A doctoral student in Peru has made history by becoming the first person to write and defend a thesis in Quechua – the language of the Incas, which is still spoken by millions of people in the Andes.
Roxana Quispe Collantes received top marks from Lima’s San Marcos university, the oldest in the Americas, for her study on Peruvian and Latin American literature, which focused on poetry written in Quechua.
Continue reading...I fear Thomas Eaton (Weekend Quiz, 12 October) is giving further credence to “fake news” from 1507, when a German cartographer was seeking the derivation of “America” and hit upon the name of Amerigo Vespucci, an obscure Florentine navigator. Derived from this single source, this made-up derivation has been copied ever after.
The fact is that Christopher Columbus visited Iceland in 1477-78, and learned of a western landmass named “Markland”. Seeking funds from King Ferdinand of Spain, he told the king that the western continent really did exist, it even had a name – and Columbus adapted “Markland” into the Spanish way of speaking, which requires an initial vowel “A-”, and dropped “-land” substituting “-ia”.
Continue reading...Use of military terminology can make people more fearful and fatalistic, say psychologists
The ubiquitous use of war metaphors when referring to cancer may do more harm than good, according to research into the psychological impact the phrases have on people’s views of the disease.
Framing cancer in military terms made treatment seem more difficult and left people feeling more fatalistic about the illness, believing there was little they could do to reduce their risk, researchers found.
Continue reading...Public broadcaster cancels weekly summary Nuntii Latini as original presenters retire
Finland’s public broadcaster Yle has ended its weekly Latin language news bulletin, after three decades on the air, the broadcaster announced.
Since its debut in 1989, Nuntii Latini has offered a five-minute summary of the week’s national and foreign news in the classical language.
Continue reading...‘People don’t like to hear this but Donald Trump is a rhetorical genius,’ says Jennifer Mercieca, an expert on political communication from Texas A&M University. Delving into Trump’s choice of rhetorical devices offers clues into how successive scandals have failed to make a dent on his popularity among his supporters. She says Trump’s mastery of rhetoric has enabled him to avoid being held accountable, make his audience feel like they are part of a secret club and have even helped him get out of a court case
Continue reading...