Tag Archives: German language
Turkish, Stalin, and just say non!
The newest star of Germany’s national soccer team is an ethnic Turk. And the popularity of Mesut Özil is one of the reasons why Turkish has become just a little more accepted in Germany today. There are other reasons: the … Continue reading
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Language adoption and the future of spelling
This week’s pod has two contrasting stories on language adoption. In the first instance, the intention is to encourage bilingualism; in the second, it’s to promote nationalism. Belgium hasn’t had a revolution since 1830 (see pic), after which a new … Continue reading
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A Chinese Valentine’s pod
Hundreds of language programs at public schools have become victims of shrinking budgets. Not Chinese. We visit Medgar Evers College Preparatory School in Brooklyn, NY, where 400 students are learning the language. Many of the students at the school are … Continue reading
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New York’s polyglot cops, Arabic online, and the planet’s most difficult language
For the latest podcast, five language news stories from the past few weeks, as chosen by The Big Show’s crack language team (Carol and me). 5. Nice and nasty words. Our pick of the many lists — here, here and … Continue reading
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Baby talk, Ukrainian talk, and translated punk talk
Is this baby crying in German or French? A new study says we may be able to tell. The study was originally discussed on my sister pod, The World’s science podcast. It concludes that we begin language acquisition in … Continue reading
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Bilingual metaphors, the passion of place name changes, and interpreting for the Dodgers
Nobel literature prize winner Herta Mueller grew up in Romania. She spoke German at home, and Romanian at school. As a result her writing is infused with mixed metaphors. Not as in “he careened between lovers till his private life … Continue reading
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Gaddafi’s translator, Swedish fury at UNESCO, and Nazi slogans in English
Here are the 5 stories Carol Hills and I selected as our top five language-related stories for the past month or two: 5. The sad tale of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s translator at the United Nations General Assembly. Gaddafi spoke … Continue reading
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Jokes from near and far, and how one Finnish word sparked a global movement
The language of humor: is German humor really an oxymoron? Of course not, unless you don’t get the jokes. Germans are trying to break out of their unamusing — and unamused — past. They’re even making fun of the Nazis. On the subject … Continue reading
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