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It was nice to have the class winding down at the end of the semester with culture project presentations. It gave me a chance to glimpse into the richness of several different cultures of the world. These projects not only illustrated specific cultural points, but also showed me a little bit about the person who presented--where his or her interests lie and what they found fascinating. I think a part of understanding culture deals with personal experience and although we weren't sitting in a foreign country learning about its culture, these presentations did give us students the opportunity and freedom to choose something that we were willing to spend time on without leaving the classroom. 

I thought the presentations touched upon a variety of cultures, giving me a chance to kind of compare and contrast the cultures. It was interesting to learn about Bhangra and the Punjabi music industry, the social importance of hookah in Turkey, different foods and India's Dalits. 

It was surprising to see that some students actually mentioned things from their past presentations. For example, the Korean group had mentioned the Korean Wave a few times before during our presentation on Korean beauty. I don't really know if anyone remembered, but if they did then they could have thought "oh hey, I have a vague understanding of this." I feel that it was built up to that point. Although we were all studying very different target languages, we already had some knowledge of whatever culture was being presented about because of past presentations and class discussions. Incorporating previously made points and observations brought the class full circle. It also called for audience participation. In a way, the students who paid attention were able to make those connections to things that we had all collectively talked about in the class before.

Culture Post #8:  Reflect on what you learned from the cultural presentations.

     I really enjoyed seeing other people's cultural presentations!  Even though I didn't know some of the language-specific words, most students did a great job putting them into a cultural context that I understood.  The topics were incredibly diverse -- ranging from entertainment to food to henna -- and I loved being able to see a piece of each person's culture.  With regard to today's presentations, I learned a lot from the presentation about Afghan Star because for me, as someone deeply interested in human rights in the Middle East/South Asia, it was interesting to consider the incredible role of the media in shaping the movement towards furthering the rights of women in Afghanistan.  I never really thought about how a pop music/TV show truly can be an equalizer of people -- with everyone coming together to bond over something so universal.  In the face of so many failed aid policies or debacles involving Western initiatives for girls/women in Afghanistan (e.g. last year's jarring allegations against Greg Mortensen), it is wonderful to see something rooted in Afghan culture that is creating community, as well as progress for women.  I also really liked seeing the diverse perspectives on Korean culture -- from food to marriage to the vibrant entertainment industry! 

        With regard to my topic rooted in health/human rights, I loved being able to take the time to pursue and further the research that I am passionate about.  It was great to be given the opportunity to intersect my interest in Hindi with my passion for learning about issues of health and caste in India.  I learned so much about my target culture with regard to complex issues of caste, class, and gender.  I also learned a lot more about how intricate and complex the issue of maternal health is -- not just rooted in biomedical factors, but as something that requires an understanding of cultural factors (caste, physical touch, gender, etc) for these maternal health discrepancies to be solved in India.

        In reflecting upon the cultural presentations, it was wonderful to see how passionate everyone was about learning more about their target culture and about teaching us about an element of their target culture -- truly a multifaceted cultural exchange!

In response to: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/07/08/what-s-in-a-word.html

This article was incredibly interesting. I wish we had discussed it in class (briefly). The examples that the author brought up were incredible and the tests that were run were pure genius. I felt myself questioning my perception based on the words that I choose on a daily basis. I wonder if slang has the same effect!?!?

I believe that knowing some bits of history in your target language can help you learn the language. I believe that this historical knowledge gives you some what of an insider perspective into the culture and past of the language and it will enable you to relate and see a purpose in pursuing the language. I feel as though this will not help immensily however any help is good help. 

The reason I don't see this as a tremendous help to a language learner is that the history has no value to the language. What I mean by the previous sentence is that the history does not translate into vocab for instance and if the knowledge makes you learn historical terms they are hardly practical in modern society. 

