U.S. states and several urban areas throughout the realm.
“Neo-Franco” culture is strong in some areas like Canada, especially in Quebec province. It also has some influence in parts of Louisiana or St. Pierre & Miquelon, of course. Besides being a part of the same three countries, these areas are heavily influential in each other’s history and contemporary identities. They receive many immigrants amongst one another and share languages, slang, music, and cuisine across borders.
Indigenous cultures are also still around, though much subtler than in the Neotropical Realm. Their cultures are more visible in the Western United States and Mexico or rural Canada. This is also true of the Arctic where the many Inuit peoples have a distinct culture and identity. Match that with Greenland where there’s this funky mix of Inuit and Danish cultural cues.
We’ve come to the end of the Nearctic Realm, but there’s so much more to explore. What other cultural ties do the people of this realm share? Are there any other cool animals, plants, or geographic features you can think of in this realm? Had you heard about the Nearctic before? Tell us in the comments!
Follow if you enjoyed the article and feel free to read more posts. Thanks as always for stopping by. Sending you good vibrations. Peace!
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an Alor language of Indonesia, in the Timor-Alor-Pantar family
~12,200
Culture Surf 
