Street signs in Cree in Regina proposed A linguist is calling for the city of Regina to have the Cree language written on street signs in a Regina neighbourhood, in an effort to raise awareness about preserving the First Nations language. Solomon Ratt, an associate professor at First Nations University of Canada, says Cree was one of Canada's first written languages, and he'd like to see it recognized for its historical importance. "It gives us pride in our language and our culture," he told CTV Regina, adding that it will stir discussion about preserving the language. Ratt wants the language to be added to street signs in Regina's North Central neighbourhood, which has a large indigenous population. The proposal has precedent in the city, with Chinese characters gracing street signs in Regina's Heritage neighbourhood. City officials say the process would require careful consultation. Treaty 4 is a treaty established by Queen Victoria and First Nations bands in southern Saskatchewan, western Manitoba and southeastern Alberta.
20 words that once meant something very different Words change meaning over time in ways that might surprise you. We sometimes notice words changing meaning under our noses (e.g., unique coming to mean “very unusual” rather than “one of a kind”) — and it can be disconcerting. How in the world are we all going to communicate effectively if we allow words to shift in meaning like that? The good news: History tells us that we’ll be fine. Nice: This word used to mean “silly, foolish, simple.” We’re human. Watch Anne Curzan’s TED Talk to find out what makes a word “real”. Dictionary of dead language complete after 90 years A dictionary of the extinct language of ancient Mesopotamia has been completed after 90 years of work. Assyrian and Babylonian - dialects of the language collectively known as Akkadian - have not been spoken for almost 2,000 years. "This is a heroic and significant moment in history," beamed Dr Irving Finkel of the British Museum's Middle East department. As a young man in the 1970s Dr Finkel dedicated three years of his life to The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary Project which is based at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. That makes him something of a spring chicken in the life story of this project, which began in 1921. Almost 90 experts from around the world took part, diligently recording and cross referencing their work on what ended up being almost two million index cards. The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary is 21 volumes long and is encyclopaedic in its range. It all sounds like a lot of work for a dictionary in a language that no-one speaks anymore. Ancient life and love
A 3D Map Of The Brain Shows How We Understand Language <img src="<a pearltreesdevid="PTD2167" rel="nofollow" href=" class="vglnk"><span pearltreesdevid="PTD2168">http</span><span pearltreesdevid="PTD2170">://</span><span pearltreesdevid="PTD2172">pixel</span><span pearltreesdevid="PTD2174">.</span><span pearltreesdevid="PTD2176">quantserve</span><span pearltreesdevid="PTD2178">.</span><span pearltreesdevid="PTD2180">com</span><span pearltreesdevid="PTD2182">/</span><span pearltreesdevid="PTD2184">pixel</span><span pearltreesdevid="PTD2186">/</span><span pearltreesdevid="PTD2188">p</span><span pearltreesdevid="PTD2190">-</span><span pearltreesdevid="PTD2192">cafODhhaQOlCs</span><span pearltreesdevid="PTD2194">.</span><span pearltreesdevid="PTD2196">gif</span></a>" style="display:none" height="1" width="1" alt="Quantcast" /> None
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary Has Been Trolling Trump On Twitter For Months : All Tech Considered Merriam-Webster's Twitter account weighs in on trending words and phrases and has waded into linguistic matters in politics, including a big campaign question: Did Donald Trump say "bigly" or "big league"? Marian Carrasquero/NPR hide caption toggle caption Marian Carrasquero/NPR Merriam-Webster's Twitter account weighs in on trending words and phrases and has waded into linguistic matters in politics, including a big campaign question: Did Donald Trump say "bigly" or "big league"? Merriam-Webster has a message for the Trump administration: There is no such thing as an "alternative fact." That memo was at least implied this week when the dictionary publisher tweeted the definition of a fact just hours after Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway appeared on Meet The Press and referred to statements by White House press secretary Sean Spicer about the inaugural crowd size as "alternative facts." These types of tweets are nothing new for Merriam-Webster.
