Watch Your Language Blog

In China, watch how you say “ma”

In Mandarin, the syllable “ma” infused with different tones can result in different meanings, from horse to mother to a question mark. We blogged about Pirahã (another tonal language) earlier, and talking about tones; the internet is buzzing today with new research findings about the relationship between genetics and tonal / nontonal languages. According to two linguists from the University of Edinburgh, “people who carry particular variants of two genes involved in brain development tend to speak nontonal languages such as English, while those with a different genetic profile are more likely to speak tonal languages such as Chinese.” ... More


May 30, 2007

 

Smart babies

A feature in MSNBC explores recent research surrounding infants’ ability to discern details and sounds in foreign languages: ... More


May 25, 2007

 

House of Language

A language museum might open in London during the 2012 Olympics:... More


May 24, 2007

 

In English, it’s “beauty” before “age”

The Christian Science Monitor looks at something we native English speakers often take for granted: the order of modifiers in English.... More


May 21, 2007

 

Nahuatl, avocado, and Chinese script

The language of the Aztec Empire, Nahuatl, is now being made a compulsory part of the curriculum in Mexico City. Did you know tequila, chocolate, and avocado are loanwords from the Nahuatl language?... More


May 18, 2007

 

Linguavision

Every May, an event occurs that restores my faith in language, humanity, and sequins. That event is Eurovision. I was first introduced to Eurovision while living in London ten years ago. I had, of course, heard of Eurovision’s most famous success stories—ABBA and Celine Dion—but even my exposure to ABBA’s greatest hits hadn’t quite prepared me for the spectacle that was the costumes, the over-the-top europop, the melodramatic ballads, and the idiosyncratic and unilateral voting process (the Scandinavians always vote for each other, as do the Balkans, and the Baltics). ... More


May 16, 2007

 

Teaching a robot to talk

Wired ran a story a few months back, detailing MIT researcher Deb Roy’s experiments to catalogue language acquisition, by videotaping the first three years of his son’s life. His goal is to teach his robot “Toco” to talk; he hopes recreating stimuli similar to his son’s environment and experiences will allow Toco to develop linguistic ability.... More


May 15, 2007

 

Emoticons in translation?

Masaki Yuki, a behavioral scientist from Japan explores how the use of emoticons differs across cultures : “In Japan, emoticons tend to emphasize the eyes, such as the happy face (^_^) and the sad face (;_;).” Notice how the emphasis shifts to the mouth in the other happy “:)” or sad “:(” faces.... More


May 15, 2007

 

Translation ex machina

There’s a lot of hullabaloo surrounding the topic of machine translation. A few months ago, Wired ran a feature on the challenge of translation (for the machine as well as the human mind), highlighting some of the advancements currently being made in machine translation. The jury is still out on whether machines will ever be able to match the human ability to translate languages, but it seems that they’re certainly getting closer. ... More


May 11, 2007

 

Sont des langues qui vont très bien ensemble

The Guardian Arts Blog asks readers for their favorite multi-lingual songs. We did a quick poll around the office, and came up with a list of our own (mostly French-English) favorites:... More


May 10, 2007

 

Renewed interest in heritage languages

The New York Times reports on the availability of language classes in Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, Arabic, and Mandarin for “heritage speakers.”... More


May 9, 2007

 

More world leaders speaking in tongues

Bloomberg isn’t the only one trying to impress with his foreign language proficiency. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair congratulated the winner of the French presidential election, Nicolas Sarkozy, in a recent televised address in Sarkozy’s native tongue. ... More


May 8, 2007

 

Makad Manav 3

Dubbed versions of Spider-Man 3 were released in four Indian languages: Tamil, Telugu, Bhojpuri, and Hindi. To be honest, “Makdi-Man” sounds better; it’s a nice mix in Hinglish. (ELHAM)


May 7, 2007

 

Talk to the hand

A study of chimpanzees and bonobos brings us closer to understanding how language may have begun to develop: gestures, apparently, came first.... More


May 4, 2007

 

Yo soy un Mexicaner

New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg visits Mexico and surprises everyone by answering reporters’ questions en español.... More


May 3, 2007

 

Sworn In On A Dictionary

Jurors in a California court room are being asked to discern the difference between two Chinese expressions in order to decide the fate of a man accused of being associated with a spy ring called “red flower of North America.”... More


May 2, 2007

 

Living Language Live!

The new, redesigned site has finally gone live, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. ... More


May 1, 2007