Language Log
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How a unique Tamil dialect survived among a fishing community in Sri Lanka
Negombo Fishermen’s Tamil, which is spoken by around 50,000 people, has been influenced by Sinhala and sounds different from other dialects in the country.
Ajay Kamalakaran
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Meet the young Indians who are bringing an Adivasi language into the digital age
Ho was languishing on the sidelines of the internet – until a few youngsters took it upon themselves to tear down the digital divide.
Karishma Mehrotra
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From love songs to kurta ads, Urdu is popular with Indians. Why do Hindutva backers hate it so much?
How long will the nineteenth-century politics of Hindi versus Urdu continue?
Shoaib Daniyal
Trending
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Mauritian Bhojpuri is being dressed in Hindu nationalist robes – and I’m in mourning
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Young professionals are fleeing crisis-hit Pakistan in hope of a better future
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Toddler says she didn’t like ‘Pathaan’, Shah Rukh Khan posts video with a promise to work harder
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Watch: ‘3 Idiots’ stars Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi, R Madhavan comically reunite to promote new film
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‘Class’ review: An immersive and revealing show about privilege
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How the Mesopotamian word for ‘elephant’ indicates Dravidian language existed in Indus Civilisation
A new research paper shows that it was migration that took the Dravidian languages from the Indus basin to their modern location in South India.
Shoaib Daniyal
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Hindi might not be the national language – but it is growing rapidly across India
This would explain the recent anxieties around Hindi imposition.
Shoaib Daniyal
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An American teacher’s online Malayalam lessons have won her a following even in Kerala
EliKutty, or Eliza Keyton, has brought a fun perspective to learning a language.
Vandana Menon
Video
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Toddler says she didn’t like ‘Pathaan’, Shah Rukh Khan posts video with a promise to work harder
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Watch: TV host Ellen DeGeneres surprised with marriage vow renewal ceremony by wife Portia de Rossi
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Watch: This dog was taking a ride on the roof of a car in Bengaluru
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Eco India: Why are sparrows continuing to disappear from Indian cities?
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Watch: Adele moved to tears as fan shows up with picture of his late wife to her Las Vegas show
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Why is India obsessed with English-medium education – when it goes against scientific consensus?
Several empirical studies support what the New Education Policy is proposing about education in the mother tongue early on, adding English later.
Shoaib Daniyal
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How a Bihari lost her mother tongue to Hindi – but is now trying to get it back
I tried to expel Angika from my life. But it, thankfully, wouldn’t leave me.
Archana Singh
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We’re on ‘coronacation’ while we wait for ‘lexit’: How coronavirus is changing our language
A ‘covidiot’ is someone who ignores public health advice. ‘Zoombombing’ is intrusion into a video call.
Kate Burridge and Howard Manns, The Conversation
The Reel
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Start the week with a film: Horses and a quietly thumping heart in ‘The Rider’
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‘Class’ review: An immersive and revealing show about privilege
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‘Jehanabad – Of Love & War’ review: A heavily spiced account of an audacious jailbreak
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‘Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat’ review: A throbbing musical about forbidden passion
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‘Faraaz’ review: A shallow exploration of 2016 Dhaka terror attack
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A limited vocabulary hinders your ability to express emotions – and to understand them
Sometimes, it’s even used as a tool for social control.
Kaidi Wu, Aeon
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Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’: How to decode the story’s linguistic secrets
Pullman achieves an eerie blend of familiarity and strangeness through his use of language.
Simon Horobin, The Conversation
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Want to build a language from scratch? Start with the question who will speak it, and why
It’s impossible to invent a perfect language. But Klingon from ‘Star Trek’ and Na’vi from ‘Avatar’ have shown how context makes all the difference.
Bettina Beinhoff, The Conversation
The Field
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Fitness watch: Do you get shin splints after running? Here's how to avoid them
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Political overreach, government control, low scrutiny: The challenge of reforming Indian sports
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Fantasy football: Stressful or fun – is it the enjoyable hobby it was meant to be?
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Chamari Athapaththu column: Sri Lanka have never been as confident as we are ahead of this World Cup
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Premier League: Jurgen Klopp on Liverpool’s poor run of form – ‘I have no words for it’