Stories about Language from May, 2007
Trinidad & Tobago: Naipaul's Rules for Writing
Want to improve your writing? Antilles features “V.S. Naipaul's Rules for Beginners”.
Russia: Cars ABC
The Turkish Invasion reproduces a hilarious Russian ABC (in Russian) and writes: “It is now a fact that there are more foreign automobiles on Moscow roads than Lada…no wonder why kids are now learning the Alphabet by auto brands.”
Russia, Ukraine: T-Shirts
Vilhelm Konnander reports on how a bit of Russian xenophobic propaganda has slipped into Britain via this message printed on Burton menswear store's t-shirt: “We will cleanse Russia of all non-Russians!” Carpetblogger displays “some fun t-shirts” of her own.
Algeria: Bad Translations
Algerian blogger and linguist Lameen Souag takes a look at bad translations. “The moral in all this for English-language media is clear: when some helpful organisation sends you a free translation of some foreign-language article or program, do look a gift horse in the mouth, and check the translation with...
Russia, EU: On the Eve of Samara Summit
Time to study Russian, again, writes Jonathan Newton of Tales from the European Underbelly: “I would have had much use for such skills today, as I seem to be surrounded by Russian-speaking colleagues at the EU Council’s Press Centre, where the EU’s foreign ministers and assorted colleagues will wriggle around...
Lebanon: On Freedom, War and Olive Oil
The upcoming Lebanese presidential election, the Winograd Report regarding the Israeli July 2006 war on Lebanon, Lebanese agricultural products, Syrian workers, freedom of speech and freedom to blog in the Arab world, resistance to colonialism and the implications of being a leftist in Lebanon are some of the topics discussed by Lebanese blogs this week, reports Moussa Bashir.
Singapore: Caned For Porning
Seems blogger Lam Chun See's son has been “porning” a lot lately. This “porning” has nothing to do with pornography. Lam Chun See explains what this Singlish term means.
China: Time for a net video tv channel?
There was a proposal put forth recently at one collective of Chinese to English translation bloggers for people to consider making use of Dotsub.com to subtitle cell phone and digital camera-shot video posted online. What would people outside China be interested in seeing? Something with action? How about protest? Is...
Nigeria: Wikipedia in Ibo, Yoruba, and Hausa
Temi Kolawole on Wikipedia in Hausa, Ibo, and Yoruba: “If you speak/write any of the above languages (I dont), feel free to add content on wikipedia.”
Morocco: French Elections Edition
Morocco, as a former protectorate of France, is still well connected to the country. Beyond French cars and French baguettes, Morocco's law and education systems are influenced by France, and more than half of its citizens speak French fluently. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the presidential elections...
Estonia: On Food (and Peace)
The buzz surrounding Tallinn's Bronze Soldier is slowly subsiding, so here is a completely amicable entry on food and peace, written in Russian on May 3 by Tallinn-based LJ user orang-m.
Morocco: Linguistics, Music Videos, and the Merits of Hymenorrhaphy
This week, the English-language Moroccan blogosphere discusses diverse issues such as hymen reconstructive surgery and Arabic music videos. Jillian York summarizes this week's posts.
Estonia: “Past the Sound Bites”
Estonian blogger Kojinshugi posts “a detailed account of what happened in Tallinn this weekend, how it happened, why it happened, and what it means. […] As much as I’m writing this to get across the true nature of events, I’m also writing it to offer insight into one Estonian mind...
Swahili Blogosphere: State of education in Tanzania, M-Pesa and Open Source Movement in Kenya
Higher education students in Tanzania are still finding it hard to adapt to the user-pay system in which they have to directly pay for the costs of university education. Under the Higher Education Sponsorship Loans Board (HESLB) arrangements, the government offers only 60 per cent scholarship to qualified students. Students...
Estonia, Russia: More on the Bronze Soldier
Itching for Eestimaa writes: “With the issue of the Estonian government's decision to relocate a Soviet war memorial to a military cemetery de facto concluded — though the repercussions will no doubt linger for years — the situation at the Estonian embassy in Moscow has become the new focus point...
Russia: “Addressing Others With Respect”
VeryRussianTochkaNet runs into a site “about ‘addressing others with respect’ in Russia” – and corrects some pretty amusing mistakes.
Vietnam Bloggers Crash the Linguistic Divide
Ironically bloggers like Joe's Blog and Vietnamese God put the lie to the idea of a single blogosphere, a unified world of blogs that spans the globe. Yes, blogs have become a global phenomenon, but studies show increasingly that there are multiple blogospheres defined by culture, language and different technologies. Far too often these worlds are distinct solitudes operating in parallel.
