International Focus

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November/December 2009

In This Issue

Feature Article: India

Language and Culture in the News

Resources

Upcoming International Events

About International Focus

"Don't tell me how educated you are,
tell me how much you have traveled."

~ Mohammed~

Greetings!

I hope you were able to come celebrate with us at last month's 24th International Festival of Raleigh. We welcomed over 21,000 attendees who enjoyed the wonderful food, dance, music and crafts presented by our international groups.

Click these links to see some great photos of the Festival by our photography sponsors Global Village Studio and Luster Studios.

This newsletter marks the first in a series that will highlight one of our international groups in each issue. Please enjoy this edition's feature article on the Hindu Society of North Carolina and some facts about their country of origin: India. Thanks very much to Yash Garg, longtime board member of the HSNC and co-founder and chair of the Heritage India Association of North Carolina, for all the great information she has shared to make this possible. Flags in Globe

I hope you and yours have a very safe and happy holiday season and a wonderful start to 2010; and wish you, as always, the very best from all of us here at International Focus,

Clodagh Bastian
Executive Director

The Hindu Society of North Carolina was started by a dedicated couple; Dr. G.D. Sharma and Mrs. Saroj Sharma, who began to celebrate festival and religious observations at their Raleigh home and later rented a space for worship in downtown Raleigh. After witnessing the interest and growing needs of Indian people in the area, they founded the Hindu Society of North Carolina along with seven other members. Ten years later, a Hindu Temple was built in Morrisville to accommodate the area's growing Indian population, which now tops 10,000. The Temple is host to a variety of religious & cultural celebrations and observances throughout the year, and remains a hub for Triangle residents of Indian heritage to convene, and for other community members to connect with their Indian neighbors.

Indian Children at 2009 International Festival of Raleigh

Indian Children at 2009 International Festival of Raleigh

Young Indian Participants at the 24th International Festival of Raleigh.

India
Population: 1,150,000,000
Language: Hindi and fourteen other officially recognized regional languages
Weather: Varied, with climatic subtypes ranging from Tropical to Desert
Religion: Mainly Hinduism (over 80%), Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism and Christianity

The population of the subcontinent is diverse - some are very rich, some middle class; but there is still a large number of poor people. India has put great emphasis on education, and the economy of the subcontinent is rapidly growing, with industry, technology, and also agriculture are contributing to boost GDP.

The growth of democratic ideas and the lifelong efforts of leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi have led to a gradual weakening of the caste system.

Throughout the continent, it is the parents who arrange the marriage. Even in modern days when young people choose their partners, the parents solemnize their children's weddings.

Clothing in the subcontinent is varied - regional influences create different fashions and styles of clothing. Various regional outfits are quite elegant and colorful. The sari (6 yards of silk or cotton or any other light fiber) is widely worn by women all over India.

In India, the world's largest canal system irrigates millions of acres and has much improved modern day agriculture and made the country self-sufficient in food production.

Language and Culture in the News

Babies are Found to Cry in their Mother Tongue
They may not be old enough to talk, but babies less than a week old know how to cry in their native language. Researchers have known that infants have the ability to mimic speech starting around 12 weeks of age. Babies also show a preference for spoken language that mirrors the rhythm, melody and intensity patterns of their mother tongue.
Read the full article...

World's First Arabic Speaking Robot Constructed in UAE
Owners of robots who have felt frustrated by their humanoid companions' inability to say marhaban, ma salama, shukran and mabrook may soon be able to end their suffering. Named after a 11th Century Muslim doctor and philosopher, the world's first Arabic speaking robot has come to life in the Gulf.
Read the full article...

North Carolina Cherokee Take Steps To Preserve Language
Immersion classes teach the youngest tribal members the Cherokee language, a language many of their own parents didn't speak as children.
Read the full article . . .

