[LINK] Some language links

[rfmcdonald]

• The decision of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to use German in her upcoming address to the Israeli Knesset has angered many Israelis who don't want the language of the Nazis used in their natinal parliament.


• A letter-writer to the Jamaica Gleaner is critical of the idea of identifying Jamaican Patois as a language separate from English on the grounds that Jamaican speech is defined by its intimate relationship to the English language.


• Variety reports that the Ukrainian government is excluding the import of films with Russian dubbing and Ukrainian subtitles, perhaps partly as an effort to promote the use of Ukrainian in movies and create a Ukrainian dubbing industry. This creates obvious conflicts for the half of the Ukrainian population that uses Russian as its main language.


• AFP reports that English is by far the most popular foreign language selected by students in Estonia, far outpacing Russian and German never mind the distant fourth of French. Many Estonians are worried that without more knowledge of other foreign languages, Estonia could be marginalized in Europe.