June 2010

Thumbnail image for Language Barrier Blocks Asian Fishermen From Making Claims To BP

Language Barrier Blocks Asian Fishermen From Making Claims To BP

by Charlie Jolly June 25, 2010 Languages

BP’s Deepwater Horizon spill is covering beaches, drowning birds and putting a serious damper on tourism all across the United States’ Gulf Coast. But it’s not just an environmental tragedy, it’s also a human tragedy.

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Thumbnail image for Disneyland Now Provides More Sign Language Interpreters and Audio Description Devices

Disneyland Now Provides More Sign Language Interpreters and Audio Description Devices

by Charlie Jolly June 23, 2010 Entertainment

Disneyland just announced two new services to accommodate disabled guests. First, the park will now offer sign language interpreters at many of its top shows and attractions on a regular basis.

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Thumbnail image for Arabic Becomes Popular Language Choice At New York City’s Friends Seminary

Arabic Becomes Popular Language Choice At New York City’s Friends Seminary

by Charlie Jolly June 18, 2010 Education

When New York City’s Friends Seminary began offering high school courses on Arabic language and culture two years ago, the decision was not without controversy, especially since few of the school’s students are of Arabic descent.

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The Origin of the Vuvuzela

by Richard Brooks June 17, 2010 Sport

If you are a football fan, you’ve no doubt been watching the World Cup this week, and a new word, vuvuzela, has entered your vocabulary.  A vuvuzela, also called a lepatata, is basically an incredibly loud horn that South African football fans use to annoy the other team during games. For the uninitiated, here’s how [...]

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Thumbnail image for NHS Hires Welsh Language Champions To Support Welsh Speaking Patients

NHS Hires Welsh Language Champions To Support Welsh Speaking Patients

by Richard Brooks June 11, 2010 Public Service

The NHS just announced that it will be hiring Welsh language champions to ensure that Welsh-speaking patients have access to services in their own language.

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Thumbnail image for Estonia Sends Out The Language Police

Estonia Sends Out The Language Police

by Richard Brooks June 10, 2010 Learning Languages

To encourage the next generation to speak Estonian more frequently, the government has required that schools teach a certain amount of their classes in Estonian instead of Russian.

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Thumbnail image for Bilingual Adults Can’t Stop Thinking in Native Language

Bilingual Adults Can’t Stop Thinking in Native Language

by Charlie Jolly June 4, 2010 Learning Languages

A new study suggests that fully bilingual adults can’t stop thinking in their native languages.

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Thumbnail image for A New Language for Texting

A New Language for Texting

by Charlie Jolly June 3, 2010 Technology

LOL, BRB, ROTFL…text messaging and instant messaging has a language all its own. But it didn’t seem good enough for Kai Staats, the inventor of iConji, a new, hieroglyphic-like language strictly for text messaging.

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