Featured stories about Language
Stories about Language
These podcasters are carrying African Languages into the new audio world
When it comes to podcasting language, English is the dominant choice for many African podcasters due to its broad appeal at both a continental and global level
‘The king is passing’: Narrie Approo, Trinidad & Tobago's oldest Black Indian masquerader, dies at 94
Narrie Approo had a lifelong love and respect for Trinidad and Tobago's sacred Carnival traditions, which he expressed most passionately through his portrayals of Black Indian mas.
Indians give Chinese places hilarious names after China renames 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh
As China renamed 15 places in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, Indians on Twitter responded by renaming Chinese places with Indian names.
Portugal: Human rights activist fighting racism wins international award
Mamadou is one of the most prominent voices of the anti-racist movement in Portugal and is also often targeted by far-right and neo-Nazi movements.
‘Strollout’: Australia’s word of 2021 alludes to the slow vaccine rollout and delayed climate action
Cartoonist Veteran Peter Broelman joked, "‘The government is a bunch of heartless climate-denying rorting crooks who only look after themselves’ was too long to fit on a page."
A literary landscape in flux: Fiston Mwanza Mujila's take on Congolese and diasporic literature
According to Congolese-Austrian author Fiston Mwanza Mujila, Francophone African authors face a number of challenges, the first being the nature of the French literary scene.
The mysterious origin of the name of Armenia city in Colombia
Is it a tribute to the Armenian people or a religious reference? Historians are still debating.
Malaysian students share lessons using digital tools to promote indigenous languages
"Students have the opportunity to explore, reflect and scrutinize the functions and roles of indigenous languages in society and to the indigenous communities."
‘Kazakh language is perfect for rap': Interview with cultural commentator Yevgeniya Plakhina
Sung in a mix of Kazakh and Russian, played with traditional nomadic and new musical instruments, contemporary alternative music from Kazakhstan offers an eclectic and rich environment.
Arabophone Chinese influencer divides public opinion in Egypt
Along with growing traffic to her social media platforms came a new tone in Wang's posts. What seemed as sincere patriotic pride, gave way to a seemingly targeted propaganda.
Reviving the Cree and Ojibwe languages of Manitoba with TikTok
Sharissa Neault and Noah Malazdrewicz make fun videos in their languages to help Indigenous youth who think their culture and language are lost to reconnect with them.
Chinese soft power in Kyrgyzstan grows through culture and language
Still looking to publicize its language and culture in Central Asia, China is using the instrument of Confucius Institutes to strengthen its soft power in Kyrgyzstan
The origins of ‘liming’ in Trinidad and Tobago
"A most interesting ‘thread’ bringing out all kinds of intriguing prejudices (positive and negative) and biases."
Is a revival of Tatar selfhood possible despite Russia's identity politics?
Can the political limitations on the use and teaching of native languages in Russia propel the revival of Tatar national identity?
Blogger gets prison sentence for branding Kazakhstan's language policies “russophobic”
According to Taichimbekov, the Kazakh state has been "sourcing Russian individuals who speak out in favor of banning Russian television, banning Russian language, excluding it from the Constitution."
France's regional languages, patois, dialects: what was that again?
In that sense, the so-called "regional" languages area also minority languages in terms of their number of speakers, and even 'minoritised' by the fact of their historical marginalisation.
The decline of Occitan: A failure of cultural initiatives, or abandonment by the state?
A setback for Occitan, spoken by more than half a million people in France, due to failed cultural initiatives or to the policy of the French State?
From Mexico to Australia, Indigenous youth reimagine the internet for their languages
The internet plays a role in imposing hegemonic language, but young people are using it to carve space for their languages.
The French government’s U-turn on regional languages
A new law passed in May 2021 has reignited the debate around France's regional languages
These African animators are saving their native languages using cartoons
Animation is an effective way of teaching young Africans life skills and languages that are often not taught in schools, as most African governments adopt official languages while discouraging native ones.
WATCH: Indigenous+Digital: How young people are revitalizing their native languages on the internet
Missed the live stream of the July 13 Global Voices Insights webinar about the role of young people in Indigenous language revitalization? Here's a replay.
