The World from PRX

LANGUAGES

The exterior of the Ancient Church of the East in Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 27, 2023.
Language
A newly launched news channel in Iraq tries to preserve the ancient Syriac language
men in a row
Ukraine
Ukrainian band Antytila on the front lines
Alina Simone's daughter Zoe teaches her Russian-speaking grandfather some basic Chinese.
The World in Words
Russian-speaking New Yorker would rather her daughter learn Chinese
Performer Jacqueline Salamack (L) jokes with an audience member after a performance of "A Klingon Christmas Carol" in Chicago, December 20, 2012.
Arts
Why yes, I do speak Klingon
Barcelona soccer fans make their feelings known about Catalan independence, at a game on Wednesday Oct 18th 2017
Culture
The roots of Catalonia’s differences with the rest of Spain
ferrante
Books
Language versus dialect, or why we’re obsessed with Elena Ferrante
Dancer Link Berthomieux says that when French people use the English word ‘black,’ “It’s a trendy way to say ‘noir.’”
Culture
Why the English word ‘black’ became the new ‘noir’ in France
Girl sitting with other students look to side
Education
Once, students were punished for speaking Spanish. Here, they are honored.
Dutch-born author of Lingo Gaston Dorren. Dorren is pictured here in Turkey reading the German translation of book originally written in English: A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka. Dorren's first language is Limburgish.
Culture
In parts of Europe, speaking six languages is no big thing
Sign in Beirut celebrating the hybrid Arabic/French/English that many Lebanese like to speak.
Culture
Three mother tongues in one
Reza Jamayran poses in front of an image of a childhood hero, Lucky Luke.
Culture
If you want to convey a sense of lawlessness in Persian, Turkish or Norwegian, just say ‘Texas’
Larry Hagman at JR in Dallas, watched around the world.
Culture
Talking Texas in Iran
Ali_firstdays_1
Culture
Nothing challenged my readiness to live in the US more than a chicken sandwich
At Bede's World in Jarrow, Britain, a staff member dressed as a monk poses in front of a recreation of an Anglo-Saxon animal shelter.
Arts, Culture & Media
From its beginnings to today, the English language has always been a hodgepodge
An Aboriginal performer in Sydney, Australia. Aboriginal languages in Australia are among the fastest-disappearing tongues in the world.
Environment
When languages die, ecosystems often die with them
Ben and Jerry's ice cream in Israel is labeled "glida," the Aramaic word for frost. In modern Hebrew, it means ice cream.
Arts, Culture & Media
A history of Hebrew, told one word at a time