We start with a US-funded attempt to revive a mountain language in Central Asia. Then a conversation with Mr Endangered Languages, Peter Austin. Finally we hear about the meanings of some fantastically original foreign words. Don’t you wish that English had a word for an interferer at a card game who gives unwanted advice? Listen [...]
Entries from September 2008
September 23, 2008
podcast #22: teaching your kid to read in Urdu and teaching yourself to sing in Spanish
We get all PC on this week’s cast as we ask: did ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser offend Spanish speakers on Monday Night Football? Then we chat with Anneke Forzani, founder of Language Lizard, a dual-language book distributor. (And yes, you really can read Hansel and Gretel in Urdu.) Finally, we check in with singer Dan Zanes [...]
September 16, 2008
podcast #21: translating the untranslatable, and Mel Brooks and the Odessa link
Forget tough love, how about tough translation? We ask a translator of recently-deceased novelist David Foster Wallace how he rendered “Infinite Jest” into German. Then a segment on translating poetry, and the message seems to be: go ahead and mess with the meaning, but don’t rupture the rhythm. Then a take on war zone translators [...]
September 9, 2008
podcast #20: Scottish Gaelic, Scots and the Arabic for hockey mom
A celtic cast today, topped with an Arabic primer from the campaign trail. US-based Al Jazeera TV correspondent Abderrahim Foukara talks about the challenges of translating some of the words and concepts of American presidential politics. Among the toughest: maverick and superdelegate (hockey mom is easy). Then it’s Scottish Gaelic: the BBC is launching is [...]
September 2, 2008
podcast #19: English-only golf, Orwell’s blog and writing in a foreign language
Two newsy items top the podcast: Wasilla, Alaska, hometown of John McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin, and the LGPA’s decision to ban profesional female golfers who don’t speak English. Then we have a report from the World’s technology reporter Clark Boyd on George Orwell’s “blog” followed by a segment on two Bosnian novelists – Aleksandar [...]
