Welcome Message from Chair Stacey Katz Bourns
Welcome to the Department of World Languages and Cultures
You might wonder why you should learn another language in today’s world, especially since access to technology that can translate–or even interpret in real time–is widely available.
There are several reasons.
Technology might help you accomplish basic communicative tasks. If you don’t have actual knowledge of the language, however, you have no idea if what you are saying is actually what you want to convey. In other words, automatic translators lack nuance, and they sometimes are imprecise at best and inaccurate (or even embarrassing) at worst. They also have no concept of linguistic register. For example, they don’t know whether you want to speak formally or informally. They aren’t designed to structure “speech acts” (for example, requesting, apologizing, complimenting, inviting, etc.) appropriately for the context. They don’t reflect what linguists call “sociolinguistic competence.” You might come off as being rude or presumptuous or obsequious or bizarre without even realizing it.
Similarly, technology simply cannot give you the cultural agility that you need to build deeper cultural connections — connections that will allow you to understand people from other cultures, and ultimately yourself and your own culture, better. As President Aoun explains in Robot Proof:
“Cultural agility involves more than just knowing how to behave in a video conference or at a foreign restaurant. It requires a deep enough immersion in a culture so that we can fit seamlessly into multicultural teams or get results from people who have dramatically different lives from our own” (pp. 70-71).
You cannot access that “immersion” if you do not speak the language. End of story.
Learning to speak another language is something that you do for others. It conveys that you have made the commitment to try to understand their culture, which is inexorably linked to their language. If you truly wish to become a global citizen, acquiring–or at least developing a degree of fluency in–another language is a vital part of the enterprise. It demonstrates your openness, curiosity, respect, and humility.
Finally, learning another language is something that you do for yourself. It expands the boundaries of your thinking, gives you access to other cultures and communities, and allows you to grow as a multilingual, empathetic human being.
Why does that matter? For one thing, it provides you with insights and perspectives that you might never have anticipated. It allows you to move through the world differently. It makes you more confident and gives you emotional intelligence. And it makes you a lot more interesting.
Ask anyone who has majored or minored in a language: it wakes up something within you that you didn’t know was there, which is deeply rewarding, exciting, and transformative (sometimes even life changing!).
Contact any of our language coordinators regarding information about the language that you would like to study. They can also tell you more about our:
- classes
- minors
- Dialogues of Civilization and study abroad options
- service-learning opportunities
- conversation tables and other extracurricular programs
- national honor societies.
They can also tell you their own stories about how they themselves became multilingual and how doing so has enriched their lives.
We are here to guide you on your journey and look forward to meeting you in person and welcoming you to our department!
