podcast #15: China’s mad about English and everyone’s mad about Chinglish

Learning English is all the rage in China right now. We have several items on how the Chinese are struggling to learn English: many struggle more than learn. We ask whether China’s emerging English profiency will mean an end to those poor but funny translations known as Chinglish. We also discover that you can commit some seriously juicy Chinglish in reverse form, from English to Chinese. Listen here or here on iTunes.

podcast #14: Chinese script, dialects and patriotic names

With the Olympics just a couple of weeks away, Chinese national pride is peaking. What better way to express that than name your one - and probably only - child Olympic Games? We get the lowdown on that, as well as on China’s many languages and dialects. Plus, there’s something else we can blame on computers: Chinese people are forgetting how write the script of their own language. Listen here or subscribe on iTunes.

podcast #13: chants, applause and faux esperanto

It’s non-verbal language this week. That means chants, whistles, grunts and other noises that crowds make.  We consider why one refrain in a White Stripes song has become so popular among European soccer fans. Also, the language of applause. Finally,  the deeply weird story about a TV ad in Esperanto - except it wasn’t Esperanto. Listen here.

podcast #12: official English, unofficial Spanish, campaign songs and the French word for podcast

We hit the Presidential campaign trail this week. John McCain has an awkward moment with a voter who seems to want Spanish banned. Barack Obama has to deal with charges that he would force Americans to learn Spanish. Also, from 70s rock to reggaetón: the unofficial campaign songs of the Presidential candidates. And French and English exchange a few words. Some French people now say “boss” and “one-to-one.” But English-speaking Quebecers say “cinq-à-sept” and “valoriser.” Listen here.

podcast #11: living dictionaries and a singing ambassador

It’s official: “muffin top” now has its own entry in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary. This week, we consider several new words, or new meanings of old words, that have found their way into the Concise OED. We also talk with writer Charlotte Brewer about how the OED tries to keep up with the ever-evolving English language. And  we hear from two Americans who perform in foreign languages: the first is a singing ambassador, the second is rapper Y-Love. Listen here.

podcast # 10: speaking freely around the world

With a nod to July 4th, we check in on a quintessential American value: free speech. President Bush says it’s a foreign policy priority. Well, actually, it’s not when it comes to U.S. ally Singapore. We also take a look at a bill in Congress called the Global Online Freedom Act. We spend some time with a Pakistani-American family living in Phoenix, AZ, who together have written “The American Muslim Teenager’s Handbook.” And we offer a tribute to George Carlin and his disdain for euphemism. Listen here.

 

 

podcast #9: the global prospects of English and Textperanto

The English language has been expanding its reach since…I’m no expert, but certainly long before those Mayflower men hit an American rock. Recently, English has made inroads in post-Soviet Russian.  In Estonia meanwhile, everyone’s so busy learning English that they have forgotten that they are right next to Mother Russia.  Then there’s Sol Steinmetz, a man of many tongues. Several decades ago, he was a boy of many tongues: he learned Hungarian, then Yiddish, then Spanish, then English. He still speaks all those other languages - and a couple more - but he feels most comfortable speaking English. 

There are, of course, global rivals to English - Chinese, Spanish, French - but Esperanto is most assuredly not such a rival. Now there’s a new Esperanto for the text messaging generation.  Someone in our newsroom said it should be called Textperanto. Alas, no: its name is NOL. That’s this week’s podcast. Listen to it here.

podcast #8: words about Iraq, terror and basketball

This week, the evolving language of George W. Bush’s foreign policy: we take a look at how his descriptions of Iraq and the “war on terror” have changed over the years. We also hear about a few words the President wishes he hadn’t used. And finally, we consider the Boston Celtics’ embrace of the Zulu concept of “ubuntu.” Listen here. Or on iTunes.

podcast #7: jokes from near and far, and how one Finnish word sparked a global movement

The language of humor: is German humor really an oxymoron? Of course not, unless you don’t get the jokes. Germans are trying to break out of their unamusing — and unamused — past. They’re even making fun of the Nazis.  On the subject of horrifying but ridiculous regimes, are Soviet jokes still funny?  They certainly set the bar for dark. And why does the humor of say, The Office overcome language barriers while other comedies remain imprisoned within their own languages? Also this week, I take a look at how two video artists turned an obscure Finnish word meaning “complaints choir” into a worldwide phenomenon.  Listen to the podcast here.

podcast #6: cluster bombs, bomblets and Arizona’s language wars

As 111 nations agree to ban cluster bombs, we consider the meanings of term “cluster bomb.” Also, we begin an occasional series on Arizona’s noisy battles over language and immigration: English is the official language, but Spanish is washing across the border. We’ll hear from from undocumented high schoolers, and from Arizona writer Tom Miller. Listen to the podcast here.