Kazakh Language: signs with both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabet abound – very helpful! In Astana I met friend and co-author Phillip Carter. Our first job was to find a Kazak language teacher. It’s what we do, and our linguistic adventures certainly played a part in writing: Before arriving, Phillip’s... read more
Multilingual U.S. Presidents The topic of multilingual U.S. presidents begins with Martin Van Buren, eighth President (1837-41) of the United States. He is the only President whose first language was not English. It was Dutch. Herbert Hoover, 31st President (1929-33), was another one of our multilingual U.S. presidents. He and... read more
For March, which is Women’s Month. The topic is social change. Sociolinguist William Labov has observed: “While most language forms are stable and customary; a few rapidly changing variables may be closely compared to fashion. Change and diffusion of fashions – in clothing, cosmetics – appears to be closer to... read more
The connection between love and language is connection. What is love? Connection. What is language? Connection. When you love someone, you are connected to them. If that person is in your presence, you are likely to connect with them physically – a touch on the arm, a pat on the... read more
In the early thirteenth century Genghis Khan united a variety of Mongolia’s nomadic tribes. Because of the Mongolians’ exceptional skill as horsemen, Genghis Khan was able to conquer many of his neighbors. In 1204 he subdued the Uyghur people in what is now Xinjiang, a western province of China. There... read more
Deixis: what is it? In Languages in the World we have defined language as an orienting behavior that orients the orientee within his or her cognitive domain. When we think about deep time and the co-evolution of the human brain and language, we speculate that the first linguistic orientation was... read more
Vietnamese is a fascinating language, as is the culture and history of Southeast Asia. Visitors to Vietnam, if they go to the mountain town of Da Lat or the beach town on Con Dao Island, might be surprised to see what looks to be a smaller version of the Eiffel... read more
The pre-colonial Polynesians, who are Austronesian, revered a supreme deity who, according to the story, huddled in an egg-shaped shell for countless ages in endless space. After an infinite period of impenetrable darkness, the god hatched himself. Upon beholding a void, he was inspired to create the heavens and the... read more
What is the relationship between literacy, Islam and the Arabic language? According to Islamic tradition, the Qur’ān is a book of God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. It did not come to him in the form of a complete book but rather in parts over a period of several decades.... read more
The Turks have Turkey, the Syrians have Syria. Why do the Kurds not have a country called Kurdistan? Here’s the story: In 1915 and 1916, while World War I was ravaging Europe, English diplomat Sir Mark Sykes and his French counterpart François Georges-Picot met in a series of negotiations. The... read more
