Youths vie for top US spelling honor The 86th annual National Spelling Bee kicks off Tuesday with 281 youngsters from eight nations putting their ability to spell some of the most obscure words in the English language to the test.
Zulu goes high-tech When a middle-aged South African engineer recently set out to write a novel in his native Zulu, he found himself hamstrung by a lack of words to describe modern life.
Kazakh strongman backs switch to Latin alphabet Kazakh strongman Nursultan Nazarbayev on Friday called for a modernisation drive to turn the energy-rich Central Asian country into of the world's most developed, including a switch to the Latin alphabet.
Myanmar minorities fight to save mother tongue For half a century a single precious copy of a textbook kept the language of Myanmar's Shan people alive for students, forced to learn in the shadows under a repressive junta.
31 October 2012
Asia language plan 'central' to Australian reforms: PM Every Australian school will be partnered online with one in Asia by 2025 as regional languages become "central" to education reform plans, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Monday.