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Bolt, Crook and Payne: What’s in A Name?
Usain Bolt bolts, Anna Smashnova was a tennis pro, Bob Flowerdew is a gardening expert. Coincidence?
Jazz Saxophonist David Murray Plays Nat King Cole
Anchor Marco Werman speaks with jazz saxophonist David Murray about his homage to Nat King Cole’s recordings of Latin standards.
Chicas! Spanish Female Singers 1962-1974
A new CD collection gathers the best in Spanish girl pop from the 1960s and early 70s.
Hablamos Español
How many countries are there in the world, where Spanish is an official or national language?
Re-learning Spanish, and Super-Injunctions
In this week’s World in Words podcast, kids raised in the US are enrolling in Mexican schools, often after their parents have been deported– and they’re struggling to re-learn Spanish. Also, the politics behind the language of terms like illegal alien and undocumented worker. Plus, British gag orders aren’t working, thanks to Twitter. And, does Obama heart Britain as much as Brits heart Obama? Is the relationship still special?
English-only in the US, translating tweets in Japan and satire in Egypt
The English Only movement in the United States is always active during times of high immigration. Now, the movement has got a shot in the arm from the Tea Party. It may help convince lawmakers and voters in the 19 remaining states that don’t yet have a law on their books declaring English to be the official language [...]
From Cicero to Lynne Truss with Robert Lane Greene
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Robert Lane Greene’s new book “You Are What You Speak” examines how language we speak is bound up in our identity. How much does our native language define us? How much does it set our ways of thinking? Can we think a different way in a different language? Why do people get so persnickety about punctuation? Why do grammar sticklers yearn for a golden age of usage that usually coincides with their school days? Download MP3
Spanish language loses two letters
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The Spanish language is losing two letters. By order of the Royal Spanish Academy in Madrid, “ch” and “ll” are on the way out. Anchor Katy Clark talks with Latin American scholar Ilan Stavans about the reaction among Latin Americans, the largest group of Spanish speakers in the world. Download MP3
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.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 MP3Speaking in Tongues
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A new PBS documentary profiles four kids who are attending dual immersion public schools in San Francisco. The filmmakers are husband and wife team Ken Schneider and Marcia Jarmel. Their own kids go to a dual immersion school and speak fluent Chinese. Patrick Cox has part four of our ‘Learning in Two Languages’ series. Download MP3Haitian student in New York
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Since the earthquake in Haiti, thousands of Haitians have arrived in the US. Many of them are young people who were in the middle of high school back in Haiti. One grassroots organization in Brooklyn, New York, helps such students finds places at schools over here. The World’s Alex Gallafent has this story in our series ‘Learning in two languages’. Download MP3Arabic immersion school teams up with FBI
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Some kindergartners in California spend half their days learning Arabic. Muslim immigrant families there like the program but they’re troubled by the school’s partnership – with the FBI. Hana Baba from station KALW in San Francisco has the second part of our ‘Learning in two languages’ series.Download MP3
Learning in two languages
Most American children don’t learn foreign languages, and the opportunities are decreasing. Schools are cutting back on language programs, especially French and German. But immigration and globalization are creating new circumstances for language learning, along with new challenges. >>>In our four-part series, we hear about some of them.
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