Language

A mixed-media illustration of women's profiles, bodies and pieces of their faces, including one made of newsprint and words as well as a line drawing against pinks, purples and orange. The backdrop is burgundy.

June 2025 / Memoir

The Secret Language We Share with Our Children

April 12, 2025April 12, 2025 - by Chantal Braganza

My mother loved me in Spanish. It’s shaped my understanding of parenthood

In a photo illustration, a hand holds a phone with a screen showing the CN Tower. Several speech bubbles pop off the screen

Society

The Toronto Accent Is Real

April 11, 2025April 11, 2025 - by Maia Wyman

It’s been called an act and “the worst accent in the world.” Why can’t locals see it for what it is?

An illustration of a sun shining on a person water a growing tree with deep roots. The background features faint words in different Indigenous languages such as Squamish and Cree

September/October 2024 / Society

ayistôtawin

September 30, 2024April 3, 2025 - by Michelle Cyca

TikTok ekwa Instagram kiwîcihikon kâwe kâpacihtâhk iyiniw pîkiskwewina ohci metoni iskweyânihk

September/October 2024 / Society

Social Media Is Helping Bring Indigenous Languages Back from the Brink

September 30, 2024October 7, 2024 - by Michelle Cyca

Government funding is dwindling. TikTok and Instagram are filling the gap

A photo illustration of a bust of Ukrainian poet and artist Taras Shevchenko dotted with bullet holes in Borodianka, Ukraine. Behind the bust is a blue sky with a yellow cross-stitched pattern in the lower half to resemble the Ukrainian flag.

July/August 2023 / World

The Other Front: Ukraine’s Cultural Revolution

July 20, 2023July 24, 2023 - by Sarah Lawrynuik

As the country fights for its right to exist, Ukrainians at home and abroad are embracing their language, literature, and heroic figures

A chalkboard featuring many words in different languages

Arts & Culture

What Is the Point of Literary Translation?

July 20, 2021August 4, 2023 - by Katia Grubisic

Translators may alter the composition of a line, a paragraph, or a stanza. But when do their choices overstep, and where do the changes stop?

Three cartoon faces speaking. One in the middle with a closed mouth appears worried

Uncategorized

Accents, Dialects, and Discrimination

February 22, 2021February 22, 2021 - by John Colapinto

From surfer-dude drawls to Valley-girl upspeak, how we talk still defines how we’re seen

An illustration, in different shades of purple, of people through the windows of their apartment buildings, all doing solitary activities.

Uncategorized

What Does “Lockdown” Even Mean Anymore?

February 15, 2021June 8, 2021 - by Jonah Brunet

One year into COVID-19, our definitions are constantly changing. But, when politics distort our language, people can die

A girl lays on her back pointing up at clouds in the shapes of letters.

October 2019

Why Language Is Cool

October 7, 2019March 27, 2020 - by Yann Martel

Words are as close to immortality as you’ll ever get

Two mouths talking at each other with speech bubbles

Arts & Culture

Don’t Blame the Internet for New Slang

September 10, 2019March 14, 2024 - by Gretchen McCulloch

Language is always changing. How has technology forced it to evolve?

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The Secret Language We Share with Our Children

The Other Front: Ukraine’s Cultural Revolution

Accents, Dialects, and Discrimination

What Does “Lockdown” Even Mean Anymore?

Why Language Is Cool

Don’t Blame the Internet for New Slang

Fund Canadian journalism to help you make informed decisions. Fund The Walrus.

Fund Canadian journalism to help you make informed decisions. Fund The Walrus.

Fund Canadian journalism to help you make informed decisions. Fund The Walrus.

Fund Canadian journalism to help you make informed decisions. Fund The Walrus.