Stories about Language from August, 2009
Israel: When Translations Go Wrong
Literal translations aren't always your best bet when moving between Hebrew and English, explains How to Be Israeli. She writes that the movie title “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” which is Biblical in tone in the native English, is translated in Hebrew as “Achi, Efo Atah?” which sounds a lot...
East Timor: Abe Barreto Soares’ Poetry for Nation Building
He calls himself a “wanderer like anyone else” but Abe Barreto Soares is also a poet, a translator and an active blogger. In this interview, he talks about Timorese nationalism, language and poetry.
Nepal: Taking Oath In Hindi
Parmananda Jha, the new Vice President (VP) of Nepal stirred controversy when he took his oath in Hindi language. According to a latest court order “Mr. Jha has still some days to correct himself by retaking oath in Nepali or resign if he can not speak Nepali in front of...
Japan: Hazy yet Familiar IT Vocabulary
Motoko Hunt discloses “top IT words that many Japanese don’t understand – secretly“.
Laos: Foreign languages in schools
Laos students are required to study French and English languages. In some border areas, Chinese and Vietnamese languages are also taught to students.
Poland: More on “Lemko Land”
Raf Uzar travels “down south to deepest, darkest Lemko Land.”
Hungary, Slovakia: Newest Tensions
Hungarian Spectrum (here and here) and The Reference Frame report and comment on the Slovak-Hungarian tensions.
Russia: ‘The Coronation’ by Boris Akunin
Jost a Mon reviews The Coronation by Boris Akunin, among other “foreign” crime fiction items.
Ukraine: In Chinese, Yanukovych is Yushchenko?
Evgeny Morozov of Foreign Policy's Net.Effect writes: “It turns out that when you use Google Translate to translate (from Chinese to Russian) the expression “Vote for Yanukovych” (Yanukovych was Kremlin's favorite candidate), Google gives you “Vote for Yushenko” in the translated version. Global conspiracy orchestrated by Google!”
Philippines: Ungrammatical Constitution preamble?
The Free Lancer asks if the preamble of the Philippine Constitution is grammatically flawed.
Haiti: The Revolution & Human Rights
Repeating Islands reports that an international colloquium, scheduled to take place in Port-au-Prince, will examine “the universalization of the social, economic, political, cultural, and philosophical dimensions of human rights in the context of the legacies of the Haitian Revolution.”
Greece: Armenian singer passes away
Unknown to most Armenians, but loved by many Kurds for his songs sung in the Kurmanji dialect of Kurdish, Aram Tigran has passed away in Athens, Greece. Born in 1934 in Syria, Tigran's death has affected many, and not least those recognizing the important contribution he made as a cultural bridge between Armenians and Kurds.
Tajikistan: Language is the key to national self-determination
Botur Kosimi comments on a recent bill in the Tajikistan parliament that concerns the status and role of the Tajik language in the nation.
Slovakia, Hungary: New Slovak Language Law
Hungarian Spectrum writes about the new Slovak language law and reviews Hungarian reactions: “Is this a new effort to fuel nationalism despite, or perhaps because of, membership in the EU?”
Russia: The Meaning of “Avos'”
Russian Blog explains the notion of “avos'”: “One of the most exciting things that are ‘really Russian’ because they work only in Russia.”
