lingua franca spring 2018 04 18 -...

Lingua Franca ● Vol 15 ● Issue 2 1

LINGUA FRANCAA BI-ANNUAL NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY WORLD LANGUAGES AND CULTURES AT SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY salemstate.edu/language Volume 15 • Issue 2 • Spring 2018

THE FREDERICK A. MEIER BOOK AWARD 2018: JAVIER RODRÍGUEZ-DÍAZby Michele C. Dávila, ChairAs part of the Ed Francis Endowment that the world languages and cultures department received in 2013, we are implementing the Frederick A. Meier Book Award in recognition for outstanding achievement of one of our majors. The inaugural conferment of this annual award will be celebrated on May 15, 2018 at the Hawthorne Hotel at 5 pm. The department’s full-time faculty unanimously selected Javier Rodríguez-Díaz as the first awardee. As an Italian major, Mr. Rodríguez-Díaz has demonstrated to be an outstanding student not only academically but also in service to the community, as a leader in student clubs, and as an advocate for diversity and inclusion in our university. Therefore, Javier perfectly meets the award’s criteria.

The Frederick A. Meier Book Award goes to a student that:

• Is a senior at Salem State University and a major in the world languages and cultures department

• Displays distinctive leadership in the discipline, such as in university student organizations and student government activities

• Achieves academic excellence

• Exhibits meritorious service to the discipline, such as in campus and community service

• Is committed to increasing awareness of cultural diversity and promotes respect for difference and inclusivity on campus

Please join us in congratulating Javier, the recipient of the Frederick A. Meier Book Award 2018!

INSIDE THIS ISSUEThe Frederick A. Meier Book Award 2018: Javier Rodríguez-Díaz 1

¿QUÉ PASA? QUOI DE NEUF? NOVITÀ? 2

HOPE Award Winning Essays 3

2017 HOPE Award Winning Essay 3

2018 HOPE Award Winning Essay 4

HOPE Award 2018 Second Place Essay 4

Phi Sigma Iota Honors Society 5

Travel as the Best Education 6

Translation Studies 6

2018-2019 Future Teachers of Italian in the U.S.: Cody Mulliner has Been Seleced to go to Lombardy 7

EDITORS: Jon Aske Kenneth Reeds

WEB PUBLICATION : ssclinguafranca.wordpress.com

CLUBS’ MAILING LISTS and FACEBOOK GROUPS Visit This Page: tinyurl.com/ssulangclubs

WORLD LANGUAGES AND CULTURES TEL: 978.542.6258 [email protected]

Lingua Franca ● Vol 15 ● Issue 22

¿QUÉ PASA? QUOI DE NEUF? NOVITÀ? Department News Abounds

Department News:Salem State University has officially approved the new International Business and World Languages Double Major Policy, effective fall 2018. This is a new beginning for departmental collaborations, and there are plans for more in the future!

The following students will be presenting their research theses at the Graduate Research Symposium this spring 2018:

• Nicole F. Falzone: “El fútbol y la identidad española”

• Sophia Grammenos: “¿Quién eres y quién vas a ser?: cómo un segundo idioma facilita el desarrollo socio-emocional en adolescentes”

• Marilyn Klinker: “La tecnología: instrumento en la enseñanza de idiomas extranjeros”

• Laurie A. Smith: “El uso de recursos auténticos para motivar a los estudiantes a aprender una segunda lengua”

The following students will be presenting at the Undergraduate Research Symposium this spring 2018:

• Javier Rodríguez-Díaz: “Le donne nella cinematografia dell’America Latina e d’Italia: forza, determinazione e speranza”

• Angelina M. Benítez: “La mujer pasiva vs. la mujer activa: la contradicción de ideas feministas en las obras de Pedro Alomodóvar”

• Gernelín Capellán: “¿Qué es ser negro en la República Dominicana?”: aceptación de raza, clase y género en la sociedad”

• Jesús Escalera: “Conquista y silenciamiento de los taínos: su contribución al nuevo mundo”

• Daniel Hyde: “Latinx o Latine: la posibilidad del español sin género”

The following students presented their thesis at the Department’s Undergraduate Research Symposium this past fall 2017:

• Kenson Toussaint: “Le système éducatif en Haïti : faut-il enseigner en français ou en créole ?”

