Language Stories

Want to support Language Stories? Now there’s a way. And you get to read the story behind Language Stories too.

It’s an honour to finally announce my very first book – Not A Year Off: The Story Behind Language Stories. Yay!

Click here to get your copy of Not A Year Off now: http://www.lindsaydoeslanguages.com/nayo

From first mentions of the very idea of Language Stories to people, years before we even set off, people were asking how they could support the project. We opted (at least so far) not to have a Patreon or crowd-funding and instead self-fund the first two seasons of the project.

There are a few reasons for this:

1) As well as being a trip to create Language Stories, our year making the episodes was also in part our honeymoon!

It felt very wrong to ask people to fund that. Drawing a thick line between “work” and “play” would have been very difficult for a lot of the trip.

2) We didn’t know where the project would lead.

I wouldn’t have wanted to ask people for crowd-funding support to then not be able to deliver on our promise. When we first set out, we had connections for the New York and Montreal episodes but after that, we were going in blind.

Of course, we had faith that we would make it work (which I hope you’ll agree, we did!) but it felt unfair to bring others on board with that at a point when we didn’t know what to expect or guarantee.

However, I do get why people would want to support something like Language Stories.

That’s one reason I wrote Not A Year Off: The Story Behind Language Stories.

Another is quite simply that I wanted to write down all the memories I could before they became hazy. Ha!

The book is very new to me and like nothing I’ve ever created before.

It’s primarily a travelogue, but one that’s probably more interesting if you share with me a curiosity for languages.

You can expect our stories – the ones it took to make Language Stories and the stories surrounding the rest of the trip too.

From interviewing Mayan rappers in Mexican shopping malls to meeting Galápagos tortoises for the first time.

From visiting a school for Deaf students in Vietnam to running a “race” through Cambodian traffic.

And from chatting for hours with speakers of language I knew nothing about in Malaysia to collapsing in the bus station days later.

It’s the full story of what it took to make seasons one and two of Language Stories, and I can’t wait for you to read it.

If you enjoy non-fiction books, if you enjoy Language Stories, or if you simply wish to support the project, buying a copy of Not A Year Off is a great choice.

Click here to get your copy now and choose between digital Kindle ebook version or physical paperback (I wrote a book! Woop!): http://www.lindsaydoeslanguages.com/nayo

One way you can really support Language Stories is by purchasing multiple copies and sharing them with people you think will enjoy it. That’s also a great way to share the word about Language Stories too.

Kristang is a language spoken in Malacca, Malaysia and Singapore. But with almost 10 times as many speakers in Malacca than Singapore, how do things differ for the language in both cities? Find out in this episode of Language Stories.

THE VIDEO

Click here to watch the sister video to this podcast episode.

To keep track of future episodes in video form, click here to subscribe on YouTube.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

The best thing you can do right now to support the project is threefold, and if you've ever listened to any podcast before, I'm sure you'll be familiar with what I'm about to say!

To make it as easy as possible to share the podcast, click here to tweet about episode.

SHARE YOUR STORY

If you have a Language Story you’d love to share, or if you know someone that does, get in touch.

I always love to hear from you! Your feedback helps to shape future episodes so thank you.

Special Guests: Kevin Martens Wong, Melissa De Silva - Author, 'Others' Is Not A Race, Michael Singho - Author, Beng Prende Portugues Malaká, Philomena Singho - Author, Beng Prende Portugues Malaká, and Sara Frederica Santa Maria.

Sponsored By:

• Lingora: Sign up to Lingora completely free to share your spoken + written language practice and get real community feedback.

Links:

• Papia Kristang: : The Creole Portuguese of Malacca and Singapore - Kreol Magazine — Great introductory article to the language.
• Understanding the Culture of Malacca’s Kristang Community - Destinasian — Another introduction to learn more about Kristang.
• How to revive a 500-year-old dying language - BBC — Article from the BBC about Kevin's efforts to revive Kristang in Singapore.
• Malacca Portuguese deny Kristang language is dying - Malay Mail — A response in part to the BBC article above.

What do you know about Vietnamese Sign Language? How many sign languages are there in Vietnam? And how does sign language education work? Find out in this episode of Language Stories.

THE VIDEO

Click here to watch the sister video to this podcast episode.

