Stories about Language
COVID-19 infects Japan's ‘kanji of the year’
密 (mitsu), in some cases, means "close, crowded, or confined."
Combating misinformation in under-resourced languages: Lessons from around the world
A recent webinar explored how underresourced language communities may be at a disadvantage to tackle misinformation and access media literacy resources.
To revitalise their ‘severely endangered’ language, Gitxsan internet users get creative
The Indigenous Gitxsan language is under siege, but by harnessing the very technology that threatens to erase it, one Facebook Group, Gitxsan Got Talent, is renewing interest in the language.
During the Cold War, Latin American intellectuals found solace in communist Prague
After World War II, Latin America had authoritarian, US-backed anti-communist governments. Facing repression at home, writers found refuge in communist Prague, in a story little-known in today's Czech Republic.
Spain’s official linguistic institution steps back from gender-neutral pronoun
"The RAE is a bit like the Pope: we don't care what they say, but that they say it is half the battle."
In the heart of Europe, an endangered Turkic language lives on
The dwindling Karaim language was once spoken across eastern Europe. Now its last stronghold is a fortress town in Lithuania — and Romuald Čaprockij one of its most ardent defenders
Sora, an indigenous language from India, is getting a new typeface
Indian type designer Sony Salma has recently created a new typeface for the Sorang Sompeng, an old and little-used alphabet of the Sora.
In the Ural regions of Russia, Finland's linguistic roots live on
Russia's linguistic diversity is as expansive as the country itself. The Finnish writer Ville Ropponen shares his reflections on the past, present and uncertain future of the Uralic languages.
Caribbean alphabet series provides lots of laughs on TikTok
Laughter has become a critical coping mechanism in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but in an era of social media "influencers," can anyone lay claim to originality?
New literary magazine makes contemporary Japanese fiction accessible to English readers
The literary journal's debut issue translates a plethora of Japanese literature both old and new, and facilitates discussion about the translation itself.
‘We have a strange destiny': a conversation with the Livonian poet Valts Ernštreits: Part II
"That's the idea of the series: to tell the Livonian story to the Latvian public, so they would better understand why Livonian is important."
‘We have a strange destiny': a conversation with the Livonian poet Valts Ernštreits: Part I
"There are only a few countries in Europe who have indigenous people, and Latvia is one of them."
International conflicts are also about names: The case of Nagorno-Karabakh
As in all territories inhabited by different nations using various languages, in this case, Azerbaijanis speaking a Turkic language, and Armenians speaking an Indo-European language, geographic names have more than one name.
Are Romance languages becoming more gender neutral?
Each language is morphing in its own way -- and not everyone is happy about it.
India’s Odia language added to Google and Microsoft translation services
Machine translation is a powerful tool to grow a language's digital presence.
‘Lukashenka's time is over': a Belarusian writer urges solidarity from afar
"Lukashenka says Belarusians abroad are controlled by puppet-masters, but it's the other way around. It is the Belarusian protesters in Belarus who are the masters, and we, the diaspora, are...
Natives’ or ‘outsiders'? A mob attack in Meghalaya throws questions of belonging into sharp relief
The ethnic tensions of Meghalaya – and many more of India's north-eastern states – can be traced back to the 'outsider' narrative.
How a bad translation of ‘Black Lives Matter’ ended up enabling racist narratives on Chinese social media
A popular Chinese translation of the anti-racism protest slogan is paradoxically being used to spread racist discourse.
Calls, SMS, and radio: How pre-internet tech helps low-income children's schooling in India's lockdown
An award-winning non-profit start-up from the city of Cuttack, in the state of Odisha, is providing low-cost remote education to over 5,000 children from 400 villages.
