Fall
2008

Key Languages News

Key Languages Club - We now have Key Languages Club open to language enthusiasts. We’ll meet every 3^rd Monday of the month at 6:00 p.m. for events (lectures/workshops/ bookclub/movie night).  Join the club to practice a language that you already speak or to know more about another language. Check our website keylang.com to know how to join.

Coming event:  Monday, September 15^th at 6:00 p.m.
Using the Power of Language to Reach Your Goals (in English) presented by Anne B. Freedman, a nationally recognized speaker, presentation and communication coach, corporate training/marketing specialist, speechwriter and author. She is president and founder of Speak Out, Inc., based in Miami, Florida. The author of Unforgettable Speeches and Sales Presentations in 8 Easy Steps, Anne is a University of Florida graduate, a former journalist and freelance writer, and a leader in numerous prestigious business, civic and professional associations. She publishes a monthly online newsletter, Talking Business Ezine.

Anne says her mission in life is to stamp out boring speeches and presentations and help others communicate before groups and one-on-one with more confidence, clarity and humor.

CELPE - BRAS – Key Languages is providing information and preparation for the CELPE – BRAS which is a proficiency test in Brazilian Portuguese that students can take at FIU (Florida International University) to measure their knowledge of the language. The next CELPE – BRAS is going to be on October 23. Contact us (info@keylang.com) or professor Augusta Vono (vonoa@fiu.edu) for more information.  

Language in the News

Latinos Are First and Foremost Americans. The article questions the need to market to Hispanics who are highly assimilated, U.S.-born, English speakers. Cultural values and traits are passed on, but it is a fact that the second generation and beyond are highly assimilated. The newcomers naturally begin to blend with this country, adopting its customs, language and attitudes. While Latinos are remaking the demographics of America, America is remaking Latinos. The Miami Herald. July 2008.

Americans Must Learn Second Language. Andres Oppenheimer wrote in his column that Americans are way behind the rest of the industrialized world when it comes to mastering other languages. He mentioned that in the 27-country European Union 56 percent of Europeans speak at least one language in addition to their mother tongues. He also mentioned that in Luxembourg, one of the world’s richest countries, 99 percent of the population speaks a second language and that about 28 percent of Europeans speak two foreign languages. He concluded by mentioning the benefits of learning a second language, such as make future generations of Americans more employable.  The Miami Herald. July 2008.

English Dominates the World. Thomas Patrick Cullen contested Oppenheimer’s article saying that English is the official language of at least 50 countries and that it is dominant in business, media and diplomacy. He also said that English is the dominant second language in the world. He concluded by stating  that speaking a foreign language can enrich one’s life, but for many people art, music, sports are a better choice than investing the time and effort in mastering a foreign language in an English-dominant world. The Miami Herald. July 2008.

Study Shows Switching Languages Can Mean Switching Personalities. People can change their personalities when they switch languages, especially if they are bicultural and speak two languages. People who are bilingual, but live in one culture don’t switch as quickly. One example of such change is being more assertive in one language than in the other. The conclusion of one study was that “Language can be the cue that activates different culture-specific frames”. The Language Educator. August 2008.

Barriers That Are Steep and Linguist. Not only the mountains but also the languages of the Caucasus explain the current conflict in the region. Some 40 indigenous tongues are spoken, and none has been linked to any other language on earth. The Georgians and the Ossetians both claim to have arrived first in South Ossetia. A war between the two groups in the early 1990s made young Georgians stop learning Russian, young Ossetians did not learn Georgian, and older people, who spoke both, pretended not to. Anna Dybo, a Caucasian expert, even suspects that a single manuscript of the Ossetian language, never transferred to a computer, was burned up on August 8. The New York Times. August 2008.