Tag Archives: bilingual
A trip around America’s languages with Elizabeth Little
At some point during Elizabeth Little’s gargantuan road trip, she realized that her book, A Trip of the Tongue: Cross-Country Travels in Search of America’s Languages, was morphing from something whimsical to something serious. Perhaps it was in Florida, where … Continue reading
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Consciousness, Poetry, and Bilingual Babies
We take a trip inside the mind in this week’s pod. How much is human consciousness shaped by language? Somewhat, says theoretical psychologist Nicholas Humphrey. He’s more interested in the other things that shape it, like what he calls the … Continue reading
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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
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Speaking in Tongues and Dreaming in Chinese
A new PBS documentary, Speaking in Tongues, follows four students and their families at dual immersion schools in San Francisco. The film offers evidence that the study of math, science and other subjects in more than one language gives students … Continue reading
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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
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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
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Bilingual tots and the language of smell
Not many parents in Israel make the choice, but a few send their kids to Arabic/Hebrew bilingual preschools. The World’s Jerusalem correspondent Matthew Bell is one of them. His son is about to enroll in a preschool where Hebrew and … Continue reading
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Russia’s national lyricist, Canada’s language laws, and the rehabilitation of a code-breaker
This week, a look back at the career of the late Sergei Mikhalkov, who has died aged 96. During World War Two, Mikhalkov wrote the lyrics to the Soviet national anthem. After Stalin died, he rewrote the lyrics, expunging all … Continue reading
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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
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Banning Hungarian, swearing for pain relief, and dog barks translated
For this month’s language news podcast, I roped in The World’s Online Editor Clark Boyd. In a former life, Clark taught English in Hungary — yes that’s a barely younger version of him posing beneath the signpost. He, of course, … Continue reading
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