· November, 2009

Stories about Language from November, 2009

Russia: 6,5 percent of all Web sites are Russian

RuNet Echo  20 November 2009

There are 15 million Web sites in the Russian segment of the Internet. They account for 6,5 percent of all Web sites available online. An average Russian Web site contains 255 pages, 159 thousand words, and 204 images.  These facts were revealed in the latest research “The Runet Content” by...

Africa: Google sponsors Kiswahili Wikipedia Challenge

  18 November 2009

Google is pushing for more content on Kiswahili Wikipedia through Kiswahili Wikipedia Challenge: We invite you to take part in this challenge to create Wikipedia articles in Kiswahili. We hope to make the online experience richer and more relevant for 100 million African users who speak Kiswahili.

Japan: Top 60 Expressions of 2009

  17 November 2009

Pink Tentacle has translated into English all of the “Top 60 Japanese words/phrases of 2009″, released by publisher Jiyu Kokuminsha: Included are plenty of references to Japan’s recent political shake-up, the ailing economy, and the blurring of traditional gender roles.

Guyana: Autobiographical

  17 November 2009

“I've always thought of autobiography as an attempt to leave behind–forever in memoriam–something more or less truthful about one's existence”: Signifyin’ Guyana wonders what the first lines of your autobiography would be.

Japan: “Obamu”, Verb Form of “Obama”?

  16 November 2009

Anpontan‘s post about the word “obamu” (オバむ) , a Japanese word play that's a verb form of “Obama”, was picked up by James Fallows at the Atlantic and is making its way across the blogosphere, although very few Japanese people actually seem to have heard of the word, as Daniel...

Caribbean: French Literary Prizes

  6 November 2009

This week, two of the most prestigious French literary prizes were awarded to two French-speaking authors of African descent: The French-speaking Caribbean blogosphere has been buzzing over this double satisfaction, in this post from Haiti, this one from Guadeloupe and this one from Martinique [Fr].

Albania: Giving Directions

  6 November 2009

A Nevada Yankee in King Zog's Court writes that “Albanians are so poor at giving directions that it's easier just to take the lost soul directly to his destination than it is to give directions.”

Kenya: Are you Chikuyu or Ruo?

  5 November 2009

“Are you Chikuyu or Ruo?,” asks Proud Kikuyu Woman: “Lakini [lakini means “but” in Swahili] the one that initially used to surprise me is when I tell someone I’m Kenyan and they go , “Chikuyu or Ruo”. The letter K is often pronounced as ‘Ch’ in Luganda (and the G...