NPR

6 min. di lettura

The demand for "proper" English can be used to shut people out of spaces and opportunities. The folks at NPR's "Rough Translation" podcast have a story to tell.

Futurity

4 min. di lettura

New research suggests that people think about the question, “If you could save the lives of five people by pushing another bystander in front of a train to his death, would you do it?” differently if they hear it asked in a language other than their

The Atlantic

2 min. di lettura

The number of people who speak a language seems to affect how new words and structures spread.

NPR

3 min. di lettura

As we kicked off our weeklong language series, we asked you what questions you've got on the subject. You responded. Now, we have some answers.

The Atlantic

4 min. di lettura

Court stenographers often misunderstand Black English, and their mistakes could affect people’s lives at crucial junctures.

Futurity

2 min. di lettura

People are more willing to eat foods that they find disgusting if those foods are presented in a foreign language, new research shows. The finding could help win acceptance for environmentally sustainable foods that many people are unwilling to try.

Mother & Baby India

4 min. di lettura

While researching for this article, I came across so many questions and doubts about raising a bilingual child in the US or Europe. “Bilingual?” I thought to myself. “They’re concerned about their children learning two languages? They should look at

India Today

2 min. di lettura

There is a change happening in the field of foreign languages. The global economy is shifting from the English speaking world and use of diverse foreign languages on the Internet has changed in the last few years for global communication and for comm

Italia magazine

1 min. di lettura

Published six times a year by an experienced team in Rome, Tutto italiano not only helps you improve your fluency, it also helps you underst and what it is to be Italian. The glossy magazine is packed full of lively articles and the latest news cover

The Atlantic

3 min. di lettura

No matter how many words you can define, your vocabulary isn’t like a dictionary. Your mind stores language not as a list of words, but as a network of categories, properties, and meanings, with stronger connections between related words, like newspa

Los Angeles Times

6 min. di lettura

I felt her staring at me on the playground as I called out to my daughter. She must be someone's grandmother, I thought. She must be curious, as people often are. Then she took one step toward me - pink fingernails, dark blond hair - and opened her m

The Guardian

3 min. di lettura

Writing letters to my mother feels liberating – even if simple sentences often get lost in translation

The Atlantic

6 min. di lettura

Embracing your inner child is comforting and fun—and just might revitalize the English language.

WellBeing

7 min. di lettura

Words MEGAN BLANDFORD I have vivid memories of being read to in my childhood. My sister and I would snuggle up on either side of our mum as she read aloud books that are still among my favourites: The Secret Garden, The Magic Faraway Tree, Matilda an

The Christian Science Monitor

5 min. di lettura

What makes a story, a story? For Harry Bruinius, the Monitor’s New York bureau chief, it’s the moment a person’s life changes. He has long brought this approach to his reporting, covering issues of religion, race, and even gun violence.

Literary Hub

8 min. di lettura

Salvatore Scibona, whose new novel, The Volunteer, is available now from Penguin Press, had a proper writerly conversation with Victor LaValle in which, among other things, they discussed grad school, the infinite past vs. the skimpy present, war, an

Literary Hub

4 min. di lettura

In the early 90s, I had a puzzling conversation with a college classmate. He told me about a movie he’d seen. I asked him if he liked it. “It was all right,” he said. “A little cheesy.” I had just arrived in the United States to study abroad. The mov

India Today

1 min. di lettura

Q. How do you look back at your 53-year-long career as a playback singer? I have had a dream journey. Some of my career’s highlights have also been the challenges. For instance, the fact that I was a live performer before I became a playback singer.

You South Africa

1 min. di lettura

One of my fondest childhood memories is of sitting on my dad’s lap, a Richard Scarry word book open on his knee. He’d point at the cute pictures that crowded the page and my job was to identify each object. How clever I felt! And it was such fun. Per

Literary Hub

6 min. di lettura

People ask me whether I think in French or in English now that I’ve lived in the US a while. I lie when I answer this. I say it depends on what I’m thinking about—English for work, French for family and curse words. This answer is usually welcomed as

NPR

1 min. di lettura

On-air Challenge: Every answer today is a four-letter word that is composed of two consecutive state postal abbreviations. Ex. Similar --> AKIN [Alaska + Indiana]1. What a volcano spews2. Mineral that comes in thin layers3. Breeze4. Like moist

The Atlantic

7 min. di lettura

Just as fish presumably don’t know they’re wet, many English speakers don’t know that the way their language works is just one of endless ways it could have come out. It’s easy to think that what one’s native language puts words to, and how, reflects

India Today

1 min. di lettura

Saura, Munda, Kui, Juanga-all tribal languages from Odisha-are just some of 124 languages that can be found on StoryWeaver, a treasure trove of engaging illustrated books for children. The storybooks are categorised according to reading levels, with

The Christian Science Monitor

2 min. di lettura

A reader asked about the origins of thwart, which has two sets of meanings that are at odds. On one hand, to thwart something is to hinder or prevent it; in older uses, though, thwart implied crosswise motion or position. English has several other wo

Business Traveller

1 min. di lettura

Idioms from around the world that have us scratching our heads. This issue, it’s a French expression. Phrase: Literally: Meaning: Origin: Les carottes sont cuites The carrots are cooked It’s no use crying over spilt milk Supposedly began in the 1

Futurity

3 min. di lettura

Songbirds are minimalists when it comes to learning a new song, research shows. The birds’ learning strategy resembles the methods that computer scientists use for document comparison. For a songbird, learning a new song is akin to a child learning a

Beijing Review

2 min. di lettura

Language communication can be difficult between different countries. There are differences in cultures, attitudes, beliefs, local phrases and customs. Understanding a country’s history is also important to develop good communication skills. All of th

Woman & Home

3 min. di lettura

What does a Jerusalem artichoke have to do with Jerusalem? Why do we fall head over heels when that’s the right way up? And doesn’t having your cake and eating it make total sense? If you’ve ever pondered any of these linguistic curiosities, the answ

Literary Hub

5 min. di lettura

One of the very first questions I wrestled with as a writer was this: Why write in English, the colonizer’s language, when I have others at my disposal? I grew up acquainted with three languages; my grandparents immigrated from southern China to Mala

Your Pregnancy

4 min. di lettura

Children usually start Grade 1 in the year they turn seven, but the journey towards this big milestone starts much earlier. To ensure that your child is ready for the pressures of big school life, it is useful to know what the required level of biolo