NetNews
How many ways can you say "St. Lawrence?" During the celebration of National Foreign Language Week on campus (March 3-7), you can actually count them.

Sara Hofschulte, assistant director of off-campus programs in the University's Center for International and Intercultural Studies, surveyed faculty and staff to determine how many languages are spoken and understood on campus. She received responses from 67 people, indicating familiarity with 35 different languages. Each person who responded got a sign, made by Hofschulte, to put on their door for the week's celebration, letting visitors know what languages are spoken and/or understood.

The celebration is a way to increase awareness about the need for language education.

According to the results of the survey -- which are not comprehensive and do not include students -- Languages spoken, read, or understood at St. Lawrence are:

Amharic

Arabic

Aramaic

Bengali

Catalan

Chinese

Czech

Dutch

French

German

Greek

Hebrew

Hindi

Italian

Japanese

Kikuyu

Korean

Kuria

Latin

Mutu

Nepali

Newari

Norwegian

Portuguese

Quechua

Russian

Shona

Spanish

Swahili

Swedish

Tlingit

Tok Pisin

Ukranian

Wolof

Yiddish

One other note -- the languages above are in addition to English.

Posted: March 4, 2003