旧記事（kotoba news）

kotobaに関する気になるトピックを短期連載で紹介していきます。

• 2020年08月19日 『Contact languages「接触言語」』

  異なる2つの言語話者集団が意思疎通を図るときに、新しい言語を生み出すケースがあることがよく知られています。「接触言語」とも呼ばれるこれらの言語の多くが、消滅の危機に瀕しています。
  
  When groups of people who speak different languages come together, they sometimes inadvertently create a new one, combining bits of each into something everyone can use to communicate easily. Linguists call such impromptu tongues “contact languages” — and they can extend well beyond the pidgin and creole that many of us have heard of.
  The origin stories of these linguistic mash-ups vary. Some are peaceful, such as when groups meet for trade and need a lingua franca: Nigerian Pidgin English, for example, allows speakers of over 500 tongues to communicate. But others were born of tragedy and violence — like Haitian Creole, Gullah Geechee, Jamaican Creole and many others that arose from the Atlantic slave trade, when West African peoples combined several tongues with English, creating everyday languages often used among slaves.
  Today, many of these contact languages are lost. Only 200 or so remain — scores of which are at risk of extinction.
  
  (By John Wenz, Knowable Magazine; August 11, 2020)
  https://www.knowablemagazine.org/article/society/2020/fragile-state-contact-languages
  
  

• 2020年08月17日 『Esperanto 「エスペラント（語）」』

  ザメンホフが考案した国際共通語、エスペラント語のすすめ。全世界に200万人の話者がいるとされています。
  
  Among the organizations working for a new United Nations in the UN’s 75th year is the Universal Esperanto Association. Esperanto is a language designed for international use, created over 130 years ago, with speakers all over the world. The creation of Russian Jewish ophthalmologist Ludvik Zamenhof, Esperanto is easy to learn and use. Intended as a second language for people all over the world, Esperanto has speakers in almost every country – people eager to transcend national boundaries and communicate with their fellow humans in a language that is non-partisan and equal.
  Most languages used internationally (including, of course, English) favor their native speakers and disadvantage everyone else. And there are many people across the world who speak none of the internationally used languages and are therefore cut off from most of the globe. They have little or no say in world affairs. So much for linguistic justice and linguistic equality!
  But a person’s language is an expression of identity, of belonging, of solidarity with a community. If that person’s voice is to be heard beyond their locality, they need to speak a language that is easily learned and easy to understand, in addition to their own – a language that is not owned by others, does not put them at a disadvantage.
  The two million speakers of Esperanto are a small group with an outsize interest in world affairs. They are concerned about climate change, about nuclear proliferation, about universal education, about human rights. They don’t just yearn for peace: they practice it in their communication with Esperanto speakers across the world. They don’t just hope for multilateralism: they do it.
  
  (By Chuck Mays and Humphrey Tonkin, Citizens for Global Solutions; August 14, 2020)
  https://globalsolutions.org/esperanto-for-linguistic-justice-and-equality/
  
  

• 2020年08月14日 『Code-switching「コードスイッチング」』

  2種類（またはそれ以上）の言語を切り替えて使用することは「コードスイッチング」と呼ばれますが、言語だけでなく社会的なふるまいもまたこの概念の対象となってきています。
  
  Growing up as a young Black woman, my mother always encouraged me to speak "proper" English, free of slang or any cultural colloquialisms, especially when talking to my teachers or non-Black peers. Little did I know, I was being taught how to code-switch—changing up my social behaviors, language, and appearance to assimilate to the norms at large.
  
  According to Encyclopedia Brittanica, code-switching initially referred to the way people who spoke another language other than English switched seamlessly between the two. As time went on, code-switching took on a new meaning. It now refers to any member of a marginalized or underrepresented identity adapting to the dominant environment around them in any context.
  
