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The Walrus

Language

A chalkboard featuring many words in different languages
Arts & Culture

What Is the Point of Literary Translation?

July 20, 2021April 30, 2022 - 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?

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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

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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

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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

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Two mouths talking at each other with speech bubbles
Uncategorized

Don’t Blame the Internet for New Slang

September 10, 2019August 14, 2020 - by Gretchen McCulloch

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

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A pile of books open on a table
Uncategorized

The Power of a Good Sentence

July 13, 2019July 17, 2019 - by Douglas Glover

Why writing one isn’t as easy as you think

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elephant destroys room but looks pretty content
Uncategorized

Clichés As a Political Tool

November 19, 2018November 14, 2019 - by Mark Abley

How prefabricated language helps everybody from prime ministers to CEOs disguise what they really want to say

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mouth illustration contains double double, pop, flip-flop, toque and loonie
Uncategorized

My Quest for the Ultimate Canadianism

August 7, 2018March 31, 2020 - by Will Ferguson

The best Canadian word is neither English nor French

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Photograph by Whitney Light
June 2018

Beyond Bilingualism

May 30, 2018March 3, 2022 - by Mark Abley

The Official Languages Act will soon turn fifty. Have we outgrown it?

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Woman holding stuffed animal sits in her home
December 2017

How One Translator Brought Quebec’s Greatest Authors to English Canada

November 21, 2017December 3, 2019 - by Derek Webster

For Sheila Fischman, translation represents the hope that our country’s fractured identity can be healed by understanding how others see the world

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