Language Log

From Barbars Phillips Long:

A Reddit thread beginning with a complaint from a student taking Spanish at a U.S. high school hinges on whether the teacher should call the student by his preferred name in English or translate it into Spanish. I never really thought about the practice of using or assigning Spanish names in Spanish class, or French names in French class, even though I did not have a French name in French class (possibly because my junior high French teacher was Puerto Rican and my high school teacher was a Hungarian refugee who had studied at the Sorbonne). But since I was in high school in the 1960s, sensitivity about names, naming, pronunciation of names, "dead names," and other assorted naming issues are a much more prominent part of advice/grievance columns and forums.

Taiwan education ministry adds AI to English speaking test:
New system gives students instant feedback on spoken English
Lai Jyun-tang, Taiwan News | Feb. 3, 2026

Is this a first in the whole world?  Or is it already common in many countries?

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s education ministry has added artificial intelligence to its English speaking assessment system to help students better learn and practice spoken English.

Liberty Times reported Monday that the upgraded system uses artificial intelligence to score pronunciation and analyze spoken answers in real time. Education officials said the move supports Taiwan’s 2030 bilingual policy by placing greater emphasis on practical communication skills.

Japanese Inscription, Kanheri Caves, Cave no. 90, Maharashtra, Late 13th century CE or later

Inscription records a devotional chant honoring the Lotus Sūtra and Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk and philosopher born in 1222 CE.

It was likely inscribed by a Japanese pilgrim,… pic.twitter.com/Ww2BUEl4W0

— Satavahana (@SatavahanasIN) February 8, 2026

A Julesy bonus

From Keith Barkley:

There was a story on Morning Edition this morning about using “thing” as code for something you don’t want the government to overhear:

'La cosa': In Cuba, this single phrase carries coded truths
Eyder Peralta, Morning Edition, NPR (February 6, 2026)

Listen to the 4-minute audio recording (linked in the title above) and / or read this transcript:

[This is a guest post by Michael Broughton.]

I had an interesting Rorschach encounter with the oracle bone graph for woman a couple of years back. Oddly, this experience came in a rather roundabout way through an investigation into the character for interpretation, yi 譯. At the time, I was starting my Chinese translation business and wanted to come up with a meaningful logo for the business. I thought that an investigation into the character yi 譯 might help to inspire some ideas, and so I tried to do a little bit of digging into why it was written the way it was. Of note, the Liji (Book of Rites) has four characters for interpreting officials, as James Legge wrote in his elegant translation:

To make what was in their minds apprehended, and to communicate their likings and desires, (there were officers) – in the east, called transmitters (ji 寄); in the south, representationists (xiang 象); in the west, Di-dis (didi 狄鞮); and in the north, interpreters (yi 譯).

From Charles Belov:

YouTube music's algorithm suggested to me an album, 24 Hours in Soweto, in the amapiano genre that I love which mostly comes from the Zulu community in South Africa. I was struck by the album cover, which seems to have some random Chinese characters, some garbled. Wondering if it's AI art. Can you make any sense of it?

From Tim Leonard:

I wonder if any English proficiency tests include deciphering things like this.

From François Lang:

The storm that Mother Nature visited upon the Washington DC area was unusually difficult because several inches of snow were followed by several more inches of sleet. This combination resulted in a top layer of solid ice which has been dubbed "snowcrete".

The same storm hit us in Philadelphia, so I know exactly what "snowcrete" is like.

Frustrated by city response, D.C. residents step up to help clear ‘snowcrete’:
As mounds of stubborn snow remained on some residential streets and other areas, many Washingtonians found their own ways of digging out, whether through charity, camaraderieor commerce.
WP (January 31, 2026)
By Brittany Shammas, Michael Laris and Ruby Mellen

New guideline issued to promote Chinese language:
7 main tasks set to highlight ‘never-changing gene’
By Li Yuche, Global Times (1/19/2026)

If you're wondering what brought this on, I think it's AI and LLMs, which are featured in the rest of the article, especially as they relate to oracle bones and traditional Chinese writing.

It will also help to understand the aim of the article if you know something about the nature of the journal in which it appears, for which see below.

Japan might finally switch to romaji system you already use

Japan Today (June 30, 2025)

I've read many articles of this sort, but I cite this one because it is fairly recent and is from a reputable newspaper.

If you’ve spent any time learning Japanese or just getting around Japan, you’ve probably come across romaji — the Roman alphabet version of Japanese. It shows up on signs, maps, train stations and in most textbooks for foreign learners. But not all romaji is the same. Depending on where you look, you might see shi spelled as shi, si or even something else.

We need a new word in English:  "roboton"

The reason I thought of this is because it reflects my reaction to the constant, mindless, monotonous repetition of Chinese government spokespersons with ready-made responses to any should-be difficult questions that may be put to them.  For example, "China maintains a position of strict neutrality in the Ukraine crisis and never does anything contrary to international law" (or words to that effect), as Mme. Mao Ning (Director of the Foreign Ministry Information Department of China) has said so many times.