Myths, Politics, and Reality (From the series “The Language That Seems Not to Exist”) Author: Tymur Levitin — Founder, Director, and Head Teacher at Levitin Language School / Start Language School by Tymur Levitin🎓 Teacher’s page → Tymur Levitin🌍 Choose your language “One language, two names — and a whole history in between.” 1. Why […]

Myths and Reality (From the series “The Language That Seems Not to Exist”) Author: Tymur Levitin — Founder, Director, and Head Teacher at Levitin Language School / Start Language School by Tymur Levitin🎓 View teacher profile → Tymur Levitin🌍 Choose your language Dedicated to my friend Anatolii —a man with a kind heart, a sharp […]

(Based on the song “Ведь нет другой такой” by Mikhail Shufutinsky, 2016) Introduction There are songs where a single line becomes destiny.In Mikhail Shufutinsky’s «Ведь нет другой такой», the line that defines the entire composition is: «К счастью привыкнуть нельзя.»You cannot grow accustomed to happiness. This thought works on three levels: When sung by Shufutinsky, […]

Choose your language: Levitin Language School – Languages Introduction: The Myth of “Perfect Substitution” It is often claimed that von + dative has “replaced” the genitive case in modern German. Reality is far more nuanced. In casual speech, yes, von has expanded. But in many contexts von is clumsy, stylistically off, or grammatically impossible. This […]

Language. Identity. Choice. Meaning.👉 Choose your language Why This Word Matters Few German words shock learners more than ficken. Today it is the direct equivalent of English “to fuck”. Vulgar, offensive, often taboo. But the story is more complex. Historically, ficken had a very different meaning: to hit, to rub, to move quickly. Only later […]

Levitin Language School | Career and Language Skills 🔗 Choose your language Why “No” Is the Hardest Word in Business Every leader knows the challenge: refusing politely without destroying trust.In international business, saying no is not just a language skill — it is a strategy. A “no” that is too soft confuses the other side.A […]

Levitin Language School | Career and Language Skills 🔗 Choose your language Why Tone Matters More Than Grammar Most managers think grammar mistakes are the real danger in business English.The truth is different: grammar makes your email correct, but tone decides if people want to work with you. A single sentence, written with the wrong […]

Author’s Column by Tymur Levitin — founder, director, and senior teacher of Levitin Language School / Start Language School by Tymur Levitin Language. Identity. Choice. Meaning. Ukrainian legal and official language is full of expressions that may look simple — but they are often misused, especially under the influence of Russian. Let’s look at some […]

Levitin Language School | Career and Language Skills 🔗 Choose your language 📌 Learn more about studying English:👉 English learning with a tutor Why “Polite” Emails Don’t Always Work Every manager knows the type of email that looks perfect: polite phrases, formal grammar, elegant closings.And yet — the reply is confusing, delayed, or simply absent. […]

Language is not only about grammar or vocabulary lists. Sometimes, one word carries a whole city, a woman, a memory, a generation. That is the case with Kyivlyanka (киевлянка) — a word made famous by the Ukrainian singer Garik Krychevsky in his iconic song of the 1990s. Try to translate it into English, German, or […]