With a nod to July 4th, we check in on a quintessential American value: free speech. President Bush says it’s a foreign policy priority. Well, actually, it’s not when it comes to U.S. ally Singapore. We also take a look at a bill in Congress called the Global Online Freedom Act. We spend some time [...]
Entries from June 2008
June 23, 2008
podcast #9: the global prospects of English and Textperanto
The English language has been expanding its reach since…I’m no expert, but certainly long before those Mayflower men hit an American rock. Recently, English has made inroads in post-Soviet Russian. In Estonia meanwhile, everyone’s so busy learning English that they have forgotten that they are right next to Mother Russia. Then there’s Sol Steinmetz, a man of many tongues. Several decades ago, he was [...]
June 17, 2008
podcast #8: words about Iraq, terror and basketball
This week, the evolving language of George W. Bush’s foreign policy: we take a look at how his descriptions of Iraq and the “war on terror” have changed over the years. We also hear about a few words the President wishes he hadn’t used. And finally, we consider the Boston Celtics’ embrace of the Zulu [...]
June 9, 2008
podcast #7: jokes from near and far, and how one Finnish word sparked a global movement
The language of humor: is German humor really an oxymoron? Of course not, unless you don’t get the jokes. Germans are trying to break out of their unamusing — and unamused — past. They’re even making fun of the Nazis. On the subject of horrifying but ridiculous regimes, are Soviet jokes still funny? They certainly set the bar [...]
June 2, 2008
podcast #6: cluster bombs, bomblets and Arizona’s language wars
As 111 nations agree to ban cluster bombs, we consider the meanings of term “cluster bomb.” Also, we begin an occasional series on Arizona’s noisy battles over language and immigration: English is the official language, but Spanish is washing across the border. We’ll hear from from undocumented high schoolers, and from Arizona writer Tom Miller. [...]
