Americans have always had a reputation for linguistic laziness, and since much of the business world is willing to conduct business in English, their deficiency tends not to hold them back. But an increasing number of Americans realize that going the extra step to hone skills in a foreign language can provide a professional edge or grease the wheels of deal-making. They are dusting off their high school Spanish, French or German, and the most ambitious of them are plunging into immersion language courses…

These programs have proliferated throughout the world and come in all sizes, lasting from a few days to several weeks, emphasizing vocabularies in a variety of professional specialties and conducted as group sessions or one-on-one tutorials.

For many American executives, Spanish is the language to learn, given the large Latin American market next door and the surge in the Hispanic population in the United States.

There are numerous immersion programs, both in Latin America and Spain, but Guatemala has become a hotbed of language study, in part because of its inhabitants’ reputation for speaking in a clear, easily understandable accent and partly because of its extremely low cost. It is home to scores of schools, many of them based in Antigua, a well-preserved colonial city with cobblestone streets and easy excursions to nearby volcanoes and Mayan ruins.

For as little as $150 a week, foreigners can receive six hours of private language instruction for five days a week. Accommodations with a local family providing three home-cooked meals a day are generally included in the price.

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The hottest issue among politicians and religious leaders is the “culture war”– a supposed crisis in moral and religious values that is ripping at the fabric of the nation.

A scholar from the University of Michigan School of Business is jumping into the fray. But he is not armed with another bombshell. Instead, sociologist Wayne Baker is waving a white flag at all sides in this conflict.

“We need to think about this in a new way. I believe that this culture war is a myth in this country,” Baker said Thursday as he gave dozens of other scholars in the business school a first glimpse at his research. “We think we’re divided — and we’re really not.”

The widespread panic has been driven largely by political and religious activists hoping to whip up support for their causes, Baker said.

“There’s a whole cottage industry of people selling this idea that there’s a crisis, and that we’ve lost our values, and that we’re deeply divided as a nation over that,” he said. “It’s not true.”

Before going public with his findings, Baker spent nearly a decade examining surveys and other social research data, gathered since 1981 in countries around the world.

“If we group together traditional values about God, country and family, including the importance of God and patriotism … it turns out these values are widely shared by Americans, and they’ve been solid over the last 20 years,” Baker said.

“That’s different than the picture in Europe, for example, where these values are not as important. But, in this country, we’re a very traditional society.”

Comments from scholars in the audience seemed to support Baker’s conclusions, which are summarized in a new book, America’s Crisis of Values.

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We are working toward universal broadband access in rural Alaska, strengthening distance learning and telemedicine services and encouraging homeownership and entrepreneurship

For example 0ver the past two years we have provided eight rural Alaska school districts with grants of $400,000 to $500,000 each to provide distance learning opportunities.

The equipment purchased with these grant funds connects rural classrooms and provides students with learning opportunities not only here in Alaska, but elsewhere in the world.

After learning that her rural Southeast Alaska district was successful in receiving a grant, one superintendent told me she plans to use our equipment to provide Spanish language instruction to her students, and to partner with a school in China to provide language and cultural instruction.

Finding Arabic or Chinese as class offerings in area school systems is rare.
But some Arlington parents want the schools to take a more forward-looking approach with foreign language instruction.

The Arlington school system is adding Italian to the curriculum next year — the first new foreign language it has added since 1988, according to The Washington Post. The school system says a survey revealed that Italian would be the most popular new language to offer.

But parent Peter Rousselot is worried that the schools aren’t really preparing students for life in the 21st century where Arabic and Chinese may be in higher demand.

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Linspire, the old Lindows, has got a Web-based application that is supposed to let volunteers translate Linspire’s Linux distribution into 80 different languages although currently the thing appears to only support 21.

It’s called IRMA, short for the International Resource Management Application, and quite frankly one shudders at what could result.

The company says 200 people, representing 35 languages, have signed on already.

