Heritage Languages
July 9, 2023
Hosted by The Express Yourself! STAR On-Air Teen Team
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Guest Information
Episode Description
What is a heritage language and how can we save them from extinction? Host Keerthi tells us that the first language in the world is considered to be Sumerian and the most spoken languages in the world are: English(over 1.4 billion speakers), Mandarin (1.1 billion + speakers), Hindi (602+ million speakers), Spanish (548+ million speakers), and French (280 million speakers). Keerthi then interviews teen Cooper Lender with his Heritage Language Story Project supporting heritage language speakers in recognizing the value of maintaining their home language. The project website (https://www.heritagelanguagestory.org/) provides resources for heritage language speakers and encourages them to share the story of their language experiences. Maintaining a heritage language can be difficult and many heritage languages are declining. The project’s goal is to have the stories shared on the website normalize the difficulty of maintaining a home language. support other heritage language speakers in finding ways to maintain their home language and highlight the important value of heritage languages. Kevin Choo provides a fascinating segment of A.I. and Us, where he shares two main ways A.I. can assist with overcoming language barriers; by either directly translating or assisting with language education. A.I.-based translators can learn from what people who are using the app are inputting themselves and can adapt to any specific language patterns or nuances that are often used but aren’t listed in any source documents. They aren’t useful for conversations. By combining translators with augmented reality, an automatic sight-translator can translate whatever you see. A.I. is a tool created to brighten the future of mankind, and it will be useful to maintaining and learning heritage languages. Bio: Cooper Lender Cooper Lender, a high school senior, is bilingual and passionate about language acquisition and maintenance. He speaks English, Spanish, and is learning Japanese. He loves learning about different languages and feels that learning a language is key to really understanding other cultures and histories. Cooper participated in the Reischauer Scholars program at Stanford University, where he learned more about Japanese culture and US-Japan relations. He started the Heritage Language Story Project (https://www.heritagelanguagestory.org/) that encourages heritage speakers to share their story about their experiences with their home language. He hopes to support heritage language speakers in seeing the value in maintaining their home languages. • Follow us: https://www.starstyleradio.com/expressyourselfteenradio • https://www.facebook.com/ExpressYourselfTeenRadio/ • https://www.facebook.com/BTSYAcharity/ • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/expressyourselfradio/ • https://twitter.com/cynthiabrian • https://substack.com/@cynthiabrian
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Express Yourself! is an entertaining adolescent fusion program where passion, productivity, and possibility populate the airwaves. Produced by Starstyle Productions, LLC as an international outreach program of Be the Star You Are! charity, the radio program, Express Yourself! is a show for, by, and about teens. Hosted by teens and teenage field reporters from around the country, Express Yourself! is THE destination for teens to be heard. Within the walls of the young adult community, listeners are uplifted and encouraged to be the stars of your own life. Through collaboration and conversation, a global campus of young people express their views. Topics include anything that kids talk about-books, music, making a difference, technology, school, art, humor, writing, tough talks, health, sports, films, family, friends, foes, fashion, and fun. Come play in STAR country and Express Yourself!, Sundays at 3 PM Pacific on VoiceAmerica Empowerment.
The Express Yourself! STAR On-Air Teen Team
Broadcasting since 2011, twenty-seven young people from around the United States have regularly shared their passions and interests as hosts and reporters on Express Yourself! These teens are not afraid of the tough topics and thrill at the opportunity of interviewing a variety of guests including authors, actors, Olympians, scientists, musicians, poets, and experts of varied disciplines. As volunteers with Be the Star You Are! 501 c3 charity (http://www.BTSYA.org) the Express Yourself! teens are accomplished youth striving to make a difference on our planet and are dedicated to sharing ideas while having fun and giving a voice to the voiceless. Meet our STARS at http://www.ExpressYourselfTeenRadio.com.
