· February, 2007

Stories about Language from February, 2007

Burundi: Where No means Yes

  28 February 2007

Expat blogger BeneBurundi is learning about local culture (Fr): “Communicating with people from Burundi is all about subtlety and interpretation; for example if you're proposed to and you decline with a ‘no’, it is highly possible that what will be heard will be ‘yes, maybe one day if you insist’....

Sudan: Diversity And Identity Crisis

  28 February 2007

Many of the posts on the Sudanese blogosphere during the past 2 weeks discussed Sudan's diversity and also revolved around the issue of identity. Sudanese Thinker had an interesting post entitled “Sudan: Arab or African?” He was responding to a question posted on Sudan Watch: Since Sudan belongs to both...

Taiwan: Name-rectification Debate

  28 February 2007

The two terms “Taiwan” and “Republic of China” ( R.O.C.) has been intertwined together for the last decades. However, after several elections, with the switch in ruling parties from the pro- Chinese- unification party KMT to the pro- Taiwan- independence party DPP, these two terms are now at the focus...

Haiti: Who Was Louis-Jean Beaugé?

  27 February 2007

Haiti d'Outre-Mer shares some delightful folk anecdotes about legendary Jérémie native Louis-Jean Beaugé and his descendants. The mythic figure's name has become a Haitian Creole expression to designate people who are fierce. The blog explains that (Fr): “Louis-Jean Beaugé was an officer in the Jérémie garrison in the beginning of...

Turkey is Typing….Food and Music

  27 February 2007

I'm reaching in a different direction this week. Let's talk Turkish food and music. Zen in the Kitchen talks about the simple pleasures in eating bread with fresh olive oil. Tastes of Mavi Boncuk gives us a background to the history of the Turkish national drink Raki, and Almost Turkish...

China and Japan: Chinglish and Japlish

  26 February 2007

Zhaihua discusses about the differences between Chinglish and Japlish (zh). He argues that Chinglish is speaking to foreigners hoping that they can understand, but Japlish is speaking to Japanese but taking English term for their own use.

Hungary: News Roundup

  21 February 2007

Pestcentric covers the following topics in the most recent posts: the complexities of the Hungarian language; Hungary's “Turkeygate” scandal; Hungarian pseudo-terrorists posting videos on YouTube – here and here; construction of Central Europe's biggest shopping center in Budapest.

Israel: Did You Know..

  21 February 2007

Israeli blogger Yael K gives us interesting information tidbits here, including how Hebrew was a required language at all American universities as the “Puritans who settled the U.S. saw themselves as the “new Israelites” and the United States as the new Zion–and thus the hebrew language requirement.”

Bangladesh: Painted with my brother's blood

  21 February 2007

Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying on the song of freedom, love and loss. “There is a song that every Bangladeshi knows. It is a song that defines us as a people. It is a song about love and loss. The song in Bengali is called Amar Bhaier Rokte...

Bangladesh: Celebrating the Mother Language day

  21 February 2007

Today is the International Mother Language Day, an annual event in UNESCO member states to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. This is mostly the international recognition of Language Movement Day called ‘Ekushey February’, which is commemorated in Bangladesh since 1952, when a number of Bangla-speaking people were massacred...

Hong Kong: teaching Chinese writing course in English

  21 February 2007

Hegelchong complains about the universities’ language policy in Hong Kong. High ranking university officials have made the decision that from next term onward, all courses should be taught in English, no matter whether it is about Hong Kong society or Chinese modern history. Well, he is teaching a group of...

Bangladesh: International Mother Language Day

  20 February 2007

Rezwan on the International Mother Language Day. “21st of February is the International Mother Language Day, an annual event in UNESCO member states to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. This is mostly the international recognition of Language Movement Day called ‘Ekushey February’, which is commemorated in Bangladesh since...

Ukraine: Languages and Cars

  19 February 2007

Pass The Paska! talks to Ukrainian schoolkids about languages spoken in Canada (not Canadian and American, but English and French), and about the cars they (Canadians, not the blogger) have in Canada.