language | The Walrus

A chalkboard featuring many words in different languages

What Is the Point of Literary Translation?

July 20, 2021July 23, 2021 - 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

Language

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.

Language

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.

Language / 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

Language / March 2016

Why Do We Find Nonsense Words Funny?

December 18, 2015May 7, 2020 - by Michael Hingston

Certain nonsense words consistently made patients smile and sometimes even laugh out loud. Especially ‘Skunkoople’

A woman sitting at a desk, petting her cat

September 2014 / Theatre

Finding the Words

September 9, 2014April 13, 2020 - by Eric Andrew-Gee

Linda Gaboriau’s struggle to translate a hit Quebec play

Illustration of Rob Ford on the front page of the Toronto Star

Books / March 2014

Speaking in Tongues

February 17, 2014April 14, 2020 - by Emily M. Keeler

A bold first novel reshapes language for the surveillance era

Arts & Culture / October 2006

Dictation-bound

October 12, 2006February 29, 2020 - by Greg Gransden

Forget spelling bees – for a real challenge, try the Dictée des Amériques

April/May 2004 / Language

For Want of a Comma

April 12, 2004December 23, 2019 - by Paul Wilson

Exploring the two sides of a punctuation debate

February/March 2004 / Language

MSN Spoken Here

February 12, 2004April 30, 2020 - by Charles Foran

The lingo springing from the computer keyboard is the way we write