Haiti's new Creole schools
Most Haitian kids do not speak fluent French, but that is the language of instruction in the vast majority of Haiti's schools. Recently, some schools have dropped French in favor of Creole, which is universally spoken but often disparaged.
13m Dec 22, 2014
13m
Ottoman Turkish nostalgia
Turkey's president is demanding that students study the Ottoman language in schools. Is this a genuine effort to get Turks to better understand their history? Or a veiled attempt to undermine secularism and democracy?
6m Dec 19, 2014
6m
An indigenous language school in LA fights to stay open
Students learn in English, Spanish and Nahuatl. But this charter school has had to fight off an effort by officials to close it down.
9m Dec 12, 2014
9m
A bilingual seal of approval for high school graduates
If you live in California or eight other US states and you're fluent in more than one language, you can now get a bilingual seal on your high school diploma.
13m Dec 10, 2014
13m
A Soviet-era storytelling game trains you to bluff, lie and sometimes tell the truth
"Mafia" pits a well-connected minority against a civilian majority. It was invented as sort of spoof of KGB thinking, but it has gone global: the Russian government uses it to train spies, and would-be entrepreneurs around the world play it to practice their negotiating skills.
14m Dec 04, 2014
14m
How to eat your words
We like to know where our food comes from. We tend to know less about where the words for our favorite foods come from.
9m Nov 26, 2014
9m
Do we still need professional translators to subtitle foreign language movies?
It's cheaper to crowd-source subtitles for TV shows and movies. But are these translations accurate and concise enough for viewers?
10m Nov 24, 2014
10m
Misheard song lyrics in the age of the Internet
The web is supposed to be killing off mondegreens. But misheard lyrics are alive and well, even on the sites that try to end the confusion.
15m Nov 20, 2014
15m
Remembrance of the Man who Translated Proust
If you've ever struggled through Marcel Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past," you have C.K. Scott Moncrieff to thank. Moncrieff's translation introduced the French novelist to the English-speaking world. What's more, Moncrieff's own life was a veritable novel.
8m Nov 17, 2014
8m
Military slang post-Iraq and Afghanistan
As the British Army departs from Afghanistan, it's taking a whole new vocabulary with it, to add to an already rich tradition of adopting foreign words and jargon. The Americans too, are adding to their lexicon of military slang.
15m Oct 29, 2014
15m
Telling real stories in translation
Reporter Aaron Schachter met Iraqi interpreter Ayub Nuri in Baghdad in 2003. Since then, they have forged a relationship based on a shared desire to bear witness.
18m Oct 27, 2014
18m
How dialects from Trinidad to Hawaii are expanding the limits of English
We may be in the midst of a golden age of vernacular English literature. Writers like Junot Diaz and M. NourbeSe Philip are introducing readers-- and the the English language-- to thoughts and expressions from their cultural backyards.
20m Oct 22, 2014
20m
Is there such thing as an untranslatable word?
A conversation with Michael Wood, one of the editors of the "Dictionary of Untranslatables."
15m Oct 14, 2014
15m
Russian curses are inventive, widely-used—and banned
Russian filmmakers must either avoid using profane dialogue or seek alternative ways to show their films, now that Russian 'mat' is no longer permitted in public performances
7m Oct 08, 2014
7m
How did English become the language of science?
Don't be fooled by all those Latin, French and German words, says Princeton science historian Michael Gordin. English has long since won science's language war. How that happened has more to do with history than science.
15m Oct 06, 2014
15m
Cajuns are as divided as ever over the word, 'coonass'
Because the word's origins are murky, it's difficult to know just how insulting calling someone a 'coonass' used to be. For some Cajuns today, it's a badge of honor.
19m Oct 01, 2014
19m
A brief history of simultaneous interpretation
Conceived at the Nuremberg trials, simultaneous interpretation is widely used at global meetings. The interpreters at the UN, EU and elsewhere are humans, not bots. And they're all about getting the nuances right in real time. Take that, Google Translate!
9m Sep 29, 2014
9m
The grammar of cuisine
Every cuisine has its own rules about what you eat, when you eat it and how you eat it, says Dan Jurafsky, author of "The Language of Food."
