· May, 2012

Stories about Language from May, 2012

China: Netizens Want Confucius to Return Home

  29 May 2012

A new visa policy was announced on May 17, 2012 by the U.S State Department which put the Confucius Institute under the spotlight in the Chinese blogosphere. Chinese netizens take the opportunity to ask Confucius to return home and teach the poor Chinese kids instead.

Russia: The RuNet's Top 10 Political Slang Words

Understanding political discussions in the Russian blogosphere requires a certain fluency in RuNet slang. For anyone interested in grasping the nuances of online satire and blogger arguments (or for those who seek to "troll" their own virtual opponents), the following list of ten popular slang terms should be particularly useful.

Cape Verde: Encouraging Storytelling and Creative Writing

  18 May 2012

Set over the course of seven weeks, a creative writing competition promoted by the young Cape Verdean journalist Odair Varela on his blog, has led a dozen word lovers to get behind their keyboards and let their imaginations flow. The winners have already been announced and this article provides an overview of the stories told.

Jamaica: Better to Give

  9 May 2012

“The Bobo Shanti youth are well spoken and have a serene gentleness about them…[they] are excellent ambassadors of Rastafari”: Jamaian litblogger Geoffrey Philp finds himself “drawn to how they greet...