The Language Feed - October 15, 2004

Fri Oct 15 12:39:50 UTC 2004

The Language Feed
October 15, 2004

This issue and archives can be read on the web at
http://mason.gmu.edu/~smorris2/feed <http://mason.gmu.edu/%7Esmorris2/feed>
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bid to make French language of EU justice system
Espatica, October 13

One of the official arbiters of the French language launched a bid
Wednesday to make the mother tongue of Moliere, Chirac and Inspector
Clouseau the official idiom of the EU justice system.
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=58&story_id=12878&name=Bid+to+make+French+language+of+EU+justice+system
<http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=58&story_id=12878&name=Bid+to+make+French+language+of+EU+justice+system>

Learning 2nd Language Changes Brain Anatomy
Reuters, October 13
Being bilingual produces changes in the anatomy of the brain, scientists
said on Wednesday in finding that could explain why children are so much
better than adults at mastering a second language.
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=6491803&section=news
<http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=6491803&section=news>
<http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=6491803&section=news>

Autism Linked to Language Disorder
Ivanhoe Newswire, October 14
Autistic boys with language problems have a lot in common with boys
suffering from a language-related disorder known as Specific Language
Impairment (SLI).
http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=9710

Breaking the language barrier in baseball
Ipswich Chronicle, October 14
Watching Game 2 of the American League Divisional Series last week,
Becky Schnakenberg had mixed emotions. She grew up in a family that is
passionate about the Red Sox, but she has personal and professional ties
to the Angels.
http://www2.townonline.com/ipswich/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=102585

Student teaches language, teamwork and trust at orphanage
Tewkbury Advocate, October 13
The recent spate of hurricanes have drawn attention to the hard-hit
Caribbean islands, where people living in poverty have had few defenses
against the high winds and torrential rains.
http://www2.townonline.com/tewksbury/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=102799

ESC initiates language support scheme for IT cos
News Today, October 12
To cater more prominently to the global market, the Electronics and
Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) has undertaken
'Language Related Market Access Facilitation Initiatives' (LRMAFI)
scheme to overcome language barriers in Japan and Germany.
http://newstodaynet.com/12oct/bu3.htm

Parents welcome proposed changes to Chinese Language education
Channel News Asia, October 12
Parents in Singapore have welcomed the proposed changes to how Chinese
language is going to be taught in schools. In fact, most say the changes
are long overdue.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/111390/1/.html

Language skills limit immigrants
Toronto Star, October 11
The first Canadian study of immigrant achievement in university suggests
that non-white newcomers and those for whom English is a second language
do not score grades comparable to those of Canadian-born students.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1097446808783&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154
<http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1097446808783&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154>

Silent struggle for sign language rights October 11, 2004
Daily News, October 11
Half a million South Africans use sign language as their first language
- and that's more than those who speak Sotho and Venda.
http://www.dailynews.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=500&fArticleId=2256716
<http://www.dailynews.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=500&fArticleId=2256716>

Fourth-grader tries to conquer language
El Paso Times, October 11
The small and quiet phrase that 9-year-old Valeria Alvarez uttered in
English to her teacher one recent Friday morning didn't amount to more
than a request to use the bathroom.
http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/borderland/20041011-179459.shtml

Peaceful protest proves most effective in any language
icwales, October 9
IT MAY have been a journey of less than 100 miles, but for a boy from
Merthyr Tydfil going to university in Aberystwyth in the early Sixties
was like emigrating. The realisation that I had moved into what felt
like a foreign country, complete with its own language, came as a
jarring culture shock.
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=14736235&method=full&siteid=50082&headline=peaceful-protest-proves-most-effective-in-any-language-name_page.html
<http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=14736235&method=full&siteid=50082&headline=peaceful-protest-proves-most-effective-in-any-language-name_page.html>

Dave Barry: Mr. Language Person lowers the boom
International Herald Tribune, October 9
MIAMI Join us now for another rendition of "Ask Mr. Language Person,"
the only grammar column mentioned by name in the Bible, as well as the
official grammar column of the American Association of English Teachers
in the Staff Lounge Counting the Days Until Retirement.
http://www.iht.com/articles/542682.htm

Chiefs push for one language
Fiji Times, October 9
Several chiefs have called for Fijian to be the country's official language.
And, the chiefs want the national anthem to be sung in Fijian and the
implementation of a Fijian cultural centre to preserve indigenous culture.
http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=9684

Universes riffs on words to illuminate language
Chicago Sun Times, October 12
As the five polymorphously prodigious linguists who comprise the cast of
"Slanguage" told their audience early in their performance at the Museum
of Contemporary Art Theatre this past weekend: "We don't gang bang, we
bang slang."
http://www.suntimes.com/output/weiss/cst-ftr-slang12.html

A Lesson in Linguistics From the Mouths of Babes
New York Times, October 12
Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin," the three little pigs taunted
the big bad wolf. When Anna Van Valin was 4 years old, she pronounced
the phrase "not by the chair of my hinny hin hin" and unwittingly
advanced the study of children's language when she did.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/12/science/12lang.html

The Linguistics of the Presidential Debates
NPR, October 8
As President Bush and Sen. John Kerry look to their second face-to-face
meeting Friday night, linguist Geoff Nunberg considers the language of
the 2004 debates.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4077218

Republicans are picture-perfect at the art of framing arguments
Seattle Times, October 14
Remember that old biblical truism, "The truth will set you free"? It's a
good one, reassuring in its simplicity, confident in its assumption that
facts always triumph.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2002062696_framing14.html

The real meaning of deconstruction
International Herald Tribune, October 15
Along with Ludwig Wittgenstein and Martin Heidegger, Jacques Derrida,
who died last week in Paris at the age of 74, will be remembered as one
of the three most important philosophers of the 20th century.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/10/14/opinion/edtaylor.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
News of the Feed: Special thanks go out this week to Louis Blois, an
English teacher at John Leggott College in Sc***horpe, England. He sent
the Feed out on an English language teachers list, and I've been
inundated once again with subscriptions - this time from some of the
most incredibly polite people on God's green earth! Your subs were a
pleasure to process. Please feel free to forward the Feed on to all your
colleagues and friends. The Feed's subscription total is now 385! Thanks
to everyone for making the Feed a great success.  Now, who wants to pay
me for doing this?
- Sally
------------------------------------------------------------------------
You are subscribed to the Language Feed. To unsubscribe, send an email
to smorris2 at gmu.edu <mailto:smorris2 at gmu.edu>. Feedback is always
welcome. Send yours to smorris2 at gmu.edu <mailto:smorris2 at gmu.edu>.