The latest in Language and Linguistics

Holocaust survivor Veil joins Academie Francaise

2010-03-18T11:45:27Z

<div id="subtitle">Holocaust survivor and ex-European Parliament leader Veil joins revered Academie Francaise</div><div><p>Simone Veil, a French political icon who survived Nazi death camps and went on to become a moral figurehead for France, was inducted Thursday into the Academie Francaise — the sixth wom...

Holocaust survivor Veil joins French 'immortals'

2010-03-18T10:17:12Z

<div><p>Simone Veil, an Auschwitz survivor and the first elected president of the European parliament, on Thursday joined the Academie Francaise, the elite intellectual guardians of the French language.</p><p>The 82-year-old Veil, a former French minister who ranks among the country's most respected politicians, was only the sixth woman to join the "im...

Why Some People Ad Lib Their Own Lyrics

2010-03-14T19:12:14Z

You probably have experienced being annoyed by a person who puts wrong lyrics when singing your favorite song? Worse, such person may even keep on singing the song and adds even more blunders by putting on more wrong lyrics. Some people simply could not help putting an ad lib or interpreting songs using their own lyrics, with grammatical and sense errors.<br><br>Have you ever noticed that some songs are naturally coming with lyrics that are grammatically incorrect and are not maki...

Did Halle Berry Really Show me That I Need to Learn a Foreign Language?

2010-03-11T23:59:52Z

The other morning when I woke up I made up my mind that I was going to learn a foreign language. The decision was to learn Spanish.<br><br>This was not a spur of the moment thing but something I decided overnight. Well maybe it was a spur of the moment thing? You'll have to decide for your self. Let me begin at the beginning.<br><br>I went to bed the night before but was all geeked up and having trouble getting to sleep. All of a sudden, I found myself in what appeared...

East Sudan, a first step for Eritrea's Europe-bound migrants

2010-03-10T09:16:46Z

<div><p>Fleeing a military regime, thousands of young Eritreans stream into neighbouring east Sudan, the first stage of their long migration to Europe, Israel -- or even Khartoum.</p><p>For four decades refugees from Eritrea have flowed into eastern Su...

foreign language film awards

2010-03-06T17:48:43Z

Leonie Benesch and Susanne Lothar The Academy Awards Foreign Language Film Award Directors Photo Op at the Kodak Theatre Los Angeles, California - 05.03.10<...

In polyglot Lebanon, one language falls behind: Arabic

2010-03-02T14:33:50Z

<div><p>Lebanon, a tiny, vibrant Mediterranean country, prides itself on its polyglot society but for the country's youths native Arabic is not very "cool."</p><p>"Hi, kifak? Ca Va?" -- or "Hi, how are you doing? Okay?" -- is a typical multi-linguistic Lebanese greeting so popular it now appears on bumper stickers and teeshirts sold around the world.</p><p>English and French often replace the local dialect in conve...

Review: 'Little Big Soldier' innovative for Chan

2010-02-25T22:30:25Z

<div id="subtitle">Review: 'Little Big Soldier' innovative starring vehicle for Jackie Chan</div><div><p>We've seen Jackie Chan, the nimble action hero who takes down the bad guys. Enter Jackie Chan, the timid soldier who will do anything to avoid fighting, even using a prop arrow and artificial blood to fake his death during major battles.</p><p>In the veteran action star's new Chinese-language release, "L...

'Do you speak Deutsch?': Germany acts to promote language

2010-02-25T10:16:56Z

<div><p>Walking past the "Coffee Bar", advertising "breakfast and bakery" and the "Midtown Grill" offering "great steaks, chops and seafood", you could easily be in downtown Manhattan or Central London.</p><p>But this is in fact Potsdamer Platz, in the very heart of Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010. Germany's foreign minister Guido Westerwelle drew remarks when he insisted on speaking German to a British reporter just after his election four...

Germany to promote `language of ideas"

2010-02-25T08:30:29Z

<div id="subtitle">You speak German? Germany's foreign minister thinks you, and many more, should</div><div><p>Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Well, you should, at least according to Germany's foreign minister.</p><p>Guido Westerwelle drew plenty of sarcastic remarks when he insisted on speaking German to a...

In US mosques, a debate over English

2010-02-20T21:15:24Z

<div id="subtitle">Cultural divide: In American mosques, how much English is too much?</div><div><p>Sana Rahim was born in the cowboy country of southeastern Wyoming, to Pakistani parents who had emigrated so her father could earn a doctorate.</p><p>She speaks Urdu with her family, but can't read or write the language. She recites prayers in Arabic, but doesn't know exactly what each word means.</p><p>N...

Is this the world's most romantic word?

2010-02-22T09:50:54Z

<div><p>LONDON (Reuters) - "Amour," the French word for love, has been voted the most romantic word in the world in a pre-Valentine's Day survey of language experts.</p><p>It narrowly beat "amore," the Italian word for love, although Italian was named the world's most romantic language.</p><p>Italian words also dominated the top places in the list ...

Hispanic media outreach for Haiti unprecedented

2010-02-22T13:05:26Z

<div id="subtitle">With Haiti outreach, Hispanic media take up mantle of advocate, long an English-only role</div><div><p>As horrific images of Haiti flashed across the screens, murmurs of recognition floated through the audience at Univision Network's live celebrity telethon, many people nodding as they recall...

Australia tightens skilled migration rules

2010-02-22T10:51:42Z

<div id="subtitle">Australia tightens migration rules to favor English-language skills and professionals</div><div><p>Australia tightened its migration rules Monday in favor of English speakers and professionals, saying the country has been attracting too many hairdressers and cooks and too few doctors and engineers.</p><p>Immigration

Youngsters in Spanish-speaking homes watch less TV

2010-02-22T12:11:47Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Young Latino children whose mothers speak Spanish watch less television than their peers with English-speaking moms, a new study shows.</p><p>The findings have important implications for efforts aimed at helping reduce TV watching among Latino kids, Dr. Darcy A. Thompson of the

Pearson, Nokia form English teaching JV in China

2010-02-22T13:05:01Z

<div><p>LONDON (Reuters) - Publishing group Pearson and phone maker Nokia have formed a joint venture to deliver English-language learning materials to mobile phone users in China, the two companies said on Monday.</p><p>China, which has more English learners than in an...

Taiwan Electronic Books

2010-01-28T02:19:43Z

In this photo taken Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010, a booth attendant displays Chinese language content on an Amazon Kindle electronic book at the Taipei International Book Fair in Taipei, Taiwan. Taiwan may lead the world in the development of readers for the fast-growing electronic book market, but when it comes to satisfying the e-appetites of its highly ...

Follow These to Learn to Speak English

2010-02-22T15:08:05Z

The acquisition of a language is not simple, whether it's your first language or a second one. Regardless of what a lot of non-native English speakers the world over like to think, learning English is not easy, either. Those who wrongly think that to learn to speak English isn't difficult will find out quickly how wrong they are.<br><br>First, learning English at a basic, communicative level is admittedly not as difficult as learning some languages is. So many peop...