Is there something inherent in English that makes it the linguistic equivalent of the Borg, dominating and consuming other languages in its path? No, not at all. The answer lies with politics and conquest rather than language itself. Plus: a new...
Sayed lives in Houston, Texas, but grew up in Pakistan speaking Urdu and Punjabi. As someone who began learning English two years ago, he finds that he often mixes up gendered pronouns. It’s not surprising that he would confuse he with she and...
Af-Pak n.— Note: Also AFPAK. «He is understood to have ordered military chiefs to build a revised strategy on the foundation that his first priority is stopping another terror attack against America from what is commonly referred to as...
compellance n.— «The truth is that most political observers in Pakistan have become knee-jerk and non-cerebral, giving Pakistan’s enemy a handle through what is called “compellance”: get the enemy to do what it wants to do for self...
Busharraf n.— «Polls showed Musharraf’s popularity was in free fall at 15 per cent. Some 64 per cent of Pakistanis said they viewed the president’s backers in Washington as “the single biggest threat” to the nation. And people...
half-pat adj.— «When described as a diasporic writer, Shamsie had something interesting to say. She coined her own phrase to describe where she writes from—“half-pat.” Not ex-pat or nomad, but just somebody who has been exposed to...