  (By Taylyn Washington-Harmon, Health; August 13, 2020)
  https://www.health.com/mind-body/health-diversity-inclusion/code-switching
  
  

• 2020年08月12日 『Bird language「鳥語」』

  トルコのある黒海沿岸地域にあるクシュキョイは、口笛で互いに意思疎通を測る「鳥語」(bird language)が400年前から現在まで使われていることで知られています。しかしこの言語も、近代の通信機器の影響もあり消滅が危惧されています。
  
  In a village named Kuşköy (which translates as “bird village”), on the Black Sea coast of Turkey, people express words using the bird language, also known as “Kuş Dili”. The language dates back to 400 years, but the origin is still uncertain.
  In the hilly areas of Kuşköy, where homes are dotted high on the mountainside, bird language was once an important form of communication.
  Bird language is a series of piercing whistles that can be heard even from a kilometer. This language is a combination of high pitched whistles and melodies. The harmony of whistles and melodies when heard is no less than bird song.
  As this language has no specific grammar, there is no practical limit to its vocabulary. However, in practice, Turkish people use this language for simple commands and requests, such as “come for tea”, “come and work with me tomorrow”, and is also used for funerals, births, and wedding announcements.
  
  (By Mitali Patekar, ED Times; August 11, 2020)
  https://edtimes.in/what-is-the-unique-bird-language-of-turkey-and-why-is-it-worrying-its-people/
  
  

• 2020年08月10日 『diversity「多様性」』

  一つの国で話されている言語の数はどれくらいあるのか。ほとんどの国では多様な言語が存在しています。記事はエチオピアの直面する言語問題、多様性の抱える問題について。
  
  Ethiopians take pride in their diversity. Indeed, Ethiopia is truly a diverse country made up of indigenous people having different languages, cultures, religions and other identity-markers. It is perhaps one of the world’s most linguistically diverse nations; the same is true for ethnic diversity as well. True to form, most Ethiopians casually claim their country to have more than 70 local and unique languages actively in use, in different parts of the nation. But, here is the odd part: no one can really say, with certainty, how many languages are currently spoken in Ethiopia. While a number of people put this figure somewhere north of 80 languages, the majority recite a figure that is in the mid-70s.
  
  In all seriousness, both assertions seriously lack in factual basis. The fact of the matter is that no one, meaning no credible institution, can provide the total number of languages spoken in Ethiopia today. Even the 76 seats filled in the House of Federation (HoF), which is made up of ethnic groups that live in every corner of the nation, is not the right proxy for language diversity in Ethiopia; since linguists claim that some of the smaller ethnic groups are not yet fully represented in this House.
  (By Asrat Seyoum, The Reporter Ethiopia; 8 August 2020)
  https://www.thereporterethiopia.com/article/solving-language-puzzle
  
  

• 2020年08月07日 『Aramaic「アラム語」』

  キリストが生前、どの言語を使って自らの教えを伝えたかについて。
  
  We know what Jesus said during his lifetime thanks to the four gospels. But not everyone knows which language he used to communicate his message. Most historians agree in thinking that Jesus mostly spoke Aramaic, although he was also fluent in Hebrew and Greek. Aramaic was in fact the most spoken language in the Holy Land during Jesus’ lifetime, which is why Mel Gibson chose it as the language for his movie The Passion of Christ.
  Aramaic appeared in its early form as early as 900 BC, and was based on the Phoenician alphabet, a system of 22 letters that is the base of many modern alphabets.
  
  (By V. M. Traverso, Aleteia; August 05, 2020)
  https://aleteia.org/2020/08/05/which-language-did-jesus-speak/
  
  

• 2020年08月05日 『stereotype 「固定観念」』

  言語構造がどのように各語に意味を割り当てているかを機械学習の技術を用いて探っていくと、ジェンダーに関する固定観念も含めた言語話者の心理的態度が明らかになってくる…という話です。
  
  How Dozens of Languages Help Build Gender Stereotypes
  Usage patterns shape biases worldwide, whether in Japanese, Persian or English
  ________________________________________
  Linguists use machine-learning techniques for mining large text corpora to detect how the structure of a language lends meaning to its words. They work on the assumption that terms that appear in close proximity to one another may have similar connotations: dogs turn up near cats more often than canines appear close to bananas.
  
  This same method of burrowing into texts—more formally called the search for distributional semantics—can also provide a framework for analyzing psychological attitudes, including gender stereotypes that contribute to the underrepresentation of women in scientific and technical fields. Studies in English have shown, for example, that the word “woman” often appears close to “home” and “family,” whereas “man” is frequently paired with “job” and “money.”
  
