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Babel - Who Owns English? (Episode 10)Aug 27, 2012 | 27:29Babel Who Owns English? (Episode 10) Audio
Babel Who Owns English? (Episode 10) Aug 27, 2012 | 27:29Babel is going global. As English expands in countries such as India, China and South Africa, regional varities are emerging. And it's not surprising. Most conversations in English nowadays occur between people who speak it as a second, third or fourth language. That's because there are four times as many non-native speakers in the world as native speakers, and they're developing their own standards and lexicons. Babel wraps up its summer series by asking: Who owns English, and why does it matter?
Babel - Jargon (Episode 9)Aug 20, 2012 | 27:29Babel Jargon (Episode 9) Audio
Babel Jargon (Episode 9) Aug 20, 2012 | 27:29Supratentorial, bond yields, overclocking...we hear jargon everywhere, every day from doctors to economists to computer experts. Sometimes it feels like a completely different language, and if we don't have the fluency, we can feel shut out. But if we do learn the lingo, it can help us feel included. We'll explore jargon and whether it helps or hinders.
Babel - Teaching (Episode 8)Aug 13, 2012 | 27:29Babel Teaching (Episode 8) Audio
Babel Teaching (Episode 8) Aug 13, 2012 | 27:29Whether it's catering to both ESL and non-ESL students, finding new ways of teaching pronunciation, or adding video games to the classroom, English instruction in Canada is changing. We're asking: what's the best way to teach English?
Babel - Punctuation (Episode 7)Aug 6, 2012 | 27:29Babel Punctuation (Episode 7) Audio
Babel Punctuation (Episode 7) Aug 6, 2012 | 27:29Punctuation can help clarify what we mean - even emphasize certain points. But with the proliferation of smart phones, tablets and Twitter, many of us are tapping out shorter messages faster, often tossing punctuation aside. Or, to make sure our message is noticed, we use punctuation excessively, using five exclamation marks instead of one!!!!! Then there are emoticons. :-) We're asking how technology is changing the way we use punctuation, and where we're at in the punctuation evolution.
Babel - Punctuation Party MansionAug 6, 2012 | 2:00Babel Punctuation Party Mansion Audio
Babel Punctuation Party Mansion Aug 6, 2012 | 2:00Mariel and Colleen hit the streets of Toronto to take a closer look at how we actually use punctuation. We inspected posters, signs and well, anything with writing. It turns out that we're pretty good at inserting commas and apostrophes as needed. But we did find some inspired punctuation usage.
Babel - Mashup (Episode 6)Jul 30, 2012 | 27:29Babel Mashup (Episode 6) Audio
Babel Mashup (Episode 6) Jul 30, 2012 | 27:29Whether it's in the baseball dugout, at home, or out in the community, many Canadians are spicing up their English conversation by tossing in words from different languages such as Hindi, Arabic, or Spanish. And that includes Canada's Major League Baseball team. We'll hear personal stories of mashups, find out why we mix up our languages, and discover the winner of the Best New Borrowed Word contest.
Babel - Marcel Danesi (Interview)Jul 23, 2012 | 5:35Babel Marcel Danesi (Interview) Audio
Babel Marcel Danesi (Interview) Jul 23, 2012 | 5:35Creative new words are popping up daily on the internet, in boardrooms and in classrooms. A recent study by Harvard University and Google shows that English has been expanding by 8500 words per year, and now stands at more than one million words. But with so many words entering the English lexicon, are we actually using them? Babel explores whether we appreciate the value of words, and whether it matters.
Babel - Infiltrators (Episode 5)Jul 23, 2012 | 27:29Babel Infiltrators (Episode 5) Audio
Babel Infiltrators (Episode 5) Jul 23, 2012 | 27:29Creative new words are popping up daily on the internet, in boardrooms and in classrooms. A recent study by Harvard University and Google shows that English has been expanding by 8500 words per year, and now stands at more than one million words. But with so many words entering the English lexicon, are we actually using them? Babel explores whether we appreciate the value of words, and whether it matters.
Babel - The Gap (Episode 4)Jul 16, 2012 | 27:29Babel The Gap (Episode 4) Audio
Babel The Gap (Episode 4) Jul 16, 2012 | 27:29From media personalities to parents and politicians, there's a drive to sound more conversational and less authoritative. Sure, there's virtue in people talking to people, but in our society, the voice of authority may be losing out. We explore the gap between slower, formal English and faster, conversational English. We look at how parents talk to their children, how politicians and broadcasters speak to us, and how faster speech is jumbling our brains.
Babel - Court Interpreting (Interview)Jul 11, 2012 | 7:20Babel Court Interpreting (Interview) Audio
Babel Court Interpreting (Interview) Jul 11, 2012 | 7:20With more Canadians speaking English as a second language, quality court interpreters are crucial to help ensure justice is served. For some court cases, governments supply top-level interpreters. But that's not always the case. Experts say there's an alarming shortage of skilled interpreters across Canada. That includes Regina Landeck, a certified translator in Edmonton, and past president of the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Alberta. She spoke with Babel host Mariel Borelli about the impact the shortage is having on our justice system.
Babel - Lost And Found in Translation (Episode 3)Jul 9, 2012 | 27:29Babel Lost And Found in Translation (Episode 3) Audio
Babel Lost And Found in Translation (Episode 3) Jul 9, 2012 | 27:29On any given day in this country, we're speaking about 150 languages: from Cantonese to Punjabi to Arabic. And that means the possibility of something getting lost somewhere in English translation is pretty high. Whether you're seeking justice in the courtroom, getting help in the emergency room, or telling your partner how you feel, choosing the right words is key. But how good are we at doing that? We're exploring: what's lost and found in English translation?
Babel - Creative new spellingJul 4, 2012 | 9:09Babel Creative new spelling Audio
Babel Creative new spelling Jul 4, 2012 | 9:09Erin Jansen has plenty to say about the new spelling. She's the founder of netlingo.com, a website with thousands of cyberterms that people use when they interact in the online and mobile world.
Babel - How important is spelling? (Episode 2)Jul 3, 2012 | 27:29Babel How important is spelling? (Episode 2) Audio
Babel How important is spelling? (Episode 2) Jul 3, 2012 | 27:29Canadians love to spill on spelling -- now more than ever. The way we spell is being affected by the rise of technology (and American spell check) and the number of ESL speakers. We see incorrect spelling, and creative new spelling, everywhere from texts and emails to websites and research papers. And yet many of us stand by the traditional rules. We're asking: how important IS spelling these days?
Babel - Accents in the Workplace (Episode 1)Jun 25, 2012 | 27:29Babel Accents in the Workplace (Episode 1) Audio
Babel Accents in the Workplace (Episode 1) Jun 25, 2012 | 27:29One in five Canadians speaks English (and French) as a second language. And more Canadians than ever speak with an accent, including Babel host Mariel Borelli. But while we love diversity in the streets, it can be a different story in the workplace. Babel explores what it's like to have an accent on the job in Canada.

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