For true language nerds - the development of new languages for fantasy television series (Game of Thrones in this case) or movies is alive and well. From the Sydney Morning Herald "'The days of aliens spouting gibberish with no grammatical structure are over,' said paul Frommer, professor emeritus of clinical management communication at the University of Southern California, who created Na'vi, the language spoken by the giant blue inhabitants of Pandora in Avatar." Also picked up by the New York Times today.
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I haven't seen any of the other major news outlets reporting on this yet, but the Huffington Post reports that Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes (D-Sylmar) filed the COPA proposal: "The proposed program seeks to create a safe harbor for the employment of undocumented immigrants who 'have lived in California for four years, have no felony convictions, are not suspected terrorists, pay a fee to administer the program and can speak English or are learning it.'"
The Las Vegas Sun runs a pretty standard story that reminds us that kids who are learning English in school are a big part of the "challenge". Nothing new to that narrative, but the end of the story shows how a good teacher will use both the heritage language alongside English to push on greater understanding. From the article: "'Maribel, traduce por favor,' Acosta tells a student. 'Strange. Como es en Español?' The girl mumbles its definition. 'Right,' says Acosta, who seamlessly shifts from speaking in English to Spanish and back again. 'Something is strange when it's different from what you're used to.'
From cherokeepheonix.org: "In a cooperative effort between Northeastern Statue University (in Oklahoma) and the Cherokee Nation, the Cherokee Education Degree Program allows students to major in the Cherokee language and give them the capability to teach how to speak, read and write Cherokee."
This piece on the Huffington Post provides a nice snapshot of a small Illinois town that is changing rapidly as a function of immigration. Nicely summarizes how attitudes get in the way of facts when languages and cultures come into contact.
From the Miami Herald: Despite growing concerns in Alabama about the ramifications of the draconian anti-immigration law, legislators in the Republican-controlled North Carolina legislature are contemplating similar measures. "'With other states tightening their laws, North Carolina could become a magnet for illegal immigrants,' said Rep. Bert Jones, a Rockingham County Republican."
Yes, that is a Lord of the Rings allusion in the title.
In North Carolina, Cape Fear Watchdogs report state legislators are beginning to hold hearings with respect to the state's policies toward immigration and undocumented migrants. The language here provides some inklings of bias. A local sheriff will address his "county’s use of the 287(g) program, under which local law enforcement agencies enter into a partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce immigration laws in their jurisdictions and deport criminal aliens who pose a danger in the community." In the New York Times: Luther Strange, Alabama AG, "recommended repealing a section that makes it a crime for an illegal immigrant to fail to carry registration documents. He also suggested repealing the requirement that public schools collect information on the immigration status of students."
Just a couple days after it appeared, the American Heritage Dictionary revised its definition of 'anchor baby'. The original definition simply listed the term as if it were an objective word, like defining any other word. The revised definition describes it as "a disparaging term for a child born to a noncitizen mother...". More from Southern California Public Radio.
Interesting and quick read from the New York Times. While I am not sure this is a prescription for 'rescue', Hess and Darling-Hammond present a nice case for what the federal government should and should not be expected to do. They argue for 4 domains that the federal government can do well for public education: 1) encourage transparency in school performance and spending (an obligatory tip of the hat to the one good thing that NCLB did); 2) enforce civil rights in public education (please send more DOJ folks to Massachusetts to investigate our ELL law); 3) support basic research (amen); 4) encourage innovation through K-12 public education funding (using Race to the Top as an example of a lacking attempt).
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