The Polyglot Conference is officially recognised under the banner of UNESCO’s Decade of Indigenous Languages. In order to celebrate this fully, we will also offer a taste of local cultures and languages.
There will be two week-long courses (Monday, October 24 – Thursday October 27) on offer by Zaloa Languages in Spanish and Nahuatl. We will also arrange for events to take place throughout the week leading up tthe conference with local stakeholders, our partners and sponsors.
We will have activities all day available for you to enjoy on Friday 28th October as well as two full conference days on 29th and 30th October with various presentations, workshops, language practice sessions and time to make new friends!
We will have a Special Dinner for those interested on Friday evening from 19:00.*
You can find out more details and sign up for it here!
8:30 am - 9:30 am
DOORS OPEN - MORNING COFFEE & TREATS
Coffee, fruit, sweet bread, yoghurt, granola, juice and water
9:30 am - 10:20 am
Mexico Hall
Renaciendo en un México antes desconocido tras el náhuatl
Antonio Mazín
9:30 am - 10:20 am
Grand Hall
Uso de Tecnologias Mobiles para difusion de la lengua Nahuatl
Rigoberto Dominguez
10:30 am - 11:20 pm
Mexico Hall
Why You Should Learn an Indigenous Language, Right Now, Today
Elysse DaVega
10:30 am - 11:20 am
Grand Hall
Getting your momentum back to be the best you (and best learner) after a very long break
Benny Lewis
11:20 am - 11:50 am
Workshops Area
11:50 am - 12:40 pm
Mexico Hall
Incorporación nominal en los verbos del náhuat salvadoreño
Gary Ordóñez
11:50 am - 12:40 pm
Grand Hall
Building communities online with polyglot content
Jo Franco
12:50 pm - 1:40 pm
Mexico Hall
Comunidad en vez de perfección
Ana Franco
12:50 pm - 1:40 pm
Grand Hall
Latin and Ancient Greek prose inter-translation problems for intermediate students
Jay Wang
3:10 pm - 4:00 pm
Mexico Hall
La importancia de la interculturalidad
Virdiana Regino Castillo
3:10 pm - 4:00 pm
Grand Hall
Comparing European and American French: The Method to Thoroughly Study an Accent
Bong Sou
4:10 pm - 5:00 pm
Mexico Hall
Osvaldo Alexis Zúñiga Elizalde
4:10 pm - 5:00 pm
Grand Hall
Why You Should Practice Speaking Even Though You'll Make Lots of Mistakes
Jonathan Huggins
5:10 pm - 6:00 pm
Mexico Hall
El rap en español como medio de expresión
Gabriela Camilo Hernández
5:10 pm - 6:00 pm
Grand Hall
Less Spoken Languages Matter More: Advocating for Indigenous and Creole Languages and Cultures
Avishta Seeras
6:10 pm - 6:40 pm
Grand Hall
CLOSE & 2023 ANNOUNCEMENT
Thank you to everyone involved in putting this conference together. Announcement of quiz and competition prizes as well as where we're going to in 2023!
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Doors Open - MORNING COFFEE & TREATS
Coffee, fruit, sweet bread, yoghurt, granola, juice and water
9:00 am - 9:30 am
Grand Hall
Welcome and Introduction
Welcome address to Polyglot Conference Cholula 2022!
9:30 am - 10:20 am
Mexico Hall
¿Cómo es la vida de nahuahablantes en las comunidades en el estado de Veracruz?
