Tag / language
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A Cultural Separation
“Merry Christmas!” I proudly exclaimed to a fellow four-year-old at the local public pool on a hot and humid July day. At the time, I couldn’t speak English, but desperately wanted to communicate and feel included. So, I tried to communicate with the only “American” phrase I knew. Although I don’t attempt to communicate through…
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Language—it’s a personal thing
Rather than attend a traditional Chinese school, I opted for Sunday morning dim sum, an informal and delicious way to connect with my heritage. Although dim sum certainly has its merits, few would argue that dumplings have had a transformative cultural effect on their lives. While my grandma would rattle off her order in rapid…
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The Importance of a National Language
According to Ethnologue, a popular online linguistics publication, there are 127 languages spoken in The United Republic of Tanzania, a country comparable in size to the state of Texas. Of these, 125 languages are living, and two are extinct. Of the living languages, 117 are indigenous, and eight are foreign. Fifty-eight are considered to be…
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Bilingualism Benefits Cognitive Development
The United States provides an interesting paradox: people describe the country both as a traditional “melting pot” of cultures, but also as culturally unaware relative to people from other countries. The sheer size of the country separates it from other areas with significantly different cultures, which makes many of us satisfied simply with interstate travel.…
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Is Irish the True Language of Ireland?
Most dying languages belong to stateless nations—groups without the resources or power to save their native language. Perhaps the most notable exception to this rule is the Irish language; despite the Irish government’s policies promoting the study and usage of the language, the number of Irish speakers continues to decline. The Irish language has been…
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“I’m Sorry. Do You Speak English?”
BY JOE LENOFF The United States is an economic and military powerhouse, with business interests that span the globe and security concerns that reach just as far, yet according to Gallup, only 34 percent of Americans speak a foreign language “well enough to hold a conversation”. This may sound encouraging, but compared with Europe, where…
