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Articles on Losing language

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From Indigenous languages to how migrants stay connected, mother languages are becoming the norm. (Shutterstock)

How a child’s first language includes more than words

On International Mother Language Day, Canadians can celebrate multilingual heritage by recognizing flexible uses of languages.
Far fewer Americans speak a second language than in most other developed countries – and the problem starts in the classroom. Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com

The true failure of foreign language instruction

Whether it’s due to native language loss or unsupported high school curricula, the lack of bilingualism in the US is notable. Why can’t more Americans speak another language? How should that change?
Jamie Milpurr translates archived stories told by his grandfather Frank Ambidjambidj with help from his grandmother Margaret Marlingarr. The stories were told in Kun-barlang, a language spoken on Goulburn Island with 20 speakers remaining. Steven Bird

Computing gives us tools to preserve disappearing languages

A clever proces similar to Google’s image search is helping to preserve some of the world’s 7,000 languages that are at risk of disappearing.
Members of the Chitimacha language team (from left to right) Sam Boutte, Kim Walden and Rachel Vilcan use the new language software for the first time.

Renaissance on the bayou: the revival of a lost language

In the face of war, disease and outside cultural pressures, the Chitimacha language has survived – and now thrives.
Literary translation has occurred for centuries (the Bible is a prime example). And with Nobel Prize winners like French author Patrick Modiano, it’s unlikely to disappear anytime soon. Wikimedia Commons

Absorbed in translation: the art – and fun – of literary translation

I recently stumbled upon a post that describes the process of literary translation as “soul-crushing.” That’s news to me, and I’ve been engaged in literary translation for the better part of four decades…

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