DP English A Language and Literature

Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) in Korea announced a Bilingual Campus Policy in 2010. This article from the campus newspaper considers the issue.

In the summer of 2010, news of companies such as Rakuten and Fast Retailing promoting the adoption of English as their official language is attracting attention (Opinion piece from The Japan News, Yomiuri Shimbun)

A growing number of firms worldwide are adopting English as their official language (The Economist)

In the European Union, every language is an official language. Government officials speak in the official language of their country, and those comments are then translated into 22, soon to be 23, other languages. All of that costs $1.4 billion per year - and that total will increase when Croatian becomes an official language later this year.

The EFFL militates for the right of the African and North African countries to speak English! Our cause is meant to help African and North African countries develop themselves and get out of isolation.

An organisation that pushes for English to be adopted as the first foreign language of African nations.

Review of "A Doll's House" includes good discussion of themes and character.

Gnip, a provider of social media data, tracked the primary languages chosen by Twitter users.

Cliches that journalists should avoid (Washington Post)

BBC article looks at how a real woman would look with the proportions of a Barbie doll (2009)

Many students who don't ace the SAT and ACT tests apply to schools that make standardized test scores optional. A new study shows those students do just as well in college as those who submit their scores.

The percentage of women directing, writing, producing, editing and shooting films has declined since 1998.

Spoken word from the 2013 National Poetry Slam

Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o talks about race and beauty.

In 1799 the German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was exploring the Orinoco and Amazon rivers and documenting the languages and cultures of the tribes he encountered there. He was given a parrot which was apparently the last surviving 'speaker' of the Maypure language.

Art installation based on a parrot said to have been found by German naturalist Alexander van Humboldt, which was the last surviving "speaker" of Maypure.

Disney's Frozen in several different languages spliced together.

Coke ad with "America the Beautiful" sung in 9 different languages.

Reporter Ailsa Chang was accused of sexism when she described Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand as 'perky', and speaking in a 'girlie' voice. Are we undercutting women political leaders, or treating them differently from men? (NPR July 2013)

My recent column on the use of words like 'perky', girlie', and 'hottest' in referring to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand sparked thoughtful responses on how to write about women leaders. Response to an earlier article (NPR July 2013)