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Not Impressed with Other Languages’ Vocabularies
1–2 minutesI’m really glad that the Language Log blog did a recent post on the who cares of other language’s vocabularies and especially as this one has to do with the World Cup. The World in Words podcast which I otherwise adore annoys me on this point by showcasing each week “hard to translate words” which they then promptly translate. Maybe they’ll feature “vuvuzela.” Who cares what Zulu has a word for? Did you know Zulu has a word for “annoying three-foot-long one-note plastic trumpet”? Isn’t that fascinating? No. Of course it isn’t fascinating. It’s a wonderful example of why I…
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Language Myth: Primitive Languages
1–2 minutesAn unwritten language (a language without a writing system) is obviously more primitive than a language that has a writing system, right? Wrong. It’s a common misconception to think that a language is somehow more primitive than another simply because it does not have a system in place to write its language down. Cultural complexity is a different story, but when it comes to linguistic development no language can really be considered “primitive.” Claiming that one language is more primitive than another is tantamount to saying one people group is more biologically evolved than another. But we’re all human and…
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Wycliffe on The World in Words
1–2 minutesIf you’re interested in hearing about the state of Bible translation and specifically what’s going down with Wycliffe Bible Translators, one of my favorite podcasts, The World in Words, features a segment on Wycliffe Bible Translators in the latest edition. Host Patrick Cox stops by the Wycliffe headquarters in Orlando and interviews Wycliffe President Bob Creson. This is a great overview of how Wycliffe operates and what they hope to accomplish in the near future. The Wycliffe segment is sandwiched between pieces on Middle East street names and the Locavore language. It runs from minutes 8:30 to 23:30. Read about…
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Glottal Stops in Greek Verb Pronunciation
1–2 minutesproskyneo. Go on, say it. Say it out loud. Pros-koon-eh-o. Or, did you say pros-koon-glottal stop-o? You know the glottal stop. It’s what you do when you say the word “button” in normal speech, if you’re American anyways. Also, the glottal stop is infamously employed by Cockney speakers (cf. Ricky Gervais). There’s nothing wrong with the glottal stop. I’m not saying there is, but I don’t think it belongs in an anglophone’s pronunciation of Greek verbs, or any ‘phones pronunciation for that matter. So please stop glottal stopping. And perhaps go with the open-mid front unrounded vowel instead. Note, I’m…