Volunteers are supposed to pick the code strings they want to translate. The system reportedly prompts the translators if certain words or phrases have already been translated.

Linspire says checks will be put in place to control the quality of the translations.

It says that when 25 or more volunteers are translating in a particular language, they will work in a double-blind system, where two people translate the same text and have their translations checked against the other. When translations match, they will be used. If they do not match, the lead translator will reconcile the situation.

Languages that don’t have enough translators for the double-blind checks will be reviewed by language managers, who will edit the translations for consistency and accuracy, Linspire said.

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The Eleka Ingeniaritza Linguistikoa company is leading an R+D project in order to design and develop a system of automatic translation of texts and websites from Spanish to Basque and also to the other two official languages within the Spanish state: Catalan and Galician. The principal novelty lies in that the system will be an open code one and of free distribution, thus enabling the system to be modified with total freedom in order to update and optimise it for new users and applications Another important novelty is that, for the first time, a single system involving the four official languages is to be developed simultaneously by groups based in different geographical locations.

Although Catalan and Galician-Portuguese already have other systems of automatic translation, this technology is totally novel in the case of the Basque language. Eleka Ingeniaritza Linguistikoa will direct the design and development of the first system of automatic translation from Spanish to Basque, in collaboration with the IXA Group at the University of the Basque Country and the Elhuyar Foundation.

It is projected that the system of automatic translation will be ready and available on-line within one year, i.e. by the beginning of 2006…

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Had your fill of pad Thai and the same ol’ spring rolls? Psst: Pass the “secret” menu

Looking to take a walk on the wild side? Several Thai eateries offer “secret” native-language menus with fare that isn’t on the regular menu. These include dishes with unfamiliar, exotic or unusual ingredients (Mudfish! Yum!), or kick up the heat to a level that would make some of us melt.

Internet food-chat site users have translated menus for these spots, so now non-natives can also delve into more adventurous dining if they request the secret menu. (Be patient, some of these eateries have a limited amount of translated menus on hand.)

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It seems every aspect of American life is undergoing a “Globalization” except one — our literary culture. Explanations for this phenomenon vary, from lack of interest to lack of availability, but one thing is certain: A majority of Americans have a profound disinterest in the literary and cultural works of other countries.

Just think about it — aside from African-American and Anglo-Saxon literature, how many translated foreign works did you read throughout your education? According to Wayne State University literature experts, the chances that you’ve read any are pretty slim.

Robert Elsie, a German anthropologist, came to Wayne State Thursday as part of The Humanities Center’s Brown Bag Lecture Series. Elsie, a specialist in Albanian culture, has translated over 35 Albanian books into English.

According to Elsie, foreign language works comprise only 2-3 percent of the American literature market.

Walter Edwards, an English Department linguistics professor, suggests “the principal reason for the lack of interest in foreign literatures is the economic, political and cultural dominance of the United States … There are exceptions, of course, but typically the dominant culture is often ethnocentric.”

Anca Vlasopolos, an English professor and director of the Comparative Literature Program at WSU, suggests that the problem lies more in the fact that “literary translation is a thankless, ill-paid endeavor, often entailing difficulties of obtaining permission, etc., so few people who are not masochistic engage in it.”

A third factor, according to Russian professor Ken Bronstrom, “is the gradual movement toward visual media as the preferred forms among Americans, especially film and television.”

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Does the Bush clan worship the devil? Signs here point to “not likely,” but overseas, you might get a different answer.

During the inauguration festivities, the first family’s “Hook ’em, ‘horns” signal – right hand raised with the index and pinkie fingers extended – was interpreted as a salute to Satan and horrified thousands, especially in Norway.
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The two-finger salute – flown by George, Laura, Jenna and even Grandma Barbara during inauguration festivities – has generated Internet chatter and news reports. For the record, the gesture is a sign of love for the University of Texas Longhorns, whose fans – whose numbers famously include the Bush family – often shout “Hook ’em,’ horns!” at sporting events.