To keep track of future episodes in video form, click here to subscribe on YouTube.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

The best thing you can do right now to support the project is threefold, and if you've ever listened to any podcast before, I'm sure you'll be familiar with what I'm about to say!

To make it as easy as possible to share the podcast, click here to tweet about episode.

SHARE YOUR STORY

If you have a Language Story you’d love to share, or if you know someone that does, get in touch.

I always love to hear from you! Your feedback helps to shape future episodes so thank you.

Special Guests: .

Sponsored By:

• Lingora: Sign up to Lingora completely free to share your spoken + written language practice and get real community feedback.

Links:

• Hands for Vietnam FAQ — One of the best sources I found for explaining Vietnamese Sign Languages.
• The Alphabet of Vietnamese Sign Language (North), Seek The World — Learn the alphabet of one of the sign languages of Vietnam from this Deaf travel YouTube channel.
• Helping Deaf Children in Vietnam Communicate and Access Education through Sign Language, The World Bank — An article covering Deaf education in a different part of Vietnam.

Is Hokkien a language or a dialect? What happened to lead to its demise? And what's being done to help slow the death of Penang Hokkien? Find out in this episode of Language Stories.

THE VIDEO

Click here to watch the sister video to this podcast episode.

To keep track of future episodes in video form, click here to subscribe on YouTube.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

The best thing you can do right now to support the project is threefold, and if you've ever listened to any podcast before, I'm sure you'll be familiar with what I'm about to say!

To make it as easy as possible to share the podcast, click here to tweet about episode.

SHARE YOUR STORY

If you have a Language Story you’d love to share, or if you know someone that does, get in touch.

I always love to hear from you! Your feedback helps to shape future episodes so thank you.

Special Guests: John Ong & Kee How - Penang Hokkien and Sim Tze Wei - Speak Hokkien Campaign.

Sponsored By:

• Lingora: Sign up to Lingora completely free to share your spoken + written language practice and get real community feedback.

Links:

• Learn to Read and Write — This page from Speak Hokkien Campaign is a helpful introduction to reading and writing the language.
• The Chinese Repository — One edition of The Chinese Repository, as mentioned in Sim Tze Wei's interview.
• Basic Penang Hokkien - Memrise — There's a basics course available on Memrise specifically for Penang Hokkien.
• Taiwanese Hokkien - Simply Learn App — If you're curious to learn about the differences between different dialects of Hokkien, this app for Taiwanese Hokkien is a good starting point.
• Penang Hokkien Basics - Penang Travel Tips — A thorough PDF from Penang Travel Tips for Penang Hokkien.
• Hokkien In Penang — Great introduction to the language in Penang.
• Hokkien Card Game - Say What — Remember Lilian from the Singapore episode? She has an edition of her Say What card game for Hokkien!
• Glossika — And if you’d like to learn more about Chinese languages, one of my favourite resources you might enjoy is Glossika, which at last count, has courses available for 7 different Chinese languages, including Taiwanese Hokkien.

What do you know about Hmong? Join us in Sapa, Vietnam; Luang Prabang in Laos; and somewhere a little further afield for this episode of Language Stories.

THE VIDEO

Click here to watch the sister video to this podcast episode.

To keep track of future episodes in video form, click here to subscribe on YouTube.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

The best thing you can do right now to support the project is threefold, and if you've ever listened to any podcast before, I'm sure you'll be familiar with what I'm about to say!

To make it as easy as possible to share the podcast, click here to tweet about episode.

SHARE YOUR STORY

If you have a Language Story you’d love to share, or if you know someone that does, get in touch.

I always love to hear from you! Your feedback helps to shape future episodes so thank you.

Special Guests: Chua - Chua's Sapa Tour and Homestay, Jasmine Tierra - Singer, and Jer, Evan, Tanya - Laos Learns English.

Sponsored By:

• Lingora: Sign up to Lingora completely free to share your spoken + written language practice and get real community feedback.

