Latest Language News

Critics say a South African education bill threatens the new unity government

Sep. 11, 2024 09:42 AM EDT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — An education bill that would give South Africa's government more control over white minority language schools is a threat to the country's new government of national unity, the second largest political party, the Democratic Alliance, said Wednesday. The bill...

Do you speak Gen-Alpha? Test your ‘skibidi’ knowledge with this vocab quiz

Sep. 05, 2024 15:56 PM EDT

As American kids head back to school, they’re likely to return home with an alien language their own parents may find befuddling. From TikTok to the kitchen table, words like “rizzler” and “skibidi” are finding a foothold in the lexicon of today’s tweens. ...

A Māori king who urged racial unity in New Zealand is laid to rest and a new queen rises

Sep. 05, 2024 01:55 AM EDT

NGĀRUAWĀHIA, New Zealand (AP) — They came in their thousands in the freezing dawn, parking cars far away and winding down rural roads on foot, children riding on their shoulders. They arrived in mourning black with crowns of ferns and kawakawa leaves, bone carvings or wedges of deep green...

Iran shuts down the last language institute recognized by the German Embassy

Aug. 20, 2024 10:40 AM EDT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian authorities on Tuesday closed down the last language institute certified by the German Embassy, local media said, in retaliation for the shuttering of Islamic centers in the European country. A report by Nournews.ir, believed to be close to Iran's...

'Banksy woz ere.' London Zoo is the latest to remove street artist's animal mural for protection

Aug. 18, 2024 15:14 PM EDT

LONDON (AP) — The gorilla and other animals that appeared to have escaped from the London Zoo in Banksy 's most recent work have been taken into safekeeping. The zoo said it removed the elusive street artist's mural on its gate Friday evening to preserve it and return its entrance...

Ruling: Fetus can be referred to as 'unborn human being' in Arizona abortion measure voter pamphlet

Aug. 14, 2024 20:26 PM EDT

PHOENIX (AP) — An informational pamphlet for Arizona voters, who will decide in the fall whether to guarantee a constitutional right to an abortion, can refer to an embryo or fetus as an “unborn human being,” the state’s highest court ruled Wednesday. The Arizona Supreme...

Polish diplomats seek release of students and a lecturer detained in Nigeria during protests

Aug. 09, 2024 15:08 PM EDT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish diplomats on Friday said they were making progress as they appealed for the release of seven citizens who were detained in Nigeria in what Warsaw believes was a misunderstanding that happened as protests were underway in the West African country. Six...

YouTube star and philanthropist MrBeast acknowledges use of 'inappropriate language' in his early online days

Jul. 31, 2024 18:49 PM EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — YouTube star and philanthropist MrBeast acknowledges use of 'inappropriate language' in his early online days.

MrBeast, YouTube's biggest star, acknowledges past 'inappropriate language' as controversies swirl

Jul. 31, 2024 18:31 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — MrBeast, YouTube's biggest star and a philanthropic force with nearly unrivaled influence among young audiences, acknowledged Wednesday that he used “inappropriate language” in his early online days, as numerous controversies bubbled up around him and a former collaborator. ...

A man got third-degree burns walking on blazing hot sand dunes in Death Valley, rangers say

Jul. 25, 2024 17:48 PM EDT

PHOENIX (AP) — A European visitor got third-degree burns on his feet while briefly walking barefoot on the sand dunes in California's Death Valley National Park over the weekend, park rangers said Thursday. The rangers said the visitor was rushed to a hospital in nearby Nevada....