Check out the Libraries during Turn Up the Languages Festival!

September 30-October 7, 2024
Neilson, Hillyer, and Josten Libraries

Celebrate all the languages of the Smith community at the Turn Up the Languages Festival! Whether you are staff, faculty, or student, everyone is invited to join in this campus-wide, multilingual conversation.

The Libraries will host a series of events and exhibits during the week, including:

International Graphic Novel Pop-Up Display
Neilson Library First Floor, October 1–7
9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Browse the Libraries’ collection of graphic novels in languages other than English. These include a range of subject areas, artistic styles and formats. Sample a variety of international candy, too!

Turn Up the IPA
Josten Performing Arts Library, September 30-October 7
A selection of sources for singers to facilitate the singing of a range of languages using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), a standard written representation for the sounds of speech. Also available to view online.

Translations: Art that Makes Language Visible
Hillyer Art Library, September 30–October 7
Translations: Art that Makes Language Visible includes the work of a prolific Hong Kong graffiti artist, German public artworks, visual poems in Spanish, French, Portuguese, the art of Korean calligraphy, Japanese poster design, Arabic calligraphic mirror-writing, Hawaii’an poetry, contemporary text- based art, and more. We welcome you to explore this collection, and Hillyer's stacks for materials in a variety of languages!

Ross Perlin, “Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues”
Monday, October 6, 5–6:30 p.m., Neilson Library Browsing Room
Contemporary cities are the most linguistically diverse in history, even as half of the world’s 7000-plus languages are endangered. How did this happen, and what does it mean for the future of language? Ross Perlin describes the race to document and support little-known languages, following six remarkable yet ordinary speakers of endangered languages deep into their communities, from New York’s outer borough neighborhoods to villages on the other side of the world, to learn how they are maintaining and reviving their languages against the odds. He also explores the languages themselves and the particular challenges and opportunities for language documentation, maintenance, and revitalization in urban areas.

The Libraries also provide a wealth of language resources year round— Find language dictionaries, translation resources, and even software to help you learn a new language!  

To learn more about the Turn Up the Languages Festival, check out the official event page.