Stories about Language from February, 2011
Caribbean: Bocas Announces Longlist
“The OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature — which will be awarded for the first time this year — has announced its 2011 longlist of ten books”: Caribbean bloggers discuss.
India: Discovering International Mother Language Day
Sunshine discovers the International Mother Language Day and she has finally learnt to take pride in her roots and her mother language.
A declaration of love to the Portuguese language, in all its variations
On February 21 Global Voices in Portuguese commemorated International Mother Language Day with a tribute to the lusophony in all its linguistic and cultural diversity. Read the blogsphere's reflections on the first novel dedicated to the Portuguese language, Milagrário Pessoal - the most recent work by the Angolan author José Eduardo Agualusa.
Video: Learning a New Language Through Online Video
February 21st is the International Mother Language Day and this year's theme is Linguistic Diversity and New Technologies. With that in mind, we bring you a series of examples of how people are helping others to learn their mother languages using videos and websites.
Brazil: Learning culture and portuguese language
In the International Mother Language Day, take some time out to check the Portuguese Blog by Transparent Language and read about the Brazilian culture and its Portuguese language variant. Have fun learning how to use sarcastic expressions such as “para variar” and “depois“.
Ukraine: New Blog on “Politics, and Everything in Between”
GV Author Tetyana Bohdanova has launched an English-language blog “on Ukraine, politics, and everything in between” – Good Girl Gone Ukrainian.
Malaysia: National language and patriotism debate
Jebat Must Die from Malaysia writes about the online debate between prominent political bloggers about the use of the national language in the country and its link to nationalism.
Israel: Jews should be banned from learning Arabic
Arab-Israeli author and Journalist Sayed Kashua wrote a humorous yet sharp column targeting the Israeli narrow view point on the events in Egypt: “I used to think one of the troubles with this place, where people are always buzzing about humanism and accepting others, was the lack of knowledge of...
Angola: National languages in some schools
The Government of Angola announced [pt] the introduction of seven national languages in the curricula of basic education in 2011, “to bridge the learning gap of children whose mother tongue is not Portuguese”. Meanwhile, more and more schools “which dispense references to Angola” are openning, according to BWE Angolano's blog...
Martinique: RIP Glissant
Regional bloggers pay tribute to the life and work of “the great Caribbean writer Edouard Glissant”, who passed away earlier today.
Jamaica: Patois Bible
Diaspora litblogger Geoffrey Philp is “surprised at the bangarang in Jamaica over the Patois Bible”.