• Alex Bonilla: “Las dificultades de integración de las comunidades LGBTQ en las Américas”

• Anita Caceda: ‘“Speak English! You’re in America’: cómo convencer a los EEUU de la importancia de los hispanohablantes mantener el idioma materno”

• Caterina McDonald: “La representación de las mujeres en los medios de comunicación en EEUU y Latinoamérica”

• Joviana Morin: “Consecuencias del consumo de alcohol en jóvenes universitarios norteamericanos y españoles”

• Neily Rodríguez Ponce: “La violencia doméstica en los Estados Unidos y los países hispanohablantes”

• Jacqueline Toledo: “Pensamientos divergentes sobre la disciplina entre el sistema educativo de los Estados Unidos y los padres latinos”

Faculty News:Michele C. Dávila Gonçalves published “Navegando mundos virtuales: literatura femenina puertorriqueña” (Navigating Virtual Worlds: Puerto Rican Feminine Literature). Entornos Digitales: Conceptualización y Praxis (Digital Domains: Concept and Practice). Eds. Beatriz Trigo & Mary Anne Dillinger, Barcelona, Spain: Editorial UOC, 2017; and presented “El monstruo de la soledad en Janette Becerra y Tere Dávila” at the XXI Congreso Internacional de Literatura y Estudios Hispánicos in Quito, Ecuador on March 7-9, 2018.

Elizabeth Blood published an article this spring, co-written with Elizabeth Duclos-Orsello (IDS), in the online Encylopédie du patrimoine de l’Amérique française. The article examines Franco-American heritage in Salem’s Point neighborhood. Read the article here (https://goo.gl/K2tFuu).


HOPE AWARD WINNING ESSAYS

Fátima Serra contributed a chapter to a volume devoted to films that were created as artistic responses to the financial crisis in Spain: “Inconformismo y Resistencia: El Olivo de Iciar Bollain (2016).” El cine de la crisis. Respuestas cinematográficas a la crisis económica española en el siglo XXI. Maria José Hellín y Helena Talaya, eds., Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 2018.

Kristine Doll read her own poetry and translations at the Yale Club (Nov. 2017). Several of her poems and their translations into Catalan (trans. A. Bover) were published in the Australian literary review Double Dialogues. Doll’s translations into English of the contemporary Catalan poets August Bover, Teresa D’Arenys and Dolors Miquel were also published in in the same journal. Her translations of the poetry of Dolors Miquel were selected by the Catalan cultural agency Ramon Llull and published in Lyrikline (Barcelona, Spain). Lastly, her poetry has been recently translated into Romanian (O. Iacob, Trans. in Doru Strimbolescu (Ed.), Confesiuni).

Anna Rocca was re-elected to be the New England and Eastern Canada representative for the Women in French association (WIF).

Each year, the world languages and cultures department holds an essay competition exploring the dynamic relationship between community and humanitarian service, education and leadership; particularly in the context of how these can improve our world.

The contest is open to students who are majors or minors in the department as well as to alumni. Essays are written in any of the languages represented by the department (Arabic, Chinese, German, English, French, Italian, Spanish).

The following three essays are the most recent winners. First, is the 2017 winner by Sean 2017 HOPE Award Winning Essay, Conutinued on page 4

Last year the writers were asked to respond to this quote from Salman Rushdie: “It is normally supposed that something always gets lost in translation; I cling, obstinately to the notion that something can also be gained”.

Salman Rushdie’s statement above resonates with me primarily because of his perception about translation and linguistics. By viewing translation with a “glass half-full” kind of attitude, one gains so much more than just simply translating words. Usually, when translating from one language to another, people just want to get their point across to the other party, which is where the idea of something always getting lost stems from. But if you look past that fact of “translating just to get by,” you immediately can learn about one’s background, culture and even personality too. To know more than one language provides instant access to an entire new world of knowledge and people. As there are countless people in this world that are multilingual, there are also many who know only their native language. Now, I am not writing to criticize those who are monolingual, but rather to magnify the significance of learning a second, third and subsequent language and how it enhances one’s life and understanding of others.

