Diversity of language offerings challenged

Students flipping through next year's course catalog this week may notice some unconventional names among language programs set to be offered in the fall. Polish, for example, will join the list of less traditional languages available to students, including Czech, Persian, Swahili and Turkish. Bosnian-Serbian-Croatian, offered for the first time this past fall through the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, will be offered again next semester.

But some students and professors argue that — especially in comparison to its peer institutions — the University's diversity of language offerings still leaves much to be desired.

Emma Shoucair '07, a classics major pursuing a linguistics certificate, believes the University would be well advised to expand its linguistic offerings. "The languages we do, we tend to do very well," she said in an email. "Latin and Greek are taught wonderfully [and] German at Princeton is an experience not to be missed. However, it only takes a moment's consideration of the gaps in what's available to temper this somewhat."

Shoucair noted that Celtic and Native American languages are notable absences from the University's course offerings, while the languages of certain world regions are almost entirely neglected. "You can take Swahili, but nothing else from Africa, the most linguistically populous continent in the world," she said. "The ancient Near East, too, is shockingly underrepresented."

Wilson School professor Stanley Katz, who directs the Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies, acknowledged the limitations of the University's course offerings, but stressed other avenues available to students eager to explore the world's dialects.

"No university offers all languages, nor is there any reason to do so," he said, noting that students seeking out less commonly taught languages "should study abroad or at other U.S. universities that offer such languages."

Shoucair, however, said the University still falls short compared to other schools. "Now, obviously, you can't have everything," she said. "Every school is going to have gaps, and this is completely natural and to be expected. But in terms of languages, Princeton has a truly substantial set of gaps, especially in comparison with Harvard and [Penn]."

Harvard offerings not available at Princeton include Celtic languages and literatures, Sanskrit, Tibetan, Yiddish, Akkadian and African languages such as Yoruba. Penn, likewise, offers a variety of African languages missing from Princeton course catalogs, as well Aramaic and Scandinavian languages, among others.

Classics professor Joshua Katz said in an email that he finds "Princeton's deficiency in South Asian languages [to be] striking," adding that he would also like to see more courses in the languages of the ancient Near East, especially Akkadian.

Though Princeton may not officially offer courses in those languages, insistent students still have options for expanding their linguistic knowledge. Chief among these is the possibility of private, Oxford-style tutorials in the language of the student's choice.

"When we have faculty members with the requisite expertise, we can often arrange reading courses for students in languages that aren't regularly offered," Deputy Registrar Robert Bromfield said. He added, though, that this option may not be for everyone because it involves "a certain rigor" and requires a student to take the initiative in requesting the reading course.

To set up instruction, Bromfield said, students must find a professor willing to instruct them in the desired language, though occasionally the dean of the college may assist in the search. The professor must submit a proposed list of readings to the registrar and to the dean of the college, at which point the two offices sign off on the course.

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Perhaps because of the process' complexity, however, few students seek out reading courses each year. In fact, Bromfield said, no more than five students have ever sought the option during a given semester.

Occasionally, determined groups of students may be able to establish a formal course in a language but only with the support of a professor willing to teach it. For example, Assistant Dean of the College Peter Quimby said, a formal course in Hindi established three years ago was "created in response to student interest, and the expectation was that it would help facilitate a broader interest in South Asian studies."

Classics professor Katz agreed that an expansion of the University's linguistic offerings must be accompanied by courses in the cultures where those languages are spoken.

"On the one hand, I'd love to see many more languages taught at Princeton," he said. "On the other, there's not too much point to teaching a given language unless there's a real commitment to offering regularly the full array of beginning-to-advanced classes and at the same time to providing students with the chance to take complementary courses on literature, history and general culture."