Communication Lectures and Online Courses

Standard Arabic To Modern Arabic: How Has It Changed?

October 18, 2020

Modern Standard Arabic is based on the Arabic used in the Koran. Since the Koran contains the words of the Prophet, it is sought to be preserved unchanged. […]

Language Changes: How They Happen So Quickly

October 17, 2020

Language changes faster than we may think. Some languages in the world have evolved and changed in a couple of generations. […]

An octagonal red sign with 'Stop' in English written on the bottom half and 'Arrêt' in French written on the top half, with the blue sky visible in the background.

Dialects: Diglossia Also Extends to Separate Languages

October 11, 2020

Diglossic relationships are supposed to be witnessed between dialects, between nonstandard varieties of one particular language. Yet we see similar diglossic relationships between two completely separate languages. […]

A middle-aged man wearing a black suit jacket with a pistachio green shirt and black bow, a square-frame spectacle with yellow handles, with his mouth open wide in a 'O' shape and alphabets appear to be exiting his mouth.

Dialects: What Are Diglossia and Triglossia?

October 11, 2020

We are familiar with bilingualism. Most countries in the world are bilingual or even trilingual. But people can also be bi-dialectal. […]

Communication

Where Do You Draw the Line between Language and Dialect?

September 27, 2020

Some groups of dialects sound very different from one another, but still belong to the same language family. But there are also groups of dialects that are almost identical, yet are considered to be separate languages. […]

Four school students, two girls and two boys, standing with their backs to the camera, facing the chalkboard in front of them and writing Chinese letters into boxes drawn on the board to learn the Chinese writing system.

Some Dialects Are Actually Distinct Languages

September 26, 2020

Typically, when we say ‘x’ is a dialect of ‘y’, it means that ‘x’ is quite similar to the language ‘y’. The reason why we consider ‘x’ to be quite similar to the language ‘y’ is that the writing system is the same. Sometimes, what appears to be a dialect is actually a different language. […]

Flags of Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Denmark (left to right) fluttering on poles, with a cloud filled, slightly overcast sky in the background.

Why Are Similar Languages Often Known by Different Names?

September 26, 2020

In our ordinary daily experiences, such as while watching a TV show or speaking to someone at a convenience store, we hear words in different languages that seem almost the same as the words in our own language. However, the names of the languages are different. […]