Language as a proxy for conflict
Andrew writes: Language seems to be a theme of Gary Younge’s recent book, Who Are We – and Should It Matter In The 21st Century?. I chanced on an extract in a recent Guardian, and there are a couple of
Language as a proxy for conflict
Andrew writes: Language seems to be a theme of Gary Younge’s recent book, Who Are We – and Should It Matter In The 21st Century?. I chanced on an extract in a recent Guardian, and there are a couple of
Reviving isiZulu as a political weapon
Quick note from Alex: Update: The BBC has a good summary of Julius Malema’s recent controversies here. The last few months have seen language choice re-emerge as a hot topic in South African politics. (This is nothing new: the 1976
Reviving isiZulu as a political weapon
Quick note from Alex: Update: The BBC has a good summary of Julius Malema’s recent controversies here. The last few months have seen language choice re-emerge as a hot topic in South African politics. (This is nothing new: the 1976
Quick thoughts on Globish
I enjoyed the extract from Globish, and its thesis is basically right. A few first thoughts, queries and caveats: The unprecedented rise of English since 1990: probably true, though I’d like to see some figures on the (population-relative) spread of
Quick thoughts on Globish
I enjoyed the extract from Globish, and its thesis is basically right. A few first thoughts, queries and caveats: The unprecedented rise of English since 1990: probably true, though I’d like to see some figures on the (population-relative) spread of
Globish
No time to write a proper post: How English erased its roots to become the global tongue of the 21st century ‘Throw away your dictionaries!’ is the battle cry as a simplified global hybrid of English conquers cultures and continents.
Globish
No time to write a proper post: How English erased its roots to become the global tongue of the 21st century ‘Throw away your dictionaries!’ is the battle cry as a simplified global hybrid of English conquers cultures and continents.
Language diversity in unexpected places
Andrew posts: Rapid note to capture a long New York Times piece which says that language diversity is more likely to be found in urban areas with long tradition of migration – such as New York. A flavour: The chances
Language diversity in unexpected places
Andrew posts: Rapid note to capture a long New York Times piece which says that language diversity is more likely to be found in urban areas with long tradition of migration – such as New York. A flavour: The chances
Topography, biodiversity and language
More on this theme from Abu Dhabi’s The National, which reports on the state of endangered languages in the Indian subcontinent, and includes the following from Nicholas Ostler: Linguistic diversity is like biodiversity… It increases the closer you are to
Topography, biodiversity and language
More on this theme from Abu Dhabi’s The National, which reports on the state of endangered languages in the Indian subcontinent, and includes the following from Nicholas Ostler: Linguistic diversity is like biodiversity… It increases the closer you are to
Language danger and geography
Two recent finds: 1. Weak signals of concern about the threat to Chinese from English are picked up on in the Telegraph. Anyone interested in the longer history of Chinese and its relationships with its neighbour languages should start with
Language danger and geography
Two recent finds: 1. Weak signals of concern about the threat to Chinese from English are picked up on in the Telegraph. Anyone interested in the longer history of Chinese and its relationships with its neighbour languages should start with
Bigger languages are simpler
Alex sends this: According to research quoted by the Economist, the number of speakers of a language correlates best with its lack of complecity. http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15384310 The researchers are Gary Lupyan of the University of Pennsylvania and Rick Dale of the
Bigger languages are simpler
Alex sends this: According to research quoted by the Economist, the number of speakers of a language correlates best with its lack of complecity. http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15384310 The researchers are Gary Lupyan of the University of Pennsylvania and Rick Dale of the
Regional accents – on the up, or not?
The Daily Telegraph has a story that they are. Forecasts have suggested accents would disappear and merge into a national way of speaking, albeit with some class and regional variations. But experts found that Geordie, Scouse, Mancunian, and Brummie accents
Regional accents – on the up, or not?
The Daily Telegraph has a story that they are. Forecasts have suggested accents would disappear and merge into a national way of speaking, albeit with some class and regional variations. But experts found that Geordie, Scouse, Mancunian, and Brummie accents
Egypt boosts Arabic web content
[Andrew] Egypt is going to put its archives, in Arabic, onto the web to promote the amount of Arabic web content available globally. The domain name organisation ICANN voted to allow non-Latin scripts in domain names in November, although the
Egypt boosts Arabic web content
[Andrew] Egypt is going to put its archives, in Arabic, onto the web to promote the amount of Arabic web content available globally. The domain name organisation ICANN voted to allow non-Latin scripts in domain names in November, although the
Language and identity trends tracking project 