It might be the youth in me that sees the boring lectures about history that I will never need to know or even care about. I see a small benefit when it comes to cultural knowledge but it should be kept to a minimum as mentioned before. I might just be stubborn on this topic. My views are pretty simple. I feel that history if taught in a language class should only be used in conjunction with vocab and grammar that will be practical in a modern setting.

In response to: http://babel2.richmond.edu/web2/sdlap/BrownCh7.pdf

This article was really quite stimulating. I had been thinking of this very topic (in a less lavish manor) during class. How do stereotypes come about? I feel as though the author was suggesting that stereotypes are a product of our different view points and those view points become references for judging others. I feel as though this is pretty spot on. When you think about it, it makes sense. For example, I have a soft spoken friend and he and I were talking to a girl from London. She was just below my voice when it came to loudness. After talking to her and walking away my friend said that she was obnoxious and when I probed (because I didn't think she was) he said that she was just really loud like all of the people from England. I was not shocked that he said this because he rarely speaks and when he does it is hard to understand him because he is so soft spoken. I told him what I thought and we moved on. Little did I realize we were portraying this article perfectly. Looking back the entire situation makes sense. I found this article kind of a breath of fresh air in that it presented an argument that I had never thought and made it convincing enough form me to think of examples in my own life. 

This article was a good read and spot on.

In response to: http://babel2.richmond.edu/web2/sdlap/BrownCh8.pdf

After reading this and discussing in class I have drawn some ideas that I found to be key in regards to Communicative Competence. 

My main take-away from the article is that without context a sentence can have a variety of meanings and without learning the various styles of pronunciation you can end up in some sticky situations. The author of the article presented a statement about not liking a dinner. Without context you wouldn't know if the person was saying it in apology or in distaste. I found that interesting, without reading further I thought back to when I took Spanish in High School and my experience just thinking one sentence at a time. I felt as though I was operating like a computer. I then began to read further and sure enough the author mentions that most classes are not taught with context in mind.

This presented another chain of thought. When a person is immersed in a language they are forced to take context into account, could this be why people tend to learn a language with more ease when immersed? I think the logic of it makes sense, when you take context into play you think like a native and thus learn the language from its roots. If you learn a language in a classroom you tend to do it mechanically sentence by sentence and you are not really flowing ideas together seamlessly.

Overall I thought the article was interesting and thought provoking. I would like to see if there are any follow up articles that maybe delve further into the classroom with data that supports the claim one way or the other. 

Below I have attached the PowerPoint for my culture project:

MLC 110 Culture Project

The title for my culture project was Afghan Star : The Shaping of Contemporary Afghan Culture. I focused my project on how the reality television singing contest Afghan Star has impacted modern culture in Afghanistan. I examined the culture present in Afghanistan prior to the creation of the show, and how the show has since affected the culture of Afghanistan. I found that the show has been instrumental in leading a movement by the youth against the extremist views of the Taliban. Moreover, I researched into the background of the creator of Afghan Star, Saad Mohseni. Admittedly, I had never heard of Mohseni until beginning my research for the project; however, I soon realized that Mohseni is having a tremendous impact within Afghan society. Mohseni runs the nation's largest media group (MOBY Group) and largest television network (Tolo TV). Arguably, the influence Mohseni has had on Afghanistan by introducing modernity through media is just as powerful as Afghan Star. Although Afghan Star has met disapproval from members of Islamic groups, the Taliban, and members of the government, the show continues to have a strong impact that resonates within Afghanistan's young population; of which nearly 70% are under the age of 25. 

My sources for the presentation were:

Fight for future of Afghanistan's culture plays out on TV (CNN)

Taliban tries to stop the music in Afghanistan -- again (McClatchy)

Lunch with the FT: Saad Mohseni (Financial Times)

Afghan Idol: A Subversive TV Hit (TIME)

The Networker (The New Yorker)

Afghan government struggling to keep support of Islamic council (The Washington Post)

Also, I wanted to highlight the two videos I had shown during my presentation which can be found through the following links:

Afghan Star 2011/12 Grand Finale

Saad Mohseni on the Daily Show (06/10/09)

The following is the list of Dari words I used during my presentation. 

music                          موسیقی

song                                بىت

customs                         راواج

In response to: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/science/how-immersion-helps-to-learn-a-new-language.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=learning%20language&st=cse

I found this puzzling in the fact that I myself have not seen these results haha. I have tried to learn Spanish in the past with no success at all. I have been working on Chinese but without practice you can not become fluent like a native speaker. I understand that the article is about the brain and how we process a language and whether it is better to be immersed or learn it in a classroom. I feel as though this has little impact on language learning. 

