Tag Archives: Arabic
From Cicero to Lynne Truss with Robert Lane Greene
As soon as I saw the new book by Robert Lane Greene You Are What You Speak, I know he and needed to speak. Not just because we both speak Danish (we didn’t even talk about that). It’s mainly because … Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Supermarket French, Chanson French, and Arabic in repose
The French of Anna Sam and that of Juliette Gréco could hardly be more different. The French of Gréco (pictured) is moody and melodramatic, as befits this veteran chanteuse. Her pitch swoops to low octave depths and her Rs rrrrroll, … Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Liberian proverbs, Ajami, and courteous interruptions
My colleague Jason Margolis recently went to Liberia to report a few stories for The World. While he was there, he spent some time with his childhood buddy Jason Hepps, who has lived and worked in Liberia for five years. … Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Learning in two languages, and new Zulu words
A back-to-school edition about learning in a second language. We spend some time in the classroom with fourth grade teacher Stephanie Blanco of Gauldin Elementary School in Downey, CA to explore the challenges of teaching English language learners. ELL came … Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Deciphering ancient script and contemporary politicos
In this week’s podcast, another five language stories that didn’t make headlines. Well, aside from the Sarah Palin one. Discussing these stories with me are Rhitu Chatterjee, host of The World’s Science podcast, Clark Boyd, host of The World’s Technology … Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
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
Filed under Uncategorized
Israel’s street sign vigilantes, learning Hindi, and your brain on language
This week, a mom-and-pop effort to restore Arabic script to street signs in Israel. Earlier this year, Israel’s new transport minister Israel Katz proposed an overhaul to his country’s road signs. So far they’ve been trilingual: Hebrew, Arabic and English. … Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
