Thinking about the new use of "curated."

Last month Green Mountain Daily reported the Burlington Free Press VTBuzz blog "is curating (their word) a six part exploration of the gubernatorial candidate websites."



Not so fast, BFP. The use of the word is not as "newfangled" as you thought, and you certainly didn't coin it. As I read today on JEREMIAH'S VANISHING NEW YORK:--

I like thinking about how words are used and how they travel virally through groups of people. Words like "Doucheoisie," and prefixes, too, like "Celebu-." And now, thanks to a few blog posts about the opening of Mast bookshop on Avenue A, I'm thinking about the word "curated" and what it means these days.

[...]

The Times actually did a whole story about this word in 2009. They wrote that curate:

- "has become a fashionable code word among the aesthetically minded, who seem to paste it onto any activity that involves culling and selecting."
- "is code for 'I have a discerning eye and great taste.'"
- is "an innocent form of self-inflation."
- "can be good for one’s image and business."

"Pretentious?" asked the Times, "Maybe. But it’s hardly unusual for members of less pedigreed professions to adopt the vernacular of more prestigious ones."

So the use of "curate" is aspirational, which does put it in the same league as "artisanal." And that makes some people nervous because it signals to consumers something very specific. It signals "exclusivity" and is meant to attract people who yearn to be in the club. It may also repel people who find the use of such words pretentious and exclusionary.

In addition, museum curators really aren't happy about it.

Photo: source
via Jeremiah's.

Hey! Watch Your Language!

"The Belgian government is on the brink of dissolution for the fifth time in three years. A bilingual electoral district, an old culprit, is to blame."

Dowd's Deep Doo Doo

I don't anymore, but when I did read the NYT regularly, I'd check out Maureen Dowd for her sarcastic opinion pieces.

Dan Kennedy: ... I continue to be troubled by her explanation of how she came to lift a paragraph from Josh Marshall's megablog, Talking Points Memo.

OK, so Dowd was "talking" in a "spontaneous" manner with a friend, as she put it to the Huffington Post. Fine. I had decided to assume for the purpose of moving on that by "talking" she meant "e-mailing." It would be completely believable if she had copied and pasted from a friend's e-mail who had volunteered to help her write her column.

COMMENT: Weird times we live in, and of course, liberal bloggers and the busy media gotcha gang are having a field day with yet another diversion from the real news. But I do think this bowdlerization of language is troubling. 'Talking,' 'e-mailing.' On Gmail, when you want to write an email, you click "Compose Mail." After you click "send," the confirmation reads, "This message has been sent."

It gets worse. After you delete an email, the confirmation reads, "This conversation has been moved to the Trash" (with a capital 'T,' for typographical emphasis!).

LEARNING DUTCH IS A MUST!

RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE on a new Dutch government publicity campaign for foreign residents about learning Dutch :- A non-profit commercial to be frequently aired on television [starting today] shows several foreigners trying to explain something to a Dutch national - and clearly failing to do so. The subtitled spot ends with the caption "real life comes without subtitles", followed by a call to learn Dutch.



Alejandro Pintamalli: "The Dutch government and politicians press too hard for people to learn the language, which provokes a negative response. For me it has always been extremely important to learn the language-but not in this way. This kind of commercial will only backfire."

RNW tags this story: "Dutch society, immigration, integration." I'm surprised they didn't label it "those damn foreigners." More accurate would have been: "racism" and "classism."

It's a patronising one-size-fits-all advertisement, culturally insensitive. Of course, the government wants to appear helpful, but it's their way - in their myopic eyes - of Dutching the UnDutchable. The Netherlands is still a country of white privilege.

O SCRABBULOUS DAY!

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the most popular word game in history: Scrabble.

CAN YOU SPEAK DINGLISH?

NRC HANDELSBLAD INTERNATIONAL

Students at Amsterdam and Groningen universities are protesting against what they see as the erosion of modern language studies. Recent reorganisations at the literature departments mean modern languages are increasingly becoming part of broader study programmes.

The protest has the support of two well-known Dutch writers: Hella Haasse, who studied Scandinavian languages, and Arthur Japin who studied Dutch language. They have added their voice to a special website set up as part of a protest campaign launched last month by former Amsterdam University student Erik Schoonhoven and Jonathan Oudendijk who is currently studying Italian at the university.

They are protesting at what they see as a commercialisation of language studies... [more]

Read the Op-Ed piece (in Dutch) that Hella Haase, Erik Schoonhoven and Jonathan Oudendijk wrote for NRC Handelsblad on Erik's blog. Watch/listen to Erik explain their concerns here.

Join them to save the study of languages at universities: Red de Talen/Save the Languages (Dutch link.)

SPANGLISH

DUNGLISH (Yeah, from Dunglish - posting now, back from their summer holidays) ...

