Patrick Cox
Are Europeans Still Tribal?
Soccer and language differences bring out our tribalism. That may not help in solving the Euro Crisis.
Linguistic Rectification, and Tori’s Spelling
Is there a single correct way to pronounce cities like Kiev and Krakow?
A Crisis Within a Crisis: Europe’s Identity Crisis
The World’s Patrick Cox reports that if there is one thing that European historians agree on, it is that Europe is not naturally unified.
Nairobi’s Smart Graffiti and Sheng Hip Hop
Podcast: A group of artists bring politics and color to the streets of Kenya’s capital.
Speaking Freely in the New Burma
As Burma opens up, political speech is less restricted, but testing it is still risky.
The Royal Jubilee, The Sex Pistols and Me
Now, as in 1977, during the Silver jubilee, the Sex Pistols’ song “God Save the Queen” offers an alternative anthem for the times.
Beyond Class Part VII: Is Social Class Still Relevant?
For our final story, we return to Britain, the country where the modern class system was born. Since the 1980s, one prime minister after another has declared Britain to be a “classless” society. At the same time, working class institutions have been vanishing: manufacturing factories have closed, union power legislated away, benefits slashed. Everyone is expected to be middle class. If you’re not, you may be described as “feckless,” “lazy” or the “underclass.” Britain, it turns out, hasn’t become classless. It has just re-invented its own class consciousness.
Beyond Class Part I: A Life’s Path Determined at Age Eleven
In 1944, Britain introduced the Eleven Plus exam. School students age 11 who passed this mandatory test could enroll in elite secondary schools that prepared them for college. The thinking was that bright working class kids would have a path to a middle class education and career. Those who failed the exam would go to regular schools, with the expectation that they would leave school for good at 15. This two-tiered system was criticized for writing off all but the smartest kids, and it was scrapped in the 1970s. Now however, the Conservative-led government is starting to re-introduce it.
Tourette’s Hero: Changing the World One Tic at a Time
A British woman with Tourette’s Syndrome celebrates the humor of her verbal tics.
Podcast: In Vietnam, a Nation Learns English
As young Vietnamese flock to language schools, older Vietnamese feel the culture shock.
The Chinese Yuan and the Currency of Language
Does China’s rise mean that Mandarin will one day replace English as the language of global trade?
Mistaking Welsh For Hebrew
A linguistic mix-up sends two journalists to a Libyan jail for three weeks.
A Trip Around America’s Languages
Writer Elizabeth Little discovers Twilight tourism and the Quileute language
Mademoiselle in Song, and Translating Jargon
Will French singers stop using the word “Mademoiselle” now that the French government has?
Ben Lewis’ History of Communism Told Through Jokes
There are many ways to tell history. One of the most revealing may be by relating the jokes of a time and a place. Ben Lewis does that in Hammer and Tickle. These are jokes of people victimized by Communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
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