Department of World Languages & Cultures - Chapman University

Ending another great semester! Muy buen trabajo, muchach@s.

https://bilingualkidspot.com/2019/05/25/cognitive-benefits-of-bilingualism/

Speaking a second language has HUGE brain benefits Being bilingual has HUGE brain benefits! In this article we list the top cognitive benefits of bilingualism and give you a reason to learn a second language

https://www.facebook.com/6883399629/posts/10157775689109630/

How many Native American tribal languages were spoken in California?

New key finding on human language!
https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/9/eaaw2594/tab-pdf?fbclid=IwAR2OOtY45fHMAv05rgYmW1jyV60nFgcmqhVjfDonMPtypCUzlqC-AY1x3I0

Different languages, similar encoding efficiency: Comparable information rates across the human communicative niche

https://news.chapman.edu/2019/05/24/whats-in-a-name-for-amazonian-tribes-theres-a-connection-to-culture-and-identity/

What's in a Name? For Amazonian Tribes, There's a Connection to Culture and Identity - Chapman Newsroom The proper names preferred by a tribe of native people living in the Peruvian Amazon are lovely and captivating, even in their English translations. “Shining Anaconda” and “Proud Bird” are just two examples. But to the Spanish-speaking officials who manage Peru’s public records, the spelli...

In the last year, the number of Spanish speakers goes from 572,6 million to 577 million, according to Instituto Cervantes.

El español se afianza como segunda lengua del mundo, detrás del chino Son datos del Instituto Cervantes de Madrid.  Según su informe anual, el 7,6 % de la población mundial es hoy hispanohablante.       

https://blogs.chapman.edu/wilkinson/2019/03/14/shipibo-konibo/

New study will allow the Shipibo-Konibo people to officially register with traditional proper names It has been estimated that up to 45% of Peru’s ca. 33 million people is Amerindian. Almost 50 different indigenous groups, speaking their own languages, inhabit the country’s Andean and Amazonian regions. Until recently it was almost impossible for Native parents to officially register their chi...

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/franglais-english-french-language-canada?fbclid=IwAR16fQ1o5EMBsa3E4EkOOedKDu3LbAk-89_kY01lTKrH-ErMxyj5FGq5ZII

How Franglais became Canada's unofficial third language In Montreal, you may be familiar with Franglais, the odd mashup of English and French, commonly found in regions where there is no ‘dominant’ language.

"In the late 19th century, the modern Japanese government annexed land from the Ainu people and prohibited them from practising their customs and using their language."

Japan to recognise Ainu as 'indigenous people' for first time The ethnic minority, mainly living on Hokkaido, has long suffered the effects of a policy of forced assimilation.

http://theconversation.com/anumeric-people-what-happens-when-a-language-has-no-words-for-numbers-75828

'Anumeric' people: What happens when a language has no words for numbers? From the Amazon to Nicaragua, there are humans who never learn numbers. What can these anumeric cultures teach us about ourselves?

"The Amawaka are an Indigenous Amazonian people from Peru and Brazil. Their language, also called Amawaka, belongs to the Panoan Family. A pressing concern of the Amawaka people is the ongoing rapid displacement of their language by Spanish and Portuguese. Today, only in the most distant villages do children acquire it. Therefore, capturing a permanent record of Amawaka language and cultural knowledge is urgent. This project is a joint initiative brainstormed by researchers from two academic institutions in response to this grave situation: Chapman University and Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP)."
https://blogs.chapman.edu/wilkinson/2018/08/01/grant-awarded-to-dr-valenzuela/