Being immersed and being forced to speak the language in order to communicate makes a person think like a native in a more natural way rather than picturing conjugations and characters in their head then translating them to English or vise versa. I think it is an interesting read but without more data and a longer study I see no validity in believing that the learning a language in a classroom versus being immersed is the same.

The "Culture Shock" video was interesting to watch. I took it to heart because I will be going abroad in the fall. I found that the people who aren't shocked by another culture are not getting the full effect of being abroad. I liked how the video focused on different aspects of culture shock and the students that were interviewed often presented solutions to the problems that were being discussed. 

The main example of culture shock that I observe on a regular bases from international students studying at Richmond for a semester is the tendency to clump together with other international students. There are a few exceptions however for the most part this is true. I noticed that the international students who have meshed with the rest of the student body are often connected through club activities. I remember in the video one of the students said that getting involved in extracuricular activities helped him meet locals and have more friends outside of the international group. I found this particularly helpful. I will most likely be rooming in an international dorm while abroad in Beijing and I now know not to just hang out with the people in my dorm but also natives.

I was also able to relate to the stereotype discussion. I have been abroad to visit relatives and when talking to them some are curious if the stereotypes of America are true. This isn't the case for just America but all countries have some stereotypes. In the video some of the stereotypes the students came to the University with interested me. I feel as though taking stereotypes with you abroad shows a closed mind. I would like to go abroad and be able to completely accept the foreign culture.

Overall I thought "Culture Shock" was an interesting video that cleared up a lot of perceptions and thoughts that any student going abroad will feel at some point during their career abroad. I found it helpful to the point where I will remember the tips for my trip abroad.

Learning%20Plan.docx

http://prezi.com/limjlwqenwjb/korean-food-and-cuisine-culture/

Here is my prezi - YUM!

Culture competence is an interesting topic. I find that many people in the United States don't have a very high cultural competence. I define cultural competence as a persons ability to interact and accept someone of a different culture. 

I was brought up in Indianapolis, IN. I found that most people who were close to the city could interact with me and see me as an equal and recognize my heritage. However as you moved farther into the more rural part of Indiana I was not greeted with the nice smiles that I have been accustomed to. I feel that culture competence is something that you gain by experience and empathy. Most people who have been abroad will be completely open to new cultures(unless they had a horrible encounter which they might still carry on their shoulder). 

I have found that cultural competence is also key when going abroad. I am going abroad in the Fall to Beijing, China. I am very excited but at the same time I am nervous. I have understand Chinese culture in order not to embarrass myself and look culturally incompetent. I have been in situations where a friend has made a culturally insensitive comment and it made the entire group seem brutish. 

A person could take an entire course on cultural competence and still not cover everything. I feel like culture competence and worldliness go hand and hand.

I think Cultural Dimensions are interesting especially their connection with someones ability to learn a language. If my interpretation of Cultural Dimensions it means ones surroundings and facilities while learning a language. I take this further and split this into two different categories, native speakers and non native.

When thinking of cultural dimensions pertaining to a native speaker it is pretty easy to see. They are fully immersed in the language from birth and that is the only language that they are able to communicate with. It is also a language that is taught formally or informally at some point in their young lives.

