Monthly Archives: March 2010
Swearing in Irish, storytelling in Scots, and rapping in Khmer
Two takes on the Irish language: one from Patrick’s dad, who was a schoolboy in the early years of Ireland’s independence, when studying Irish was an exercise in nation-building. Then, an interview with Manchan Magan who made a TV series about traveling around Ireland speaking only Irish. Next, we hear from Alexander McCall Smith: his latest offering in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series is a children’s book in the Scots language. Finally, hip-hop artist Boomer Da Sharpshooter who grew up speaking English but now raps in Cambodia’s main language, Khmer. Continue reading
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Moorish grafitti and texting in Yiddish
The Alhambra in Grenada, the crowning glory of Moorish Spain, has more than 10,000 prayers and poems in Arabic inscribed on its pillars and walls. We hear about an effort to decipher and catalog the inscriptions. It’s not the first … Continue reading
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Haitian Creole on the Beeb, and the fall and rise of Yiddish
Some of the images out of Haiti these past weeks have been heartstopping. They’ve clearly had an effect on decision-makers at the British Broadcasting Corporation. The BBC is well-known for its radio and TV services in languages other than English. … Continue reading
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Packing flashcards, Pandas and Polyglotty Olympics
So it’s another edition top five language stories of the past month, with The World’s cartoon queen and podstar Carol Hills. 5. The End of Bo. As repeat readers and listeners know, I’m on the fence when it comes to … Continue reading
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