Sharing the core values of the Modern Language Association, the FSU Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics is committed to fostering a climate in which all students, faculty and employees can learn and work together regardless of their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or disability status. We do not tolerate racism or discrimination in any form.

We want to empower our students by helping them see and appreciate the vital connections among different languages and cultures. We foster meaningful dialogue among students and faculty within the Department, we engage in interdisciplinary collaboration with other campus programs, and we connect globally through our international programs and scholarship. Our goal is to create a vibrant community of students and scholars that practices inclusion while respecting and valuing diversity as a catalyst for innovation.

Our vast course offerings (language, literature, linguistics, film, culture, gender, food, art, theory etc.) prize multilingualism and multiculturalism and reflect our commitment to enabling students to become mindful, ethical, and successful citizens of this diverse and fast-changing world.

“Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things.” – Flora Lewis

Suggested reading list

In addition to its robust course offerings, Modern Languages and Linguistics faculty encourage students to explore additional readings that illustrate the value a lifelong commitment to multiculturalism and multilingualism can bring about for both an individual and for communities. Consider the listed titles below and examine how language and culture can shape, shift, and deepen the human experience and our connections to each other.

• Alim, Samy H., John R. Rickford, and Arnetha F. Ball, eds. Raciolinguistics: How Language Shapes Our Ideas About Race. Oxford University Press, 2016.
• Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit. “Why Bilinguals Are Smarter.” New York Times 17 March 2012.
• Borden, Rebecca S.. “The English Only Movement: Revisiting Cultural Hegemony.” Multicultural Perspectives vol. 16, no. 4 (2014) pp. 229-233.
• Boroditsky, Lera. “How language shapes the way we think.” TedTalk 2 May 2018.
• Guillén, Mauro F. “The Real Reasons to Support Language Study.“ 27 July 2009.
• Geisler, Michael E. “To Understand a Culture, Learn Its Language.” 24 March 2006.
• Isa, Nadia. “Learning a language opens people's minds about other cultures, expert says.” ABC News 14 July 2017.
• Mbembe, Achille. Critique of Black Reason. Translated by Laurent Dubois. Duke University Press, 2017 - The introduction, including Laurent Dubois’s “Translator’s Introduction,” is available for free on Duke University Press’s website.
• Noha, Trevor. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood. One World, 2016.
• Newsweek Amplify. “How Learning a New Language Will Help You Address Racism and Anti-Semitism Learn how discrimination feels through another language.” Newsweek 10 July 2020
• Porter, Catherine. “English Is Not Enough.” 18 April 2010.
• Ro, Christine. “The pervasive problem of ‘linguistic racism.’ BBC 3 June 2021.
• Singh, Leher et al. “Bilingualism is associated with less racial bias in preschool children.” Developmental psychology vol. 56, no. 5 (2020) pp. 888-896.
• Short list of multilingual benefits
• Small, Libby. “Learning a language – A gateway to intercultural competence.” The London School of International Communication 31 October 2018.
• Weber, Jean-Jacques. “How Not to Be a Language Racist.” Language Racism. (2015) Palgrave Pivot, London. ---. “Language, Multilingualism, and Racism.” Being Multilingual (2015).
• Young, Mallory. “It’s Not Just French 101. It’s an Introduction to ‘Tout le Monde.’” 11 May 2001.

Untranslatability and Untranslatable Words

• Luu, Chi. “The Cozy Linguistics of Hygge and Other “Untranslatable” Words: Why English speakers love “hygge” and other “untranslatable” words about emotional states.” JSTOR Daily 7 December 2016.
• Maginot, Christelle. “Untranslatable Text: Myth, Reality, or Something Else? A Translator’s Reflections on Translation and ‘Untranslatability.’” American Translators Association 26 March 2021.
• Shariatmadari, David. “Why We Love Untranslatable Words.” Literary Hub 8 January 2020.
• Smith, Steph. “Gaining Perspective Through Untranslatable Words.” 22 September 2019.