Do you speak Irish? A growing number of people are picking up Ireland’s native language, both inside the country and here in Canada.

Jasmin Sin examines why digital culture and real-world communication blur as internet slang continues to migrate into the personal vocabulary of college students and ‘America’s Most Trusted Dictionary,’ Merriam-Webster. 

After three weeks on the road in Yellowknife doing Inuvialuktun translation for the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, Lillian Elias says she’s tired and ready to go home to Inuvik.

University of Tartu Professor of Contemporary Estonian Liina Lindström said swearing often gives people a needed sense of release and can also serve as a way of creating group identity.

Is saying “like” and “sort of” the equivalent of verbal bubble wrap? John McWhorter, an Opinion writer and a linguistics professor at Columbia, argues yes, because they soften the sharp edges of what we really mean. He explains the larger implications of the language we might not even realize we’re using.

Home to some of the last speakers of Aramaic, Maaloula was attacked in Syria’s civil war. Its residents are determined to rebuild–and preserve their mother tongue from extinction.

THADE ANDY looks at the beauty and value of Gaeilge – and at the motivations of those who seem determined to hasten its decline.  A nation’s language nurtures its soul. Tír gan teanga, Tír gan anam.