Stories about Language from December, 2007
Trinidad & Tobago: Slang
Jumbie's Watch responds to a Letter to the Editor that he finds “doltish”.
Hong Kong: Learning From the F Word
The blog “Learning from the F Word” has won the most educational blog in the 2007 Chinese blog award.
Kazakhstan: Debates over Latinization of Kazakh Language
Kazakhstan intends to switch the state language to the Latin script. It was announced that the transition will take 12-15 years. As adam_kesher writes, the plan stirred many disputes and arguments – in particular, Russia and a part of Kazakhstan’s Russian-speaking population considers switching to Latin is an adverse move...
Ukraine, Russia: On Tymoshenko, Yanukovych and Putin
Foreign Notes writes about Yulia Tymoshenko's TV address and Viktor Yanukovych's “shadow opposition government” – as well as Vladimir Putin's misrepresentation of Ukraine's Russophone population in his Time Magazine interview and a subsequent reaction of the head of Donetsk region, who “emphasized that the Russian-speaking population of his oblast, which...
Brazil: We will write in Portuguese indeed
Felipe Lobo [pt] analyses the many reactions brought by a post published in Portuguese at the American site propeller, among which comments like “Our national language is English! If you want to post something, do so in English”. The Brazilian blogger believes they will carry on speaking in Portuguese and...
Trinidad & Tobago: Media Accuracy
“It's not enough to just present the news. You have to be accurate”: Media Watch corrects several reporters’ poor pronunciation.
Armenia: Robinson Crusoe in Kurdish
Kurdistan and Hayastan — Hand in Hand posts a scan of the front page of the Kurdish translation of Daniel Dafoe's classic book, Robinson Crusoe. The book was translated and published in the Kurmanji dialect of Kurdish in 1936.
Taiwan: Gtalk Translation
PipperL is checking the accuracy of Gtalk translation from English to Chinese (zh), e.g ‘He looks fine’ is translated into ‘he is looking forward to have a fine’ in Chinese.
Russia: Lyudmila Ulitskaya
Russian Blog writes about Lyudmila Ulitskaya's latest – and, possibly, her last – novel, “Daniel Stein, translator”: “After being such a prolific writer for many years, and after the huge work she put into her last effort, she of course deserves a break. Anyone who has read this masterpiece would...
Hong Kong: Delay No Mall
ESWN picks up a local news on a shopping mall called: Delay No Mall.
Japan: 2007 Kanji of the Year
James from Japan probe blogs about the Kanji (Chinese origin character) of the year, and the winner is the word “fake”.
Kazakhstan: Latinization of the Kazakh Language
Arseny reviews the prospects of forthcoming reform of the Kazakh language with its transformation into the Latin script.
Israel: Arab Literacy Project
From Israel, Maya Norton writes about the UAE-based Kalima project, which aims to translate books written in different languages into Arabic.
Serbia: “Tension Digest”
Belgrade 2.0 writes about “Kosovo is Serbia” campaign and other elements of the current Kosovo-related “tension.”
Russia: President Dmitry Medvedev?
Anglophone Russia bloggers are discussing the much-awaited announcement of the person who is likely to become Russia's next president: Dmitry Medvedev.
Kuwait: Dude, Where is my Winter ?
This week, a Kuwaiti blogger dishes out advice on how to behave this winter while others continue to give comedy act Axis of Evil raving reviews. Also from Kuwait is a visit to the Car Show and a price hike at Starbucks.
Jordan: Parking or Barking?
What's the difference between parking and barking? Jordanian blog Talasim shows us in a picture.
Russia: Western Media Response to the Election
Another discussion at Sean's Russia Blog: “predictable responses” of the Western media to “predictable results” of the Russian election.
Ukraine: “Hitler Infantilization”
Ukrainiana writes about a scandal over teaching methods used at a private school attended by president Yushchenko’s two daughters.
South Korea: Foreign Teacher's Visa
Metropolitician is drafting a counter proposal to the new foreign teacher's visa. He calls for help in the collective drafting and translation process.
Armenia: Election Blogging Guide
As the February presidential election in Armenia approaches, Oneworld Multimedia makes available the Armenian-translation of Solana Larsen, Zephyr Teachout and Mary Joyce’s Election Blogging Guide.