Interpreter Marina Gross at work in Helsinki.
EPA/Alexey Nikolsky/Sputnik/Kremlin
Interpreters’ notes are used as a short-term memory aid, not a full record of a discussion.
The culture war isn’t just playing out on the streets. It’s also a struggle over the dominant understanding of certain words.
AP Photo/John Minchillo
Aristotle coined the term “enthymeme” to refer to arguments, words and ideas that are broadly accepted among the people of a nation. So what happens when enthymemes start to disappear?
Hobart’s Mount Wellington is now also known by its palawa kani name, kunanyi.
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Tasmania’s Aboriginal languages were decimated during the state’s colonial violence. But members of the original community have reconstructed a language, palawa kani, which is now being used more widely.
It is important to encourage children to learn English as long as they already master their mother tongue.
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Early exposure to a second (foreign) language will not disturb the children’s language development. Some myths have been explained.
Choosing which languages to teach children in a multilingual family is a tough question.
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Parents of autistic children are often encouraged to stick with one language at home - even if they speak several. But should they?
In their early years, children have the ability to accurately produce all sounds of all languages, to mimic a near-perfect accent, which makes it an optimal time for learning a second language.
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Learning languages early makes multilingualism “normal” in classrooms and playgrounds, and builds curiosity and even modest mastery.
French President Emmanuel Macron scolded a teenager for calling him by his nickname, ‘Manu’.
Charles Platiau/EPA/AAP
Could an Aussie high schooler say to our prime minister, “How’s it goin’, Mal?”, and get away with it? Probably.
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Being bilingual is not just about learning two languages, it’s about absorbing meaning, negotiating and being flexible when it comes to language.
Second-generation migrants are usually dominant in English, and third generation are usually monolingual in English.
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Concerns about non-English-speaking migrant populations leading to “parallel communities” are not well founded. Third-generation migrants are typically monolingual in English.
Time to talk.
How Hwee Young
Kim Jong-un may be able to “chat” in English. That’s not enough to understand Donald Trump.
“Aitch” or “Haitch”? It’s long been a point of contestation among English speakers.
Felicity Burke/The Conversastion with apologies to Dr. Suess
An unspoken class war has long been waged around the pronounciation of the letter “h” - is it haitch or aitch? Despite a snobbish leaning to the latter, haitch makes more sense.
IMG.
Chinese language learning offers singular opportunities for cultural capital.
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Can you become fluent with just a language app? Here’s what the research says.
Where did our written numbers come from?
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Linguistic clues show how people around the world first developed mathematical thought.
Swearing can come more easily to people in their second language.
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Ethical decisions deliver less emotional impact when presented in a second language, study finds.
Roseanne Barr had her sitcom canceled on May 29, after calling former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett the child of an ape.
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File
Dehumanizing insults have become more common in political discourse. Psychology research has shown that they can prime us for violence – and even change our brains.
Australia and New Zealand are neighbours but our accents are quite different. We even have different words for things.
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The short answer is that the accent you have depends on the people you grew up with and the history of the place that you live in.
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Encouraging other languages in the classroom won’t lead to ‘anarchy’.
You heard it say what?
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Where you come down on the latest internet hullabaloo depends on how your brain fills in gaps in the sounds you hear.
Bilingual and trilingual shop signs are a feature of Strathfield.
Alice Chik
Australia has no policy designating English as the official language, but an explicit ‘English first’ policy for shop signs would treat speakers of every other language as second-class citizens.