Language & People

English Only

As America narrows its linguistic identity by executive order, the fight over who gets to be heard —and in what language—returns with new urgency In 1780, one of America’s founding...

On the life-art of Translation

An interview with Jen Calleja—one of Britain’s leading translators—and Gregor Hens—one of Germany’s leading writers—about their new books, and their career-long collaboration Photographs by Sapphire Stewart Norman R Shapiro famously...

Le glossaire tardif: Dictionaire de l’Academie francaise

Dictionnaire de l’Académie françaiseTome 4Éditions Fayard, 2025, 800 pages Reviewed by Maximilliane Leuschner Pomp and circumstance rule the Académie française, an eminent council of forty emerald-clad French literati (“the Immortals”) cast...

That’s me clattering about… when I lift the lid to see if the characters have come to the boil

Behind every translation there is a translator, a place where translation happens, a dictionary (possibly several), a lived experience of translation or working in and between different languages. We want...

The true price of affordable beauty care

An Iraqi perspective on the newest fad in laser hair removal The beauty industry is enormous and incredibly popular in the Middle East. When I lived in Beirut – writes our Contributing...

What’s the Polish word for ‘beekeeping’?

At Lithuania’s first Mead Festival, the co-founder of the Polish-Lithuanian Beekeeping Brotherhood initiative reflects on the community-building and intercultural elements of the centuries-old tradition of honeymaking. In the pine forests...

Quiet Guardians of Venice’s Living Waters

In this intimate portrait of the sandolo and the boatmen who preserve Venice’s oldest waterborne tradition, Carola Cappellari and Lavinia Nocelli explore its fading yet resilient legacy of craft, rhythm...

Ethiopianism: A Political Agenda or a Four Kilo Entry Ticket?

A critical reflection on the hollowing out of a historic term, and a plea for its renewal In a nation where politics is dominated by questions of identity and social...

Habemus Papam

And just like that, it was all over, with a puff of white smoke. The film Conclave is no longer being as mercilessly advertised online. Fantapapa, the Italian website which...

Walking with ancestors

How pilgrimage becomes an act of endurance and communal memory for the Nazareth Baptist Church in South Africa. Pilgrimage is one of the oldest expressions of faith across cultures. A...

Life of an Egyptian Salafist

An article looks back on the life of a famous Egyptian cleric in the twists and turns of the country’s recent history. In the late 1970s, Spain was going through...

Sign in

Join our movement

Become a member now to access exclusive content and get each new issue straight to your door.

Open-Minded

Register to receive:  

Language Curious

Everything in Open-Minded plus:

Polyglot

Everything in Language Curious plus:

Founding Member

Everything in Polyglot plus:

+ The opportunity to support journalism, writing and translation around the world (let us know if you want to give more!)