· March, 2008

Stories about Language from March, 2008

Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago: Liming

  28 March 2008

“While the term might have its origins in Trinidad, the pass time (and don't tell me it should be pastime) is truly Caribbean”: Living in Barbados is in the mood for a good lime.

Jamaica, Cuba: Poetry in Motion

  28 March 2008

Jamaican Geoffrey Philp blogs about MiPOesias Magazine's newly released issue, which he says “showcases the work of poets of Cuban descent who live in the U.S…no matter the subject, these poems blend the romance and sorrows of the past with a crisp view of daily life.”

Burkina Faso: Home of black bags, baobabs and cute kids?

  27 March 2008

This roundup will begin with some old business. From Stephen Davis of Voice in the Desert: His book Sophie and the Albino Camel is up for the Norfolk Shorts shortlist of books under 150 pages. While he won’t know the outcome until April 16, he did expound on why he loves writing short fiction.

March Madness in Kuwait

Just as there is March Madness in the US, the phenomena seems to have spread to Kuwait - not for basketball but elections. Abdullatif Al Omar brings us the Kuwaiti bloggers reactions to the resignation of their government, the dissolving of Parliament and the looming elections in June.

Jamaica, Haiti: Felix Morisseau-Leroy

  13 March 2008

“Although the controversy still rages in Jamaica about English vs patwa or ‘nation language'…from as early as 1958, Felix Morisseau-Leroy was writing plays and poems in Kreyol”: Jamaican Geoffrey Philp pays tribute to the Haitian writer.

Sri Lanka: Blog Marathon!

  13 March 2008

The Sinhala Bloggers Union [Sri Lanka] presents the Sinhala Blog Marathon – where participants have to blog every 15 minutes over 24 hours!

Africa: Role of African languages in development

  13 March 2008

What is the role of African languages in development?: “I've been e-mailing some non-governmental organizations involved in African development about the role of African languages in their work. This is an exploratory research on a small scale that hopefully will help further research in related areas.”

Russia: Mari El vs Microsoft

  12 March 2008

Window on Eurasia writes about one “small Finno-Ugric people”‘s demand that Microsoft add six “additional modified Cyrillic letters their language requires but that are not found in Russian to his company’s Windows operating system.”

Cuba: “My Life” in Hindi?

  12 March 2008

Child of the Revolution reports that there are plans to translate Fidel Castro's biography into three ancient languages, “with Castro sharing his views and thoughts on issues as diverse as French cheese and solar panels. No, it's not a fun read.”