It’s not really fair to call this Spanglish, a mix of English and Spanish that makes me think of East Los Angeles, but ‘Cataglish’ (Catalan and English) sounds terrible. Anyhoo, this was spotted in Barcelona, a city that I can safely say is very easy to get around in in Spanish, Catalan, English and just plain pointing at things.

But this is just funny because the Italian is apparently good and the rest goes ‘de mal en peor’ (’from bad to worse’). The French has spelling mistakes, as it should be ‘français’ (odd, since the Catalans use the ‘ç’, as in ‘Barça’, short for ‘Barcelona’). The European French as opposed to French Canadians would argue it should be ‘nous parlons français’ (’we speak French’) as opposed to the impersonal ‘on’ (’one speaks French’), which almost looked familiar to me.

And I have a theory about the ’speak English’, which is giving an order to speak English. The Spanish, and maybe the Catalans, remove the personal pronoun in front of a verb when they speak. The idea is that when reading the verb, you know who’s talking. This is true in Spanish, but not in English, while in French it’s not allowed. Hence, the commanding tone. But my theory doesn’t work with the rest, which is why I posted this mess in the first place.

AMSTERDAM: OFFICIALLY A BILINGUAL CITY?

As reported last week in Parool, there was a proposal that English should become Amsterdam's official second language.

''In Amsterdam English is accepted everywhere, except at City Hall,'' says [Amsterdam City Councilor Jan] Paternotte. ''Reporting a crime to the police can only be done in Dutch and local taxes are imposed solely in Dutch. However, English is undoubtedly the second language of the city, simply because it is the world language and a lot of American and British people live here or come over here for their holidays.''

Public information from the city council and local boroughs should be available on the internet, according to the proposal by Paternotte. This way, foreigners could, for instance, find out when to put out their garbage bags.

That Parool article was written in Dutch and English.

But now, in another Parool article (in Dutch only) we read that other city officials think that A'dam already has enough English. Fortunately, DutchNews.nl has a follow up in English --

Socialist councillor Carlien Boelhouwer tells the paper that the suggestion is 'ridiculous'. 'Why not go for Moroccan or Turkish?' she asks, adding that 'expats could learn a little Dutch as well.'

But Liberal councillor Huub Verweij sees merit in the plan. 'And then we should adopt the American attitude to service, German discipline, the beauty of northern Scandinavia and a real Liberal government for the city,' he says on his weblog.

DON'T TREAD ON ME

From today's DUNGLISH --

Sure we know what they mean, but this was found at the Keukenhof, the world’s largest flower garden, surely beautiful yet pricy and often overrun with tourists. In other words, you would expect them to write proper English and have pride in doing so.

Oh oh. The website has its problems as well, never mind that you can be welcomed in many different languages.

One highlight:
“Keukenhof offers you the opportunity to see millions of bulbs in flower”
Should be “in bloom”.

We could also make ‘walk the dog, walk the grass’ jokes. But the tulips are pretty.

SURINAME DEALS (AGAIN) WITH ITS DUTCH COLONIAL PAST

In the past several years, people in The Netherlands have been reflecting on what it means to be Dutch. Call it navel-gazing, but spurred on by the Pim Fortuyn show, and the brouhaha after Theo van Gogh's assassination, not a day goes by when you don't read about it. When Suriname became independent 30 years ago, planeloads of Surinamers fled their country to The Netherlands. Now, according to the New York Times, Suriname is undergoing a reflection about its language(s) and using it as a means to break away from its colonial past.

“We shook off the chains of Dutch colonialism in the 1970s, but our consciousness remains colonized by the Dutch language,” said Paul Middellijn, 58, a writer who composes poetry in Sranan Tongo.

Nevertheless, Mr. Middellijn said English should be declared Suriname’s national language, a position shared by many Surinamese who want stronger links to the Caribbean and North America. “Sranan will survive because nothing can replace it as the language of the street,” he said.

“It is a form of communication perfect not just for poets but for the Chinese groceryman or Brazilian miner who arrived a few months ago,” he continued. “Are they going to go through the trouble of learning Dutch? No way.”
---
“I do not speak Sranan,” said Suprijanto Muhadi, the ambassador from Indonesia, the former Dutch colony that sent Javanese laborers here until the eve of World War II. “But a manservant I brought from Indonesia a year ago picked it up much easier than Dutch.”

The use of Sranan became associated with nationalist politics after Desi Bouterse, a former dictator, began using Sranan in his speeches in the 1980s. The slogan of his National Democratic Party, the biggest in Suriname, remains “Let a faya baka!” Sranan for “Turn the lights back on!” or, figuratively, get things working again.

