Keyword: author:chrislivaccari

On a Day for Languages, Discovering, Celebrating, and Saving Our Mother Tongues

Education

On International Mother Language Day, Asia Society's Chris Livaccari argues that while a lingua franca is important, so is linguistic diversity.

February 21st by Chris Livaccari | Comments

A Rock By Any Other Name: Asia's Premiere Language Game of 2012

Education

What's in a name? Territorial disputes in the Pacific Ocean tap into a much older tradition of organizing reality and creating social order through naming.

December 27th by Chris Livaccari | Comments

Is Kim Jong Un a Geek, a Nerd, or a Dork — or Perhaps the Sexiest Man Alive?

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (L) applauds during a military parade in honor of the 100th birthday of the late North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung in Pyongyang on April 15, 2012. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images)

Education

As the case of an Onion article demonstrated this week, what's lost in translation can have serious consequences. Or it can just be a lot of fun.

November 29th by Chris Livaccari | Comments

Hyperpolyglots: Paragon or Folly?

Education

Michael Erard's new book, Babel No More, demonstrates that there's much more to being fluent in another language than mastering grammar and vocabulary.

January 31st by Chris Livaccari | Comments

2012: The Year Mandarin Chinese Becomes a 'Commonly Taught Language'?

A student at Aiton Elementary School in Washington, D.C., practices Chinese. (Grace Norman)

Education

U.S. schools are beginning to see the value in teaching the world's most commonly spoken language. And hopefully the reasons are not just economic, writes Chris Livaccari.

December 22nd by Chris Livaccari | Comments

Does it Matter if Jon Huntsman is 'Fluent' in Mandarin Chinese?

Policy

Jon Huntsman, former Utah Governor and U.S. Ambassador to China — and current Republican candidate for president — is at the center of a discussion that reveals our assumptions about language perhaps better than any other: the idea of “fluency.”

November 2nd by Chris Livaccari | Comments