  (By Gary Stix; on SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. AUGUST 1, 2020)
  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-dozens-of-languages-help-build-gender-stereotypes/
  
  

• 2020年08月03日 『A great scientist「偉大なる科学者」』

  ノーム・チョムスキー (Noam Chomsky)が20世紀以降与えてきた学問的影響、特に言語学についてのエッセイです。
  
  Noam Chomsky (...) is, in my view, the best scientist of the past half-century. His work fascinates me, which is not a necessary criterion for being a great scientist—but it helps! I hasten to add that I do not share his politics—I’m of a conservative bent. But his theory of linguistics is brilliant and represents an anthropological, biological, and even metaphysical insight unrivaled in science since relativity and quantum mechanics. A case can be made that Chomsky’s insights are more profound than even those of modern physics, because they plumb the human soul in ways that physics cannot. To understand Chomsky’s achievement, it’s helpful to understand what linguistics was until Chomsky transformed it in the 1950s.
  
  (By MICHAEL EGNOR; on MIND MATTERS. AUGUST 1, 2020)
  https://mindmatters.ai/2020/08/why-linguist-noam-chomsky-is-a-great-scientist-of-our-era/
  
  

• 2020年07月31日 『the Revolution「（ロシア）革命」』

  1917年のロシア革命はロシア語の綴り、正書法にも影響を及ぼしていました。
  
  The Imperial era spelling was rather difficult, and the Bolsheviks needed a language reform in order to, among other things, make learning easier. After all, one of their main tasks was the elimination of illiteracy. Several years before the Bolshevik Revolution, according to various estimates, only about 40 percent of the Russian population could read and write. But the new ruling class proclaimed by Vladimir Lenin - the workers and peasants – was expected to be active in all spheres of life. So, the young Soviet government ordered the entire population, aged eight to 50, to learn to read and write.
  
  
  (By ALEXANDRA GUZEVA,RUSSIA BEYOND; July 29 2020)
  https://www.rbth.com/education/332502-bolsheviks-russian-language-reform
  
  

• 2020年07月29日 『Mohawk「モホーク語」』

  北米地域で話される少数言語で、消滅の危機に瀕しているモホーク語の児童本の出版が、言語保存の取り組みとして注目されています。
  
  Itsy Bitsy Spider and other nursery rhymes get the Mohawk language treatment
  
  Kateri Deer didn’t have children’s books written in Kanien’kéha – the Mohawk language – when she was growing up in the 1940s.
  “When we were going to school, we weren’t allowed to talk our language. If you spoke it… you got scolded,” Deer explained.
  Now, in 2020, Deer’s name appears in the dedication section of Takwa’áhson – a Mohawk translation of Itsy Bitsy Spider – one of three books recently published for children in Kahnawà:ke and beyond, thanks to a local publishing start-up.
  By releasing the cannon of books – ‘Takwa’áhson,’ ‘Otsisto Otsisto Teiohswáthe,’ (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) and ‘Akerákwa’ (You are my Sunshine) – Front Porch Publishing is equipping parents to properly teach Kanien’kéha as a first language to a new generation of children.
  
  (By Lindsay Richardson, APTN News; July 28 2020)
  https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/itsy-bitsy-spider-and-other-nursery-rhymes-get-the-mohawk-language-treatment/
  
  

• 2020年07月27日 『Silence 「（動詞）黙らせる」 若年層のクルド語習得にも影響が出ている』

  クルド語はトルコで話されている言語の一つですが、社会的には様々な抑圧がかかっていると指摘されています。それに伴い、若年層のクルド語習得にも影響が出ていると指摘されています。
  Silencing of the Kurdish language in modern Turkey: who is to blame?
  Kurds make up around a fifth of Turkey’s population, but few are able to speak their mother tongue. Turkish is the country’s only constitutionally recognised language. It is the language of employment, education, any public institution. By contrast, the Kurdish language has suffered from waves of criminalisation in Turkey, with restrictions on its use relaxed for political leverage. Turkey’s ruling and opposition parties pass back-and-forth blame for scarce use of Kurdish, particularly among young Kurds.
  
  Rawest, a Kurdish research center in Diyarbakir, conducted a survey in several Kurdish areas of southeastern Turkey in September 2019, to scope out the extent of Kurdish proficiency among the country’s 18-30 year olds. Of the 600 young Kurds surveyed, only 18 percent said they could speak, read and write Kurdish. Less than half of respondents, 44 percent, said they were able to speak their mother tongue. When asked what the official language of Turkey should be, 71.5 percent of participants said it should be both Turkish and Kurdish.
  