13m Sep 23, 2014
13m
Time to re-translate the Brothers' Grimm: practice makes perfect!
In his retelling of Grimms' fairy tales Adam Gidwitz returns to the blood and gore of the original, while adding his own comments that have a distinctly contemporary flavor.
27m Sep 16, 2014
27m
Who'd be a translator? Everyone has a reason.
The Big Show's Marco Werman chats with his mom, Marjolijn de Jager, about her translations of West African French literature, and to David Bellos, author of a history of translation.
12m Sep 05, 2014
12m
Parliamentary-style debates are becoming popular in China
Some topics are off limits, but debate contests are part of an effort to instill independent thinking in young Chinese.
8m Sep 05, 2014
8m
A University of Kansas linguist is risking the ire of Russia in helping Kazakhstan change its writing system
The Kazakh language uses the Cyrillic script, but Dutch-born linguist Allard Jongman is helping this oil-rich former Soviet state switch to the Latin Alphabet.
22m Sep 03, 2014
22m
The linguistic curiosities of dating online
Despite her better judgment, New York-based Russian writer Anya Ulinich uses the web to seek out potential mates. She finds it all but impossible to interpret the profiles of American men, and they don't understand her any better.
6m Aug 19, 2014
6m
Language tensions in Modi's India
Hindi and Urdu are similar when spoken, but they use different scripts. Over time, they have become cultural and religious symbols. Plus, the People's Linguistic Survey of India.
14m Aug 01, 2014
14m
John Smith, Pocahontas, and the beginnings of American English
How long does it take for a new variety of a language to evolve once somebody lands in a particular part of the world?
9m Jul 25, 2014
9m
How English nearly got a language academy
Back in the 17th century there was a big move to create rules for English, based on Latin. The man behind it, poet John Dryden, thought that Shakespeare and others had turned English into an unruly mess. Had Dryden succeeded, would his academy have fostered linguistic snobbery?
13m Jul 24, 2014
13m
Shakespeare's word coinages are just the start of his contribution to the English language
Shakespeare may not have invented as many words as once thought, but he turned the English language on its head. Perhaps that's the reason that both he and English have such global appeal.
15m Jul 23, 2014
15m
From its beginnings to the present day, English has been a hodgepodge
Despite what grammar sticklers think, there was never a golden age of pure English: the language always been an unruly mishmash of other languages. Just consult the Venerable Bede, a 7th century monk who documented the beginnings of English.
11m Jul 23, 2014
11m
What's the point of learning Russian?
During the Cold War, you could get a job at the Pentagon or State Department job if you spoke Russian. Today you're guaranteed nothing more than the agony of grappling with Russian grammar. Still, there are signs that a few Americans are taking the plunge.
16m Jul 15, 2014
16m
A "lexicon" of chimp gestures may tell us things about our own language
Researchers at the University of St. Andrews have compiled a list of 66 gestures that that they say chimpanzees use to communicate with each other.
13m Jul 07, 2014
13m
How to sound simultaneously English and Spanish at the World Cup
Native Spanish speaker Fernando Palomo does English language TV commentary for ESPN. He offers US viewers instant analysis that draws on his soccer-obsessed Latin American background.
8m Jul 04, 2014
8m
Comedian and former mayor of Reykjavik Jón Gnarr on language, satire and Icelandic naming conventions
The man Lady Gaga called the "mayor of Iceland" is obsessed by language: the language of professional politicians, the Icelandic language and the restrictive rules in Iceland that prevent him from officially changing his name.
16m Jul 02, 2014
16m
How FIFA overcame soccer's language barrier
In a World Cup match in 1966, a German referee sent off an Argentine player. The player, who spoke only Spanish, says he didn't understand and refused to leave the field. Plus, Canada has its own racism controversy over the name of a sports team.
13m Jun 24, 2014
13m
A history of Hebrew, told one word at a time
Before it became the predominant language of Israel, Hebrew hadn't been spoken for 1,700 years. That's presenting a challenge for the editors of the Historical Dictionary of the Hebrew Language. Also, Azerbaijan's war on Russian names.