Personally, I find translation between any two languages fascinating. The sheer idea of someone being able to comprehend one language, translate it into the next and finally express the same meaning in that second language blows my mind. I am a world languages and cultures major with a Spanish concentration and I hope to use my second language every day; not only in my profession but my life as well. As of right now, I am hoping to land a job in an airport working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. By being able to read, write, speak and understand both English and Spanish, I am now readily available to connect with and help a considerably larger

2017 HOPE AWARD WINNING ESSAY by Sean Burke

Burke. Second is the 2018 winner by Anthony Di Virgilio. The last essay is the 2018 second prize and it is written by Vanessa Cunha.


In 2018 writers were asked to respond to this quote from Sandra Cisneros: “The more you speak more languages, the more you understand yourself.

Language is much more than merely a means of communication. It is rather, a vocal representation of the world’s various unique cultures and ethnicities. Sandra Cisneros’ quote: “The more you speak more languages, the more you understand about yourself,” explains how each language exposes individuals to its own unique way of thinking. The more languages one knows, the more perspectives one is exposed to. Furthermore, language study creates intellectual scholars by exposing them to ways of thinking that differ from their own and pushes them out of their comfort zone.

There aren’t two languages or cultures in this world that are exactly alike. Even within each language, there are various dialects that relate to various subcultures existing in each country. It is this uniqueness that we find while studying languages, that enhances our identity and understanding of our place in the world. Being multilingual enhances identities, by

Languages are more than a means to communicate with others. Learning languages is more than figuring out how to say, “where is the bathroom,” or “please” and “thank you.” They are a tool that can be used to enhance our identity and understanding of the world around us. The author Sandra Cisneros once said, “The more you speak more languages, the more you understand about yourself.” Learning other languages has made a difference in my life. Languages can push people beyond their comfort zone. Learning languages also helps break down barriers between people. Finally, understanding languages is beneficial to people and the community.

2017 HOPE Award Winning Essay, Conutinued

2018 HOPE AWARD WINNING ESSAY: LANGUAGE STUDY CREATES CULTURALLY AWARE SCHOLARS by Anthony Di Virgilio

HOPE AWARD 2018 SECOND PLACE: LANGUAGES, MORE THAN COMMUNICATION by Vanessa Cunha

percentage of the many people who pass through U.S. Customs every day.

The main reason why I chose this major and am taking the time to write this essay today, is because linguistics is used in everyone’s daily life across the globe. Whether it be written, orally, or mentally, language and linguistics is something that never goes away. So, if you’re on the fence about taking a new language or have any interest at all, my advice is simply DO IT! Take that first step and see firsthand how beneficial it really is. Learning a new language can be daunting and difficult to say the least, but in the long run, I can assure you that you will never regret taking that first step.

separating individuals from the overwhelming monolingual society that dominates so many countries. This extra exposure to additional languages, allows us to feel like we don’t just identify with one place in such a large world.

Travel is another great way to experience this feeling, by being exposed to diverse languages. Regardless of whether you speak the language or not, just hearing a new language being spoken provokes its own emotion. You may have no clue about what is being said while overhearing a conversation in a foreign county, but the thoughts and imagery running through your mind cannot be replicated in any other situation. Even talking with someone from another country who is visiting your own, is its own unique experience. It is in these situations that language study acts as a bridge between cultures.

Also, being multilingual can allow you to have a conversation with someone from a different country and culture you otherwise could not have. There is no way to measure the true importance that languages play in the role of everyday life. And perhaps, the reason that “the more you speak more languages, the more you understand about yourself,” is that language study best allows you to become a global citizen through exposure to diverse cultures.


