Hiroshima, Nagasaki and self-censorship

As Japan faces its biggest crisis since World War Two, here are two takes on self-censorship from those war years. A child survivor of Hiroshima explains why she kept quiet about her experiences for so long, through the pain and guilt of survival. And a Japanese examination of the self-censorship of American newspaper reporters and editors in the weeks after Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[...]

The vocoder, the linguistic robot and the Dead Rabbit

In this week’s World in Words, writer Dave Tompkins on how the sound-distorting vocoder morphed from a wartime security device into one of Hip Hop’s favorite toys. Also, English teachers in South Korea don’t come cheap. One Korean school is trying an alternative: a robot. Plus, new limits for foreign reporters in China, and the man who brought Jägermeister out of the forests of Saxony onto campus parties everywhere [...]

Pharaohs, Cantonese and the Gang of Four

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In this week’s World in Words podcast: why did British band Gang of Four name themselves after China’s notorious cultural revolutionaries? Also, was Hosni Mubarak Egypt’s last pharaoh? Or is that just a cute turn of phrase? And is Cantonese, once the lingua franca of Chinatowns around the world., imperiled by the steady march of Mandarin?

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Tuareg tales and the R word

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In this week’s World in Words podcast, we hear about an initiative in Mali to preserve the Tamasheq language, spoken by a dwindling number of the nomadic Tuareg people. Also, a conversation about the literary merits of the King James Bible, which turns 400 in 2011. And, the R word: rationing. which among some Americans is R-rated when it comes to health care. But in Britain, rationing is part of the national psyche: it got the country through two world wars, and its collectivist values are at the core of Britain’s government-run health service. Download MP3

English sources, Italian renaissance, Spanish rebellion

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In this week’s World in Words podcast: With budgets tight at American schools and colleges, and with a growing interest in Chinese, what happens to a language like Italian? Also, Latin America is livid with the Royal Spanish Academy, which has decided to remove two letters from the Spanish alphabet. And the relaunched online version of the Oxford English Dictionary: now with detailed word histories and sources.
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The events of English and the future of Tibetan

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In this week’s World in Words podcast, Tibetans protest over the potential loss of their language in some schools. Also, Spain re-orders its family names (under the new rules General Franco might have been General Bahamonde). Plus, historical events that have shaped the development of the English language. And how do you know when you can speak a language?
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Supermarket French, Chanson French, and Lyrical Arabic

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In this week’s World in Words podcast, the French of Anna Sam and that of Juliette Greco could hardly be more different. Sam records the mendacious and the mundane that she overhears at the supermarket checkout. The French of Greco is moody and melodramatic, as befits this veteran chanteuse. Also, what got lost in translation in one of the UN Security Council’s most famous resolutions. And we hear from the founders of Meena, an Arabic-English bilingual poetry journal.
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Voting, vowing and singing in a foreign language

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In this week’s World in Words podcast, we explore when it’s helpful to understand a foreign language, and when it’s essential. Also, an Islamic calligraphy master offers classes in his Arlington, Virginia home. And Broadway star Amra-Faye Wright talks about learning Japanese so she could perform “Chicago” in Tokyo.
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The English-only movement in America

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In this week’s World in Words podcast, a conversation about making English the only official language in the United States. Tim Schultz, lobbyist of US English makes the case for this, ahead of an English-only vote in Oklahoma. Also, an election ad in Chinese, aimed at Americans who don’t speak Chinese.
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Aussie English and proper English

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In this week’s World in Words podcast, author Simon Heffer visits a school in his quest to have people speak good English. Also, poet Les Murray describes some delightfully improper expressions used by Australians. And we check in on a language school in India where the teachers have a strong sense of what constitutes proper English. Download MP3

Genders, geniuses, and Tamil onomatopoeia

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In the latest World in Words podcast: a new line of Tamil pulp fiction translated into English keeps the magnificent onomatopoeia of the original. Also, new research shows that no matter you much some Germans try, they can’t make their language gender-neutral; and Carol Hill’s adventures with Swedish. Download MP3

Liberian proverbs, Ajami, and courteous interruptions

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In this week’s World in Words podcast, reporter Jason Margolis judges a competition to determine Liberia’s most inventive proverb. Also, is it a language? No! Is it a dialect? No! It’s Ajami: Arabic script used as a writing system for many African languages. And, language lessons at the United Nations. Download MP3

Speaking in Tongues and Dreaming in Chinese

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In this week’s World in Words podcast, a PBS documentary follows four students and their families at dual immersion schools in San Francisco. Also, a conversation with Deborah Fallows on living in China and learning Chinese. In Chinese, she says, rude is polite, brusque is intimate. And then there’s the lousy Chinese name she was given. Download MP3

Learning in two languages, and new Zulu words

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In this week’s World in Words podcast, a back-to-school edition about learning in a second language. We have stories about English language learning, Arabic language immersion, and the challenges of one Creole-speaking highschooler in New York City. Plus, the first Zulu-English dictionary in 40 years has just been published in South Africa. Download MP3

Grammar tips in Brazil, and magic in a second language

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In this week’s World in Words podcast: forget their laidback image, Brazilians care about grammar. One city has a long-established grammar hotline staffed by Portuguese language experts. Now the state of Rio de Janeiro is following suit. Also, an interview with the newly-crowned world record holder in speed-texting. And the art of performing magic in a language that’s not your own. Download MP3