However non native speakers the dimensions of language learning are often significantly different and it shows in their ability to pick up another language. Most of the time a second language is taught at a middle school level (United States) however students are only in class for a short portion of the day and are not able to continue practicing outside of class. This makes it incredibly hard to become fluent in another language. The many dimensions of an American student learning a different language are vast. For instance a first generation American could grow up learning English in school however come home and speak a different language with parents or family. When that student goes to study that particular language in school they are at an advantage since they can practice more than a student without cultural ties. Without these cultural ties the language is often hard to connect to and thus disheartening to the learner.

I feel as though cultural dimensions of language learning are an integral part of learning a language and without ties to the culture you hope to learn the language of it is hard to become immersed without feeling disheartened.

ਸਤਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ। sat ri akal = Hello/goodbye

ਤੁਹਾਡਾ ਕੀ ਹਾਲ ਹੈ tu hada ki hal he? = How are you?

ਠੀਕ ਹਾਂ। ਤੁਸੀਂ ਕਿੱਧਾਂ tik ha tusi kidda? = Fine how are you?

ਤੁਹਾਡਾ ਨਾਂ ਕੀ ਹੈ tuda na ki he? = What is your name?

ਮੇਰਾ ਨਾਂ ... ਹੈ। meda na...he = my name is ...

I reviewed these words, I also went over a few other phrases to make sure I knew them verbally. These are some of the most commonly used phrases in Punjab. If you know these you will be able to build a rapport with native speakers.

Some of the other phrases:

Some of these are different than the ones above but the difference is in formality and region.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N17C-JjP1U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDhmcmAkJTY&feature=relmfu

ਭੰਗੜਾ =Bhangra

ਤੂੰਬੀ = Tumbi

ਸਰੰਗੀ= Sarangi

ਢੋਲ = Dhol (drum)

ਹਿਪ ਹੋਪ =hip hop

ਏਲੇਕ੍ਤ੍ਰੋਨਿਕ ਮੁਸਿਕ =electronic music

ਗੁਇਤਾਰ =guitar

In addition to the previous words I found a video explaining a particular term that applies to Bhangra, I apologize in advance( the video is mainly in Punjabi).

I plan on using these terms in my cultural project and presentation.

For my third artifact I am going to introduce some family terms. Considering I wanted to learn how to read and write Dari better, I felt displaying my ability to type in Dari would be beneficial. However, take discretion since I am still learning how to write, and there is the possibility that I may have made some misspellings. Note that the asterisks (*) indicate that the male and female spellings of the word are the same. Additionally, Dari is read right-to-left:

Aunt (maternal)                                                        خاله

Aunt (paternal)                                                          ءمه

Brother                                                                  بىرادر

Brother-in-law                                                    خىسىر بره

Cousin (male / paternal)                                       بچه کاکا

Cousin (male / maternal)                                      ماما خىل

Cousin (female / paternal)                                   دختر کاکا

Cousin (female / maternal)                                  دختر ماما

Daughter                                                                 دختر

Family                                                                    فامعل

Father                                                                       پدر

Granddaughter*                                                      نواسه

Grandson*                                                              نواسه

Grandfather                                                         پدر کلان

Grandmother                                                      مادر کلان

Mother                                                                     مادر

Nephew*                                                          بعرلدر زاده

Niece*                                                              بعرلدر زاده

Parents                                                                 والعدىن

Sister                                                                     خواهر

Sister-in-law                                                            خاشنه

Son                                                                           پسر

Son-in-law                                                                داماد

Uncle (maternal)                                                        کاکا

Uncle (paternal)                                                         ماما

I have looked into this topic through a couple of sources. I asked my grandfather and father about time in Punjab (where Punjabi is spoken (along with Pakistan)). They both agreed that most people in the rural communities still view time based upon sunlight and farming. Where the men will get up early in order to tend to the fields and the women would make food and sometimes work in the field. 

However, in the cities and their suburbs time has become "westernized" where the people operate on a more business/regimented time schedule. This is generally the time standards of any developing country however Punjab has a more relaxed idea of time that most eastern/middle eastern countries have. 

