Featured stories about Language
Stories about Language
22 June 2020
Wikipedia project boosts Taiwan's hundreds-strong Sakizaya-speaking community
Along with six other indigenous languages in Taiwan, Sakizaya is classified as “critically endangered” by UNESCO.
16 June 2020
How can Nepal's literary tradition make its mark on the global scene?
Director of Global Literature in Libraries Initiatives shares insights into how Nepali literature can reach wider audiences.
2 June 2020
Making Swahili visible: Identity, language and the internet
Swahili is the most widely spoken African language, but its visibility online is dismal. Kenyan language activist Bonface Witaba is working to change this.
27 May 2020
A Yorùbá language activist strives for linguistic diversity in digital spaces
Adéṣinà Ọmọ Yoòbá, a Nigerian Yorùbá language and culture advocate, is keen to bridge the cultural and linguistic digital divide.
20 May 2020
COVID-19-themed Global Voices story stars in Czech translation competition
Moderator Jan Faber spoke with GV about record-breaking participation in this year's edition, the future of translation and common errors that foreigners make when writing in Czech.
19 May 2020
In Algeria, online repression targets Amazigh protesters active in Hirak movement
In Algeria, the Amazigh people are often associated with France, Algeria's former colonial power. Racial slurs online accuse this group of being separatists who threaten "national unity."
30 April 2020
‘Language revolt': This activist tweets against erasure of first languages in South Africa
A language reclamation activist confronts linguistic imperialism and the dehumanisation of two South African first languages through digital inclusion advocacy.
13 April 2020
#IdentityMatrix: a Twitter conversation on identity and digital rights in Africa
Activists from Burkina Faso, Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, will lead a social media conversation in their mother tongue on the intersection of languages, ethnicity and digital rights in Africa.
5 April 2020
Bangladeshis turn to video sites during COVID-19 lockdown
Affordable access to 4G services in Bangladesh over the last two years caused YouTube viewership to skyrocket; now, the COVID-19 lockdown will spur further growth.
17 March 2020
As Uzbekistan thaws, the Uzbek language spreads its wings
A political thaw is underway in a nation eagerly going online — providing the perfect opportunity for the Uzbek language to thrive in new and unexpected ways.
13 March 2020
‘Linguistics is in everything’ from astronomy to everyday life, says this linguist from Trinidad & Tobago
"Trinbagonians are connected through a shared linguocultural history and present — we don’t have to constantly define or explain or substitute our words in our conversations."
12 March 2020
In shooting for the stars, this Trinidad & Tobago linguist highlights how language connects us
[The names are] "the linguistic manifestation of the clash of Amerindian, African, European and Asian cultures which led to the Creole language and culture."
10 March 2020
This chief hopes Yorùbá speakers adopt his newly invented ‘talking alphabet’
Writing Yorùbá in Latin script may soon become a thing of the past as one Yorùbá man, Chief Tolúlàṣẹ Ògúntósìn, has invented a writing system to encode the Yorùbá language.
5 March 2020
From Sweden to Mexico, indigenous people explain why their languages are disappearing
The Nordic regions of Europe are thousands of kilometres away from Mexico or Peru, but both witness the destruction of their native peoples' identities
3 March 2020
Lost in translation: Why Google Translate often gets Yorùbá — and other languages — wrong
As more tech companies attempt to provide translation and access to multiple languages online, controversies and challenges arise — especially when it comes to accuracy and cultural nuance.
28 February 2020
A renaissance is underway for Mongolia's literature lovers
Mongolia's long and bitterly cold winters provide ample time for reading. Luckily, the country's publishing market is booming — popular histories and translated fiction are the most sought after.
26 February 2020
Literature as a gateway for exploring Indian-Nepali hybridity: Interview with author Prajwal Parajuly
"The book being read by the very people it was about, in the very language the characters speak in? Heart-warming. The book has reached the most remote corners of Nepal."
19 February 2020
Indonesian superhero cartoon fights for the environment and the Balinese language
"The inspiration for the creation of the superhero character of Luh Ayu Manik Mas is the strong, tough and resilient Balinese women who themselves are like superheroes."
16 February 2020
The feminist translators and interpreters revolutionizing the profession in Argentina
"Feminism is always growing and diversifying, and feminists must come together and create areas of common interest and practice unique forms of activism that move away from hegemonic feminism"
13 February 2020
Broadcasters from Nigeria join global celebration of World Radio Day 2020
Nigerian broadcasters joined radio practitioners around the world to honor the powerful role that radio plays in global development on World Radio Day, February 13, 2020.
