Ancient tablet ignites debate on messiah and resurrection

JERUSALEM — A three-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days.

If such a messianic description really is there, it will contribute to a developing re-evaluation of both popular and scholarly views of Jesus, since it suggests that the story of his death and resurrection was not unique but part of a recognized Jewish tradition at the time.

The tablet, probably found near the Dead Sea in Jordan according to some scholars who have studied it, is a rare example of a stone with ink writings from that era — in essence, a Dead Sea Scroll on stone.

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Date: 07 Jul 2008

Welsh and Gaelic are official EU tongues

Welsh and Scottish Gaelic will soon be echoing around the European Union's corridors of power under an agreement that Britain is about to sign with its EU partners. The deal, which could be rubber-stamped as early as Tuesday, will mean that individuals will be able to write to the EU's Council of Ministers in either language - and that the Council, where governments take political and legislative decisions, will have to reply in the same tongue.

British representatives may also use the languages in official Council meetings. Once the agreement is formalised, Britain will negotiate similar arrangements with the European Commission, the European Ombudsman - which handles complaints - and other EU organisations involving parliamentary, regional and business representatives.

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Date: 06 Jul 2008

Language lessons: When a new language is child's play

This month pupils at Newbury Park Primary School in Redbridge, north-east London, are learning Dutch. Not so unusual, perhaps, but what makes these lessons unique is that the school's star "teacher" is a child herself - 11-year-old Mathumy.

This month it's Dutch, but the school's Language of the Month website features 43 languages spoken by children attending the school. Last month pupils learnt French from Remi, aged 10, the month before 11-year-old Alasdair taught Afrikaans.

As the number of children with refugee status in the borough has increased, in the past six years Newbury Park has doubled in size and has a massive four-form entry with 850 children. Eighty-five per cent of its pupils speak English as an additional language, up from 40 per cent when head teacher Colin Whitehead joined the school 14 years ago. Far from being overwhelmed, the school embraced the opportunity for children to learn and share languages.

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Date: 05 Jul 2008