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How did Basque survive Spain's military dictatorship under Francisco Franco when speaking, writing and reading it were illegal? With more than six dialects, how did its speakers agree on a standard way of writing the language? And how has Basque thrived in the decades since Franco died? Nina Porzucki tells the story of Europe's most mysterious language and its tenacious speakers— a story that includes immigration to the American West, decades of exile in South America, translations of Shakespeare's plays and an epic struggle over the letter H. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, Josef Falkensköld, and Trabant 33.Photo of participants in a relay ‘marathon' in support of the Basque language by Tintxarri via Wikimedia Commons. Info about Nina Porzucki here. Read a transcript of the episode here. And sign up for Subtitle's newsy, nerdy, fortnightly newsletter here.
How did Basque survive Spain's military dictatorship under Francisco Franco when speaking, writing and reading it were illegal? With more than six dialects, how did its speakers agree on a standard way of writing the language? And how has Basque thrived in the decades since Franco died? Nina Porzucki tells the story of Europe's most mysterious language and its tenacious speakers— a story that includes immigration to the American West, decades of exile in South America, translations of Shakespeare's plays and an epic struggle over the letter H. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, Josef Falkensköld, and Trabant 33.Photo of participants in a relay ‘marathon' in support of the Basque language by Tintxarri via Wikimedia Commons. Info about Nina Porzucki here. Read a transcript of the episode here. And sign up for Subtitle's newsy, nerdy, fortnightly newsletter here.
Israel Jesus used to be ashamed of being from the Mexican state of Oaxaca and speaking the local indigenous tongue, Triqui. When he moved to Salinas, California, a kid in his high school told Jesus he was destined to work in the fields nearby. But it was his knowledge of Triqui that sent him on a different path. A hospital in Salinas recruited Jesus to interpret for the increasing number of Triqui-speaking patients. It's part of an effort in California and beyond to expand medical interpretation to Mexico's many indigenous languages. This episode was reported by Nina Porzucki. Music by Alexander Boyes, Blue Dot Sessions, Grupo Sin Control, Medité, and Podington Bear. Photo of Israel Jesus by Nina Porzucki. Read a transcript, with many more photos, here. And sign up for Subtitle's newsy, nerdy, fortnightly(ish) newsletter here.
Israel Jesus used to be ashamed of being from the Mexican state of Oaxaca and speaking the local indigenous tongue, Triqui. When he moved to Salinas, California, a kid in his high school told Jesus he was destined to work in the fields nearby. But it was his knowledge of Triqui that sent him on a different path. A hospital in Salinas recruited Jesus to interpret for the increasing number of Triqui-speaking patients. It's part of an effort in California and beyond to expand medical interpretation to Mexico's many indigenous languages. This episode was reported by Nina Porzucki. Music by Alexander Boyes, Blue Dot Sessions, Grupo Sin Control, Medité, and Podington Bear. Photo of Israel Jesus by Nina Porzucki. Read a transcript, with many more photos, here. And sign up for Subtitle's newsy, nerdy, fortnightly(ish) newsletter here.
When a word first enters the language, it sounds weird to some, radical to others and comforting to just a few. Only later does it seem 'natural.' So it was with the honorific Ms in the 20th century. So it may be with the non-binary Mx. Today, British banks and utilities routinely give customers the option to use Mx. Will American companies follow suit? And what might Shakespeare have thought? His gender-neutral 'master-mistress,' is arguably more poetic than Mx, but it might be a bit of a mouthful for our times. This episode was reported by Leo Hornak and Nina Porzucki. Music by Stationary Sign, The Freeharmonic Orchestra, Podington Bear, Josef Falkensköld and Silver Maple. The photo of performer Justin Vivian Bond, who uses Mx, is by Rhododendrites via Creative Commons. Read a transcript of the episode here. Sign up for the Subtitle newsletter here.