It’s easy to understand where the confusion comes in – this is, after all, a hand signal that is estimated to be 2,500 years old.

For much of that time, it’s been associated with pagans and the occult, and today it’s best known among heavy metal music fans.

In the beginning, though, it was about a bull.

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When Salt Lake City teachers look out over their classrooms, they see an increasingly diverse sea of faces — more Latinos, more Asians, more Pacific Islanders, more African-Americans.

In fact, this school year marks a milestone: Minorities are now the majority in the classrooms of Utah’s capital.

But when those same students look back at their teachers, they see — with rare exception — one color: white.

Turns out, teachers of color make up just 8 percent of the district’s instruction force, according to a 2004 Utah State University study on teacher supply and demand.

“What I’d give for more minority teachers,” says Mountain View Elementary Principal John Erlacher, whose west-side school is one of the most diverse in the city with four racial and ethnic groups making up 86 percent of enrollment.

To help close the diversity divide between teachers and students, Erlacher has been urging teacher aides — Latinos and Pacific Islanders — to go back to college, earn their teaching credentials and help the school do better at connecting with the dozens of cultures and languages represented by their pupils

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A murder case in Escondido reveals a serious flaw in the policies and practices of our police departments when they deal with people who don’t speak English or Spanish well.

Though the need doesn’t arise often, when police require help communicating with someone who doesn’t speak the county’s two main languages, they often rely on translations by people who are not trained interpreters. Because communication is at the root of all good policing, this “catch-as-catch-can” practice hinders cops’ ability to do their jobs well and safely, puts small numbers of immigrants at risk of being wrongly arrested or worse, and runs afoul of federal civil rights guidelines.

Vinh Pham is charged with a 2003 murder in Escondido. When city police detectives interviewed him in jail, a nurse working at the Vista jail served as his interpreter. She wasn’t trained in interpretation. More than just language, interpreters need to know ethical and legal nuances for their work to pass legal muster. Because the nurse didn’t repeat key statements Pham made in Vietnamese to police — “I want to go back to jail” and “I don’t want to say anymore” — a judge tossed out everything the man said after those statements.

The case is not over, and prosecutors say they still have enough evidence to convict Pham.

But the problem revealed by the misinterpretation is wider than just one case.

While the dynamic, responsive nature of police work makes tapping untrained interpreters unavoidable sometimes, it’s never a good idea — the stakes for both cops and citizens are too high. Life and liberty can hang on a misunderstood word or gesture.

In 2002, the federal Justice Department issued guidelines that urged “even small recipients (local police departments) with limited contact with Limited English Proficiency persons” to draft and adopt formal plans for dealing with these situations.

With better management, local police forces can better serve and protect some of our most vulnerable neighbors at their most vulnerable moments. At the very least, police need to redouble their efforts to identify and provide certified interpreters for the main languages in their jurisdictions, especially during major investigations and homicide interrogations.

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“I’m there just to interpret, not to give advice,” said Valdez, guest relations representative at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. “Translating medical terminology can be a tongue twister.”

Without her help, health care providers and Spanish-speaking patients with limited English proficiency would be at a loss for words.

Patients at other U.S. hospitals aren’t as fortunate. Fewer than a quarter of these facilities are staffed with skilled interpreters, the journal Pediatrics reported in 2003. And most of them don’t have adequate training.

The good news is hospitals, social service agencies and interpreter associations are taking steps to improve the numbers. They are determined to launch, sustain or expand interpreter services for an increasingly diverse pool of patients.

Almost one in five people, or 47 million of those age 5 and older, spoke a language other than English at home in 2000, up 15 million from 1990, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Meanwhile, the number of Spanish speakers surged 62 percent, rising from 17.3 million in 1990 to 28.1 million in 2000.

“The need for interpreters in the health care setting is high,” said Elaine Quinn, administrator of cross-cultural programs at the Texas Department of State Health Services in Austin.

