Since the return of large numbers of Macanese people to Portugal after Macau was handed back to the Chinese government in 1999, the decline of the Macanese dialect has been marked. Macanese is a unique blend of Malay, Portuguese and Japanese, with numerous other influences, once adopted as a common language between traders, colonialists and locals in the Portuguese trading ports.
On Poetic Inspiration
My central idea involves a resonance between the years 535, 1315 and 1815 created by stupendous volcanic eruptions that cause abrupt global cooling, massive mortality and disruption of human society, followed, after a significant time lag, by reorganization according to new principles.
Touching History
Whether by a human artifact which survives the centuries, or the spectacular powers of Mother Nature, we are all forever connected to the universe.
Crow Talk
Shifting my eyes, suddenly all I saw was crow – a very large one, perched atop a tree across the street.
I forgot my class for a little while.
Google Translate: A Universal World Language?
At present computerized translation programs are best at rendering factual material like patents and business communications, but they are constantly improving. Perhaps some day they will be able to handle literature and spiritual concepts.
Confessions of a Former Grammar Queen
Over the years I have corrected a lot of people. I have been the person who rants about misplaced apostrophes, confused homophones, needless truncations or abbreviations, and other abuses of the English language common in modern usage. Recently I started to turn a corner.
Looking Back With the New Order
Has social networking changed us and made us prone to misplaced awe and extremity? Have we forgotten the weighty meaning of such words as “never” and “always”?
Words for Aurora
Words spin me like a whirling dervish of clandestine epiphanies. They mend me when my soul has frayed. They jig me when I’m on the road to Jag.
Tempest Of Words
I love words. Words like hypnaogogic, gobsmacked, serendipity, and onomatopeia that lick my lips as they slip slide out of my mouth.
The Past and Future of Language
Guest Author Autumn Barlow writes about history, culture, geography, the evolution of the English language and how our need to communicate effectively remains the same.