First Person

What Are They Saying?

What first changed my mind about staying monolingual wasn't learning more about the Philippines, but seeing a different side of California.

I Heard That

In Westwood, Mandarin speakers use their native tongue when they're angry.

Cancer in Chinese

After starting chemotherapy, I was desperate to find someone who could speak to the doctor.

Quotable

News: Pasadena Dual Immersion, Mixtec Stumps Police

Quotable

Count Me, I'm Armenian

To overcome language barriers and other obstacles in the 2010 count, the Census Bureau boosted its hiring of staffers who work with community-based organizations in Southern California, including the first bureau employee dedicated to reaching the region's Armenians.
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Sharma & Kumar Escape from Reality

Anime cartoons in Japanese are not just for Japanese-speakers. Two Indian-American college students explain why subtitles are better than voices dubbed into English.

Two Performances, One Stage

In the kid-friendly production "Stories by Shel," Deaf West Theatre takes advantage of different aspects of stage communication to reach both hearing and deaf audience members.

Tattoos We Get, and Don't

Coming into contact with languages we don't speak means making mistakes, say local body artists and their patrons.

Manufacturing 'Authentic' Talk for Film

"The Exiles" combines the spontaneous with the premeditated, creating its own special language from the mouths of Native Americans in Bunker Hill. The quasi-documentary is set for DVD release in spring.