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Language Matters

Language Matters
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Language Matters. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Anne Hathaway as aspiring journalist-cum-fashion assistant Andy Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada (2006). With the sequel just around the corner, we look at how some of the most fashionable shades of blue got their names. Photo: 20th Century Fox
Fashion

Language Matters | From azure to cerulean, how fashionable shades of blue got their names

The Devil Wears Prada explained there’s big money in leveraging names of blue hues, some of which evolved across centuries and continents.

NOAA

Language Matters | A Blue Marble, a Pale Blue Dot and now an Earthset – what astronauts see

Food and Drinks

Language Matters | Daan tat, ice kachang: how Asian foods are making their way into global English

History

Language Matters | Amid new oil crisis, how the word ‘oil’ evolved from its food-based origins

With roots in olive trees and sesame, the word ‘oil’ is now found in several common sayings, including a Chinese phrase for encouragement.

An oil tanker burns after being hit by an Iranian strike at a port near Basra, Iraq, on March 11, 2026. We examine the history of the word “oil”, from its Mediterranean roots to its modern-day significance. Photo: AP
Chinese culture

Language Matters | Gen Z loves ‘Chinamaxxing’, but where does ‘maxxing’ come from?

Chinamaxxing, lookmaxxing, moneymaxxing and gymmaxxing might be new terms, but the practice of ‘maxxing’ has been around for a while.

Greenland

Language Matters | How Greenland’s language is just as invaluable as its minerals and oil

Greenlandic has been an emblem of identity as the territory advanced to political autonomy and has given us words like igloo and anorak.

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Pop culture in Asia

Language Matters | Senpai, bingsu, ramyeon: new Korean and Japanese words in the OED

The latest additions to the Oxford English Dictionary include many words and phrases from popular Korean and Japanese culture.

Bingsu is a popular Korean shaved ice dessert. The word bingsu was recently added to the Oxford English Dictionary along with other Korean and Japanese words such as senpai, ramyeon, sunbae and ajumma. Photo: Shutterstock
American cinema

Language Matters | How the word avatar went from visiting gods to video games and sci-fi films

An avatar was the earthly incarnation of a Hindu god, and seen in other religions. Today, it’s a well-known word in films and video games.

Chinese culture

Language Matters | Word of the Year 2025 choices reflect how virtual our reality has become

From Oxford’s ‘rage bait’ to Macquarie Dictionary’s ‘AI slop’, 2025 WOTYs show the influence of the virtual world on our daily lives.

Chinese culture

Language Matters | The enduring legacy of bamboo, a symbol of resilience and strength in Asia

Bamboo is used in everything from construction to food throughout Asia, and even lends itself to global concepts like the ‘bamboo curtain’.

Bamboo poles are seen used in the construction of a pavilion in Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong. Bamboo is used in everything from construction to food throughout Asia. Photo: Eugene Lee
Climate change

Language Matters | Why language loss in indigenous communities hurts biodiversity conservation

Ecosystem loss and language erosion often occur in tandem. Thankfully, Cop30 marked an unprecedented effort to elevate indigenous voices.

Activists take part in a climate protest during the Cop30 UN climate summit in Belem, Brazil, on November 15 2025. Photo: AP
Gen Z

Language Matters | What’s the story behind Gen Alpha’s ‘6-7’? More meaning than you think

The Gen Alpha phrase ‘6-7’ was named word of the year by Dictionary.com. We look at its origins and how people use it to create community.

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United Nations

Language Matters | How multilingualism can help us work towards global peace and tolerance

Inclusion of and support for diverse languages are crucial for fulfilling goals of tolerance, peace, justice and building a future together.

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Super Typhoon Ragasa

Language Matters | How does a typhoon get its name? And who gets to choose?

The naming of typhoons, hurricanes and cyclones may seem random but strict procedures govern their titles.

