What is the New Nordic Lexicon and how did it come about?

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The new nordic lexicon

Media coverage of the Nordic region is often dominated by clichés. Commercial and political branding can quickly reduce ‘Norden’ to easily understandable messages, such as ’gender-equal’, ’consensus-orientated’, ’little or no corruption’, ’green’ etc. The main purpose of the New Nordic Lexicon is to provide a more nuanced and research-based approach to the Nordic countries by giving a popular voice to researchers and to disseminate this to young people in the Nordics.

The lexicon is a collection of articles about topics within Nordic society, history, and culture. It is written by researchers, and accompanied by a series of research-based podcasts and films. It has been developed with the input of researchers and students from across the Nordic countries. Young peoples’ input … ↪

Portuguese Language Day: Exploring the Global Tapestry of Portuguese Influence

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The 5th of May: World Portuguese Language Day… What are we celebrating?

On the 5th of May, we commemorate World Portuguese Language Day, but what exactly is the significance of this celebration? In 2019, UNESCO designated May 5th as World Portuguese Language Day, a date initially established by the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) in 2009. Portuguese – a language spoken by over 265 million people across all continents – holds official status in four continents, including the CPLP nations of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, and Sao Tome and Principe. Additionally, Portuguese is an official language in Macau. Portuguese ranks as the 5th most spoken language globally and it … ↪

Call for applications: take part in the 14th edition of Liet International, the competition for songs in minority languages ​​in Bastia, Corsica!

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Liet

You can read a Danish version of the article here, a French version here and a Corsican version here.

On Friday 22nd of November 2024, Bastia will host the 14th edition of Liet International, the European minority language song contest for singers and bands who sing in a European regional or minority language, created in 2002. After thirteen previous editions in Friesland (The Netherlands), Sápmi (Sweden), Brittany/Breizh (France), Udin/Udine (Italy), Xixón/Gijón (Spain), Oldenburg (northern part of Germany), Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino (Norway), Ljouwert/Leeuwarden (Friesland, the Netherlands) and Tønder/Tondern (Denmark), Liet International will visit Corsica for the first time. 

ViaStella, the local TV network, branch of France Télévisions, in charge of the live broadcast of the show in Centru Culturale Alb’Oru. For … ↪

International Romani Day

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Today it is the day of Romani culture. Stéphane Laederich informs us about the intricacies of this transnational language.
A Danish version can be read here and a Russian version can be read here.

On Romanes

Romanes, often also denoted as Romani Čhib or Romani Šib [the Roma language], is originally spoken by all Roma and continues to be so by many Roma in the world. Be it either by migration or by work and social niche specialization, Roma divided themselves into distinct groups. Some groups, such as many of the Hungarian Carpathian Roma or the Spanish Cale, have completely lost the language, partly due to earlier bans on speaking Romanes. Others only speak it in a version that … ↪

The Language Song/Oqaatsigut

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TheLanguageSong

Language is something all humans share, and perhaps, since we all have it, we sometimes take it for granted. During my years as a researcher I have spoken with many people who themselves, their parents, or grandparents have lost their language. A language loss is often experienced as a trauma and simultaneously as a loss of one’s culture, identity, and roots. A language is but one attribute of a person’s individual identity and group identity. This attribute very often coincides with other attributes – traditions, heritage, clothing, food and more. When a language disappears, due to colonisation or other types of power manifestations, many other of the groups’ attributes disappear.

About half of today’s languages are at risk of dying … ↪

Apolonia 13. A woman’s journey to the moon and back. From theater to painter. A moving documentary worth watching

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APOLONIA poster e1677069915285

— SHORTLISTED FOR AN OSCAR NOMINATION FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY —

(Translated/revised from Danish for the occasion for an international audience.)

(The slightly different Danish version: https://www.lingoblog.dk/apolonia-13-en-kvindes-rejse-til-maanen-og-tilbage/)

It took 13 years to make the film. Lea Glob, a former student at Aarhus Cathedral School, Denmark, trained as a documentary filmmaker, decided in 2009 to make a film about a young woman, Apolonia Sokol, living in Paris. They became friends and no matter where they are, they keep in touch. Lea is fairly stable in Denmark, while Apolonia moves from one place to another. Lea has been able to film Apolonia everywhere and always. After all, Apolonia was used to being filmed. Her parents filmed their intercourse where she was … ↪

Some Bridges

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Canadian group of islands 1

It is with some trepidation that I approached the second issue of Some Islands, not least because it was described to me as a journal about linguistics, art, and architecture. My training in these fields causes me to tense up with a conscientious undergraduate’s panic about not having studied for the exam. My trepidation was amplified when I saw that Lingoblog’s review of the previous issue was also beautifully illustrated by Miša Hejná, also a contributor to the present issue — something I have not braved in the present review. 

The theme, representation, conjures half-remembered memories of lectures in semantics that I’m sure were also only half-understood. So, perhaps, as befits the issue’s theme of representation, it’s best to begin … ↪