Latest Language News
Metaphor: ReFantazio, Dragon Age, Astro Bot and an indie wave lead the top AP video games of 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s been a rough year in the world of video games, which reeled from some high-profile flops (sorry, Suicide Squad and Star Wars fans) and a relentless series of developer layoffs. Fortunately, indie designers stepped up to fill in the gaps. And toward the end of the year, a...
A New Zealander studied for a year to win the Spanish world Scrabble title. He doesn’t speak Spanish
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A New Zealand man playing his first-ever competitive Scrabble game in Spanish, a language he doesn’t speak, has won the board game’s Spanish-language world title. Nigel Richards, a professional player who holds five English-language world titles,...
A farming project in South Africa is helping deaf people build skills and find jobs
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — At the Westonaria agricultural park near Bekkersdal, east of Johannesburg, farm workers are busy tilling the soil and planting tomatoes and lettuce. Despite the hive of activity, there is silence around the park. Most people here are deaf and communicate using...
Think 'brain rot' summed up 2024? Oxford agrees it was the word of the year
LONDON (AP) — Many of us have felt it, and now it’s official: “Brain rot” is the Oxford dictionaries’ word of the year. Oxford University Press said Monday that the evocative phrase “gained new prominence in 2024,” with its frequency of use increasing 230% from the year...
Emboldened 'manosphere' accelerates threats and demeaning language toward women after US election
CHICAGO (AP) — In the days after the presidential election, Sadie Perez began carrying pepper spray with her around campus. Her mom also ordered her and her sister a self-defense kit that included keychain spikes, a hidden knife key and a personal alarm. It’s a response to an...
More than 1,000 mariachis belt out classics like 'Cielito Lindo' in a Mexico City plaza
MEXICO CITY (AP) — More than 1,000 mariachis gathered in Mexico City’s main plaza Sunday, strumming guitars and singing classics like “Cielito Lindo” to end a mariachi congress celebrating the musical form. The number of musicians apparently topped the previous record of 700...
Murray Sinclair, First Nation advocate for justice and Canadian senator, has died
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Murray Sinclair, a former First Nation judge, senator and chair of the commission that delved into Canada's troubled history of residential schools for First Nations students, has died. He was 73. The father of five died peacefully Monday morning in a...
In Amharic, Karen and Spanish, worship is like home for migrants in heartland town
WORTHINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Come noon on Sundays, overlapping worship options reflect how much Worthington has changed from a typical Midwestern farming community to a majority-minority hub with migrants from around the world. An overflow crowd is still swaying to thumping praise...
How does abortion translate? Ballot measures are a challenge for interpreters
Reproductive rights measures are on the ballots in 10 states after heated debates over how to describe their impact on abortion — and that's just in English. In 388 places across the U.S. where English isn't the primary language among communities of voters, the federal Voting...
Meta’s Oversight Board says viral video left on Facebook threatened LGBTQ+ people in Nigeria
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Meta's oversight board expressed serious concern Tuesday over the company's failure to take down a viral graphic video showing two men bleeding after they were apparently beaten up for being allegedly gay. The video was posted in Nigeria, one of more than 30...
