Pak Loki and Joko smiled as I emerged into the arrivals hall at Jakarta airport in Indonesia. I was just off a night flight from Amsterdam and would be speaking in the morning service at their church a few hours later. “How about some breakfast?” Joko asked, once we had finished the customary greetings and … Continue reading The Gospel According to Zeffirelli
The end of the Gérard Dépardieu epic film 1492: The Conquest of Paradise graphically depicts the failure of the Spanish expedition to curb the greed and violence of the Conquistadores. In the midst of a tropical storm whose physical violence matched the inner destruction of the colony, Columbus's faithful translator Utapan once again shaves his … Continue reading Capisci?
It's that time of year again when I find myself in Llanelli, South Wales, teaching a group of trainees introductory linguistics and language learning skills. I trust that by the end of this two weeks they will have learned a thing or two about how languages work, and how they can best learn one. And … Continue reading Do you speak Christian?
Today, together with the students on the course on the Pentateuch that I am teaching this week, we have been looking at Babel. Fascinating. Four days in, we are still battling through the world of mystery that surrounds the beginnings of history as recorded in the opening chapters of Genesis. And it seems that some … Continue reading Babel
More acronyms. BFF or FBF? Best Friend Forever or Facebook Friend? Which does your social sphere most resemble? (I realise that there are more social networking sites than Facebook, some more popular depending on location; I use Facebook as a discussion starter simply because it is the largest and most influential global site, not out … Continue reading BFF of sinners
Words do not carry immutable meaning as defined by an entry in a dictionary. Certainly, they bring core meaning with them, but words are moulded both by the words that accompany them and the stage on which they are placed. The whole is irremediably more than the sum of its parts. This is true of … Continue reading Beat until stiff and stand in the fridge
This week and next sees me in Llanelli, South Wales, teaching an introduction to linguistics and language learning skills to 17 Koreans, 3 Brits and 1 American. No Jews this time, though there are a few times in Scripture when some unsuspecting Israelites may have wished they had had the chance to do this course. Some … Continue reading Say “Shibboleth”…
eating.with.sinners 