Listening to Ethiopia through Ejigayehu Shibabaw (Gigi)

Many people have never heard of Gigi, much less of Ejigayehu Shibabaw. If you enjoy music that’s different from what you constantly hear on the airwaves or are simply looking for something new, then you should look for Gigi’s music online or in your local record bar.

Gigi, whose birthname is Ejigayehu Shibabaw, was born in Chagni, located in the northwestern portion of Ethiopia, some 36+ years ago. In 1998, after living in Kenya for a few years, Gigi moved to the United States. San Francisco is her home away from home.

Singlish – Transcends Singapore’s Cultures, Races and Social Classes

In Singapore, there are four official languages. At the top of the list is English serving as the lingua franca, followed by Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. Singapore is not only multiracial and multicultural it is also a multilingual country. So apart from the four official languages above, there are quite a few more languages and dialects spoken in Singapore today.

Probably the most interesting language is not actually a language in the truest sense. It is more a hodgepodge of words and phrases from different languages all rolled into one. What is this “language” called? Singlish! It’s no different from Spanglish (Spanish-English), Chinglish (Chinese-English) and Taglish (Tagalog-English spoken in the Philippines).

Lebanon, Truly the Paris of the Middle East

The Republic of Lebanon is located in the Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, Syria and Israel. It is a small country of approximately 10,400 sq km with a Mediterranean climate characterized by wet winters and hot dry summers. Mostly remembered by its geo-political issues with its Syrian neighbors and tensions with Iraq, Palestine and Libya, Lebanon is a cultural and linguistically rich country with an important tourism industry and vast economic enterprises.

The official language of the country is Arabic, however due to France’s mandate of the country after World War I, close to half of the population speaks French. A dialect called Lebanese-Arabic is spoken by most of its people and other languages such as Greek, Armenian and Assyrian are used mainly by immigrants of these nationalities.

Language and Dialect - The Differences

What is the difference between a language and a dialect? That’s not an easy question to answer as there is no consensus in the linguistic community. However, we can say that a language as defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary is the words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a community. For example we all know of languages such as English, French, Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, etc. Dialect on the other hand is a subset of a defined language, a variety created by a group and affected by social class, contact with other languages, and geography.

Belgium, a Country Divided by Different Languages

The Kingdom of Belgium, located in Western Europe, is a federal state. There are two main regions in Belgium – Flanders which is located in the north and Wallonia in the south. The capital is the city of Brussels. Belgium has three official languages representing the three linguistic communities. One is Dutch, which is colloquially called by the Belgians as Flemish, and the other two are French and German. Then there are three principal regions in Belgium. One is the northern region of Flanders which is known as the Flemish Region. Next is the Walloon Region in the south. Then there is the Brussels-Capital Region.

The Flemish Region’s official language is Dutch. Roughly 59% of the Belgian population speaks Flemish. The Walloon Region is the French-speaking region of the country. French-speakers account for approximately 40% of the total population. The German-speakers, which only account for about 1% of the total population, are mostly in the eastern part of the Walloon Region. The only bilingual region is the Brussels-Capital Region.