Columns

Frauenkirche Munich


Get the latest from our columnists here. There is something for everyone, with topics ranging from French cinema to Lusophone culture, and from dead languages to the Sanremo Music Festival.


 Search Columns

Linguistics, Tongue Tied Kieran McGreevy, Columnist Linguistics, Tongue Tied Kieran McGreevy, Columnist

Tongue Tied IV - Sámi on the Brink

‘Tongue Tied’ is a short tour through Europe via some of its most at-risk languages. In a series of four articles, Columnist Kieran McGreevy will examine four languages from across the corners of Europe, with the aim of showing what has led these languages to the brink of extinction (and sometimes back), by untying the history of the people, the linguistics of the language itself, and the efforts being made to keep these tongues alive. In the last instalment, Kieran looks at Ume Sámi, a descendent of Uralic language used along the north of Sweden, and how it differs from Scandinavian languages.

Read More
Linguistics, Tongue Tied Kieran McGreevy, Columnist Linguistics, Tongue Tied Kieran McGreevy, Columnist

Tongue Tied III - Pondering Pontic Greek

‘Tongue Tied’ is a short tour through Europe via some of its most at-risk languages. In a series of four articles, Columnist Kieran McGreevy will examine four languages from across the corners of Europe, with the aim of showing what has led these languages to the brink of extinction (and sometimes back), by untying the history of the people, the linguistics of the language itself, and the efforts being made to keep these tongues alive. In the third instalment, Kieran looks at Pontic Greek, a descendent of vernacular Ancient Greek spoken in the Eastern Roman Empire.

Read More
Linguistics, Tongue Tied Kieran McGreevy, Columnist Linguistics, Tongue Tied Kieran McGreevy, Columnist

Tongue Tied II - the Cornish Comeback

‘Tongue Tied’ is a short tour through Europe via some of its most at-risk languages. In a series of four articles, Columnist Kieran McGreevy will examine four languages from across the corners of Europe, with the aim of showing what has led these languages to the brink of extinction (and sometimes back), by untying the history of the people, the linguistics of the language itself, and the efforts being made to keep these tongues alive. In this second instalment, Kieran explores the history and revival of Cornish.

Read More
Linguistics, Tongue Tied Kieran McGreevy, Columnist Linguistics, Tongue Tied Kieran McGreevy, Columnist

Tongue Tied I - the Crumbling Remnants of Occitan

‘Tongue Tied’ is a short tour through Europe via some of its most at-risk languages. In a series of four articles, Columnist Kieran McGreevy will examine four languages from across the corners of Europe, with the aim of showing what has led these languages to the brink of extinction (and sometimes back), by untying the history of the people, the linguistics of the language itself, and the efforts being made to keep these tongues alive. In the first instalment, Kieran looks at Occitan, its history, features, and efforts for revitalisation.

Read More