Language, Culture, and Internationalizing Education

I have long had a fascination with languages. In high school I studied Latin for two years and followed that with two years of Spanish. When I graduated from Oberlin College in 1971 with an A.B. in Psychology I also had studied the equivalent of a Spanish major (including credits earned at the University of Guanajuato, Mexico). While a graduate student at Ohio State University I marveled at the language fluency of foreign fellow graduate students (I spent 6 months doing research at the University of Bergen, Norway and was humbled by the challenges of learning Norwegian and by how much more about the United States Norwegians knew compared to me!). A critical component of these language learning experiences was having opportunities to be exposed to the literature, theater, art, history, and cultural contexts of these languages. It will be interesting to discover what added value such tools as Rosetta Stone software contribute to efforts to internationalize this campus. I have yet to see convincing empirical evidence that the software lives up to its heavily advertised promises. I think something like teletandem may be a more practical way to provide language immersion. I greatly admire a number of thought leaders who write well and think deeply about authentically internationalizing education. Reading two books recently, Richard E. Nisbett‘s The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently… and Why and Malcolm Gladwell’s Outlier’s: The Story of Success, has revitalized my interest in relationships between language, culture, thought, and behavior. Richard Nisbett, whom Gladwell acknowledges as a major influence on his thinking that resulted in this book, was an invited speaker at Carroll University on March 24, 2009. Books such as these shaped motivated my tracking much more regularly global issues in higher education.


 

 

Fifty Ways to Say I Love You, Mom…

Today is Mother’s Day  in the United States—my first since the passing on of my Mother on April 18 of this year. Some variant of this important Day of Recognition is of course celebrated throughout the world. Please pass on these three simple thoughts to your Mom—as I do to mine.

  1.  

    Ek is lief vir jou, Mamma! Dankie, Mamma. Ek is jammer, Ma!

  2. Të dua, mami! Ju faleminderit, mami. Më vjen keq, mami!
  3. أنا أحبك يا أمي! شكرا لك يا أمي. أنا آسف يا أمي!
  4. Mən səni sevirəm, ana! , Ana təşəkkür edirəm. Mən Ana üzgünüm!
  5. Maite zaitut, ama! Eskerrik asko, ama. Sentitzen dut, ama!
  6. আমি তোমায় ভালোবাসি, মা! , মা আপনাকে ধন্যবাদ. আমি মাকে দুঃখিত!
  7. Я люблю цябе, мама! Дзякуй, мама. Мне вельмі шкада, мама!
  8. Volim te, mama! Hvala ti, mama. Žao mi je, mama!
  9. Обичам те, мамо! Благодаря ти, мамо. Съжалявам, мамо!

  10. 我爱你,妈妈!谢谢你,妈妈。对不起,妈妈!
  11. Volim te, mama! Hvala ti, mama. Žao mi je, mama!
  12. Mám tě ráda, mami! Děkuji, mami. Je mi líto, mami!
  13. Jeg elsker dig, mor! Tak, mor. Jeg er ked af det, mor!
  14. Ik hou van je, mam! Dank je, mam. Het spijt me, mam!
  15. I love you, Mom! Thank you, Mom. I’m sorry, Mom!
  16. Mi amas vin, panjo! Dankon, panjo. Mi bedaŭras, Panjo!

  17. Ma armastan sind, ema! Aitäh, ema. Vabandust, ema!
  18. Rakastan sinua, äiti! Kiitos, äiti. Olen pahoillani, äiti!
  19. Je t’aime, maman! Merci, maman. Je suis désolé, maman!
  20. მე შენ მიყვარხარ, Mom! მადლობა, Mom. მე ვწუხვარ, Mom!
  21. Ich liebe dich, Mama! Danke, Mama. Es tut mir leid, Mama!
  22. Σ ‘αγαπώ, μαμά! Σας ευχαριστώ, μαμά. Λυπάμαι, μαμά!
  23. मैं तुमसे प्यार करता हूँ, माँ! , माँ धन्यवाद. मैं, माँ माफ कर दो!

