· July, 2010

Stories about Language from July, 2010

Trinidad & Tobago: Up Paramin Way

  30 July 2010

“This village is stunning – the scenery, the variety of panoramic views, and even the crops on the steep hillside are mesmerising”: MEP Caribbean Publishers visits the village of Paramin, “one of the few communities where some of the older residents still speak French patois.”

Philippines: Dayo and the Filipino Migration

  25 July 2010

The Marocharim Experiment designates the Filipino word “dayo” as descriptive of the Filipino experience of migration: “Diaspora assumes exile, deportation, the removal of identification. ‘Dayo,’ like ‘pakikipagsapalaran,’ represents the hope for return; of when, they can only tell.”

Lebanon: “Looks like Beirut” Award

Lebanon News: Under Rug Swept periodically awards the “Looks Like Beirut” Award “in recognition of the work done to keep the overused, worn-out, tired cliché “…looks like Beirut…” alive. It is awarded to Hull and East Riding here, a Weymouth resident here, and a resident of Strabane here.

India: Indian English

  20 July 2010

Indian tweeps are joining in large numbers to gather a lot of Indian English phrases using #indianenglish hashtag. Enjoy!

Lebanon: Don't kill your language!

Is the Arabic language being murdered? Dany Awad comments on a new awareness project taking part on the streets of Beirut, imploring passers-by not to kill their language. See photos of this innovative project in this post [AR].

Morocco: The Complexities of Language

Charlotte is an anthropologist who, for the past year and a half, has been conducting field work in Morocco. Her research is focused on "how the complexity of Moroccan society’s multilingualism plays out in daily life." Jillian C. York takes a closer look.

Kazakhstan: Kazakh blogs on national issues

Lately I have often seen posts about national problems in Kazakh language blogs. I am going to review some of them. Ainash Esali in a post titled “The government should have only one flag” [KAZ] says: “An article with the title “Let’s not call for a bad omen by multiplying...

Equatorial Guinea: Portuguese as its Third Official Language

  14 July 2010

An online petition [pt] against the entry of Equatorial Guinea to the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) has been launched by Portuguese and Mozambican organizations. Brazil and São Tomé & Príncipe [pt] support President Obiang intentions. In case the country is accepted, Portuguese will become its third official language...

Mexico: Technology Changing the Spanish Language

  13 July 2010

Jesus analyzes [es] how Internet users have modified the Spanish language to fit new technologies; for example, referring to a person that uses Twitter as a “twittero,” or Spanish-speaking users writing “lol” when they chat.

Europe: Multilingualism Video Contest

  12 July 2010

If you live in Europe, are between 18 and 35 years of age and can speak more than one language, then send in a short on multilingualism to an online video contest to win a place aboard an itinerant film making event which will travel and take place in the archipelago of Turku, Finland.

China: Proposal to use more Mandarin in TV provokes Guangzhou citizens

  10 July 2010

A recent proposal to use Mandarin instead of Cantonese in the TV news programs of Guangzhou, the capital city of China’s Guangdong province, has been strongly opposed by local residents. The proposal, brought up at the city committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference on July 5, advised Guangzhou...

Japan: Decline of Students Studying in the U.S. and Overseas

  5 July 2010

Despite the increasing number of people studying abroad via study abroad programs, the overall rate of Japanese college students studying abroad seems to be decreasing across the board — even accounting for Japan's declining birthrate. What is the cause of this remarkable decline?