Tag: Linguistics

Classroom Ideas, Current Event Connection, Geography In the News, Main

Tracing Ancient Migration through Language

WORLD Indigenous Siberians have linguistic links to Native North Americans. (Al Jazeera) Take a look at our map to trace the settlement of the Americas—and why people in Russia and Arizona may have linguistic similarities. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers’ Toolkit. Discussion Ideas Read through the easy Al Jazeera article. It identifies Ket, spoken by an indigenous … Continue reading Tracing Ancient Migration through Language

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Classroom Ideas, Current Event Connection, Geography In the News, Main

New Guinea Natives Navigate By Valleys and Mountains

GEOGRAPHY Yupno speakers in Papua New Guinea are the first known people to imagine slopes to orient themselves inside flat homes. (Nat Geo News) Use our resources to learn more about the importance of teaching and learning spatial thinking skills. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers’ Toolkit. Discussion Ideas Yupno uses words such as “upvalley and “downvalley” to … Continue reading New Guinea Natives Navigate By Valleys and Mountains

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Classroom Ideas, Current Event Connection

Do Languages ‘Think’ Alike?

SCIENCE Very different languages seem to organize the world in surprisingly similar ways—scientists say the ways humans describe nature transcends culture and geography. (Quartz) How well do you know your own language? Play Word-O-Rama to find out! Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers’ Toolkit. Discussion Ideas The Quartz video investigates polysemous words in different languages. What are polysemous … Continue reading Do Languages ‘Think’ Alike?

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Current Event Connection, Geography In the News

Did The Language You Speak Evolve Because Of The Heat?

GEOGRAPHY English bursts with consonants. (Cumberbatch!) But other languages, such as Hawaiian, keep more vowels and open sounds. (Kahanamoku!) And that variability might be because they evolved in different habitats. (NPR) Use our resources to take a look at some of the oldest surviving words in any language. Teachers, scroll down for a short list of key resources in our Teachers’ Toolkit. Discussion Ideas According … Continue reading Did The Language You Speak Evolve Because Of The Heat?

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Classroom Ideas, Current Event Connection, Main

Words That Seem Related but Aren’t

WORLD A crayfish is not a fish, an outrage is not a rage, and there’s no bomb in bombast. Words suggest one thing, but their histories tell us another. (The Week) Dig a little—or a lot!—deeper with a wide variety of resources from our websites (that’s Education and Kids) and blog. Discussion Ideas Read the terrific talking points from The Week, and dig a little … Continue reading Words That Seem Related but Aren’t

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