FAVOURITE ‘DUTCH’ WORD FOR 2007

From Dunglish blog --
Favourite ‘Dutch’ word for 2007 is ‘Bokitoproof’

Language fans chose the Dunglish ‘Bokitoproof’, which indicates that a zoo is gorilla-proof, as the Word of the Year 2007. For those who missed the commotion, Bokito was the gorilla that ran amok in a Dutch zoo in Rotterdam earlier this year. It beat out perfectly good Dutch neologisms such as ‘comadrinken’ (drinking yourself into a coma), ‘klimaatneutraal’ (neutral for the environment), ’slurptaks’ (tax on gas/petrol guzzling cars) en ‘lokhomo’ (gay bait).

The voting for ‘Woord van het jaar 2007′ was organised by newspaper De Pers, het Genootschap Onze Taal (linguistic association) and the Van Dale dictionary. Some 10,000 people voted and ‘Bokitoproof’ got 19% of the votes.

Another known Dunglish expression with the word ‘proof’ in it was ‘Rabo proof’, with a space, which is apparently wrong in Dutch.

(Link: Dunglish)

The accent transplant: Brain surgery leaves Yorkshire boy speaking like the Queen

One look at the lil tyke's photo should explain everything.
Medical science made him the way it was intended.

Dying Languages

NY TIMES - Of the estimated 7,000 languages spoken in the world today, linguists say, nearly half are in danger of extinction and likely to disappear in this century. In fact, one falls out of use about every two weeks.

Some languages vanish in an instant, at the death of the sole surviving speaker. Others are lost gradually in bilingual cultures, as indigenous tongues are overwhelmed by the dominant language at school, in the marketplace and on television.

New research, reported yesterday, has found the five regions where languages are disappearing most rapidly: northern Australia, central South America, North America’s upper Pacific coastal zone, eastern Siberia, and Oklahoma and the southwestern United States. All have indigenous people speaking diverse languages, in falling numbers.

The study was based on field research and data analysis supported by the National Geographic Society and the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages.
---
Forty languages are still spoken in Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico, many of them originally used by Indian tribes and others introduced by Eastern tribes that were forced to resettle on reservations, mainly in Oklahoma. Several of the languages are moribund.

Another measure of the threat to many relatively unknown languages, Dr. Harrison said, is that 83 languages with “global” influence are spoken and written by 80 percent of the world population. Most of the others face extinction at a rate, the researchers said, that exceeds that of birds, mammals, fish and plants.

Time off to make babies at KLM

24oranges -- KLM international flight crews can now get 'ovulation leave.'

Let's call God Allah

More on Muskens, related to my previous post. His appeal to all believers to make a conciliatory gesture to Muslims by calling God Allah. The Netherlands is a diverse country. Muskens remarks cause a stir among people of all spiritual stripes, but it's also part of a discussion on what's Dutch. Lots of navel gazing going on. I still think some Dutch have tiny minds.

What's in a Name?

RADIO NETHERLANDS --

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Breda Tiny Muskens has made the headlines today with his appeal to all believers to make a conciliatory gesture to Muslims by calling God Allah. The Protestant newspaper Trouw [link] places the appeal on its front page.

Trouw writes that on last night's television programme Network [video link] Bishop Muskens pointed out that Allah is the Arabic word for God. The bishop explained that he had worked for eight years in Indonesia. "There God is called Allah during the Mass. Why don't we do this as well?" Bishop Muskens says he doesn't expect much approval for his idea within the short term. "But I'd be interested to see how it is in another hundred or two hundred years."

Why don't Muslims call Allah God?

De Telegraaf also places the bishop's controversial appeal on its front page, along with the reaction of the Council of Dutch Protestant Churches, which says it has no intention of even thinking of the suggestion. The Chairman of the Council, Gerrit de Fijter, says it is true that Allah is the Arabic word for God, but "We're not in Indonesia or another land, we're in the Netherlands where we call Him God."

He also says that he "wants to continue using the word God in relationship to the Father, the son Jesus and the Holy Ghost, and if we say Allah this isn't possible." De Telegraaf interviews Christian Democratic MP Liesbeth Spies, who says using the word Allah isn't in accordance with Dutch tradition. She says: "You can also turn it around. Why don't Muslims call Allah God?" However, the spokesman for Roman Catholic bishops in the Netherlands. Pieter Kohnen, says Bishop Muskens' proposal might not be a bad idea. "We've been looking for the right words to describe God's greatness since time immemorial. Muskens has made an interesting suggestion."

COMMENT: Some Dutchies have tiny minds.

Coulda fooled me!

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The Midland
The South
Boston
The West
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

No offence - oops, I mean offense (haha) - but I've never been asked if I was from Wisconsin. I've never even been to the 'inland North,' though I grew up as a kid in the NYC and New England; after uni I lived for over 20 years in Houston, Texas; and having lived in south-east England for a while, I can mimic the best Estuary accent. It was fun to do the quiz. How did all y'all do? :-P

Cheers to Michele at Anglican Underground.