Tag Archives: Spanish language
The English-only movement in America
A conversation about making English the only official language in the United States. Tim Schultz, lobbyist with Washington-based US English makes the case for this, ahead of an English-only vote in Oklahoma. This is not the usual fare on The … 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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Colombian Spanish, U.S. Spanish, and Dora the Explorer Spanish
In Colombia, you can hear Latin America’s clearest, crispest Spanish. As a result, Bogota is home to everything from call centers to telenovela production houses. The original Yo soy Betty, la Fea was shot and produced in Colombia. It was … Continue reading
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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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Census-taking, volcano-pronouncing, and why Thais win at Scrabble
The U.S.Census Bureau is firing on all linguistic cylinders to ensure that non-English speakers are counted in this year’s census. It has been getting the word out via ads, PSAs and handbills translated into 28 different languages (compared to 17 … 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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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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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 … Continue reading
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