139 Old Norse Words That Invaded The English Language When I say “Old English” what comes to mind? The ornate, hard-to-read script? Reading Beowulf in your high school English class? The kinds of figurative compound nouns – or kennings – like “swan of blood” and “slaughter-dew” that have sustained heavy metal lyrics for decades? Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon, was a language spoken by the Angles and the Saxons – the first Germanic tribes to settle the British Isles. The short answer is that the English language changed forever after the Norman invasion brought a new ruling class of French speakers to the British Isles in 1066. As a result, modern English is commonly thought of as a West Germanic language with lots of French and, thanks to the church, Latin influence. How To Speak Viking The Old Norse noun víking meant an overseas expedition, and a vikingr was someone who went on one of these expeditions. But the truth is far more nuanced. Names of Days War & Violence berserk/berserker – berserkr, lit. Society & Culture Animals
Remembering Nüshu, the 19th-Century Chinese Script Only Women Could Write In 1988, Yi Nianhua, a frail, sickly woman in her 80s, spent many evenings scribbling elegant characters at a table in her kitchen in the small rice-farming village of Shangjiangxu Township, China. With only a blunt writing brush, the elongated script came out fat and blotchy on the newsprint she used for paper. But Cathy Silber, a professor at Skidmore College in New York, worked alongside Yi in her kitchen, diligently deciphering and studying the written language. “Out of the thousands of scripts that are gender-specific to men, here we have one that we know is gender-specific to women,” says Silber, who has been researching Nüshu since 1985. Yi was one of the last remaining writers of Nüshu, a fading script that only women knew how to write and read. Stemming from the southwestern Hunan Province county of Jiangyong, a small group of women in the 19th and 20th centuries practiced this special script that no man could read or write. The exact origins of Nüshu are hazy.
Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Tips on How to Write a Great Story By Maria Popova The year of reading more and writing better is well underway with writing advice the likes of David Ogilvy’s 10 no-bullshit tips, Henry Miller’s 11 commandments, Jack Kerouac’s 30 beliefs and techniques, John Steinbeck’s 6 pointers, and various invaluable insight from other great writers. Now comes Kurt Vonnegut (November 11, 1922–April 11, 2007) — anarchist, Second Life dweller, imaginary interviewer of the dead, sad soul — with eight tips on how to write a good short story, narrated by the author himself. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action.Start as close to the end as possible.Be a Sadist.
Japanese Particles: the difference between wa (は) and ga (が) UPDATE AUGUST 5, 2012: It’s been two and a half years since I originally wrote this post, and thanks to the many helpful comments I was able to go back and polish things a bit. The content of the article has not really changed, but I think the wording is a little clearer now. Please keep the feedback coming Japanese particles are both a blessing and a curse. Of the lot, wa (は) and ga (が) are almost certainly the most annoying pair of particles to keep straight, no doubt because neither of them has a true English equivalent. I’ve devoted a lot of introspective soul-searching time to thinking about these two little guys, and in this article, I’m going to do my best to shed some new, meaningful light on the difference between は and が. Traditional wa and ga “explanations” First, lets do a quick wrap up of the 3 big bread-and-butter responses you’re most likely to get when asking someone about the difference between は and が. Stock response #2: You just have to get used to it. Easy. 朝飯前. Right?
Social Media Glossary For many people, posting a tweet, hashtagging an Instagram caption, and sending out an invite for a Facebook event on Facebook has become common practice. (In fact, if you're highly experienced, you probably do all three at once.) But with new social media networks and innovative software cropping up almost daily, even seasoned social media users are bound to run into a term or acronym that leaves them thinking, "WTF?" Download our free social media guides here to help you get started with an effective social media strategy. For those head-scratching moments, we've created the ultimate glossary of social media marketing terms. Whether you're still hung up on the difference between a mention and a reply on Twitter or you just want to brush up on your social knowledge, check out the following roundup of social media terms to keep yourself in the know. 3) Algorithm - An algorithm is a set of formulas developed for a computer to perform a certain function.
Star Wars: Episode III, redubbed using the English subtitles from a pirated Chinese edition / Boing Boing This is apparently a Chinese pirated edition of Star Wars: Episode III, but dubbed using the English subtitles offered on that disc. It's amazing, not least because the voice actors are so good I thought for a moment it might have been a TV segment with Ewan, Hayden, Samuel and co. [via] OBI WAN The front is a lemon avenue flying straightly More: Here's clips from Episode II: The English subtitles on Chinese Star Wars discs are already legendary as the supposed source of the Do Not Want meme; the scene thusly subtitled is easy to guess. report this ad Name your price to learn web design from the pros Designing for the web requires a mix of high-level planning, detailed mockups, and coding skills. This self-brewing mug is reinventing coffee on-the-go On-demand fresh coffee often requires an expensive trip to the cafe or staying tethered to a bulky drip machine. You'll actually feel the bass on these Skullcandy headphones
The Secret Life of Pronouns, by James W. Pennebaker