News

03/09/2010 - 13:53

Evaluation Report on the Public Basque Language Office (May 2010)

Four general inspectors from the French State recently presented a very favourable evaluation report on the Public Basque Language Office (OPLB) which they conducted in May of 2010. The Public Basque Language Office is the public structure which has been in charge of the policies in favour of Basque in the Northern Basque Country since the end of 2004 and also initiated a linguistic policy project in 2006.

20/08/2010 - 09:43

Coming out of the (language) closet

According to Wikipedia, the part of this sentence falling outside the brackets is an idiom which, when applied to people, means «the voluntary and public disclosure of one's homosexuality». When it's not voluntary, the expression used is outing. I didn't know that.

16/08/2010 - 10:38

World Tamil Congress sets future agenda for the ancient language

As the monsoon hit the southern segment of the south Asian subcontinent in June, Coimbatore looked different. Humming along with the sounds of a festival of literature, culture and art and beaming with the presence of nearly 3,000 delegates from 50 countries, the Tamil Nadu city known throughout Asia as a hub of India's booming high tech industry, hosted the World Classical Tamil Conference (WCTC), a full-fledged showcase of the specific uniqueness of the Tamil language.

17/07/2010 - 23:42

House names, part of our cultural heritage

The importance of the house to both family and society in the Basque Country, both historically and today, is a well-known fact. The existence of house names in oral literature bears witness to this (one of the best known is in a verse by Xalbador in reference to Xalbadorrenea, his home in Urepel). House names are also cited in the rights and obligations assigned to houses under the Basque royal charters. And, it goes without saying that house names remain alive in the surnames of the people who lived there.

01/07/2010 - 13:05

Catalan in cinemas, at long last?

In May, 1.9 million cinema-goers in Catalonia were greeted by a 22-second spot after the trailers, showing an empty cinema and a dramatic piece of news delivered by a voice off screen: «If the Cinema bill is adopted in its present form, you won't be able to see some of the films we've just presented».

17/06/2010 - 17:21

Valencian-Catalan: market factor

It has taken more than fifteen years and thirty court decisions for the autonomous government of Valencia to recognise that a university level degree in Catalan Philology accredits fluency in Valencian in the competitive exams that all primary and secondary teachers must successfully pass to secure a permanent position. The more optimistic members of the community celebrated the event as a victory since in their opinion the decision sanctions the "unity of the language". The tenacity of Acció Cultural del País Valencià and the Sindicat de Treballadors de l'Ensenyament is indeed admirable. Their persistence in pursuing perfectly legitimate complaints paid off. Without these organisations legal recognition would never have been accorded.

09/06/2010 - 14:34

Aizpea Goenaga, Head of the Etxepare Institute

San Sebastián-born actress, writer and film director Aizpea Goenaga is to head the Etxepare Institute, following an agreement by the institute's governing board.

01/06/2010 - 15:26

Different paradoxes in the protection of minority languages: the foe within or without?

In the last decade we have frequently turned our eyes towards the political and academic aspects of Canada. For many, Canada should be taken as an example in several areas. One of these is the strategy developed in that North American country for accepting and protecting "difference" in society.

16/05/2010 - 20:08

«The Mountain of Languages»: minor languages of the Caucasus

The languages spoken in Caucasus belong mainly to three indigenous families: South Caucasian (or Kartvelian), West Caucasian (Abkhazo-Adyghean), and East Caucasian (Nakh-Daghestanian), as well as to Turkic and Indo-European families.

03/05/2010 - 17:19

New language decree will dismantle progress made with Galician, say Queremos Galego

The new government in Galicia under Alberto Núñez Feijóo (PP Conservatives) has proposed a new decree which will reduce the amount of Galician used in schools. It has been met with a storm of protest led by the new umbrella NGO Queremos Galego who have led demonstrations of up to 100,000 people, huge by language campaign standards. Queremos Galego visited Brussels two weeks ago to gain international support, meeting with the European Parliament's Intergroup for Traditional Minorities, National Communities and Languages and with the European Commission.

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