Stories about Language from May, 2007
Jamaica: Thank You, Miss Lou
“Miss Lou in her life and poetry had many things to teach us. And she taught in a way that only the best teachers can—without us knowing.” Geoffrey Philp pays...
Belarus: Blogger br23/Uładzimer Katkoŭski Passes Away
Belarusian blogger Uładzimer Katkoŭski/br23 passed away in Prague on May 25 at the age of 30. As one of his online friends wrote, "To a large degree thanks to his effort Belarusian-language Internet is now what it is."
Uganda: What if we blogged in local languages?
Country Boyi asks, “What if we blogged in local languages?“: “I've been thinking. It took a workshop on writing for children in Ugandan local languages to have me thinking: what...
What terms for parents are popular in Korea
A blogger discovered what terms for parents are popular in Korea through the search engines of several major portal sites. According to the table and graph that he (she) made,...
Hong Kong: Category II Indecent Material
ESWN translated Mingpao (local newspapers) feature report on the Chinese University erotic section. The report was recently graded as category II indecent material.
China: China Children's Times
Joel Martinsen from DANWEI translated a blog post by Tu Guowen about a Children newspaper, China Children's Times, published during China's Republican era.
Taiwan and China: Chinese speech
ESWN translated a debate over a popular song called Chinese Speech by S.H.E. The song criticized by Liberty Times (pro-independent newspapers) for misleading and corrupting the next generation in Taiwan...
Japan: Japan Brand
Adamu from Mutantfrog blogs about a new logo “Japan Brand” for promoting exports, boost tourism, and take control of how Japan as a nation is perceived abroad.
Estonia: Demography and Ethnicity
Itching for Eestimaa writes about Estonia's demography and interethnic relationships: “Still, the reality for Estonia is, no matter what historical spin you put on it, there will be a large...
Latvia: Interview with Aleksejs Tapins
Peteris Cedrins of Marginalia interviews Aleksejs Tapins of All About Latvia: Why do you blog? – […] At one point, it's become a search for my own identity. Who am...
Indonesia: Saying Thanks in Indonesia
Sarapan Ekonomi starts of a debate on his blog by posting findings of a linguistics expert. The expert says that some Indonesians do not thank people whom they consider to...
D. R. Congo: Park Rangers Attacked, Flying over Katanga, Music meets Social Activism, and Ants 2 – Brian 0
Access to the Internet in the Democratic Republic of Congo is gradually improving (World Bank figures suggest there are already over 6 million users), but will remain prohibitively expensive as long as service providers are dependent on satellite connections. In such a context, it should come as no surprise that there are only a handful of Congolese bloggers. Chatrooms and instant messaging are very popular, however, and with the influence of the Diaspora, it’s easy to imagine that many more young Congolese people will soon be following the footsteps of pioneers like Cedric, perhaps blogging in Lingala, Luba, Kikongo and Swahili as well as French.
China: Harmonizing Property Ads
DANWEI puts together and translates reports, commentaries on the recent attempt by Beijing Mayor Wang Qishan in harmonizing property Ads: advertisements should be cleaned up because they revealed a massive...
Russia: Blog Ranking
Krusenstern, host to the Blog-Carnival Russian Media (in 11 days now!), posts a ranking of Russia blogs (in German), and Siberian Light writes about it in English.
China: history of Chinese characters
Granite Studio blogs on a recent discovery in the study of Damaidi carvings, which carry symbols that resemble early Chinese writing. If the researchers are correct, then these pictographs would...
Hong Kong: Indecent Google Link
Because of the recent debate about the ruling of Obscene Article Tribunal in Hong Kong, the mainstream media found out that the Tribunal had once ruled a Google search hyperlink...
Bahrain: When Only Illegal Prawns Will Do
From turning a blind eye to racial hatred being spewed on the internet to hoarding prawns caught in the closed season for a religious festival four months away, Bahraini bloggers were busy typing away this week, reports Ayesha Saldanha.
China: Harmonious Wording for Advertisement?
Wangxiaofeng criticised [zh] the hypocritical nature of the criticisms towards housing property advertisements which used words like “supreme”, “luxurious”, etc. Can we change the reality by changing the wording of...
Russia: Nashi's Bad English; NBP
Via La Russophobe, the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi demonstrates poor knowledge of English (among other things) – a forged International Herald Tribune headline in the Nashi‘s brochure reads: “Russian soldiers,...
Arabeyes: Memorial Translations
Whether it was a genuine mistake or part of a calculated propaganda strategy, the Middle East Media and Research Institute (MEMRI) sure has a lot of explanation to do as bloggers across the region started questioning their motives this week after glaring mistakes were spotted in the translation of a Palestinian children's television programme.
St. Lucia: Confusing Road Signs
Living in the Caribbean posts video of some grammatically confusing St. Lucian road signs.
