It's time for our end-of-month roundup of language-related items in the news--from the linguistically profound to the lexically ridiculous.
- Preserving Old Words
Though the English language rightly re-invents itself with each generation, we must not discard words that are more vivid and expressive than their modern alternatives. . . . Read more
(Max Davidson, "Old-Fashioned Words Are Gobbledegook? Don't Talk Balderdash--They're Simply Spiffing." The Daily Telegraph [UK], October 28, 2011) - Tweeting Every Word in the English Language
Since late 2007, an obscure Twitter account has been automatically tweeting a single word every half an hour. The ultimate goal: to tweet every word in the English language. . . . Read more
(Adrian Chen, "One Man's Quest to Tweet Every Word in the English Language." Gawker, October 28, 2011) - Bilingual Babies
Once, experts feared that young children exposed to more than one language would suffer "language confusion," which might delay their speech development. Today, parents often are urged to capitalise on that early knack for acquiring language. As the relatively new science of bilingualism pushes back to the origins of speech and language, scientists are teasing out the earliest differences between brains exposed to one language and brains exposed to two. . . . Read more
(Perri Klass, "Hearing Bilingual: How Babies Sort Out Language." The Indian Express, October 16, 2011) - Investing in Language Learning
Employees with a portfolio of languages [are] valued for their ability to build partnerships, and [have] an advantage in the job market for relationship-focused roles, from deal-making to supply chain development. . . . Read more
(Tim Hume, "Money Talks--In Many Different Languages." CNN, October 7, 2011) - New Nation Adopts English as Official Language
The young nation of South Sudan has chosen English as its official language, but after decades of civil war, the widespread learning of English presents a big challenge for a country brought up speaking a form of Arabic. . . . Read more
(Rosie Goldsmith, "South Sudan Adopts the Language of Shakespeare." BBC News Magazine, October 8, 2011) - The Story of English in 100 Words
If you can tell the history of the world in 100 objects, as the British Museum's Neil MacGregor did last year, then it ought to be possible to tell the history of a language in a similar number. But, as with objects, it isn't enough for each word to be interesting in its own right. It has to represent a whole class of words. It has to tell a story. And each of these individual stories should add up to the history of the English language as a whole. . . . Read more
(David Crystal, "From Riddle to Twittersphere: David Crystal Tells the Story of English in 100 Words." The Daily Telegraph [UK], October 14, 2011) - Regional Accents and Cultural Stereotypes
If you're one of the many that assume all this media exposure must be homogenizing the American accent, you're not alone. It sounds like a logical hypothesis: The accents heard in the media are far-reaching and pervasive, so local accents must be on the decline as the population is exposed to all this "standardized" speech. But experts say it's a common misconception that has no basis in fact. . . . Read more
(Rachel Rodriguez, "Regional Accents Thrive in U.S." CNN, September 29, 2011) - World Book Night in 2012
A committee headed by the author Tracy Chevalier this evening unveiled the lineup of 25 specially printed titles which will be distributed by thousands of volunteers across the UK on 23 April 2012 as part of an international celebration of reading. . . . Read more
(Alison Flood, "World Book Night Giveaway: A Night of Good Omens or Misery?" The Guardian [UK], October 24, 2011) - The Fight Against Franglais
As custodians of the French language, the Académie Française takes its job very seriously. It has fought against the creeping use of English for decades--asking for certain imports to be replaced with their purer French alternatives. And now, with the threat of its beloved mother tongue becoming even further diluted, it has taken the radical step of starting to list English words it wants banned from use. . . . Read more
(Lee Moran, "Fight Against Franglais! French Language Website Creates List of English Words It Wants to Ban." Daily Mail [UK], October 12, 2011)
Back Issues of Language in the News:
Comments