Stories about Language from July, 2008
Uganda: Interview with singer Omega Bugemba Okello
Pamela Stitch has an interview with Ugandan singer Omega Bugemba Okello at the African Loft, which includes one of her music videos. She talks about why she sings in Luganda and her difficulties in a male dominated industry, among other things.
Uganda: (No longer) lost in translation
The majority of Ugandan bloggers have yet to write in languages other than English, perhaps because over 50 different indigenous languages are spoken in the country. Over the last year, however, several of Uganda's blogren have forayed into the world of local-language blogging via Luglish, a blend of English and Luganda, the local language most commonly spoken the capital city Kampala.
Russia: One Year Sentence for Blog Comment
On July 7, Savva Terentyev, 22, a Russian blogger and musician, received a one-year suspended jail sentence for a comment he posted on Feb. 15, 2007, on the blog of a local journalist Boris Suranov. Below are rough translations of the comment and a small passage from the verdict, as well as an opinion poll on the impact of Terentyev's case on the freedom of expression in the Russian blogosphere.
Western Sahara: Poetry and Spanish – The Permanent Links
For some cultures, it is food, for others it is music, and many cultures show their character in their architecture. For Western Sahara, one of their cultural characteristics is the oral tradition, and poetry is meaningful for Sahrawis.
Serbia: “Face to Face With Digitalization”
The Parliament of the Republic of Serbia elected a new government a few days ago. The basic goals now are for the new Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic to strive for European integration, defend Kosovo, strengthen the economy and social responsibility, step up the struggle against corruption and crime, and fulfill Serbia’s international commitments. Bloggers have paid attention to this event. However, one of them was also thinking about a very important issue for the government, something the new Prime Minister has so far failed to address: the digitalization of Serbia.
Japan: View from Ecuador on WaiWai “Child Hunt”
WaiWai was a column in Japan's fourth largest newspaper Mainichi, published for years in the English version of their website and featuring some of the most scandalous (and mostly fabricated) articles from Japan's weekly tabloids, translated to English with added “embellishments”. In recent weeks, the story of WaiWai erupted on the Japanese Internet, users reacting to WaiWai's negative depiction of Japan. One Japanese blogger living in Ecuador wrote a blog post expressing outrage at a WaiWai article about Japanese supposedly "hunting" for children in Ecuador.
Caucasus: Russian Language
Social Science in the Caucasus comments on data indicating the level of English and Russian language proficiency in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
And here comes Global Voices in Italian!
Many of our dearest supporters have already heard the big news released on the second day of Global Voices Citizen Media Summit in Budapest, Hungary. We officially re-launched three Global Voices Lingua sites: Hindi, Macedonian, and Albanian, and introduced a brand new language to our global readers: “Global Voices in Italian“!
China: Forum Language
Xiao He 1120 posted some terms such as “brick” (means substantial article), “water” (empty words), “push” (recommend), etc. commonly used in Chinese forums for new users in clubcat.
China: Are you in?
You might be in The Lost Ring already and not even know it, unless you've been keeping up with the biggest alternate reality game seen so far. Lyn Jeffery at Virtual China looks at how Chinese netizens figure into the mystery—or not, thanks to internet censorship.
China: Canteen=Translate Server Error
Buxi posts a funny photo of a translation error caused by the failure of online translation server.
Morocco: Catching Up With Peace Corps Bloggers
Morocco is host to a vibrant Peace Corps program. All over the country, American Peace Corps members volunteer their time teaching English, sustainable growth, assisting with agricultural and women's projects, and a multitude of other tasks that come along with being a young, active volunteer in Morocco. And Moroccans, known...
