LinguaFest offers smorgasbord of languages
(News Gazette, 26 March, 1999)
Free Classes offer a taste of 50-plus cultures
Ever had a hankering to learn Spanish or German but just never found the time? How about something more exotic -- like Swahili or Esperanto?
Linguists of all ages and abilities can sample more than 50 languages and cultures at champaign-Urbana's first-ever Festival of Languages on Saturday. The festival is scheduled for 10 AM to 7 PM at the University of Illinois Foreign Languages Buildijng, 707 S. Mathews Ave.
The festival, also known as "LinguaFest," is sponsored by the University YMCA, the UI Department of Linguistics, and the Esperanto Association.
"It's all about getting people interested in taking another language," said Patrick Oray; program coordinator at the University YMCA. The point of it is not to teach anything in depth, but just to expose people to different languages and cultures."
During the 40-minute classes, volunteers from the community will teach a few phrases, sing a song or two and tell something about their culture. All classroom sessions are free and open to the public.
Languages range from French, Spanish and Italian to Chinese; Japanese; Hebrew; Hindi; Swahili and Esperanto. The festival will also offer mini-lessons in sign language, Braille, and calligraphy.
Musicians, dancers and others will perform during breaks.
Founder Dennis Keefe spearheaded three similar festivals while living in Tours; France and helped get others started in Finland; Russia and Ukraine. The first drew 800 people, and by the third year nearly 4,000 people took part.
A businessman and teacher of English as a second language, Keefe has lived in three foreign countries--Germany, Spain, and France--and visited more than 45. "I used to be an inveterate traveler," he said.
A native of Bloomington, he returned to the United States a year ago and now works with two programs at the UI to help international students and businessmen speak English and become accustomed to the American way of life.
He also speaks Esperanto, an artificial language invented more than 100 years ago by a Polish eye doctor who wanted to establish a truly international language.
"I could never learn languages when I was a kid in high school or even college," Keefe said. "Now I speak five fluently. I guess it's always been a fantasy for me to learn every language, because I was so bad at it."
His wife, Nadia, taught at Martin Luther King School in Urbana, which has an award-winning international program.
Just seening so many languages being taught probably put a seed in my head that I could do this," he said.
His specialty is marketing, and he sees the festival as a way for customers to sample a language--like a product.
"If you get people to try a bar of soap, there's a chance they might buy it again," he said. "If you try a little course in Japanese or Swahili or Hebrew or Esperanto, then you might just follow up on it."
Americans lag behind Europeans in learning languages, he said. When he taught at a business school in France, MBA students there had to study three languages.
But Keefe isn't on a crusade, and he doesn't want the festival to be seen as something for intellectuals.
"It's definitely for kids, families, students, retired people," he said. "It's just to have fun and see new languages and people from foreign countries.
"They'll learn how to say 'I love you' in 10 different languages," he added.
The mini-courses begin on the hour. A schedule of events is available at the Foreign Languages Building. Keefe hoped to have times for classes listed on a web site at www.linguafest.org (today www.linguafest.info -- for information, contact Keefe at 337-1485 or by email at dkeefe@uiuc.edu. (today at keefe@linguafest.info
A concert benefiting student programs will follow the festival, from 8 to 10 p.m. at the University YMCA, 1001 S Wriĝt St. It will feature the tango group Guerrilla Parlor Ensemble and Corcovado, a Latino jazz band.