Nina Porzucki
PRI
Boston, MA, United States
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Past articles by Nina:
How the Basque language has survived
This week on the podcast we talk about Basque. How did this language survive the military dictatorship of Francisco Franco when speaking and writing and reading were illegal? With more than six dialects, how did Basque develop a language standard? And how has this minority language thrived and even grown in the years since Francisco Franco’s dictatorship ended? → Read More
If you could talk to the animals
What's the meaning of all those howls and growls? Is it language? This week on the podcast, NOVA's Ari Daniel explores how three species communicate. → Read More
The three-letter word that rocked a nation
In 2012, Sweden erupted in a national debate over the pronoun "hen." Traditionally, Swedish has gendered pronouns when referring to people. There is no gender-neutral pronoun for people. "Hen" was a new word meant to fill a gap in the language. This week on The World in Words podcast we explore how a little-known and little-used word went mainstream in Sweden. → Read More
A British 'Mx.' tape
Mx. is a gender-neutral title that's gaining popularity in the UK. Though the road to acceptance for this prefix has not been without a struggle. On The World in Words podcast, we delve into the fight over this two-letter word. → Read More
The secretive language of professional wrestling
In 1984 professional wrestler Dr. "D" David Schultz smacked the TV journalist John Stoessel to the ground backstage at Madison Square Garden. Why? One word: kayfabe. This week on The World in Words we throw on some tights and get into the ring to explore this word you were never supposed to hear. → Read More
Where does language come from?
Humans are the only creatures on Earth that can choke on their own food. Yes, that’s right. Why would humans have evolved such potentially fatal architecture? Some experts say the reason is speech. This week on the podcast, we explore several theories about where language comes from. → Read More
My voice is my passport — verify me
What if you could synthesize your voice with just one-minute of audio? Forget hypotheticals. You can. → Read More
Deciphering the lingo of pro-Trump trolls
In the run-up to the US presidential election, Cristina López came across language online that she didn’t understand — terms like “meme magic,” “red-pilled” and “nimble navigator.” They kept popping up in Reddit and 4chan where Donald Trump supporters posted. López and her colleagues at nonprofit Media Matters for America have spent many hours lurking on these message boards, deciphering what… → Read More
Grandmothers have the best curse words
This week on The World in Words podcast swearing around the globe and the bad words our grandmothers teach us. . → Read More
Dialect versus language — what's the big deal?
When does a 'dialect' become a 'language'? And what does it matter? This week on the podcast we look at two places that defy traditional definitions: Scandinavia and the Balkans. → Read More
Language versus dialect, or why we're obsessed with Elena Ferrante
Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels have become global hits. They are rife with love and sex and the mob — and commentary about language. This week on the podcast we explore Italy's linguistic history and the tensions between Italian dialects and the lingua franca. → Read More
A massacre of a village's Jews by their neighbors in WWII Poland is remembered — and misremembered
Memory can be slippery, especially when there's incentive to forget, or misremember. In the Polish village of Jedwabne, residents long said Nazis were responsible for the massacre, one hot day in July 1941, of hundreds of Jews in the village. Then evidence emerged that the villagers of Jedwabne had killed their own neighbors. That was 17 years ago, and some Poles still don't know what to believe… → Read More
Unearthing photos and memories of life in the Lodz ghetto
In 1944 Henryk Ross buried his negatives. He was the official photographer of the Lodz ghetto in Poland. The ghetto was being liquidated, and Ross was unsure if he would survive to retrieve his work. He did. → Read More
Fighting for press freedom with the Polish national anthem
A year ago in Poland, the government passed a law gaining stricter control over state media. At the time, Kamil Dabrowa was the program director for Polish Radio 1 and he decided he couldn't be silent. He lost his job after taking to the airwaves with a protest in the form of a patriotic song. → Read More
Translating Trump — literally
In English, Trump's name connotes a certain grandiosity, but how well does it translate into other languages? This week on the World in Words podcast, translating Trump. → Read More
How an ancient word about a bird became a slur used by white supremacists
A word that continues to catch a lot of people's attention post-election: cuck. This slur, which has roots to the old word "cuckold," has been adopted by white supremacist groups, or the so-called "alt-right." → Read More
Why a hospital is taking farm workers out of the field and training them as medical interpreters
When you don't speak English, going to the hospital in the US, can be a frightening experience. This was the case for many Mexican farm workers living and working in the Salinas Valley who neither spoke English nor Spanish. Natividad Hospital in Salinas found that four of the most popular languages spoken in the hospital were Native Mexican languages. So, the hospital piloted a program to train… → Read More
Pope Francis on the joys and heartache of love
On Friday, Pope Francis released Amoris Laetitia, a 256-page apostolic exhortation in which he writes about the matters of the family covering things from divorce to gay and lesbian members of the church. → Read More
Censors in China: 'What Panama Papers?'
The Panama Papers have been making headlines around the world, except in China. Censors have been working double time to erase any mention of the leaked papers or the connections to Chinese President Xi Jinping's family members. → Read More
Cutting through cloth ceilings, Kathryn Sargent opens her own tailor shop on Savile Row
After more than 200 years, Kathryn Sargent becomes the first female tailor to open up a shop on London's famed Savile Row. → Read More