Internet Set for Language Revolution
The world body controlling internet addresses agreed on Friday to allow countries to mark their territory not only with their own abbreviations, such as .uk or .fr, but with their own alphabets as well.
Icann's willingness to add top-level country codes in Chinese, Korean, Cyrillic and Arabic characters ends a monopoly by Latin letters that has endured since the web's beginning and limited its appeal.
Read the full article . . .

Living Abroad Boosts Creativity
Living in another country can be a cherished experience, but new research suggests it might also help expand minds. This research, published by the American Psychological Association, is the first of its kind to look at the link between living abroad and creativity.
Read the full article . . .

Digital IDs Make Clearing Customs Easier
For the first time, U.S. travelers flying overseas may avoid customs lines at a foreign airport by swiping a digital ID card. An agreement between the Homeland Security Department and the Netherlands allows approved U.S. citizens to speed through customs checks at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.
Read the full article . . .

Bilinguals Are Unable To 'Turn Off' A Language Completely, Study Shows
According to a recent study published in Psychological Science, it appears humans are not actually capable of "turning off" another language entirely, and that knowledge of a second language actually has a continuous impact on native-language reading..
Read the full article . . .

Shanghai Pushes Campaign to Wipe out "Chinglish"
The city will start the next phase of its campaign to eradicate Chinglish in public signs next month to ensure an intelligent linguistic landscape for the millions of visitors coming to town for the 2010 World Expo
Read the full article . . .

Russian Officials Face Fines for Poor Language Use
Russian officials and politicians will face fines for mispronouncing words or using coarse language in interviews under a new law being drafted by the mass communications ministry. "It is unacceptable... that officials freely use indecent language when speaking on the air. We have to fight against that," Tatyana Petrova, a member of a government Russian Language commission, told the Trud daily.
Read the full article . . .

Arabic Translator for Four Presidents Calls it a Career
Gamal Helal, the longtime Arabic translator to four presidents and six secretaries of state, wrapped up his last day at the State Department on Thursday.
Helal was one of the only constants in U.S. Mideast policy over the past 19 years, helping the United States navigate both wars with Iraq, the war between Israel and Lebanon, and Israeli operations in Gaza.
Read the full article . . .

Resources

XLingo is a free language exchange site where visitors can find language exchange partners from around the world to practice and improve their language skills, create blogs and share ideas in chatrooms and forums.

The Amateur Traveler is an online travel show that helps you find the best places to visit. It includes both a weekly audio podcast and a twice monthly video podcast. It also includes travel news and resources.

What to Tip in 77 Countries is a reference chart on tipping around the globe.

Words Have No Borders: Student Voices on Immigration, Language and Culture is the second of a three-part series celebrating the power of writing. It contains personal letters and reflections from high school students on language learning and immigrant experiences, with a special focus on how learning to write and learning to write in English opens up new worlds for the country's growing population of non-native speakers.

Languagegeek provides free fonts and keyboard layouts which try to cover all of the characters (alphabetical letters/Syllabics) necessary for writing Native languages.

The Latino Acculturation and Health Project seeks to understand what life is like for Latino adolescents who were born in a foreign country and immigrated to the United States, and examines how these adolescents and their parents adjust to life in the U.S.

Based on interviews with more than 35,000 American adults, the extensive U.S. Religious Landscape Survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life details the religious makeup, religious beliefs and practices as well as social and political attitudes of the American public. This online section includes dynamic tools that complement the full report.

Guideline For Successful First Time Cross Cultural Negotiations In Any Culture is a basic overview for preparing for cross-cultural negotiations.

About International Focus

International Focus, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with the mission to promote awareness and appreciation of the diverse cultures in this area, and to make cultures accessible to each other through art, community and education. International Focus strives to be a resource for native North Carolinians and those from other parts of the world through information, outreach and its annual celebration of multiculturalism: The International Festival of Raleigh.

This newsletter and all content and information contained herein are the property of International Focus, Inc. and may not be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of the publisher.