Karen Alonzo
Aide Alonzo
Teresa Hernandez
9:30 am - 10:20 am
Grand Hall
Vaughn Smith
10:30 am - 11:20 am
Mexico Hall
Visão do aprendizado de línguas estrangeiras
Jhony Andrade Valarezo
10:30 am - 11:20 am
Grand Hall
The North Korean Language
Sara Maria Hasbun
11:30 am - 12:20 pm
Mexico Hall
Mösiehuali huö/iwan Masewaltlahtolli
David Tuggy
11:30 am - 12:20 pm
Grand Hall
The invisible on display: creating museums of language
Grigory Kazakov
11:30 am - 12:20 pm
Workshops Area
Desde el hawaiano de Hawái al jerseyés de Jersey: travelling the world to support rare and indigenous languages
Emily Martyn
12:30 pm - 1:20 pm
Mexico Hall
Descolonizando el español mexicano
Nayeli Mulato
12:30 pm - 1:20 pm
Grand Hall
Schwiizertüütsch: The language you shouldn’t learn
Bianca Flowers
12:30 pm - 1:20 pm
Workshops Area
Carlos Yebra López
1:20 pm - 1:30 pm
Outside Grand Hall
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
The Garden
3:00 pm - 3:50 pm
Mexico Hall
¿Cómo erradicar el machismo a través de empoderar a las mujeres indígenas?
Juana Maria Nicolasa
3:00 pm - 3:50 pm
Grand Hall
New Generation New Language
Fred Chen
3:00 pm - 3:50 pm
Workshops Area
Introduksion al Ladino (Djudeo-Espanyol)
Carlos Yebra López
4:00 pm - 4:50 pm
Mexico Hall
WORDS FROM NAHUATL THAT ARE USED IN SPANISH
Diego Iván Mendez & Efra
4:00 pm - 12:00 pm
GRand Hall
Derek Allen
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Workshops Area
5:00 pm - 5:50 pm
Mexico Hall
Cómo las familias de idiomas están conectadas entre sí (y cómo se pueden conectar el vocabulario entre las familias)
Michael Campbell
5:00 pm - 5:50 pm
Grand Hall
Hyperpolyglot Activist : Learn languages, make a difference': 10 mythes polyglottes
Carlos Yebra López
5:00 pm - 5:50 pm
Workshops Area
Raising Global Kids - Multilingual, Multicultural, and Multitalented
Tetsu Yung
9:30 am - 11:30 am
MORNING COFFEE & TREATS (SPONSORED BY TEACH YOURSELF & MICHEL THOMAS METHOD)
Coffee, fruit, sweet bread, yoghurt, granola, juice and water
11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Cholula, Mexico
Mercadito artesanal
Discover handmade treasures and get to know Mexican artisans
ZALOA corner
Build an altar for the día de los Muertos celebrations with us.
Catrina & Catrin Makeup: Live the full experience and get your Catrina / Catrin make-up
Feel free to bring a picture of your loved ones who have passed away (including animals) and let’s honour their lives all together.
Language Speed Dating:
Meet new people & practise languages
Presentación del juego de la pelota:
Get inspired by this pre-hispanic ball game that has been played since before 1650 BC
7:00 pm -
Special dinner & día de muertos parade
(Sign-up coming soon!)*
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Workshop Area
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Polyglot Conference Opening Ceremony
Welcome to the Polyglot Conference! A chance to look forward to the events and start things off with a bang!
Additional costs apply for activities marked with the asterisk (*) and a separate sign-up will be necessary.
Why You Should Learn an Indigenous Language, Right Now, Today —
Elysse DaVega
Learning an Indigenous language goes against all traditional notions of why one “should” learn a language; they’re not the most “useful”, they’re often very different and thereby more difficult, and they’re not likely to help you get that job at that international firm. In my experience, however, studying one is one of the most enriching, challenging and rewarding things I’ve ever done. I spent one month in rural Guatemala to learn Maya Tz’utujil, and although I learned most about the people and their language, I left the country with a greater historical, cosmological, and even numerological knowledge than I could’ve expected. Languages are much more than words, and this is especially true in the case of Indigenous languages. In this presentation, I will highlight the various reasons one should try their hand at an Indigenous language: to witness the dynamic of a bilingual environment, where the dominant and Indigenous languages combine, collaborate, and clash at times; to understand a minority community’s history and societal struggle to a deeper level; and to challenge the way you see, well, everything.
