Language: A National Imperative

Each year a university committee chooses a a “first year book” that all entering freshmen are asked to read and be prepared to discuss. This year’s selection was the best seller, The World Is Flat, by Thomas L. Friedman. This jarring exploration of the globalization of people, and its implication to our prosperity, security and future, highlights the critical importance in today’s world of understanding other people— their language, values and culture.

Anyone who travels the globe realizes quickly the sheer numbers of people who speak English proficiently. This may have lulled Americans into deemphasizing other languages and cultures as an educational priority. This deficiency has come home to roost with the conflict of cultures that engages the Middle East, Europe, Asia, South East Asia and elsewhere. The federal government and the university as well are moving to increase significantly the study of languages and cultures that are deemed critical—with Chinese, Russian, Persian and Arabic high on the list.

Clearly, a much broader and deeper understanding of language and culture other than English is critical for the United States. “There is no such thing as international business anymore, there is just business,” says Richard Brecht, executive director of the university’s Center for Advanced Study of Language, in reference to maintaining the country’s economic competitiveness. “And when American military lives are at stake on foreign soil, or we think about homeland security, then increasing the nation’s foreign language capacity is a vital national security priority.”

At the University of Maryland, new research to better understand language—how a second language is learned; how the human brain perceives language; how to quickly translate foreign languages using new technologies—is at the forefront of scientific discovery by our faculty.

Our commitment to language research at Maryland is rooted deeply with the university’s Department of Linguistics, recognized among the top nationally. Our Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, which joins faculty from linguistics, psychology, hearing and speech sciences, English, biology and computer science, is bridging the gap between theoretical, computational, psychological and neurological models of language. Added strengths include a Ph.D. program in Second Language Acquisition and the expected collaborative dialogue involving language and culture in the new Center for Persian Studies and The Confucius Institute.

Language—in its many facets including culture and cognition—is an institutional priority underpinned by some of the finest programs on language research in the country. As one of the nation’s leading public research universities, we are making a difference in language on a global scale.
     –Dan Mote, President

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