There are plenty of good reasons to learn foreign languages, and some are related to national security and economic competitiveness.Foreign languages are still electives in most US school systems, and college students may find it impossible to get into…

How can hospitals make sure doctors from foreign countries have necessary language skills?Beyond interpretation and foreign language skills, there is another language-related issue of crucial importance in medical settings: making sure that doctors and…

From old-fashioned phrasebooks to talking devices, a number of tools are available to help travelers navigate linguistically abroad.Language translation applications are widely available for smart phones, but other, separate tools exist, from phraseboo…

Edited by two Michigan universities, the Linguist List provides an astounding array of resources for linguists.Even after writing this blog for over four years, I am always discovering amazing online resources – and they aren’t always new, …

An online debate sponsored by The Economist magazine has brought up this thorny question. So far, participants are answering with a resounding “no.”Just about everything can take place online, including old-fashioned Oxford-style debates. The subje…

This language interpreting system uses new technology to better serve patients.At the University of Irvine, certified language interpreters can now work from a single location, carrying out their job through remote video. Their presence is rolled into …