When a word first enters the language, it sounds weird to some, radical to others and comforting to just a few. Only later does it seem 'natural.' So it was with the honorific Ms in the 20th century. So it may be with the non-binary Mx. Today, British banks and utilities routinely give customers the option to use Mx. Will American companies follow suit? And what might Shakespeare have thought? His gender-neutral 'master-mistress,' is arguably more poetic than Mx, but it might be a bit of a mouthful for our times. This episode was reported by Leo Hornak and Nina Porzucki. Music by Stationary Sign, The Freeharmonic Orchestra, Podington Bear, Josef Falkensköld and Silver Maple. The photo of performer Justin Vivian Bond, who uses Mx, is by Rhododendrites via Creative Commons. Read a transcript of the episode here. Sign up for the Subtitle newsletter here.
It's unusual for a producer to share a work in progress. It's rarer still to do it twice. Nina Porzucki updates Rob on the progress of Bird Talk, her comedy podcast in-the-making and the steps it took to make her second pilot funnier and more engaging.
In 2012, a children's book in Sweden sparked a nationwide debate— not about the book's content but a three-letter word used by the main character. Hen was a relatively new, gender-neutral pronoun which challenged Swedish grammar norms. The use of hen tapped into a conversation the country was already having about gender and equality. Can the introduction of one word make a difference in changing societal views? Nina Porzucki goes to Sweden to find out. Photo by Nina Porzucki. Music by Blue Dot Sessions and Podington Bear. Read a transcript of this episode here.
In 2012, a children's book in Sweden sparked a nationwide debate— not about the book's content but a three-letter word used by the main character. Hen was a relatively new, gender-neutral pronoun which challenged Swedish grammar norms. The use of hen tapped into a conversation the country was already having about gender and equality. Can the introduction of one word make a difference in changing societal views? Nina Porzucki goes to Sweden to find out. Photo by Nina Porzucki. Music by Blue Dot Sessions and Podington Bear. Read a transcript of this episode here.
Earlier this spring, our friends from The World in Words Podcast recorded a live show at NYPL's very own Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library. The podcast, hosted by is about languages and the people who speak them. For this special episode, hosts Nina Porzucki and Patrick Cox shared stories about the history of Braille, why whale calls go viral like pop songs, and the difficulties of preserving languages in the U.S. through generations. Subscribe to The World in Words Podcast
This week, we’re bringing you a very special episode produced in partnership with Public Radio International. Along with a panel of speakers including NYPL’s Denise Hibay, the World in Words’ hosts Patrick Cox and Nina Porzucki examine the state of endangered languages around the world: Why do languages become endangered, and how have some speakers worked to ensure a future for their native tongues? In this special live podcast taping, we explore what’s happening to endangered languages from Ainu to Zaza.
IL #50: ¿EI, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh? Donde hablaremos sobre cómo referirnos al autodenominado Estado Islámico de Irak y el Levante.Este podcast está inspirado en el episodio Exploring why some say we should call ISIS 'Daesh', de The World in Words, producido por Nina Porzucki, y en el artículo Decoding Daesh: Why is the new name for ISIS so hard to understand?, de la traductora Alice Guthrie.La música de este episodio es Les étoiles de Paris (Émilie Simon) / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Rabia Chaudry talks about the response to Undisclosed and its unique relationship to Serial. This interview includes questions from Earl Adsley, Emily Lewis and Nina Porzucki. Produced for AudioBoom by Jeremy Helton and Carl Scott. Music by @thesonicdrifter Support the show.
Last summer, 18people paid anywhere between $2,000 and $4,000 to plant cucumbers, scrub potatoes, and build a chicken coop on 200 acres in Goshen, N.Y., all while speaking in a language few of them know. They were enrolled in the first full session of Yiddish Farm, the brainchild of 26-year-old Naftali Ejdelman. Ejdelman comes by his Yiddish honestly; he is the grandson of the late Yiddish professor Mordkhe Schaechter and grew up speaking the language at home. His farming experience, however, is less extensive (as he’s the first to admit). That didn’t stop him from procuring land, recruiting a partner, Yisroel Bass, and launching the first and only Yiddish-language-based shomer-shabbos working organic farm. In September, Vox Tablet sent reporter Nina Porzucki to find out how the farm, and its farmers, were faring. [Running time: 10:40.] See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.