Exploring the Experience of Being Multilingual

More than 100 Rutgers-Newark community members and guests attended the recent opening of an exhibition exploring the joys and complexities of being multilingual.

Titled “A Feeling of Itself,’’ the exhibition includes audiovisual displays in six different languages in which students have discussions with friends and family exploring cultural belonging, attitudes toward language, immigration, social justice and diversity.

It was created through the Lives in Translation (LiT) program at Rutgers-Newark, which began in 2016 as a volunteer effort among bilingual and multilingual students, who serve as translators and interpreters in Rutgers Law School Clinics and in Newark and other municipalities. It has since evolved into an academic program that offers a minor in translation.

The exhibition opening coincided with International Translation Day, which recognizes translators and interpreters who bridge languages and cultures. The exhibition, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, is displayed in the Warren Hall Lobby on campus.

“Today we not only celebrate the languages showcased here, but we celebrate those who have acted as language brokers for their families and friends, and those who hold a role as a translator, an interpreter, or a language services professional. We also celebrate the artists who use their creativity to promote language preservation and expression,” said Stephanie Rodríguez, Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and Director of Lives in Translation.

The title of the exhibition, “A Feeling Of Itself,’’ was extracted from a conversation between Zuha Ahmad, an LiT student, and her brother sharing his story of living between languages, and the feeling of expressing and communicating in two or more languages at once.

The initiative was based on bilingual interviews sparked by Jennifer Austin, a professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and co-founder of Lives in Translation, who began collecting audiovisual data through her Intro to Linguistics course. Rodríguez contributed to the collection through her Intro to Translation Studies course.

“Over the years, many of my students at Rutgers-Newark have talked about growing up in multilingual classes I've taught, or in conversations that we've had during events in our department. I thought it would be interesting to give my students a platform for sharing this important aspect of their lives,” said Austin. 

Rutgers-Newark’s Story Bus, a mobile hub for sharing and collecting stories about Newark as a global city and part of RU-N’s The Newest Americans, collaborated with exhibition organizers to conduct twelve interviews and photograph all interviewees at the exhibition unveiling event. Interviews were conducted by RU-N student, Nagely Castro, a Journalism major and Translation and Interpreting Studies minor. 

These interviews will be added to the LiT audiovisual archive, which will provide a more detailed picture of the multilingualism present at Rutgers and in Newark and in Northern New Jersey, said Austin.

The design of the exhibit, created by Professor Chantal Fischzang and her students in the Department of Arts, Culture, and Media centers on the concept of “language layers,” which involves text clouds that are formatted to hover within the framing of a background image, photo and environment. 

Text is layered over photographs, captured by Professor Anthony Alvarez's photography students in the Arts, Culture,and Media department at RU-N at SHINE Portrait Studio. Photos depict LiT students conducting interviews, shown as quotes in two languages.

“The collaboration between these departments has the potential to enrich our academic offerings by creating interdisciplinary opportunities that bridge language and identity with artistic sensibilities in a public humanities setting. Because of its emphasis on translation and ultimately, communication, as well as the artistic component, a project like ‘A Feeling of Itself’ can serve as a model where the students engage in hands-on, experiential learning, while applying theoretical knowledge to professional contexts,’’ said Jason Cortes, Associate Professor in Spanish and Portuguese Studies, and American Studies, and Chair of Spanish and Portuguese Studies.

Showcased in the audiovisual portraits is Esperanza Santos, a graduate student in the American Studies program, whose audio features a multigenerational bilingual conversation discussing her role as a language broker for her community and words that just don’t seem to carry over or translate into English.

Alma García Constanza, a RU-N alumna and Translation Studies student, is featured in the exhibition and uses her language skills to bridge the communication gap for those who identify as “non-English language preference,’’ making a significant impact on both the healthcare and language services sectors, while discussing the benefits of bilingualism.

“‘A Feeling of Itself’ impacts our understanding of belonging and inclusion, which might empower our students to see their linguistic heritage as a vital part of the academic and public discourse,’’ said Cortes.

 “This exhibition offers visitors a valuable guide for understanding language use and language services “in our multicultural, multilingual world, language is a living thing that is shaped by us all,” added Rodríguez

The event’s keynote address was presented by Ibrahima Traoré, a specialist on West African languages and culture, who has been a language consultant at Columbia University and University of Pennsylvania and  is a co-founder of NKO USA working on language preservation and advocacy. 

Yeimy Gamez Castillo, a storyteller, musician, and RU-N alumna, joined the celebration by incorporating elements of her and immersed listeners in the elements of her songs that explored linguistic history, ancestry, and the strong connection between music and memory.