Latin and Ancient Greek prose inter-translation problems for intermediate students —
Jay Wang
As many may already know, Latin and Greek are cousin languages in the Indo-European language family tree. With their profound cultural, religious, and administrative influences, these two languages have shaped almost every aspect of lives in the Mediterranean world, Europe at large, and later on to the entire world for more than two millennia. Being able to read and write in Latin and Ancient Greek were core skills that were acquired by school kids, government administrators, clergies, and writers of all kinds in many parts of the world for a long time even long after the end of the Graeco-Roman antiquity. Latin and Ancient Greek are in many ways both similar yet intricately different from each other. Being an intermediate student who wants to improve these two languages, I picked up the idea of writing short prose and translating passages between them as a means to improve my skills. A question sometimes comes up in my mind is what would it be like if the Gallic War was narrated by Xenophon in Attic Greek, and the Anabasis was spoken through the tone of Caesar? Translating between Latin and Ancient Greek is an arduous task that requires an ample amount of knowledge in grammar, vocabulary, syntax, and beyond in both languages. In this presentation, I will give a brief account of my personal experiences and struggles at these exercises with the intent of opening the conversation of translation exercises between various languages that are still alive or historical.
Teaching and Learning Languages in the era of Social Media —
Anamaria Balaș
Social media language learning is a method of language acquisition that uses platforms such as blogs and social networks to facilitate learning the target language and it has helped to connect millions of language learners across the world. There are choices for each type of learner and teacher, for each level and budget. In this presentation, I would like to focus on how language enthusiasts can use Social Media to learn the languages they are interested in and how teachers can get closer to their students by using Social Media/Networks as an integral part of their work. For both, teachers and language learners, it is important to know how to find the topics and materials they are interested in whether we talk about blogs, websites, groups, or hashtags, how to connect with native speakers or people who are also learning the same languages, and how to create content. For most people, being able to communicate effectively is their goal when they learn a certain language however not all of them get the chance to use that language on a daily basis. Social networks help you to get in touch and talk with native speakers who won’t just help you with essential communication practice but will also expose you to new vocabulary, colloquialism, and cultural lessons you would normally have to travel for. Extra, as you start to make friends on these networks, you’ll have people to both answer your questions and hold you accountable during your learning process. For teachers, creating an online community of language lovers is a way of getting in touch with people interested in their services and a great chance to offer something to those who are interested in their work.
New Generation New Language —
Fred Chen
I will give this talk primarily in English with some Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, and Japanese.
What happens when the primary language of a family or a society changes from generation to generation? This can happen because of politics, education, immigration, and many other factors. As a 2nd-generation Taiwanese-American, building relationships with my relatives has required that I communicate in four different languages even though we are not a multi-racial family. To my generation I will speak English to my cousins who grew up in the US, and Mandarin Chinese to those who grew up in Taiwan. To my parents’ generation I will speak Mandarin and sometimes Taiwanese. To my grandparents’ generation I will speak Taiwanese and sometimes Japanese. A major reason for this is that my generation has been educated in English or Mandarin, my parents’ generation in Mandarin, and my grandparents’ generation in Japanese. This is a result of Taiwan going from being self-governing island, to a Japanese colony, to a territory ruled by a Mandarin-speaking political party, to a thriving democratic nation all in the span of a century. Meanwhile, some of my relatives have continued to speak Taiwanese through these transitions. From my experience, I will share about the challenges that result from generational shifts in the language of communication, and the opportunities that arise from being a polyglot partly of necessity.
