Language of the Month

     One of the biggest challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic has been disseminating the information regarding social distancing and other health and safety information. It can be difficult to provide this information to everyone even in the lingua franca of an area, and while many areas around the world are providing this information in […]

     Earlier in March, before the massive shutdowns and shelters in place, I was afforded a weekend getaway to Minneapolis. While I was mostly there for a music convention, of course my linguist eye and ear was out to see and hear what was around me. When one thinks of Minnesota and the Midwest

     As you saw in our article earlier this month, Icelandic is in danger of facing a “digital extinction.” However, just because the language is in danger by no means implies that there is not a beauty and richness to discover.       Spoken by around 350,000 worldwide, including 300,000 in Iceland itself and

     It goes without saying that language is an inherent part of identity. Words we use can change how we perceive the world or even ourselves.When a language is part of a regional identity, this feeling is only amplified. Nowhere is this truer than the case of Catalan.      While Catalan is mostly

     Every December during Christmas time, Christian families around the world prepare for one of the largest religious holidays in the Christian tradition. While many of these traditions have an old world flair, including masses presented in Latin or songs sung in languages of familial heritage, have you ever considered what language would have

In October, I was fortunate enough to take a weekend getaway to Denver, Colorado. As a fan of history, I took the opportunity to go to History Colorado, a major museum in the city that offers a glimpse into the history and culture of the former mining town. I was expecting to learn plenty about

     The months of September and October are an important time for people of the Jewish faith. During this time, they celebrate the New Year during Rosh Hashanah, have a solemn Day of Atonement on Yom Kippur, and celebrate Sukkot to commemorate the provisions given by Yahweh.      Another important aspect of Judaism

     Many times, we have precious little evidence of the foundation or creation of a language. We can look from an anthropological perspective or etymological perspective to make reasonable guesses with evidence, but not often do we have definitive beginnings of the formation (and possible purpose thereof) of a language.      However, this

     Since starting the Language of the Month featured, we have travelled as far as the Museum’s backyard with Piscataway, to the far reaches of Asia with Cantonese. We have also seen languages both surviving (Cantonese) and almost completely forgotten (Piscataway). However, there exist several languages in the middle of these two, which are

     As we continue Language of the Month, we go around the world to the Southeast of China, to the language of Hong Kong and Macau, Cantonese. Many companies are looking for “Chinese” speakers to join their companies, and many schools are even introducing “Chinese” classes into their curriculums, but did you know that