The Language Feed - November 9, 2005

[Harold F. Schiffman]

The Language Feed
November 9, 2005


This issue and archives can be read on the web at
http://mason.gmu.edu/~smorris2/feed
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Is dual better? District looks at language program
Wheeling Countryside, November 3
Enrollment in Wheeling Elementary School District 21 is decreasing, but
the number of students who don't speak English as their native language
continues to rise, prompting educators to examine how those students are
taught.
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/cgi-bin/ppo-story/localnews/current/wh/11-03-05-710905.html


Sign Language Improves Mental Abilities
LiveScience, November 3
Knowing Japanese may help you trade Yen on the Japanese stock market.
Leading a safari tour in Kenya is much easier if you're well versed in
Swahili.
And knowledge of American Sign Language comes in handy when studying
structural geology.
http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/051103_signing_advantage.html


School language decline continues
BBC, November 3
Learning a modern language beyond the age of 14 is now compulsory in
only a quarter of England's state secondary schools, a survey suggests.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4404998.stm


Spanish: One language, many variations
The Journal News, November 3
As an interpreter in Rockland's courts, Jean Simon knows he must be
meticulous to avoid misunderstanding. But one day he — and the plaintiff
with whom he was working — both were caught by surprise.
http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051103/NEWS02/511030342/1019/NEWS03


Teachers shine at 'Year of Languages' conference
Brookline TAB, November 3
Foreign language teachers from the Brookline Public Schools joined 750
other language teachers from across the state Oct. 22 to 23, at the 39th
annual conference of the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association. The
theme of the foreign language teacher conference this year was "Foreign
Languages ... For the Way We Live Today!"

http://www2.townonline.com/brookline/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=360625

New technology helps with translations

Cnews, November 3
Imagine this: You want to whisper something to a co-worker in Spanish,
but you can't speak the language. So you simply mouth the words in
English, without uttering a sound, and they immediately pop up in
Spanish on your colleague's computer.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/TechNews/Other/2005/11/03/1291090-ap.html


Language Boom sweeps colleges
Online Navigator, October 28
In an increasingly global economy, and as terrorism and war bring world
events home, American students have returned to the study of foreign
languages in record numbers.
http://www.pclionsroar.com/media/paper524/news/2005/10/28/Features/Language.Boom.Sweeps.Colleges-1041286.shtml


When It Comes to Babies Learning Language, the Eyes Have It
Newswise, November 9
Infants begin pulling off an amazing feat sometime in the final three
months of their first year of life. They learn an important social
interaction by following the gaze of an adult, a step that scientists
believe gives babies a leg up on understanding language.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/515993/


Fed language rules ripped
Cnews, November 7
Sixty bitter civil servants have filed a complaint with the Official
Languages Commissioner, alleging that "systemic discrimination" in the
workplace denies unilingual employees promotions.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2005/11/07/1296445-sun.html


Genetics and language or genetic language?
Medical Research News, November 7
Most comparisons of language and inherited traits consider whether
genetic patterns conform with expected relationships observed by
linguists. But few have considered the use of genetic data to support
specific hypotheses raised by linguists regarding the relationships
between language families.
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=14308


Speaking ourselves out of Babel
Universitas Helsingiensis, Autumn 2005
Eleven chapters into Genesis God came down and interrupted the
construction of the tower of Babel, separated the builders into
different languages and ethnicities so they could no longer understand
each other, and spread them all over Creation. With the ever-increasing
movement of people leaving its indelible imprint on even the most
nationally anchored languages today, many researchers are suggesting the
genesis of a new global ethnicity. During four stopovers in different
parts of the world the question will be proposed: are we, through
crossing languages, reversing the myth of Babel? Or are we creating even
more confusion than before?
http://www.helsinki.fi/uh/3-2005/juttu3.shtml


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