News briefs in languages Loanwords banned in Russian The use of foreign words where suitable Russian ones exist has been forbidden under a new law passed [on February 5] by the Russian parliament. The new law, which the State Duma passed on its third and final reading, affirms the place of Russian as the official national tongue. It also outlaws the use in public of offensive or obscene expressions. But the attempt to rid Russian of words loaned from foreign languages could prove the most difficult part to enforce. The Russian language is so full of foreign words that many Russians take them to be their own. Words like "shlagbaum", from the German for a barrier, or "shofyor", a driver, from the French word "chauffeur", speak of a time when the language of the Russian court was not Russian. More recently, the opening up of post-Soviet Russia to the outside world has seen a flood of English words into the everyday conversations of millions of Russians. Stephen Dalziel, BBC News, London Curiosity in Arabic language increases Enrollment in Arabic language courses has been steadily increasing for at least the past decade, professors and administrators at universities and private language school said. Sept. 11 and the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East, are causing a surge in some programs, while in others, the increase is a more gradual, long-term trend. Over the past four decades, other events have had a similar effect: the oil embargo and Arab-Israeli war in 1973, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, and the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Since last fall, Berlitz International, the largest language school in the world, has seen a rise in requests for Arabic courses, and also for Farsi, Urdu and Pashtu, the majority languages of Iran, Pakistan, and southern Afghanistan, respectively, said marketing communications manager Mary Conti. After Sept. 11, Berlitz noticed a surge in interest in Arabic. She added by e-mail that, "The majority of students expressed an interest in learning more about the language and culture to better understand the cultural differences that led to Sept. 11." Among the more difficult languages taught at American universities, Arabic and Chinese are the only ones that have maintained steady enrollment growth among a significant number of students, according to Kirk Belnap, head of the Arabic Section at Brigham Young University and former executive director of the American Association of Teachers of Arabic. "Russian nose-dived after the Soviet Union fell," he said. Noah Haglund, Columbia (University) News Service, New York