Links:

• Hmong Batik Class, Luang Prabang — This is the link on Backstreet Academy to the Hmong Batik Class we did that featured in the video. It's a great experience! Make sure you do it early in your visit so you have time to collect your finished piece the following day.
• Hmong Vegetarian Cooking Class — And here's the link to the cooking class that features in the video. It's also in Luang Prabang and was great too. We got to choose our dishes and picked the ones we were least likely to cook again. This meant we cooked with rattan and banana flower! The family you cook with are very friendly.
• Black Singer Soars in Hmong Language - NPR — NPR article that features Jasmine's story to singing in Hmong.
• Hmong Americans - Wikipedia — Wikipedia has a good overview of Hmong Americans.
• History of the Hmong in Minneapolis-St Paul - Wikipedia — There's even a specific page for Minneapolis-St Paul!
• St. Paul: McDonald’s Hmong pitch mangles language - Twin Cities — I found this article interesting about McDonalds attempt locally to appeal to Hmong residents.
• Being Hmong in America - The Atlantic — There's some interesting reads about Being Hmong in America on The Atlantic.
• Minnesota Remembers Vietnam: America's Secret War - PBS — This documentary tells the story of 'America's Secret War'.

In Laos, English is an important language to learn. What's happening with teaching English in Laos? Find out in this episode of Language Stories.

THE VIDEO

Click here to watch the sister video to this podcast episode.

To keep track of future episodes in video form, click here to subscribe on YouTube.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

The best thing you can do right now to support the project is threefold, and if you've ever listened to any podcast before, I'm sure you'll be familiar with what I'm about to say!

To make it as easy as possible to share the podcast, click here to tweet about episode.

SHARE YOUR STORY

If you have a Language Story you’d love to share, or if you know someone that does, get in touch.

I always love to hear from you! Your feedback helps to shape future episodes so thank you.

Special Guests: EDF Laos, Jer, Evan, Tanya - Laos Learns English, Martin - Momobooks, and Rachel - ARDA.

Sponsored By:

• Lingora: Sign up to Lingora completely free to share your spoken + written language practice and get real community feedback.

Links:

• Big Brother Mouse — A project in Luang Prabang that focuses on getting literacy and books to Lao children.
• Star2 article — The story of a German man who devotes his free time in Laos to teaching English.
• Live Lingua - Lao Courses — Lao lessons if you're feeling inspired to learn a little of the local language yourself!

What's it like to learn a language in a country with 4 official languages? How does English bring people together? Find out in season 2 episode 2 of Language Stories.

THE VIDEO

Click here to watch the sister video to this podcast episode.

To keep track of future episodes in video form, click here to subscribe on YouTube.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

The best thing you can do right now to support the project is threefold, and if you've ever listened to any podcast before, I'm sure you'll be familiar with what I'm about to say!

To make it as easy as possible to share the podcast, click here to tweet about episode.

SHARE YOUR STORY

If you have a Language Story you’d love to share, or if you know someone that does, get in touch.

I always love to hear from you! Your feedback helps to shape future episodes so thank you.

Special Guests: Eva Neo - Eva Comics, Lilian Lee - Say What?, and Zinkie Aw - Singaporean Photographer.

Sponsored By:

• Lingora: Sign up to Lingora completely free to share your spoken + written language practice and get real community feedback.

Links:

• Languages of Singapore - Wikipedia — A great general overview of languages in Singapore.
• Speak Good English Movement — The official website of the Speak Good English Movement.
• The Language The Government Tried to Suppress - BBC — A longform article about Singlish and its history in Singapore.
• National Statistics - Singaporean Government — Some statistics on the population of Singaporean, including language stats.
• Tamil Language Council — The official website of the Tamil Language Council in Singapore.
• Malay Language Council — The official website of the Malay Language Council in Singapore.
• Speak Mandarin Campaign — The official website of the Speak Mandarin Campaign in Singapore.
• So, Expats Are Taking Classes To Learn Singlish In Singapore (P.S. It’s FREE!) - The Finder — An article from 2017 about expats in Singapore learning Singlish.
• Singlish Crash Course - The Finder — Some Singlish basics to spark your interest!

How easy is it to get started learning Vietnamese? If you're curious about the language spoken by around 75 million, the first episode of Season 2 of Language Stories is for you.

THE VIDEO

Click here to watch the sister video to this podcast episode.

To keep track of future episodes in video form, click here to subscribe on YouTube.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

The best thing you can do right now to support the project is threefold, and if you've ever listened to any podcast before, I'm sure you'll be familiar with what I'm about to say!