11m Jun 19, 2014
11m
Words and phrases that only make sense at the World Cup
What do 'handbags,' 'ringlets' and 'drogbacité' mean in a soccer context?
14m Jun 12, 2014
14m
What happens when the doctor says 'hospice' and you understand 'poorhouse'?
Many words sound similar in English and Spanish: car, carro; fruit, fruta. But watch out: 'hospice' and 'hospicio' do not mean the same thing.
13m May 29, 2014
13m
Russian leaders have tinkered with their alphabet for centuries, but with the letter ё, they have a fight on their hands
From Peter the Great to Stalin, Russian leaders have issued edicts to reform the Russian language. But top-down language reform rarely works. And it may fail again now.
11m May 20, 2014
11m
In Ukraine, the insults in both languages draw on sensitive historical moments
Listen closely to the slurs being slung back and forth between pro-Russian separatists and pro-government Ukrainians, and you can hear the echoes of history.
6m May 17, 2014
6m
At cocktail hour, would you prefer 'The Bitter Taste of Calm' or 'Seven Days in the Grave'?
Multilingual mixologist Joaquin Simo is steeped in cocktail culture. For his concoctions, the names are borrowed from foreign languages, overheard phrases and racehorses.
13m May 08, 2014
13m
In Scotland's independence referendum, Lady Alba is voting 'Naw!'
What's the best way to campaign for Scottish independence? Create a fictional opponent who expresses souped-up, pro-British slogans to the tune of a Lady Gaga song.
8m May 05, 2014
8m
"Dear Sir, I like words..." and other letters of note
British blogger Shaun Usher collects letters from and ancient and recent history. The best of the letters are now reproduced in his book, "Letters of Note."
9m May 01, 2014
9m
Words written in secret: a history of invisible ink
Author Kristie Macrakis got interested in invisible ink a few years ago while researching the Stasi, East Germany's secret police. Now she's written a history of steganography, or "hidden writing."
6m Apr 29, 2014
6m
A Canadian journalist escapes detention in Ukraine by speaking French
When Toronto Star reporter Mitch Potter was approached by a group of angry Pro-Russian separatists in the Eastern Ukraine town of Slovyansk, he thought he was going to be detained. Then he spoke French.
7m Apr 29, 2014
7m
I have been given three Chinese names. Which one should I use?
Language editor Patrick Cox can't decide between three Chinese names given to him by Chinese friends and colleagues. The first uses clever wordplay, the second adheres to fortune telling conventions, and the third looks and sounds majestic.
17m Apr 23, 2014
17m
‘Hello, my name is Yes,’ and other English names in China
China may be experiencing a golden age of memorable English names. Millions of young Chinese are giving themselves English names of all shapes and sizes. But there’s also evidence that the trend may be peaking.
8m Apr 22, 2014
8m
The language of pregnancy seems pregnant with meaning. Is it?
In Russian, the word for “pregnant” can mean “burdensome.” In Chinese, “pregnant” appears to imply “happiness.” But be careful reading too much meaning into these words.
17m Apr 14, 2014
17m
How to apologize for the Cultural Revolution without blaming the Chinese Communist Party
The rhetoric of apology in China today is nuanced and coded. Though some people seem genuinely contrite for their actions during the vigilante violence of the Cultural Revolution, they are careful not to blame the government.
17m Apr 07, 2014
17m
In search of the perfect email sign-off
Are you too mildly dissatisfied with your choice of sign-off? Don't like "Best"? Find "Cheers" to British? And "XO" creepy? Help is on the way.
8m Apr 01, 2014
8m
A modest French revival in Maine, USA
Fifty years ago, kids caught speaking French in Maine schools might be punished. Today, the state is proud of its French heritage and is trying to keep Maine French alive.
7m Mar 13, 2014
7m
Do you answer 'How are you?' the American or the Russian way?
Alina Simone's Russian family and American friends aren't on the same page — not even close — when it comes to responding to this simple question.
6m Mar 05, 2014
6m