  24. Szeretlek, anya! Köszönöm, anya. Sajnálom, anya!

  25. Ég elska þig, mamma! Þakka þér, mamma. Fyrirgefðu, mamma!

  26. Aku mencintaimu, Bu! Terima kasih, Bu. Maafkan aku, Bu!

  27. Is breá liom tú, Mam! Go raibh maith agat, Mam. Tá brón orm, Mam!

  28. Ti voglio bene, mamma! Grazie, mamma. Mi dispiace, mamma!

  29. 私はあなたを愛して、ママ! 、お母さん、ありがとうございました。私は、お母さんごめんなさい!

  30. Aku seneng kowe, angel! Matur nuwun, angel. Kula nyuwun pangapunten, angel!

  31. ខ្ញុំ​ស្រឡាញ់​អ្នក​ម៉ាក់​! សូម​អរគុណ​កូន​ម៉ាក់​។ ខ្ញុំ​ពិត​ជា​សោក​ស្តា​យ​កូន​ម៉ាក់​!

  32. 나는 당신을 사랑 해요, 엄마! 엄마, 감사합니다. 미안 해요, 엄마!

  33. ຂ້າ​ພະ​ເຈົ້າ​ຮັກ​ທ່ານ​, ບ້ານ​ມອມ​! ຂໍ​ຂອບ​ໃຈ​ທ່ານ​, ບ້ານ​ມອມ​. ຂ້າ​ພະ​ເຈົ້າ​ຂໍ​ອະ​ໄພ​, ບ້ານ​ມອມ​!

  34. Es mīlu tevi, mamma! Paldies, māmiņ. Piedod, māt!

  35. Aš tave myliu, mama! Ačiū, mama. Aš atsiprašau, mama!

  36. Те сакам, мамо! Ви благодарам, мамо. Жал ми е, мамо!

  37. I love you, mama! Terima kasih, mama. Saya minta maaf, mama!

  38. Jeg elsker deg, mamma! Takk, mamma. Jeg beklager, mamma!

  39. میں آپ سے محبت، ماں! شکریہ، ماں. میں، ماں معافی چاہتا ہوں

  40. Kocham cię, mamo! Dziękuję, mamo. Przykro mi, mamo!

  41. Eu te amo, mamãe! Obrigado, mãe. Sinto muito, mãe!

  42. Te iubesc, mamă! Mulțumesc, mamă. Îmi pare rău, mamă!

  43. Я люблю тебя, мама! Спасибо, мама. Мне очень жаль, мама!

  44. Волим те, мама! Хвала, мама. Жао ми је, мама!

  45. Mám ťa rada, mami! Ďakujem, mami. Je mi ľúto, mami!

  46. Te amo, mamá! Gracias, mamá. Lo siento, mamá!

  47. Tôi yêu mẹ! Cảm ơn mẹ. Tôi xin lỗi, mẹ ơi!

  48. Seni seviyorum, anne! Teşekkür ederim anne. Ben, anne üzgünüm!

  49. Jag älskar dig, mamma! Tack, mamma. Jag är ledsen, mamma!

  50. ฉันรักคุณแม่! ขอบคุณแม่ ฉันขอโทษแม่!



 

 

Nuanced monologue: I’ve been talking to my computer a lot lately—and sometimes it talks back.

I’ve been talking a lot to my computer lately since I installed on my Mac the Mavericks Operating system.  I have been quite impressed by the dictation accuracy of Nuance’s Dragon Dictate and the degree to which I can use voice commands to control the machine.  Over the past 40 some years I have followed with interest developments in “communication” between humans and computers.  In the 60’s I interacted with Eliza, the Rogerian therapist and in the 70’s the Talking Moose resided on my early Macs—useful toys. But the capabilities of software to “read” text, translate simple conversations, and follow voice commands has dramatically improved since then and become useful in my work. What was once fiction (e.g. The Circle, 2312, Lexicon) is much closer to (dystopian) reality.  The challenge remains how to let technology be a tool controlled by (rather than controlling) me. It is easy to be seduced by the WOW factor.  

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So far I have not QUITE formed a “singular” “SIRIous”  emotional relationship with “her” nor discussed serious religious beliefs . Now, my relationship with books is another matter!