How Language Affects Thought...

There was an interesting article by Guy Deutscher in the New York Times last week about how the language we grow up speaking affects the way we think and the way we perceive the world around us. Linguists used to believe that our thoughts were constricted by the limits of our native tongue-for example,...

Guernsey Language Expert Marie de Garis ...

The BBC has announced that Marie de Garis, an expert on the Guernsey language and culture, passed away on Tuesday, a little over a month after she reached her 100th birthday.  According to the BBC’s obituary: “Mrs de Garis was highly respected as one of the leading authorities on the Guernsey...

Native Americans Gather for Plains India...

From August 12th to August 15th, Native Americans from several different Plains Indian tribes will gather at the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana to create a record of a language that is rapidly going extinct: Plains Indian Sign Language, also known as “hand talk.”  Although today...

Language Demonstrates Link Between North...

Archaeologists have long believed that humans migrated to North America from Asia, walking across a land bridge over what is now the Bering Strait. Evidence from ancient sites supports this theory, as does genetic evidence. Now, Western Washington University linguistics professor Edward Vajda has demonstrated...

Papiamentu Language Beats The Odds...

In an age in which we lose an average of 10 languages forever each year, it’s heartening to see that at least one language is beating the odds. Although Papiamentu, a Creole language spoken in Curacao, Bonaire and Aruba, only boasts around 250,000 speakers, according to the New York Times it is...

Lack of Tamil-Speaking Police Handicaps ...

Talking to police officers can make even the most law-abiding citizen feel just a wee bit nervous. Can you imagine if the officer didn’t speak your language? In Sri Lanka, a devastating civil war that lasted for decades is finally over.  However, a lack of Tamil speakers on the country’s ...

Eyak Language May Get a New Lease on Lif...

In 2008, an 89-year-old Alaskan Native woman named Marie Smith Jones died. The Eyak language died with her, as she was the last living speaker. Now, a young French student with a passion for languages is considering helping to resurrect the language. According to the Anchorage Daily News, Guillaume...

Laz Language on Decline in Turkey...

Turkish is the only official language of Turkey, but it is far from the only language spoken there. Unfortunately, many of the minority languages are on the decline. Some, like the Laz language, are slowly but surely moving toward extinction. Laz is a South Caucasian language that is spoken by anywhere...

Dutch or French? The Line Between the Tw...

Belgium is like two countries rolled up into one-French-speaking Wallonia and Dutch-speaking Flanders. Soon, the tension between the two may split the country apart. The conflict between the two language groups goes back to when the country was founded in the 19th century. At that time, the country’s...

Vermont Artist Highlights Endangered Alp...

All over the world, languages are vanishing. On average, 10 languages disappear for good each and every year. Many of these are spoken languages only, without an alphabet of their own. However, even languages that are written down are in danger of disappearing, taking their alphabets with them. Tim Brookes,...