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Public domain image via Karen Arnold from publicdomainpictures.net. Free to use After mainland Chinese official media outlets started calling 2024 “the Year of Loong” instead of the Year of the Dragon, the word “loong” and its homophones have become a popular meme among Hongkongers on social media, representing the government's shift toward nationalistic policies and language. The Year of “Loong”This year, major Chinese state-affiliated media outlets have abandoned the term “dragon” and adopted the word “loong”, an uncommonly used transliteration of the Chinese word 龍 (dragon in English), to r...
Global Voices
Photo provided by L’Office du Jèrriais and used with permission. Europe’s linguistic diversity is increasingly reflected in online spaces, where regional and minority language speakers and their communities leverage digital tools and media to preserve, promote, and revitalize their language heritage. In this spirit, Rising Voices’ online campaign @EuroDigitalLang has been curating a rotating X (formerly Twitter) account. Here, language activists and advocates narrate their personal stories in their own words, engaging directly with their audience and sharing ongoing challenges as well as succe...
Global Voices
Photo provided by Cllare Chevry and used with permission. Europe’s linguistic diversity is increasingly reflected in online spaces, where regional and minority language speakers and their communities leverage digital tools and media to preserve, promote, and revitalize their language heritage. In this spirit, Rising Voices’ online campaign @EuroDigitalLang has been curating a rotating X (formerly Twitter) account. Here, language activists and advocates narrate their personal stories in their own words, engaging directly with their audience and sharing ongoing challenges as well as successes. I...
Global Voices
Illustration by Minority Africa, used with permission. This story was written by Natasha Sebunya and originally published by Minority Africa, and an edited version is republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement. In her society, openly expressing desire was deemed inappropriate for a woman, yet she was expected to remain alluring in private. These conflicting expectations of being the ideal partner colored her experiences. Luckily, Jane’s husband empathised with her unease and provided support by urging her to accept her sexuality. After years of exploration, their bond ...
Global Voices
Photo of the entrance of the French Institute of Togo (Lomé). Screenshot from Hodin Senyon's YouTube channel. Fair use. Due to its colonial past with France, Togo adopted French as its official language in 1960, a fact enshrined in Article 3 of the country's constitution. But what place does French now have in Togo’s multifaceted linguistic landscape? Togo's colonial history witnessed the introduction of several Western languages: Portuguese, German, English, and French. These languages made their way to Togolese shores from the time of the slave trade in the 18th century through the colonizat...
Global Voices
Screenshot from YouTube video, ‘Innoss'B Ft Diamond Platnumz – Yope Remix (Official Music Video)‘ by Diamond Platnumz. Fair use. In 2021, Tanzania's Diamond Platnumz became the first Sub-Saharan African singer to receive 1 billion views on his YouTube channel. That same year, Zuchu became the first woman artist in East Africa to reach 1 million subscribers. One of the hallmarks of Tanzanian music is its ability to blend traditional elements with modern influences, creating a unique sonic tapestry that resonates with listeners around the world. For over a decade, popular Tanzanian artists, incl...
Global Voices
Photo provided by Andria Piciau and used with permission. Europe’s linguistic diversity is increasingly reflected in online spaces, where regional and minority language speakers and their communities leverage digital tools and media to preserve, promote, and revitalize their language heritage. In this spirit, Rising Voices’ online campaign @EuroDigitalLang has been curating a rotating X (formerly Twitter) account. Here, language activists and advocates narrate their personal stories in their own words, engaging directly with their audience and sharing ongoing challenges as well as successes. I...
Global Voices
This story is part of Undertones, Global Voices’ Civic Media Observatory‘s newsletter. Subscribe to Undertones. Welcome back to Undertones, where we study narratives from around the world. Since the end of 2023, the Civic Media Observatory has started a new project focusing on data governance. But we still have some important stories from our Community Observatory to share. One of them comes from our researcher from Gaza, who's now living abroad but has helped us make sense of the conflict since it started. In December, we published an analysis of critical narratives coming from Israel. This t...
Global Voices
The Independence Monument in Togo's capital, Lomé. Photo by Jean Sovon. Used with permission. There are two national languages designated in Togo's constitution: Éwé and Kabyè, which belong to the large Niger-Congo language family. Paradoxically, however, it is another language, Mina, also called Gen, that's been proven to be the language most widely spoken in the country. There are more than 50 languages spoken in Togo, a country with a population of more than 9 million. In 1975, two languages, Éwé, which is spoken in the south, and Kabyè, spoken in the north, were adopted as Togo's national ...
Global Voices
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