By now, it’s clear that social media has played a critical role in fomenting and sustaining public protests across the Middle East...In that vein, the State Department has just launched a new Farsi Twitter account, USAdarFarsi. Its first tweet: “US State Dept recognizes historic role of social media among Iranians. We want to join in your conversations.”

If the events in Egypt taught us anything over the past few weeks it is that notions of freedom and fear run in parallel. I was struck as many of you might have been by the myriad images and poignant stories pouring out of Egypt showing Egyptians by the thousands demanding their freedom and rallying for global support. It reminded me of why I have such an enduring appreciation and admiration for Egyptians as a people. They are deeply proud of their heritage and culture and this is infused in every aspect of daily life.

Let me begin by describing a scenario to you.

It’s Wednesday night in Costa Rica, about 8.30pm, and people in Costa Rica, as people do in most countries, are watching prime-time television. On this particular night, Costa Rica takes on their neighbors Venezuela in a soccer match and, due to the mass popularity of soccer in Costa Rica, it is drawing a large audience. Costa Rica scores, and after endless replays and analysis of a truly average goal, the action cuts to a "and here’s the reaction in China" sequence of pictures.

What has happened to the language of diplomacy? It is reported in London that William Hague, Britain's foreign secretary, has been shocked by the poor spelling and jargon-infested English he finds in notes from his diplomats. Conservative commentators, such as Charles Moore of the Spectator, detect a broader slippage of good manners and education across the civil service.

Meedan, a leading Arabic-English translation technology company announced today it is providing free Arabic translation for microloans on Kiva.org. The move will help expand the reach of Kiva and its lenders directly into the heart of the Arabic-speaking world, extending a global community of micro-lenders to include thousands of Arabic-speaking aspiring entrepreneurs.

Addressing a symposium to mark the 10th anniversary of the Law on Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language, Liu said popularizing the standard Chinese language is vital for "carrying out the Chinese culture, enhancing the country's soft power, national unification and unity among all ethnic groups."

Sylwia Surdykowska from the University of Warsaw believes learning the Persian language will help achieve a better understanding of Iran’s culture... The Polish are familiar with Persian literature and know of the Persian poets Hafez, Rumi, Khayyam and Sadi, she told the Persian service of IRNA.

Iran held a one-day seminar on the impact of the Persian language on the regional languages of the Balkans at the International University of Novi Pazar in Serbia last week. Several Iranian and Serbian scholars and officials attended the seminar which was held by Iran’s cultural attaché’s office in Belgrade.