Priorities are often worked around meals because meals are very important. Often times Punjabi spend a large part of their day eating and talking. In the U.S. meals are eaten quickly in order to do something else however in India for the large majority, eating is a time to relax and talk. 

I have also noticed that Punjabi males often stay up late into the night and drink. One of the reasons is it gets very hot and the night is the coolest part of the day to relax outside. Another is gossip and unwind. The communities are often more tight nit because they get together at night or during meals. This comes about because they have such a relaxed attitude towards time.

For my fourth artifact I decided to incorporate aspects of both of my personal goals; that is, to speak Dari better conversationally, and to interpret Dari, and be able to write it down. Below I have attached a short conversation between my language partner (Susan), fellow language learner (Drew), and myself. Unfortunately, the sound quality is not the best and there is some ambient noise (it would probably be best if you turned your volume up higher than usual). Additionally, I have transcribed our conversation in Dari. I will use the following abbreviations for each speaker Susan (S), Drew (D), and for myself (P):

Conversation in Dari.mp3

(D)                                                                صلام                                

(P)                                                           سالام درئو                          

(S)                                                          چتغر استعد                           

(D)                                                                 خقب                                  

(S)                                                          چتغر استعد                            

(P)                                                       من خوب استم                         

(S)                                                           بسر خوب                              

(P)                                                         تچتغر استعد                        

(S)                                                              خوباستم                            

(D)                                            شقما عمروز چء مکاناد              

(S)                                            مغن مروز سنف مهرقم              

(S)                                            شقما عمروز چء مکاناد             

(P)                  من سنف رفتم. الا من نامفءمقم چهء مکءناد

(P)                                         شعت من سئپپغرت مهرقام

(S)                                                                 خوب

(S)                                                        شقما عمروز

(D)                                       من مرقز شاب بازار مهرئم

(P)                                                            کقجا است

(D)                                                من نامافم کقجا است

(S)                                              مرقز چاند شمب است

(D)                                                    مرقز جاما است

(S)                                                مرقز اوه سارد است

(P)                                                     اوه خوب ناست

(S)                                           اوه سارد تو خغش داردء

(D)                                                                     نا

(P)                                        اوا ٣شامب شعت گرم است

(S)                                                                    بلا

(P)                                                            ٠٩ درجا

(D)                                                          خگب است

I hope to do my Culture project on Punjabi music in order to gain a better understanding of how culture and music are related. I feel that I would have enough insight in the topic to be able to dig into the culture and show many different things via the music itself. I enjoy music a lot and this would be the perfect fit for me. I would also gain knowledge pertaining to Punjab and modern day Punjabi through the music. I feel as though this looks simple on the outside but there are a lot of things you can pull from music and then relate to a culture.

I really like music so I decided to teach someone a few Korean words using a song. Most people are familiar with the "head, shoulders, knees and toes" song, even in parts around the world. I thought it was a good way to teach new vocabulary through this song because it's a simple, familiar song that wouldn't make learning another language too difficult. So the activity is quite simple, all you have to do is replace the body parts in English with the same body parts in Korean. I've posted the lyrics in Korean below.

머리 (meo-ri), 어깨 (eo-ggae), 무릎 (moo-reup), 발 (pal), 무릎 (moo-reup), 발 (pal)

Head, shoulders, knees, toes

머리 (meo-ri), 어깨 (eo-ggae), 무릎 (moo-reup), 발 (pal), 무릎 (moo-reup), 발 (pal)

Head, shoulders, knees, toes

눈 (noon), 귀 (gwee), 입과 (eep-gwa), 코 (koh)

Eyes, ears, mouth, nose

머리 (meo-ri), 어깨 (eo-ggae), 무릎 (moo-reup), 발 (pal), 무릎 (moo-reup), 발 (pal)

Head, shoulders, knees, toes

In conclusion, I taught my younger brother these Korean words for body parts over spring break and he picked it up quite quickly. He had trouble with the pronunciation because he's only ever studied French, but other than that it was easy to memorize, he said.