Lusophone Summit Strengthens Portuguese Ties
During last month’s two-day Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) summit in the Cabo Verde island of Sal, off the coast of West Africa, Angolan Foreign Minister Manuel Augusto called for more efforts to...
France to End Arabic-Medium Education
Announced during the same week as International Mother Language Day, the declared aim is to “fight foreign influence” and “promote the organization of the Muslim faith,” according to Macron, who said that from...
Spanish Names Indicate the Language’s Depth in U.S. Society
On last month’s Spanish Language Day, Google Doodle celebrated the letter Ñ (pronounced “enye”), which is the only letter in the Spanish alphabet that originated in Spain.
The letter Ñ was created in the...
French Program for Refugees Shows Success
A French parliamentary report presented to the National Assembly last month found that significant progress has been made since 2018 in helping refugees and asylum seekers to learn French and thus integrate into French...
Russian Set Backs in Ukraine, Armenia
Ukraine’s president Petro Poroshenko has signed into law a controversial bill that makes Ukrainian the required language of instruction in state secondary schools (from fifth grade on). The bill was passed despite criticism, particularly...
Spain Recognizes Ladino as Spanish
More than half a millennium after most Jews were expelled from the country in 1492, Spain is officially recognizing their language, Ladino, as a type of Spanish.
In Madrid last month, the Royal Spanish Academy...
Prince Edward Island Fighting to Support French
One of eastern Canada’s maritime provinces off New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island (PEI), is fighting to protect French language schools for children. The island, which was originally a French province,...
Spain Honors Ladino in Israel
Spain’s Real Academia Española (RAE), the leading authority on the Spanish language, is to establish a special institute in Israel to preserve Ladino—the Judeo-Spanish...
Can Putonghua Relieve Poverty?
While Chinese President Xi Jinping has declared war on poverty, and instructed local governments to create a “moderately well-off society” by the beginning of...
Japan Takes Responsibility for Language
Japan’s parliament, the Diet, has responded to the steady growth of foreign residents by passing a law making the government responsible for Japanese-language education. The legislation is seen as a step in the right...