Stories about Language from December, 2008
2008: A turbulent year for South Asia
Looking back on the events that rocked South Asia in the year 2008 we see that terrorism took the center stage in many places in this region. This was also a year of crucial and decisive elections in many South Asian countries. The Global Voices coverages of the blogospheres of...
Gaza/Sderot: Israel and Palestine together on video
The Gaza/Sderot: Life in Spite of Everything Project is one of the prime examples of the variety of ways a bridge between different cultures and world-views can be created through online media. In this project created by ARTE.tv, a French-German cultural television station, twelve people going on their day to day business on either side of a violent border were exposed on a website for ten week project which ended on December 23rd. The two minute videos documented snippets of the lives of 6 characters in Gaza, Palestine and 6 characters on the other side of the border in Sderot, Israel during two months.
UAE: On being white and speaking Urdu
Lucky Fatima is a white American who lives in Dubai – and speaks Urdu. In this post she writes about how white privilege affects the way her language skills are viewed by Urdu speakers.
Russia: Patriarch; Yoshkar-Ola; Stalin's Legacy; Protests
A selection of recent posts from Window on Eurasia: a “Ukrainian” metropolitan who may or may not become Russia's next patriarch; Hungarians react to the Russian authorities’ suggestion to rename Yoshkar-Ola, the capital of Mari El, to Tsaryovokokshaysk, the city's pre-1917 name; some Russian history teachers’ efforts to educate students...
Pakistan: Love Of Arabian Language
The view from behind my specs… comments: “everyone in Pakistan seems to have some strange affiliation with the Arabic language.” Read the post to learn why.
India: The voices of Bangalore
Bikerdude at Bengalooru Banter shares with us some of the entertaining voices and accents that can be heard in Bangalore.
Welcome, Global Voices in Serbian
Today, I am honored to announce that Global Voices in Serbian has officially launched, alongside our many other proud Lingua websites. The key initiator of Global Voices in Serbian is Sinisa Boljanovic who is also a Global Voices author.
Azerbaijan: Linguistic University Recollections
Sheki, Azerbaijan remembers studying 15 years ago at the University of Languages in Baku. The blog says that corruption was rampant at the university during the Soviet era, but that post-independence reforms in the admission system have improved the situation. It also remembers one lecturer who was sent to Siberia...
Eman Hashim blogs against Berlitz Egypt
Has corruption tarnished Berlitz Egypt's reputation? Egyptian blogger Eman Hashim wrote on facebook and on her blog wondering how come her students received their grades and certificates when she never submitted neither their grades nor their final exam papers. Eman tells us the story saying Back in July 2008, I...
China: Mapping the hurt feelings of the Chinese people
Joel Martinsen from DANWEI creates a map for showing which are the countries involving in “hurting the feelings of the Chinese people”, a rhetoric frequently used by Chinese government.
Philippines: Kumusta or How Are You
Don’t English Me, I’m not School muses on the usage of the word kumusta, a Filipino greeting which means “How are you?”
Translation and Literature in the Philippines
Cebuano poet Adonis Durado posts an article on the importance of translation for literary development in the Philippines. Durado recently launched his book of Cebuano poems, Dili Tanang Matagak Mahagbong [fil] (trans. Not All That Drop Falls).
Central & Eastern Europe: Trademark on ;-) and Other Internet News
Below is a selection of recent posts by bloggers from around Central and Eastern Europe on social networking, participatory media, online activism and other related issues.
South Korea: Translating Mountain Rose
Ask a Korean! discusses cultural different through the exercise of translating the lyrics of a Korean song: Mountain Rose.
Poland: Climate, History, Holidays
A roundup of the recent posts on Poland: Leopolis writes about a successful outcome of the EU climate package talks; Raf Uzar writes about General Wojciech Jaruzelski's alleged plans to “open Poland’s borders and let in the Soviet army”; 20 east is fuming about bad driving in Warsaw; Polandian complains...
Cyprus: Banning Turkish Placenames in GPS Systems
The Cyprus government is currently attempting to ban GPS systems that use Turkish place names in the Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus, Homeboy Media News reports: The Ministry of Education and Culture meanwhile has come up with some additional reasoning for the campaign to ban the GPS receivers. In its feedback, the...
Russia, China: Slang Dictionary
IZO links to LJ user du-jingli (RUS), who has scanned four pages from the 916-page Russian-Chinese Slang Dictionary and has so far received nearly 500 comments. (Warning: the post contains obscenities, in Russian and in Chinese.)
Japan: “Change”, the ideogram of 2008
Every year on the 12th of December, the Japanese Kanji Proficiency Society announces the Kanji of the year [en]. This year the kanji is 変 (hen), the ideogram representing “change”. Miki Tansho (丹所美紀 comments on the choice, writing that to many Japanese 変 by itself recalls the meaning “change for...
Jamaica: Speaking Patois
Iriegal explores the origins of Jamaican patois and links to a few examples of how to speak it.
Bahrain: Special Shaikh Sooka?
What's a “special shaikh sooka?” asks Bint Battuta in Bahrain. To find out, check out her post here.
Cuba: Idealogical Monogamy
“If concepts such as ‘sick’ have now been banished from the study of homosexuality, why does the adjective ‘counterrevolutionary’ continue to be used for those who think differently”: Yoani Sanchez puts the question to Mariela Castro Espin, the director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education.