A satellite image of Super Typhoon Ragasa, which was called Nando in the Philippines. Photo: SCMP
Super Typhoon Ragasa

Language Matters | Where does the word ‘typhoon’ come from? It’s not what you might think

‘Typhoon’ is popularly ascribed to similar-sounding Cantonese and Mandarin words, but this is a more recent formulation.

People watch the waves hitting the coast at the Heng Fa Chuen waterfront as Super Typhoon Ragasa approaches Hong Kong, on September 23, 2025. Photo: Elson Li
Chinese culture

Language Matters | How the Hungry Ghost Festival has roots in Buddhism and Daoism

Celebrated in the seventh lunar month, the Hungry Ghost Festival is a time to appease and honour ancestors and restless spirits.

Chinese culture

Language Matters | ‘Good English’? No thanks, Singaporeans are officially embracing Singlish

From ‘blur like sotong’ to shiok, the use of Singlish, once explicitly discouraged, is now celebrated in Singapore – as it should be.

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Fashion

Language Matters | How the kebaya became a symbol of heritage throughout Southeast Asia

The Unesco-listed garment is proudly worn from Indonesia to Malaysia, its name revealing centuries of cultural exchange with Asia and Europe.

Indonesian women wear kebayas at a fashion show dedicated to the garment, which is a symbol of pride in many Southeast Asian countries. Photo: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Food and Drinks

Language Matters | Where did lychees come from and why are they an auspicious Chinese symbol?

The fruit’s Chinese name gave us the English word ‘lychee’, while wordplay bestowed upon it auspicious connotations.

Chinese culture

Language Matters | What to know about intangible cultural heritage amid Hong Kong celebrations

With Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage Month in full flow, a look at ICH’s five main domains and the importance of linguistic heritage.

Food and Drinks

Language Matters | How whisky took its name from the Gaelic ‘water of life’

‘Whiskie shall put our brains in rage’, a phrase in a 1715 book, marked the first appearance in English of the term for the distilled drink.

Whisky is a word derived from the Gaelic for “water of life”. A similar Medieval Latin term, aqua vitae, is the root of the French “eau de vie”, a brandy that, like whisky, is distilled. Photo: iStockphotos/Getty Images
Religion

Language Matters | At conclave to choose a new pope arcane rituals, proclamations in Latin

Lisa Lim decodes the Latin terms that will pepper the coming conclave of cardinals in Vatican City to elect a successor to Pope Francis.

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Cardinal Stephen Chow of Hong Kong greets people in Rome on May 3, 2025, as he heads to a general congregation meeting ahead of the conclave to elect the next pope. Photo: Reuters
Easter

Language Matters | Where the word ‘Easter’ comes from and how only 2 European languages use it

‘Easter’ is found in English and German but in most other European languages the word for the festival comes from old words for ‘Passover’.

Sex and relationships

Language Matters | The manosphere and its lexicon explained after Adolescence

The Netflix TV series introduced many to the language of toxic masculinity, from incel to red pills and blue pills. But misogyny is not new.

Books and literature

Language Matters | Poetry ‘a luxury we cannot afford’? Singapore and world have moved on

Lee Kuan Yew’s maxim that poetry was an unaffordable luxury was of its time. These days it is widely appreciated, and not just in Singapore.

One of the poems displayed in trains in Singapore under the “Poems on the MRT” programme. Photo: Facebook/National Arts Council Singapore
History

Language Matters | Trump tramples human rights with order on use of English language

US president’s revoking of a Clinton-era order to provide language assistance to poor speakers of English appears to flout a UN declaration.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order making English the official language of the United States. Photo: EPA-EFE/Pool
Chinese culture

Language Matters | Why minority languages matter for learning and culture

Most people grow up hearing two or more languages spoken around them, yet many abandon their mother tongues for languages used more widely.

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Valentine's Day

Language Matters | How the heart became the universal symbol of love

On Valentine’s Day hearts are everywhere – on cards, cakes, balloons and emojis – but when were they first used to symbolise love?

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