PHI SIGMA IOTA HONORS SOCIETYThe world languages and cultures department is proud to announce that the following people have been inducted into the Phi Sigma Iota honors society in 2018. Inductees include undergraduate majors and minors, graduate students in Spanish, faculty members, and members of the community who have shown extreme dedication to the study and spreading of languages and cultures. New members are recruited by invitation from faculty based on exceptional academic achievement in foreign language study.

Students Morgan Bavosi Emily Adam Michael May Anna Synder Anthony Di Virgilio Michael Sullivan Susannah Geary Hannah Noseworthy

Faculty Professor Keja Valens Professor Yanitzia Canetti

Honorary Members Salvatore Bramante Allison Langlois

Induction Ceremony Guest Speaker Laura Assade

Comfort zones are places where people feel safe and are stress-free. People’s instinct is to be safe, and therefore they struggle to leave their comfort zone. However, there are many advantages that happen when one leaves this zone. Learning Spanish has helped me step out of my comfort zone. I constantly speak, write, and listen to others in English, which has made me feel comfortable using this language. Spanish, a language I am not fluent in, is different. At times, I do not know how to say something, or what is being said, which is an uncomfortable feeling. But, I understand that one of the best ways to improve my Spanish is by practicing it. Therefore, I put myself in situations where I do not know what to say. Even if I do not know how to express my ideas in Spanish, I will try, knowing that I have more to learn by trying than staying silent. Taking Spanish has made me learn that stepping outside my comfort zone will benefit me and lead to positive results.

Learning a language helps break down barriers between people. People are constantly interacting, talking, and communicating with one another. Often when people speak different languages and do not understand each other, there is a break in communication. This break causes a feeling of fear which leads to a barrier being put up. However, this barrier can be broken by learning languages. Even if people cannot speak the same language fluently, some communication is better than none. The more people try to communicate with one another, the more the feeling of fear will go away, which will lead to barriers being broken.

I plan to use my knowledge of Spanish to help myself and others. When I graduate, I would like to move to San Diego, California. San Diego is 17 miles from the border of Mexico and has a large Spanish-speaking population. Learning Spanish will be helpful and useful, whether I use it professionally at a job, or conversationally with friends. I also plan on using the language to help those around me. For example, if I am in San Diego, and someone who only speaks Spanish is lost, I will try to tell them where they need to go. Even though I may not be using the correct words or tense, it is still better to attempt to help someone than ignore them. Learning a language will improve my life as well as the lives of those around me.

Learning a language is more than figuring out how to say words or phrases. It is an opportunity to learn more about oneself and help those around us. Languages can bring people outside of their comfort zone and offer experiences that otherwise would not be possible. They also increase communication and break down barriers between people. Finally, learning a language helps people individually, but also benefits the community. Languages are more than a way to communicate with others; they are a gateway to a new world of opportunities.


Travel is perhaps the best way to learn because it provides a more memorable and unique experience to educate yourself. If I had never chosen to study abroad at the University of Mannheim in Germany last summer, as

a member of their International School of Humanities Summer School program, I may have never realized the importance of travel. It was learning about the various diverse cultures and life stories of my classmates and now lifelong friends from around the world, that inspired me to continue traveling. Prior to this experience, I had never left the country or even been on a plane. However, after this study abroad experience, I came back a more educated individual as I was now equipped to view situations from perspectives other than just my own.

Surprisingly, while I did learn a lot in the classroom, I feel I learned just as much or even more from adjusting to the daily lifestyle of a new country and socializing with Germans and my classmates from around the world. The importance of conversation as a means of education while traveling in a different country cannot be stressed enough, as you never know where it will lead.

Now I have two upcoming study abroad opportunities that I am very excited for.

TRANSLATION STUDIESby Kristine Doll

2017-2018 has been a very active year for the department’s translation studies and courses leading to the Certificate of Translation. We graduated our first cohort of Certificate in Translation students in May 2017. Congratulations graduates! We welcomed several guest speakers to our translation studies courses, including regional leaders of social welfare agencies, municipalities and Salem State University Certificate in Translation graduates.