在歷史上人們為了社會的變遷而改變了日常使用的語言.造成這些改變的原因可能是基於政治,教育,移民等因素。在這裡我想用本人的經歷來見證這些變化,同時藉這這個機會來探討我本人及家族在語言上的經歷。由此我也觀察到在短短的一世紀中在我的家族就在語言的習慣上呈現出明顯的差異,的確是讓我吃驚。而這些改變也就成為我今天要跟各位探討的主題。首先,我的家人來自台灣,我的父母親是美國第一代的移民。我是在美國出生長大的,所以在家講中文,在學校學英文。我從小也接觸少許的台語,長大了以後還有機會再學一些。我通常跟外公外婆講台語,可是因為他們曾經生長在日本的統治下,並接受日本教育,所以他們有時候跟我講日文。這些原因也引起了我對語言的興趣,所以基本上我跟家族溝通的時候,雖然不是多數民族的家族,需要講四種不同的語言:英文,中文,台語,和日文。我和在美國長大的表兄弟姐妹講英文,跟台灣長大的表兄弟姐妹講中文,跟爸爸媽媽叔叔阿姨講中文,或台語,跟外公外婆講台語或日語。這些不同的溝通方式也反映出台灣在最近的一百三十多年來在政治及文化上的變遷。其中歷經了中國清朝的統治,日本殖民地的時代,國民黨的時代,及最近進入了民主政治的國家的時代。這些歷史的演變同時也促成了我在學習語言上的挑戰和機會。今天我就想藉著這個難得的機會跟各位分享我在這方面的心得。
Schwiizertüütsch: The language you shouldn’t learn —
Bianca Flowers
“Wieso?” was the most common reaction by native speakers. Why indeed learn Swiss German, specifically the dialect of Zurich, Switzerland, when everybody warns you not to even try? The reasons given included it’s impossible, there is no grammar anyway, just stick to High German. And yet… Whether by obstinance, naivety, cultural reasons or a combination of all three, Bianca still decided to embark on this challenge. She has both failed many times and decided it’s been worth it. As a first-generation immigrant, learning the local dialect has also been a means to explore identity in a country where both concepts are so closely intertwined. In this talk, Bianca will share an overview of Swiss German, why she was told not learn it, why she studied it anyway, and what she learned in the process. She will thus explore the myths and reality of barriers to learning a dialect, which can be a very different process from mainstream languages. In conclusion, she will share lessons learned for studying a local dialect and how they are relevant for anyone learning a dialect or minority language.
How To Foster Multilingualism in Early Childhood Using Baby Sign Language —
Pancha French
In my first presentation I proposed how to foster multilingualism in early childhood using the language-rich approach.
In this presentation I would like to expand even further the concept of language-rich in infant development by also utilizing Baby Sign Language (BSL) in conjunction with other languages. This truly is a multi-dimensional approach in terms of language learning.
The golden window of language acquisition is the time in the infant’s brain development that responds to sound 10 weeks before birth, learning the mother’s voice and the sound pattern of the language she speaks prenatally, up to the age of 3 and even up to kindergarten, age 5 where the brain grows up to 90% of its capacity.
My work focuses on this golden window because it has the singular opportunity to build a baby’s brain where languages become enmeshed in the wiring of the brain. When BSL is used with conjunction with bilingualism/multilingualism it facilitates comprehensible input as proposed by Dr. Stephen Krashen. Comprehensible input anchors the language during this profound growth that is hard wired for language learning.
Getting your momentum back to be the best you (and best learner) after a very long break —
Benny Lewis
For many of us, the pandemic represented a giant spanner in the works of our life goals and projects, with many losing their motivation to take on projects like language learning. And this setback for reasons many can relate to can be even worse if you also go through other personal struggles when major life events get in the way. They can seep all your energy and motivation until your projects and learning stop completely while you overwhelmingly try to deal with much larger issues. So, how can you bounce back after such things derail your life and language learning projects? In recent years Benny Lewis has gone through clinical depression, a six-figure debt, a divorce, putting on a lot of weight, immense burnout and exhaustion, and ultimately, despite running a large language learning business, he stopped learning and practising his languages, almost reverting back entirely to monoglot. And all this *before* the pandemic made things even worse! Fortunately, he has found ways to completely turn his life around, tackling each major challenge, and is back to travelling the world full-time again with enthusiasm to use many different languages, conquering each of his major life hurdles, with an active study routine in place and grand language learning plans once again. In this talk Benny will share the greatest takeaways he has been able to absorb from this experience, to help those of you who may need to get out of a rut you find yourself in, as the world opens up again, so you can be more ready to be the best versions of yourself.
