Tag: language
Linguists hope to save endangered languages in India
UNESCO lists nearly 200 of India's 900 languages as endangered. Others are dying fast as the county continues its rapid development. A team of researchers are working to catalog what's left of them before they disappear completely. ...
Mass. town makes it easier for cops to hand out $20 fines for public profanity
Middleborough, Mass., has had a law against using "unsavory language" in public places for almost 50 years. But up until this week, it took as much as 12 hours of a police officer's time to hand out a single ticket. But that changed this week, and it should now be easier for a police officer to hand out a $20 ticket for swearing....
In Vietnam, people clamor to learn English
Some 37 years after the United States pulled the last of its forces from Vietnam, ending the Vietnam War, the people of Vietnam are clamoring for closer ties to American culture. To do that, though, they need to know English. So in Vietnam, English is king....
The benefits of being bilingual
Fluency in just one language in the 21st century is a competitive disadvantage, and it could be holding back your brain. In a recent New York Times Op-Ed piece, Yudhijit Bhattacharjee wrote that bilingual people outperform single language speakers in cognitive tests of all kinds....
As Burma reforms, students clamor to learn English
Burma, officially known as Myanmar, is in the throes of political reforms. Protesters have been released from prison and notions once unbelievable are now common. And that's meant a growing movement to teach citizens English....
Malay parents struggling to find schools that will teach their children English
Malay is the national language in Malaysia, but English used to be widely used as well in the former British colony. Now, as use of English diminishes, some parents are worried their sons and daughters won't be as competitive in a global work force. So they're left to find schools that will still teach them in English....
Pakistani scholars concerned that Urdu script being lost to technology
In SMS-happy Pakistani, many young people are writing their text messages in using the Latin alphabet, rather than the traditional Urdu script. That has some concerned that the classical script will disappear....
Author Samuel R. Delany on the evolution of sci-fi
Award-winning author Samuel R. Delany reflects on his science fiction writing career, the evolution of the genre and the distinction of sci-fi prose....
It's all about 'me': what pronouns reveal about us
The way you use pronouns -- like 'I, me, my' -- can reveal a lot about your personality, including how honest you are....
Superlatives: Start using 'exalted' says author
If the word 'awesome' has lost its awesomeness, author Arthur Plotnik has a list of new superlatives to help you express yourself....
