This week, we take a look at a few different languages that, for one reason or another, are specific to a people within a culture. Nushu is a script exchanged exclusively among women in an area of China’s Hunan province, a phonetic version of Chinese script with at least 1,800 characters. Moving to South America, Lunfardo was cultivated in Argentinean prisons to converse without the guards understanding. It’s now used in Tango culture and you can learn to speak it too! And Kallawaya is a language spoken among traditional healers in Bolivia, exclusive to those who work in the trade. Finally, thanks to Cristina in Bucharest, Romania for talking to Patrice and telling her all about Gumuţeasca, the secret glasscutter language of the Carpathian mountains.
In language news, that speech pathologist who taught her dog to talk with a soundboard needs to market her invention or somebody else will! Come on, lady! The world needs to communicate with their pets!! What are you even doing with your life!? Helping people learn to speak better, please.
Here are more resources, I heard y’all like links.
- article in Romanian about Gumuţeasca
- video in Romanian about Gumuţeasca
- Documentary on Nushu (in Chinese with English subtitles)
- Documentary on Kallawaya
- Youtube series on Lunfardo
That’s all the links I have! I have no more links to give! Go rate us on iTunes and leave us your own dumb Lost in Translation moment.
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