  (By Karwan Faidhi Dri; Rudaw, 2020 July 22)
  https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/turkey/210720201
  
  

• 2020年07月24日 『the lost art アイヌ語の口承芸術を保存する取り組みについて』

  「失われた芸術」
  言語を含む文化保存の問題は世界各国はもちろん、日本でも身近なところにあるということが言えます。
  
  Like other indigenous groups, the Ainu people of Hokkaido and the north-eastern Honshu island of Japan have experienced marginalization. After the Japanese government annexed their territory in 1890, the ethnic minority struggled to maintain their identity as their language and customs were effectively outlawed. Content producers like The Foundation for Ainu Culture and MINE are attempting to re-assert Ainu culture by cataloging traditional songs and documenting members’ experiences of self-discovery.
  
  Nevertheless, there remain significant hurdles. For example, UNESCO reports as few as 15 living native speakers of the Ainu language remain as preservation initiatives were non-existent throughout most of the 20th century. Adding to the urgency, a majority of Ainu report experiencing discrimination despite living a typical Japanese lifestyle. ...
  
  (By Luke Mahoney, grape Japan; Japan Today, 2020 July 24)
  https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/learn-the-lost-art-of-the-ainu-language
  
  

• 2020年07月22日 『Saving southern Africa’s oldest languages』

  「言語の保存」
  世界には消滅の危機に瀕した言語が数多くあります。アフリカ南部で話者を2名残すのみとなった「N|uu」語もその一つです。
  
  Language and identity are inextricably interlinked. So what happens when a language dies, or is suppressed?
  
  When Katrina Esau spoke to her older sister, Griet Seekoei, they spoke in N|uu. It is a language that only they – and their brother, Simon Sauls – could understand. “Griet was a wonderful person,” Esau recalls. “Strict, but wonderful.”
  
  Ouma Griet, as she was known, died in May aged 87. Now there are just two remaining speakers of N|uu. “It makes me very sad. No language is more important than another language,” Esau told the Mail & Guardian, speaking from her home in Upington in South Africa’s Northern Cape province.
  
  (By Simon Alison and Refiloe Seiboko, Mail and Guardian; 20 July 2020)
  https://mg.co.za/africa/2020-07-20-saving-southern-africas-oldest-languages/
  
  

• 2020年07月20日 『Talking about grammar「文法について語ること」』

  作文の授業において生徒と教師が議論を交わすことによって、生徒が「文法」（言語的に正確な形式の選択や自身の見解の表現も含め、ここでは広い意味で解釈されています）の能力を高めるのに効果的であるという研究結果が発表されたようです。教える側は一方的に褒めたり見解を述べたりするだけではなく、生徒との双方向的な議論のやりとりの有効性を検討する必要がありそうです。
  
  Discussion between teachers and children about writing is a crucial tool to help pupils learn about grammar, a new study shows.
  Academics have found "metatalk" can enhance understanding of writing and boost children's confidence during writing lessons.
  But for this to be effective this needs to be in the form of a dialog with pupils, to open up children's capacity to make and discuss their linguistic choices and allow them to reflect and put forward their own views.
  The research found that some teachers miss opportunities to use discussion to reinforce literacy teaching and children's understanding, instead relying on "hollow" praise.
  
  (By University of Exeter, via Phys.org; July 14, 2020)
  https://phys.org/news/2020-07-grammar-crucial-tool-literacy.html
  
  

• 2020年07月17日 『Linguistic prejudice』

  言語、または話し方に対して存在する偏見に立ち向かう必要がある、という記事です。記事はアメリカの問題としてアフリカ系アメリカ英語について述べられているものですが、世界の言語にあてはまるテーマとも言えるでしょう。
  
  In the national conversation taking place about systemic racism in the United States, one important element should not be overlooked: linguistic prejudice.
  
  African American English, like other dialects used in the U.S., is a legitimate form of speech with a deep history and culture. Yet centuries of bias against speakers of AAE continue to have profound effects on employment, education, the criminal system and social mobility. To attack systemic racism, we have to confront this prejudice.
  
