Patrick Cox

Patrick Cox

Patrick Cox runs The World's language desk. He reports and edits stories about the globalization of English, the bilingual brain, translation technology and more. He also hosts The World's podcast on language, The World in Words.

More linguist soldiers, selling beer in North Korea, and a beach in Ghana

July 9, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment
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In this week’s podcast, we begin with an update on Dan Choi, the Arabic-speaking lieutenant who faced a military discharge because he spoke out about this sexual orientation. Choi also explains why learning a language within the military (in his case at West Point) is so different from going to a language school on civvy street. We also have a report on a small Pentagon program to attract foreign language speakers.

nkbeerdude

Next up, a new TV ad out of North Korea that invites you to drink the local brew. This ad — one of very few in the Hermit Kingdom — clocks in at two and half minutes long. More like an informercial really. And just like an informercial, it’s full of dodgy claims: this beer relieves stress, improves health and lengthens your life. But in its pseudo-heroic way, it makes its point. It even made me thirsty, and curious about exactly how Kim Jong Il-approved beer tastes. Outsiders who’ve tried it generally like it. Apparently, it’s sour, bitter and cloudy. A bit like a night in Pyongyang. This Taedonggang‘s for you, or something.

After sinking a couple of cold ones, we give thanks to activist listeners — yes, you! — in Gagauz, Tongan, Czech and many other languages. The thank yous are to everyone who posted links to the podcast, blogged about it, or wrote a review in iTunes. Tusind tak!

Finally, as Barack Obama heads to Ghana, we head to the beach in Ghana. Not just any beach but a place whose name is hotly debated. Another iteration of how place names play a key part in forging history and memory.

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Discussion

3 comments for “More linguist soldiers, selling beer in North Korea, and a beach in Ghana”

  • http://www.pint-o-politics.com Steven Stottlemyre

    Patrick,

    In this week’s The World In Words (# 61), you commented that the majority of linguists discharged from the military under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy were officers.

    That statement is incorrect. The majority of linguists discharged as a result of their sexual orientation have been enlisted personnel. Furthermore, just to let you and your listeners know, the overwhelming majority of linguists in all branches of the U.S. military are enlisted men and women, NOT officers.

    Anyway, I love your show, and have been trying to get as many people who read Pint-o-Politics.com as possible to listen to the podcast on a regular basis.

    Sincerely,

    Steven Stottlemyre
    (former U.S. Army Arabic Linguist — enlisted)

    • Patrick Cox

      Steven, thanks for your comment. Glad you like the podcast.

      I didn’t mean to suggest that enlisted men and womem were unaffected by Don’t Ask Don’t Tell — apologies if that’s what came across. (For the record, I didn’t say “the majority of linguists” discharged by the military under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell were officers. I said this: “Many of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell linguists were officers — plus, a lot of them learned their languages while they were in the service.”) I was trying to compare the military’s investment in language learning and profiency with a new pilot program that simply seeks to recruit native speakers of foreign languages. One of the problems with the program is that it appears popular with speakers of only a few languages, for example Korean. I doubt that it has attracted many, if any, native speakers of Arabic, Persian or Urdu.

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