Speech of the Young'ns

From "Ace" to Z, students collect elements of UCLA speech for course credit. The words come from afar and go way back.

Se Habla Angelino

Los Angeles is the home of one of the many dialects of Latin American Spanish, says Claudia Parodi, a UCLA professor of linguistics.

In Between Words

A collection of U.S. Latinos' experiences with English reveals just how much there is to learn with a new language.

The Sinatra-'Lucy'-Cronkite Method

Pop culture takes center stage in Latinos' remembrances of learning English.

What Do You Speak, Westwood CA?

LALA reporters ask the locals about language in Los Angeles. Watch the video.

Bilingual Education Not Dead Yet

Almost a decade after California voters eliminated most bilingual education programs in public education, a parent advocates for a middle ground in the language wars.

Won't Your Spanish Hurt Their English?

Spanish, of all languages, is nearly missing from the landscape of heritage language schools around the city, writes a Los Angeles parent struggling to bring up bilingual children.

Speak Up

In the film 'Dust of Life,' set in Westminster, the words people use and the languages they speak establish their rank and authority over others.

A Language Array Keeps the Doctor Away

Mediating between doctors and patients, a healthcare interpreter plays the roles of language specialist, culture guru, and even patient advocate. A debate simmers over the right mix of formal certification and cultural sensitivity for the job.

Multilingual Cinema Meets English-Only Filmmaking

A pair of famed cinematographers who fled Hungary after filming the failed 1956 revolt talk about their paths to success in Hollywood. Their line of work continues to demand English even as it goes international.

Phoning It In

A free interpretation service for limited English speakers is a nice idea, but the one we've got now in California does less for individuals than for large businesses.

Barriers in the Family

The Naskhulyans found it almost too easy to speak Armenian and Russian around Los Angeles, and struggled to communicate with their daughter.

Love's Labors Considered

What night classes and Saturday morning school in Japanese couldn't do, romantic and family ties can, writes a UCLA alumna living in two cultures.

Where Chicano English Gets Respect

A teacher in an innovative LAUSD program, Guadalupe Arellano of El Sereno Middle School tells her students that their home language needs to be understood, not rejected.