  (By SHARESE KING AND KATHERINE D. KINZLER; Los Angeles Times, July 14, 2020)
  https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-07-14/african-american-english-racism-discrimination-speech
  
  

• 2020年07月09日 『Straightforward Signs About The Coronavirus Situation』

  

  Some businesses might have reopened but the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread throughout the world. Naturally, some shop owners want to protect themselves, their employees, and their customers, so they put up signs asking clients to come in through the door wearing face masks. Easy, right? Nope!
  https://www.boredpanda.com/covid-restaurant-shop-signs/?
  utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter
  

• 2020年07月09日 『high-tech glove translates sign language into speech in real time』

  A glove that translates sign language into speech in real time has been developed by scientists -- potentially allowing deaf people to communicate directly with anyone, without the need for a translator.
  
  The wearable device contains sensors that run along the four fingers and thumb to identify each word, phrase or letter as it is made in American Sign Language.
  
  Those signals are then sent wirelessly to a smartphone, which translates them into spoken words at a rate of one word per second.
  
  But the innovation was criticized by some within the deaf community, who argued it was unnecessary and did not address the concerns of signers.
  
  AlbanyHerald.com By Rob Picheta, CNN Jun 30, 2020
  

• 2020年07月07日 『semantic drift』

  「意味の偏流」
  語の意味が時間の経過とともに変化する現象について。
  
  Semantic Drift
  Semantic drift is the simple phenomenon by which the correspondence between a word and the real-world entity or process that it is connected to, tends to undergo a shift over time. This drift can take place in a number of directions, often seeming completely random, although there is almost always a logical connection from point to point.
  For instance, the word 'silly' very plainly means 'foolish' to us today. What is surprising is the fact that in Old English, it meant that one was
  'blessed'. In fact, the word derives its roots from the same place as the German word, 'selig'which means 'blessed'. So, 'selig' and 'silly' were cognates, both meaning 'blessed'.
  
  
  (By John McWhorter, Ph.D., The Great Courses Daily. July 6, Monday, 2020)
  https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/the-processes-of-semantic-changes-in-language/
  
  
  

• 2020年07月01日 『forcibly expanding』

  「強制的に拡大する」
  
  前回のウクライナ言語問題に続いて。カザフスタンでも言語問題が議論されています。
  
  Tokayev warns against ‘forcibly expanding’ Kazakh state language
  
  NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan – The linguistic problem has great political significance and, if improperly handled, can lead to irreparable consequences for the statehood and security of citizens of the country, Kazakhstan’s president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has said.
  
  “We witnessed this personally by the example of Ukraine. A frontal attack with the aim of increasing the status of the state language and forcibly expanding the range of its use is counterproductive, since it can provoke destabilisation of interethnic relations,” Tokayev said in interview to Kazakh language newspaper Ana Tili, answering a question on what steps should be taken to make our state language the language of interethnic communication.
  
  (29 June, Monday, 2020)
  https://www.neweurope.eu/article/tokayev-warns-against-forcibly-expanding-kazakh-state-language/
  
  

• 2020年06月29日 『Language issue』

  「言語問題」
  ウクライナにおける、ロシア語とウクライナ語の位置づけが政治問題に直結しているというテーマです。
  
  How Russia weaponizes the language issue in Ukraine
  For centuries, Ukraine’s long struggle for statehood has been mirrored by the often troubled fate of the Ukrainian language. Oppressed and marginalized throughout the Czarist and Soviet eras, Ukrainian finally shed its second-class status in 1991 to become the official state language of newly independent Ukraine. However, the story did not end there.
  
  Despite the upgrade of Ukrainian following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the language has continued to play second fiddle to Russian throughout much of the country and in many aspects of everyday life. Ever since the 1990s, efforts to regulate and promote the use of Ukrainian in place of Russian have proved politically explosive and have come to symbolize independent Ukraine’s post-Soviet identity crisis. Meanwhile, the national debate on the language issue has reflected lingering divisions within Ukrainian society over attitudes towards the dominant role played by Russia in the country’s past.
  
  (By Iryna Matviyishyn, in Atlantic Council, Thursday June 25, 2020)
  https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putin-is-the-only-winner-of-ukraines-language-wars/