Renaciendo en un México antes desconocido tras el náhuatl —
Antonio Mazín
Durante 15 años de estudio de entre 40-60 idiomas, y muchos años sin saber si en verdad me “sentía” mexicano y pasar por momentos en que no entendía mi propia identidad, pude decir, finalmente, que sí me siento mexicano; esto al comenzar a estudiar la lengua originaria del lugar donde nací: el náhuatl. Si bien la identidad es un tema completamente subjetivo en el cual muchos factores pueden jugar un papel sumamente importante, les contaré, a través de mi experiencia personal, por qué creo que es de suma importancia el proteger, aprender e impulsar el uso de los idiomas, sin excepción, pero sí en especial los hablados por las minorías y que son los que más rápido estamos perdiendo, tales como el emiliano-romañol hablado en Italia y San Marino, el uigur hablado en China, y por supuesto, el mexkatl hablado en México y El Salvador (náhuatl/nawat). Tras acercarme a la cultura y lengua nahua, he conocido un México que hasta hace un año me era completamente desconocido, y que es aún desconocido para la gran mayoría de quienes vivimos en el territorio mexicano. Escuchar y conocer el mundo desde la perspectiva nahua me ayudó a reenamorarme de México, y me enseñó a ver la tierra donde nací, a su gente y su historia desde una perspectiva muy distinta a la que conocía. Siempre he sido mexicano, pero tras estudiar mexkatl, ser mexicano se siente diferente.
Less Spoken Languages Matter More: Advocating for Indigenous and Creole Languages and Cultures —
Avishta Seeras
Languages, like genes, are also ‘documents of history’ (Gray et al.). Within a language lies the history of a people. When we lose a language, we may also lose a culture, an identity, a belief system, ancestral knowledge, traditions and customs, a writing system, a unique way to express ourselves, history, and so much more.
In this presentation, Avishta will discuss how we can all become advocates for our language(s). From language and cultural professionals and activists to regular speakers, we can all play a role in ensuring the survival of our language(s). During the presentation, we will explore the following topics: language and cultural education, rights, diversity, preservation, documentation and advocacy.
Comunidad en vez de perfección —
Ana Franco
Me apasiona crear contenido para ayudar a las personas a aprender y mejorar su español y mi brújula siempre ha sido enseñar español para la vida real. Durante todos estos años, he dado clases particulares, creado planes personalizados, iniciado un podcast con más de 200 episodios, hecho videos sobre gramática y creado materiales para aprender vocabulario, y, aunque todo eso ha generado un impacto en los estudiantes, nunca había visto mayor crecimiento como cuando comenzamos a crear espacios para cultivar comunidades. A veces es fácil olvidar que los idiomas sirven para comunicarse. Está bien estudiar las reglas, aprender vocabulario, etc., pero nada se compara a la gratificación que te da hablar con otros. Quiero contar sobre los espacios que hemos creado para que los estudiantes conozcan a otros con las mismas pasiones, sobre cómo se han cultivado amistades y cómo tener oportunidades para comunicarse ha hecho florecer el español de múltiples personas que quizás antes solo tenían que conformarse con una clase de español una vez por semana (y todo esto, increíblemente, entre personas no nativas del español).
Mösiehuali huö/iwan Masewaltlahtolli —
David Tuggy
Comparamos dos variantes del nawatl o náhuatl; el mösiehuali de Tetelcingo, Morelos, y el masewaltlahtolli de la Sierra de Zongolica, Veracruz.Tienen mucho en común, obviamente, pues los dos son lenguas nawas, de la región central de México, pero difieren notablemente en la pronunciación de las vocales largas, en el uso de honoríficos, en varios aspectos de la gramática y el léxico, en la adopción de estructuras del castellano, y en otros aspectos. Revisamos un texto del mösiehuali (Puro huö Tiecuöni – El Burro y el León) con traducción al masewaltlahtolli, para ejemplificar las diferencias.