Language

In front of a floor-to-ceiling glass door in the living room of Najannguac Dalgård Christensen, necklaces with amulets carved out of bone and seal claws dangle from a coat hanger.

Healing old wounds: The revival of Greenlandic Inuit tattoos in Denmark

Greenland’s Indigenous peoples once wore bold face tattoos that carried deep spiritual and cultural significance. But during the centuries of Denmark's colonial rule, the Inuit tradition of getting face and hand tattoos disappeared. One Inuk tattoo artist is now reviving a piece of Inuit heritage for community members living in Denmark.

Healing old wounds: The revival of Greenlandic Inuit tattoos in Denmark
The exterior of the Ancient Church of the East in Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 27, 2023.

A newly launched news channel in Iraq tries to preserve the ancient Syriac language

A newly launched news channel in Iraq tries to preserve the ancient Syriac language
People gather during the Kanua film festival in Ecuador.

Film festival makes its way through Ecuador's Amazon by boat

Film festival makes its way through Ecuador's Amazon by boat
man at podium

Australians ready for a historic referendum recognizing First Nations people

Australians ready for a historic referendum recognizing First Nations people
Cast members perform during a rehearsal of the opera "Monkey: A Kung Fu Puppet Parable" at the Emerson Paramount Center in Boston, Sept. 20, 2023.

A modern take on an ancient Chinese folk tale

A modern take on an ancient Chinese folk tale
Yahritza Martinez and her two guitar-playing brothers make up the trio Yahritza Y Su Esencia.

Mexican American teen star sings on after heated controversy with Mexican audiences

Yahritza Martinez, 16, went from apple picking in rural Washington, to becoming a TikTok sensation and chart-topping musician. But her career nearly came to a halt after her comments about Mexico went viral. Despite the controversy, Martinez played at a major Mexican Independence Day concert in Mexico City — but some fans were not yet ready to embrace her.

Mexican American teen star sings on after heated controversy with Mexican audiences
A woman working at a carrel in library stacks

Nonnative-English-speaking scientists work much harder just to keep up, global research reveals

New research found nonnative-English speakers face higher rejection rates and 12.5 times more revisions than their native English-speaking counterparts. But there are solutions.

Nonnative-English-speaking scientists work much harder just to keep up, global research reveals
collections of Moomins things

Finnish Moomins book series finds new audiences in the US

​​​​​​​The Moomins are troll-like characters from a Finnish children's book series that became popular around the world starting in the 1950s. But they never really took off in the United States. The author Tove Jansson rejected Walt Disney's offer to buy the brand. Now, a bookstore chain in the US is trying to popularize the Moomins here.

Finnish Moomins book series finds new audiences in the US
Noam Tsuriely is a 28-year-old Jewish Israeli hip-hop artist from Jerusalem, whose debut album will drop later this summer.

This Israeli rapper brings people together through multilingual lyrics

Noam Tsuriely is a 28-year-old Jewish Israeli hip-hop artist from Jerusalem He says he likes to rap in both Hebrew and Arabic to get Israelis and Palestinians to learn both languages, so they can understand each other better. Tsuriely's story is the latest in The World's summer "Planet Hip Hop" series.

This Israeli rapper brings people together through multilingual lyrics
silent movie still

A silent movie cinema thrives in Brussels

For most of the world, silent films died out in the 1930s. But in Brussels, Belgium, the only remaining cinema in the world with a regular schedule of silent films, along with live piano accompaniment, is thriving.

A silent movie cinema thrives in Brussels
sign for the University of Alberta on the university's campus

Why are some sounds funny?

To English speakers, the word, “peanut” isn’t especially funny. But “peanut” in Serbian, “kikiriki” is widely considered by Serbs to be the funniest word in their language. This raises the question of why people laugh at some words (“poop”) but not at others (“treadmill”). Does it come down to their meanings? Or are people responding to their sounds? Psycholinguist Chris Westbury set out to discover the answer.

Why are some sounds funny?
rapper

Hip-hop artists in India call out caste discrimination 

In India, artists are using hip-hop to stand up to one of the world's oldest forms of discrimination: caste. In recent years, a new wave of Dalit artists is wielding some of the same musical elements that Black artists began channeling decades ago to call out prejudice and injustice.

Hip-hop artists in India call out caste discrimination 
Cité Internationale Universitaire campus in Paris, France.

How the Bologna Process expanded opportunities for students across Europe

Exchange programs allow students to move freely between universities across the European Union, while paying local tuition fees — which, in some cases, can be free. The Bologna Process has united university degrees across the continent under a common set of quality assurance controls and recognition standards.

How the Bologna Process expanded opportunities for students across Europe
Professor Juan Madrid with his students from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley at a radio telescope in Fort Davis in West Texas.

'Embrace the culture, embrace the language': Offering bilingual courses benefits students beyond the classroom, Texan professor says

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is classified as a Hispanic-serving institution where some bilingual courses are offered. The World's host Marco Werman speaks with astronomy professor Juan Madrid about teaching his classes in both Spanish and English and what it means for the students.

'Embrace the culture, embrace the language': Offering bilingual courses benefits students beyond the classroom, Texan professor says
man on sidewalk

Catalan separatists want university classes taught in the local language. Spanish academics resist the change. 

​​​​​​​Language has always been at the heart of the Catalan people’s campaign for independence. And the regional government is once again demanding that university professors teach their courses in Catalan. But does the Catalan-language law further the nationalist cause, or leave the region more isolated? Professors are already rebelling. 

Catalan separatists want university classes taught in the local language. Spanish academics resist the change.