01/04/2016–08/04/2016
Headlines
How would we communicate with aliens if and when we finally encounter some? The Atlantic profiled the rise and fall of Lincos, a language developed specifically for exolinguistic purposes by German scientist Hans Freudenthal, and “its enduring legacy” among Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) researchers despite its inherent flaws and limitations.
Over in Italy, volunteers are giving young migrants free one-on-one Italian language classes. Of the refugees entering Italy, a large proportion include unaccompanied minors. Said Eraldo Affinati, who initiated the language school, “It’s not enough to provide food and lodging. If we really want to integrate them, we must teach them the language. Then they can find work. Otherwise, they’ll remain outsiders with all the negative consequences that implies.”
Over in New Zealand, Auckland University of Technology historian, Professor Paul Moon released a new book (Ka Ngaro Te Reo) documenting the decline of Māori throughout the 19th century, in a call for more concerted efforts to tackle the decline. He stresses that “compulsion never works”, and policymakers have to go beyond making the language compulsory in order for the language to be sustainable.
So what’s new in the US presidential campaign? Signing the names of (potential candidates of) presidents in American Sign Language, apparently. Co-founder and developer of The ASL App, Melissa Malzkuhn teaches controversial ASL; part of which consists of the names of prominent folk like Trump, Obama, Sanders, Clinton, Reagan, and Nixon. Here’s a tip: To sign ‘Trump’, “use your hand to emulate what might happen if a stiff wind came in contact with Trump’s hair”.
Commentaries and Features
Writing for Yes! magazine, Sheldon Ito—a native speaker of Hawaiian Creole English—describes the sense of pride that he and other Hawaiians felt when their language was officially recognised by the US Census Bureau this past November.
The New York Times featured several endangered languages that have become the subject of “musical works that celebrate, memorialise or mourn the languages and the cultures that gave birth to them“, including Nu Shu and Quileute, and examined why and how those who develop such “musical language ventures” come to embark on these projects.
A new study of Nheengatú, an Amazonian language with approximately 19,000 speakers, has found that it includes a unique component: gestures. Nheengatú speakers use gestures rather than words to convey the concept of time. Additionally, certain gestures are considered a part of its formal grammatical system.
Imagine your dreams being the only place you’d hear your language. Life was like that for a habitant of Nootka Island, Alban Michael, the last Nuchatlaht speaker who died in February this year, aged 89, reported Times Colonist.
8 Responses to “This week in languages: April 8, 2016”
Alisha Ross
Excellent site you have here but I was curious if you knew of any forums
that cover the same topics discussed here? I’d really love to be a part of community where I can get suggestions from other experienced individuals that share
the same interest.
forkedtransire
We need to teach them the language if we are dordle serious about integrating them. So they can be hired thereafter. Otherwise, they will continue to be outsiders with all the associated drawbacks.
Ramona Mills
Its such as you learn my thoughts! You seem to grasp a lot about this, such as you wrote the ebook in it or something. I think that you just could do with some p.c. to pressure the message house a little bit, but instead of that, this is great blog. An excellent read. I’ll definitely be back
Paul Brown
eхϲellent submit, very infοrmative. I’m wondering ԝhy the օtҺег specіalists of this sector ɗon’t understand this. You must ƿroceeԁ your writing. I am confident, you’ve a huge rеadеrs’ base already.
Nora Tenorio
I really appreciate this post. I¡¦ve been looking all over for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You have made my day! Thank you again
binance sign up
Thank you for your shening. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your enticle that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me? https://www.binance.com/en/register?ref=P9L9FQKY
gacha life
Many thanks for the insightful information you provided. It has been difficult for me to come up with numerous queries pertaining to this matter. I shall walk in your footsteps!
예산출장샵
Los colores de este look me flipan, y me parecen perfectos para el otoño예산출장샵. La forma de la blusa es ideal, y tienes razón, el color vino de los zapatos es el toque genial para este outfit!! Estás guapísima!