London has a sizeable Arabic population, and a few areas of high density (the area around Edgware Road is the best known, with a long established Arabic community). So it’s surprising to find out that the Shubbak festival this month is London’s first ever Arabic arts festival.
The festival of contemporary Arabic arts will take place in 30 different venues across the city, and encompass literature, film, visual art, music, performance and discussions – and promises to be a fascinating window onto Arabic culture for all Londoners, Arabs and non-Arabs alike. Read More »
“Poems on the Underground” has been sharing poetry with London’s travelling public since 1986. Poems are displayed in lieu of adverts in Tube carriages. The latest round of posters highlight the work of Polish poets. Read More »
President Obama’s visit to London seems to have led to a timely resurrection of the Anglo-EU guide. This graphic gives an amusing sideways glance at phrases commonly used in business and bureaucracy with the “translation” of British: Read More »
Anyone who shares my fascination with language and uncovering the obscure will enjoy browsing the UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger. There are reckoned to be over 6,000 languages in the world with some half of those under threat of extinction this century. Read More »
Even when two people apparently speak the same language, regional variations or a lack of local knowledge can lead to total misunderstanding. Read More »
At first glance, do you think this picture shows a predominantly good or a bad day for investors on the Tokyo stock market? When working on your multilingual publications or websites it is worth considering the cultural significance of colours used in design and imagery. Read More »
An unusual tourist destination for Chinese tourists in the UK is revealed by the Metro today. The Clarks shoe museum, in the small Somerset village of Street, is hoping for coaches full of tour groups. Read More »
The eagle-eyed following events in Libya will have noticed that not all news sources agree on how to spell the name of the man who has ruled there for 40 years. Go to the BBC and you will see Muammar Gaddafi mentioned. The New York Times calls him Muammar el-Qaddafi. CNN or Forbes will tell you it’s Moammar Gadhafi, while AFP talks of Moamer Khadafi. Certainly this bothered the Atlanta Journal-Constitution which asked on Friday “Why the many variations of Moammar Gadhafi’s name?” Read More »
An exhibition of “London Street Photography” opened last week at the Museum of London. It provides a fascinating glimpse of London life throughout the last 150 years, using street photography largely from the museum’s archive that has not been widely exhibited before. Read More »
Fry up enriched by many flavours
Interesting interview about language with Stephen Fry this morning on Radio 4.
He talks about how languages, and English in particular, constantly innovates:
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