To make it as easy as possible to share the podcast, click here to tweet about episode.

SHARE YOUR STORY

If you have a Language Story you’d love to share, or if you know someone that does, get in touch.

I always love to hear from you! Your feedback helps to shape future episodes so thank you.

Special Guests: Gaston Dorren - Author, Saphire & Shinegi - Vietnamese Teaching Group, and Tri - Language Accepted.

Sponsored By:

• Lingora: Sign up to Lingora completely free to share your spoken + written language practice and get real community feedback.

Links:

• Omniglot — Vietnamese language and writing information.
• CJV Lang — A good overview of the Vietnamese writing system and alphabet.
• More Vietnamese — Lots of helpful blog posts for learning Vietnamese. This is a good introduction to tones.
• 123Vietnamese — This video will help you to get to grips with the Vietnamese tone system.
• Babel - Gaston Dorren — Gaston Dorren's new book, Babel on Amazon (affiliate link)

Guarani is an indigenous language that defies all odds to exist today as it does alongside Spanish in Paraguay. But what odds? How does it thrive in the modern world? In this episode of Language Stories, we're exploring the story of Guarani in Paraguay. (This is a Polyglot Undubbed Edition of Language Stories. The interviews are shared in their original language. Enjoy!)

THE VIDEO

Click here to watch the sister video to this podcast episode.

To keep track of future episodes in video form, click here to subscribe on YouTube.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

The best thing you can do right now to support the project is threefold, and if you've ever listened to any podcast before, I'm sure you'll be familiar with what I'm about to say!

To make it as easy as possible to share the podcast, click here to tweet about episode.

SHARE YOUR STORY

If you have a Language Story you’d love to share, or if you know someone that does, get in touch.

I always love to hear from you! Your feedback helps to shape future episodes so thank you.

Special Guests: Cecelia - Guaraní Tutor at IDIPAR, Guaranglish, Marcelo Alvarenga - Guaraní Tutor, and Romy Natalia Goldberg - Author of Paraguay Other Places Travel Guide .

Links:

• Newfound Pride in Guaraní, a Language Long Disdained in Paraguay - an article from the New York Times
• Language Planning and Policy in Paraguay - a document about how Guaraní and Spanish live alongside each other in Paraguay.
• Land and Dignity in Paraguay - a Google Book covering Guaraní under Stroessner.
• Language Planning and Policy in Latin America, Volume 1 - another Google Book with some interesting points on Guaraní under Stroessner.
• Guarani course on Duolingo (in Spanish)
• Peace Corps PDFs for Guarani

Every language has a unique story, but Nicaraguan Sign Language is pretty special. A language emerging in the 80s amidst a revolution? In this episode of Language Stories, we're exploring the story of Nicaraguan Sign Language. (This is a Polyglot Undubbed Edition of Language Stories. The interviews are shared in their original language. Enjoy!)

THE VIDEO

Click here to watch the sister video to this podcast episode.

To keep track of future episodes in video form, click here to subscribe on YouTube.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

The best thing you can do right now to support the project is threefold, and if you've ever listened to any podcast before, I'm sure you'll be familiar with what I'm about to say!

To make it as easy as possible to share the podcast, click here to tweet about episode.

SHARE YOUR STORY

If you have a Language Story you’d love to share, or if you know someone that does, get in touch.

I always love to hear from you! Your feedback helps to shape future episodes so thank you.

Special Guests: Antonio Prieto Buñuel - Cafe de las Sonrisas and James Shepard-Kegl - Nicaraguan Sign Language Projects.

Links:

• Oralism - Wikipedia
• Psychological Effects of Oralism - a study on the psychological effects of oralism
• Hammocks from Cafe de las Sonrisas - learn more about Tio Antonio, Cafe de las Sonrisas and treat yourself to one of their handmade hammocks if you fancy!
• Nicaraguan Sign Language Projects - learn more about the work James and his wife Judy do.
• Visual Dictionary - a dictionary for Nicaraguan Sign Language
• A Life Without Words - a documentary about bringing Nicaraguan Sign Language to rural communities.
• Sign: A Game About Being Understood - a silent game based on the emergence of Nicaraguan Sign Language.