Featured stories about Language
Stories about Language
9 July 2017
The More India's Ruling Party Pushes the Hindi Language, the More Indians Oppose It
"We are not saying no to Hindi...[the] question should be why 'only' Hindi."
7 July 2017
The Fraught Relationship Between Ethiopia's Capital City and Largest State
A bill seeks to redress historical injustices inflicted on the Oromo people since the establishment of the capital Addis Ababa inside their state. Does it go far enough? Too far?
5 July 2017
‘En Mi Idioma’ Allows Colombian Indigenous Communities to Contribute Online Language Lessons
"...for many years we have been and continue to be an oral-based culture, but as a survival strategy we consider that it is important to build a written code."
The Internet Presents Opportunities and Challenges for Revitalizing Tasmania's Aboriginal Language
During British colonization of Tasmania which began in the early 1800s, the Aboriginal people living on the island located to the south of Australia’s mainland not only suffered loss of life, but also loss...
19 June 2017
Fake News Twists Hong Kong Airline Hostesses’ Refusal to Wear Chinese Name Tags
Chinese media portrayed the refusal as another example of Hong Kong-mainland tension. In reality, it was about privacy.
9 June 2017
What YouTube Comments on Two Cover Songs Reveal About the Irish and Sámi Languages
The music videos for popular songs translated into minority languages can create spaces for joy, solidarity, and pride—as well as scorn, social divisions, and nationalism.
8 June 2017
There Are 23 Indian-Language Wikipedias. The Oldest Just Turned 15.
It has yet to be included in Google Translate, but Odia was the first Indian language to make an appearance on Wikipedia, 15 years ago.
7 June 2017
A Storytelling Initiative Aims to Preserve Urban Linguistic Diversity
"What is it like to speak to an audience that is not understanding your language?"
28 May 2017
Lost in Translation in Central Asia: My Tokol's Car Is a Toyota
A Kyrgyz or Kazakh man's 'younger wife' is like 'a cow without horns'. She suffers social stigma and enjoys few rights.
26 May 2017
‘Untranslatable’ Blog Shines a Light on the Unique Vocabulary of Small Languages
Do you know what "vakasteglok" in the Mwotlap language means? How about "kwadi" in the Hunsrik language?
25 May 2017
Kaqchikel and Other Guatemalan Languages Gain Momentum Online Thanks to Digital Activism
The Digital Activism Meeting for Indigenous Languages took place in Guatemala and brought together important initiatives for the visibility and strengthening of Mayan languages through technology.
23 May 2017
A Wikipedia Made for—and by—the Atikamekw First Nation in Canada
An ongoing project, funded by the Wikimedia Foundation, is working with the Atikamekw community to develop Wikipedia content in their own language.
22 May 2017
Diaspora* and Other Free Software Are Available in the Occitan Language, Thanks to Volunteer Translators
"I don’t like when people decide that one language has more value than another. In my opinion, every language is as equal as the next."
16 May 2017
Three Decades and Several Films Later, a Creative Translation of ‘Alien’ Endures in the Balkans
"Then there's Alien or Osmi Putnik which literally translates to "The Eighth Passenger". What was the sequel translated as? More Passengers?"
13 May 2017
How ‘Aspie’ Is Misunderstood, Mistranslated and Misused In Japan
"Will (people living with Aspergers syndrome) be happy to hear the term asupe used as slang, I wonder?"
18 April 2017
Kazakhstan's Great Alphabetical Distraction
Kazakhstan's veteran leader suddenly seems to think the country's long-planned transition to a Latin alphabet is very pressing indeed. The country's social media users want to know why.
17 April 2017
So You’d Like to Start Computing in Your Own Language
Twelve tips for free software localization for minoritized and indigenous languages.
12 April 2017
You Can Conquer Digital Worlds in Scottish Gaelic, Thanks to Hard-Working Localizers
GunChleoc has a passion for translating video games into Scottish Gaelic. Her story suggests an engaging new model of bringing high-quality digital content to languages of few speakers.
27 March 2017
Inspired by a Pioneering Nigerian Author, Yorùbá Language Advocate Takes to the Internet
"...I knew I had to propagate the Yorùbá heritage to the world and the cheapest and easiest way to do that is via the international network of computers."
23 March 2017
These Techies Want Your Phone to Speak to You in Swahili
Swahili is the second-most-widely-used language on the African continent. Yet automatic speech recognition isn’t commercially available in this language, denying many users the information they need.
