Stories about Language from February, 2010
Italy: “Tangerines and olives don't fall from the sky”
The first strike of immigrant workers in Italy's history will happen on March 1st, thanks to a broad European initiative to oppose racism and discrimination, and reaffirm the positive role of migrants.
Morocco: The Death of a Newspaper
Jamal Elabiad writes of the possible demise of Morocco's only English-language newspaper, The Casablanca Analyst.
Armenia: Beauty talk
Ashley Corinne Killough visits the hairdresser and details the experience. The blog also comments on her encounters and observations while doing so.
Sri Lanka: Cricket And English Language
Lanka Rising comments on the issue of accents and the speakers of English as a second language: “Cricket was Englishmen’s, but now we play better cricket so that now they...
Guyana: Spam You!
Guyana-Gyal says that spam is a four letter word.
Macedonia: Grassroots Effort to Preserve Folk Music Online
Appreciation of folk music has been a distinguishing feature of the Macedonian culture, and thanks to selfless efforts of one dedicated blogger it spreads through the blogosphere, too.
Americas: International Mother Language Day
February 21 marked International Mother Language Day promoted by UNESCO. It was a time in the Americas to reflect on the use of Spanish, as well as the importance of preserving indigenous languages.
Montenegro: The Language Issue
“Not content to watch Serbia and Croatia fight it out over Serbo-Croatian, Montenegro now wants its own language,” Eternal Remont reports.
Russia: Sakha (Yakut) Language on the Internet
AskYakutia.com posts a Q&A item on the Sakha Wikipedia and the use of the Sakha (Yakut) language on the Internet.
Africa: When language reflects life
Language does reflect life as Miquel observes: Of course, many people here in Côte d'Ivoire keep insisting that the word for pen is “bic” instead of “stylo” or to grab...
China: The Party’s Policies are yakexi
C. Custer from ChinaGeeks blogs about a new buzz word, yakexi, in Chinese Internet community. It is an Uyghur word for good and recently used to praise Chinese policies in...
Morocco: To Valentine or Not to Valentine?
In Morocco, as in many countries, celebrating Valentine's Day has caught on as a modern expression of love. In major cities, storefronts stock candy hearts and teddy bears, but, as blogger Robin du Blog points out, the Moroccan media doesn't always encourage the celebration.
Trinidad & Tobago: Poetry in the Mas’
Trinidad & Tobago Carnival inspires a poem by blogger Andre Bagoo.
Bangladesh: Bangla Spell Checker Add-on For Firefox
Belayet informs [bn] that Ankur ICT Development Foundation has recently released the updated version of a Bangla spell checker add-on for Firefox, an indispensable tool for Bangla computing.
India: Death of a Prehistoric Language
The last speaker of the ancient Bo language, Boa Senior, has died in her native Andaman Islands (part of India) in February 2010. It's a vivid confirmation of last year's report from UNESCO, warning that 2,500 languages are at risk of disappearing.
Trinidad & Tobago: Robber Talk
Just in time for Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, Pleasure interviews one of the festival's traditional characters, the Midnight Robber.
St. Lucia, Jamaica, Haiti: Words Can Help
Want to write in solidarity for Haiti? St. Lucia-based Caribbean Book Blog and Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp have details.
India: The Death Of Bo Language
Madhu Baganiar, who belongs to the indigenous Oraon (Kurukh) community comments on the demise of Bo language with the death of Boa senior, the lone survivor of the Bo tribe:...
Jamaica, U.S.A.: Wisdom of Children
“I learned that children are naturally giving and spontaneous and if we are not willing to accept some of the ‘wild energy’ of our children and if we continue to...
Digital library of Lao manuscripts
Digital library of Lao manuscripts features 86,000 texts from 800 monasteries in Laos. The web project aims to preserve historic Lao literary texts.
Ukraine: Yanukovych Campaign Ad in Crimean Tatar
LJ user indrih posts a copy of Victor Yanukovych's campaign ad in the Crimean Tatar language and explains (RUS): “Next to Yanukovych's last name are the words ‘light’ and ‘kindness,’...
