In this cast, an explanation of piñata politics– and why that approach won’t work on election day. Then the political and linguistic divide between Chinese immigrant voters and their Chinese-American offspring. Then two hits on speaking two languages: Oregon votes on bilingual education, while more American parents chose to raise their children bilingually. We round [...]
Entries from October 2008
October 31, 2008
podcast #28: Piñata politics, the Chinese-American generation gap and the bilingualism industry
October 28, 2008
podcast #27: A-Z of the U.S. presidential election, part dos
It’s the second half of our presidential election alphabet. We pick it up with N, for nuclear/nucular energy. Then it’s on to Spanish language ads, Chinese language ballots, and the Canadian who wishes he were American – but perhaps just on election day. Listen on iTunes or here.
October 21, 2008
podcast #26: A-Z of the U.S. presidential election, part one
This week and next, we’re alphabetizing the presidential election campaign. A is for Auma, B is for Bangladesh – and you’ll have to listen to the podcast to hear the rest. Among the issues: Islam, political cliches, and foreign versions of Joe Six-Pack. Listen on iTunes or here.
October 15, 2008
podcast #25: negotiating in Arabic, Arab-American writers and the Arabization of The Simpsons
It’s Arabic week at The World in Words. First, how Arabic and Hebrew both help and hinder Middle East negotiations. Then, Arab-American writers and the words they have to use post 9/11. Finally, The Simpsons gets an Arabic language makeover – and a cultural makeover too. That plus our inauguaral hard-to-define foreign word segment (a [...]
October 7, 2008
podcast #24: The Joy of Spanglish, and a Swedish-American spat on insularity
We have two takes on Spanglish this week, along with many fine examples of America’s fastest-growing language. First, Ilan Stavans explains why he is translating Don Quixote into Spanglish. Then, Bill Santiago explains why he delivers much of his stand-up comedy in Spanglish. In non-Spanglish news, we consider the charge from a Nobel Lit Prize [...]
