Babel

The multilingual, multicultural online journal and community of arts and ideas. There's a heaven above you, baby.

Babel

Archives for September, 2010

Speaking in Tongues documentary on public television

Posted by  on Thursday, September 30th 2010     

“Speaking in Tongues” is a documentary about raising multilingual children. Here’s information about the movie from the Speaking in Tongues website: “At a time when 31 states have passed “English Only” laws, four pioneering families put their children in public schools where, from the first day of kindergarten, their teachers speak mostly Chinese or Spanish. [...]

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65 ans de tradition charcutière

Posted by  on Wednesday, September 29th 2010     

Contexte : Chez le plus vieux boucher-charcutier de Picardie, le jour de la fabrication du boudin. Le soleil n’est pas encore levé mais de la lumière s’échappe déjà de l’atelier de charcuterie à l’arrière du magasin. Dans cette boutique du sud de l’Oise, tous les produits de charcuterie sont encore produits par le patron, qui [...]

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Les Tours du silence

Posted by  on Sunday, September 26th 2010     

Contexte : Yazd, été 2005. En compagnie d’un groupe de routards rencontrés à l’hôtel : un flamand, un anglais et un couple d’australiens. En juin 2005, je passais durant quelques jours à Yazd, une des villes iraniennes situées en bordure d’un des grands déserts du pays. La ville est connue en Iran pour deux choses [...]

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Sur la route

Posted by  on Wednesday, September 15th 2010     

Contexte : Dans une voiture quelque part sur la route 40 entre San Carlos de Bariloche et El Bolson. Un matin froid d’hiver austral, le brouillard enferme les vallées sous sa cape. Nous avions pris notre départ de San Carlos de Bariloche le matin même pour rejoindre finalement Puerto Madryn. En voiture, dans un road-trip [...]

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Allen Dale June, original Navajo Code Talker and code developer, dies at 91

Posted by  on Friday, September 10th 2010     

“Allen Dale June, one of the 29 original Navajo Code Talkers who encrypted American military communications during World War II using principles of indigenous language, died Wednesday night in Prescott, Arizona, at age 91.” – Xeni Jardin @ Boing Boing The Code Talkers took part in every assault the Marines conducted in the Pacific from [...]

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Sans Dessus Dessous

Posted by  on Wednesday, September 8th 2010     

Contexte : Un matin d’automne 2008, au bord du Canal Saint-Martin à Paris. J’étais sorti tôt un dimanche matin pour aller prendre des photos dans Paris et profiter de la lumière matinale. Sans objectif précis, juste pour jouer avec la lumière. Depuis la place Stalingrad, je redescendais le canal Saint-Martin. Je ne me souviens plus [...]

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Making foreign languages relevant

Posted by  on Tuesday, September 7th 2010     

I’ve been following some of the foreign language learning debate in the UK and I am glad to see proponents of foreign language learning voicing their opinions in the British press. Perhaps British pupils have been opting out of foreign language classes because they are bored by rote memorization and grammar exercises. Making foreign languages [...]

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Last of the Jacquard Loom Programmers

Posted by  on Monday, September 6th 2010     

Britain’s once-mighty lace industry has all but disappeared, gone to Asia in pursuit of cheap labor. The Cluny Lace Company has held on by abandoning mass production in favor of skilled small-scale production on Jacquard looms. Ian Emm of Cluny Lace is the last, or one of the remaining few, of the Jacquard loom card [...]

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From schoolbook Chinese to dreaming in Chinese: foreign language learning the “real” way

Posted by  on Wednesday, September 1st 2010     

The To Speak, Perchance To ‘Dream In Chinese’ radio interview with Deborah Fallows, author of Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons In Life, Love, And Language on National Public Radio (from the US) is an excellent portrayal about how she learned Chinese in China. It shows just how important real cultural interaction is for foreign language [...]

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