My latest Tribune language column:
On the translation of the New Testament into sign language by the Iowa-based Deaf Missions.
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Here's a site that lists the number of verses, words, and letters per testament, along with a bunch of other trivia. Speaking of sign language, how sickening was it to read last week about allegations that nuns at one Massachusetts school punished and abused deaf children for trying to use sign language.

One other language note: Today is the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education. On NPR last week, historian James T. Patterson noted that the ruling instructed schools to implement changes with deliberate speed--a phrase so vague, he says, that it condoned foot-dragging and necessitated a follow-up ruling.