language
When an American says 'sure' to a Brit, does it mean yes or no?
When American Lynne Murphy says "sure" to her British husband, he thinks she means "not really."
This poetry detective tracks down word thieves. But are they all plagiarists?
The time of day when I used to think a dog could turn into a wolf
Kazakhstan's switch from Cyrillic to Latin is about more than just alphabets
The science behind 'baby talk'
We’ve all heard adults cooing to babies in “baby talk.” Now, researchers are learning more about why we do it.
.jpg&w=1920&q=75)
Which version of Indian history do American school students learn?
California's world history textbooks have been updated with language that is dividing the state's Indian Americans.
Language versus dialect, or why we're obsessed with Elena Ferrante
Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels have become global hits. They are rife with love and sex and the mob — and commentary about language. This week on the podcast we explore Italy's linguistic history and the tensions between Italian dialects and the lingua franca.
He's lived in small towns across America — and it makes him look for pieces of home
It's not that Deepak Singh craves hearing Hindi or eating hot samosas all the time. It's just that something about being in a small town makes him crave them more.
What it was like to produce the Clinton and Trump debate live en Español
The millions of Spanish-speaking Americans who caught the presidential debate last night on Univision are familiar with the voice of Vicente de la Vega. He's been interpreting Trump for weeks.
Sing to me in Vietnamese: A daughter learns the language of her refugee parents through song
A Vietnamese-American woman stays in touch with her cultural roots through language and song. But which languages will she pass on to her own children?
The Flame Alphabet
In his novel “The Flame Alphabet,” Ben Marcus imagines what would happen if children’s speech made their parents sick.
Fancy a British Accent?
With so many British actors playing American characters, Kurt wondered: how hard would it be to learn a convincing British accent?
Balalaikas and banyas: An average summer at Russian language camp
Lesnoe Ozero puts an unusual spin on the traditional camp experience: Everything's done in Russian.
Hollywood loves Cape Town. But you'd better nail that American accent.
As bigger productions head to the South African city, local actors are seeking out accent coaches and tuning into US soaps in order to sound American.