TRAVEL AS THE BEST EDUCATIONby Laura Assade

Anthony and friends in Germany

During spring break, I am doing a directed study in Sicily, and at the end of the semester, I am traveling to Thessaloniki, Greece for coursework. Sicily will be my first time in Italy, which means a lot to me, as my family is Italian. I have studied the Italian language for over ten years now and it has become my major. My expectations for this trip include being fully immersed in the Italian culture while having the ability to utilize and enhance my Italian communication skills by speaking Italian in Italy. Furthermore, I am just as excited to travel to Thessaloniki, Greece, as I am currently taking a class that links this city with Salem, Massachusetts, where I go to school. Thanks to this course, I have learned about the importance of these two port cities through their trade histories. Trade gave these cities exposure to many different countries from around the world, which is why they remain important crossroads still today. I can’t wait to get to Greece and continue analyzing palimpsest and remnants of the past with students from the University of Aristotle.

If I had never chosen to travel while in college, I would in no way be as educated and aware of different cultures and perspectives as I am today.


Continuing our tradition of community service, our students have been active as translators throughout the local and regional communities. Our projects have included legal, historical, cultural and political services with direct impact on the lives of the people affected by these endeavors.

Our most recent projects include translating for the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, Wellspring House in Gloucester, and various businesses in Salem MA. Our partnership with the Essex County District Attorney’s Office began last year when we were asked to translate informational brochures from English to Spanish about the opioid crisis. The D.A.’s Office reached out to partner with us again this year on English to Spanish translations of new informational brochures about the drug crisis and specific treatment programs available.

In addition to translating, several of our students also served as bilingual election poll assistants throughout Salem during the recent city-wide elections.

For information about these projects or about the Certificate in Translation, please contact Kristine Doll, PhD ([email protected]).

2018-2019 FUTURE TEACHERS OF ITALIAN IN THE U.S.: CODY MULLINER HAS BEEN SELECTED TO GO TO LOMBARDY! by Anna Rocca

SITE stands for Study Intercultural Training Experience and is an internship opportunity for English-speaking students or recent graduates who wish to immerse themselves in the Italian language and culture while assisting local teachers and getting professional training on teaching methods. Students work part-time as English teaching assistants and get a monthly study scholarship (700/800 Euros) to assist secondary school teachers of English in Lombardy.

This year’s candidate was senior student Cody Mulliner, major in psychology and minor in Italian. Cody has been officially awarded a SITE

scholarship for an eight-month internship (1st Oct. 2018-31st May 2019) at the Institute ‘IIS Cremona’ in the city of Milano.

Cody has been very active within the SSU community and in the last two years, she showed exceptional leadership as the President of the Italian Club. Because of her outstanding class performance, in 2017, Cody has also been inducted in the International Foreign Language Honor Society Phi Sigma Iota. Brava Cody!

When asked about her upcoming experiences, Ms. Mulliner told us:

As my graduation approaches in May, I eagerly anticipate the year to come. This summer I will be doing cultural studies on palimpsests in Thessaloniki, Greece; theatre in London, England; and traditions in Italy, both in Sarteano, Tuscany and San Benedetto del Tronto. Following my return to the United States, I will be preparing to move to Italy to teach high school students for the SITE Program from September 2018-May 2019. I am endlessly grateful for the education and guidance I have received at Salem State University, namely from Professor Anna Rocca in the Italian Department and Professor David Gow in the Psychology Department. I am excited to pursue travel and immersion into new cultures, bettering my understanding of myself and others.


WORLD LANGUAGES AND CULTURES DEPARTMENTCERTIFICATE IN TRANSLATION• Jobs for qualified translators are on the rise, with expected employment growth of

46 percent from 2012-2022 (U.S. Department of Labor Statistics).• Our Certificate in Translation will give you the knowledge, skills and experience to

begin a career in the field of translation.• Complete 18-21 credits of coursework in translation studies (WLC 300 and WLC

501), plus advanced coursework in English and a target language (Spanish, French or Italian). Many of the courses can overlap with major, minor or general education requirements.

For more information go to salemstate.edu/translation

lingua franca spring 2018 04 18 -...

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