“Many people speak English to converse over the more mundane day-to-day stuff. However, it is often difficult to verbalize signs, symptoms and other concerns. … The vocabulary is not the everyday words people use,” explained Quinn, also treasurer of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care in Santa Rosa.

Interpreters are more likely to be employed in hospitals, which are better able to afford their services and are also more legally bound to do so, said Charles Soltoff, associate vice president for marketing at Temple University Health System in Philadelphia. Temple is among 10 medical institutions in a program to demonstrate that hospitals can’t afford to operate without formally trained medical interpreters.

Other institutions use telephone-based interpreters and rely on employees who speak the same foreign languages as patients.

“Existing staff who can provide medical interpreter services on an as-needed basis — called dual-role interpreters — will become increasingly valuable,” Soltoff predicted.

To succeed, experts say, interpreters must be fluent and possess customer service skills along with knowledge of medical terminology.

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The Elmbrook School Board continues to face intense pressure to reinstate foreign language instruction at its six elementary schools, despite the need to trim $2 million from next year’s budget.

At last week’s School Board meeting, attended by about 45 parents and foreign language teachers, parents pleaded for foreign language to be taught for 90 minutes a week as part of the regular school day curriculum. But elementary school teachers testified that the day is already too full and other classes would suffer.

The parents’ suggestion would require creating the equivalent of 3.5 new teaching positions in 2005, costing about $273,000, and adding more positions in 2006, bringing annual costs as high as $390,000, according to a district study group report.

School Board members made no decision Tuesday. Most said they could not justify the expense, given the district’s financial deficit but also appeared torn after listening to passionate arguments for the program from parents and one of their own members, Steve Schwei.

In the end, Superintendent Matt Gibson offered to come up with a budget plan next month that would cut other items to make up the cost of the foreign language program, so that parents might better see the impact of such a decision.

Until two years ago, Elmbrook fourth- through sixth-graders were exposed to French, Spanish and German in school. The program was eliminated in a round of budget cuts. But Gibson said the district also felt the elementary program failed to adequately prepare pupils for foreign language instruction in middle and high school.

Since then, interested children have been attending foreign language clubs after school, with expenses paid for by parents. But Marilyn Pritchard, a parent representative for the Elementary School Day Study Group, said participation is fading and parents have complained that these clubs aren’t effective.

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The Santa Fe school board approved the application for Charter School 37, a public charter school based on dual-language instruction in English and Spanish and expeditionary learning through action. The school must still obtain approval from the state public-education department to proceed with its plans to open for the 2006-2007 school year… Charter School 37 will serve approximately 400 students, admitted by lottery. School organizers say they hope to have a balanced mix of Spanish and English speakers.

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New travel magazine Wegbreek will apply for leave to appeal against this week’s judgment in the Cape High Court that it must change its name, publisher Naomi Herselman says.

Wegbreek is published by New Media Publishing, a subsidiary of the Naspers group.

Herselman said yesterday that management was considering the judgment and would discuss the implications of changing Wegbreek’s name.

Ramsay Son & Parker, publishers of 16-year-old travel magazine Getaway, applied for an interdict to stop New Media Publishing and Media 24 from infringing Getaway’s trademark or passing it off as being associated with Getaway.

In granting an order, Judge Abe Motala ruled that although Wegbreek was not a direct translation of Getaway, the average South African would understand it as a close translation. The name implied the same concept as Getaway and people could be misled into believing it to be the Afrikaans version of the English magazine.

He also ordered Wegbreek not to continue its Moegoe van die Maand column which was “a blatant copy” of Getaway’s column called Mug of the Month, remove all reference to Wegbreek from printed matter and material and to pay legal costs.

Wegbreek, which launched last April as a bimonthly, will be published monthly as of April after making significant strides in circulation. According to the June to September Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) figures, Wegbreek is selling an average of 58890 copies an issue and Herselman said last month that it had 13118 subscribers. Getaway’s audited ABC circulation figure in the same period is 92334 copies an issue.

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