Essay: In Russia’s war against Ukraine, one of the battlegrounds is language itself
In an article first published on The Conversation, OLGA MAXWELL, a senior lecturer in the School of Languages and Linguistics at The University of Melbourne in Australia, looks at the “language question” in Ukraine and what role language is playing in the current conflict…
Moldovan parliament approves law on Romanian language
Chisinau, Moldova Reuters Moldova’s parliament on Thursday approved a law on referring to the national language as Romanian in all legislative texts and the constitution, despite opposition from a pro-Moscow communist party. The move is intended to resolve a heated dispute over whether the national language should be referred to as Romanian or Moldovan. Two […]
Postcards: Morocco’s Amazigh speakers fear Indigenous language fading
AHMED ELJECHTIMI, of Reuters, reports on calls to ensure the Amazigh language isn’t consigned to history…
Sight-Seeing: Language is hard – are you sure they mean what you think they mean?
KAREN SWALLOW PRIOR, in an article first published on Religion News Service, says caring for each other includes the humility of accepting that we understand each other and our words only in part…
Language
For a long time in linguistics it was assumed that people were born with a blank brain. As children we learnt languages bit-by-bit. PICTURE: Adam Solomon/Unsplash Then Noam Chomsky demonstrated that this was not true at all. Humans are born with our brains pre-wired for language. We have this amazing innate ability for words that […]
Origins: Five words that don’t mean what you think they do
In an article first published on The Conversation, SIMON HOROBIN, professor of English language and literature at the University of Oxford looks at the origins of five commonly used English words…
Essay: Appealing to evangelicals, Trump uses religious words and references to God at a higher rate than previous presidents
In an article first published on The Conversation, CERI HUGHES, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, examines US President Donald Trump’s use of religious language compared to previous presidents…
Essay: How COVID-19 is changing the English language
In an article first published on The Conversation, ROGER J KREUZ, professor of psychology at the University of Memphis, looks at the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on language…
SIGHT-SEEING: SALT AND THE POLITICALLY CORRECT THING – A STUDY IN POLITICAL LINGUISTICS, PART I
BRUCE C WEARNE, in the first of a two part series, looks at the use of language in public debates…
ESSAY: TO SAVE OUR POLITICS, WE NEED NEW WAYS TO THINK AND SPEAK ABOUT ABORTION
Writing for the US context in an article first published on Religion News Service, academic and author CHARLES C CAMOSY argues for better ways of communicating when it comes to the issue of abortion…