To celebrate this special Day (21st May), The Language Centre and The Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and International Staff Network would like to invite you to view our posts and reports in the past months on a variety of events that were hosted at Queen’s, broadly with the theme of cultural diversity being shined out.
To help us celebrate cultural diversity as inclusive as possible, you are welcome to let us know the various festivals or days of cultural significance to your native culture that are not yet added to the calendar by completing the survey form embedded.
The coming TLE session will be on Wed 24th May, at the Training Room 2, McClay Library. Queen’s students and staff members who are looking to get some language practice and intercultural exchange are very welcome to attend it. Sign up now if you have not done so yet.
Happy Tamil New Year to our QUB Tamil Society and those who celebrate it at Queen’s and elsewhere!
The Tamil Society is a newly ratified Society at Queen’s and they are eager to help a wider audience of students and staff members to get to know their unique culture. Hema from the Society has enthusiastically introduced the Tamil New Year celebration to us.
Tamil Society at the QUB Qulture Roadshow 2023. Image credit: Liang Wang
Tamil New Year, also known as Puthandu (“Puthu” – new; “Andu” – year), is celebrated by Tamils across the world. Falling around the 14th or 15th of April every year, it is a festival not just limited to the Indian subcontinent but is widely celebrated in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, and more. It marks the beginning of the Tamil calendar year and is considered an auspicious occasion when we pay respect to our elders seeking their blessing to mark a new cycle for good fortune and prosperity. On the day, we use the greeting ‘Puthandu Nalvalthukal” which literally translates to “Happy New Year”. Homes are cleaned and preparations are made for the event on the previous day.
There is an important custom that is part of the traditional celebration which is “Kani”. This is where various items such as fruits, betel leaves, gold jewellery, money, flowers and a mirror are arranged on a tray in the prayer room. This is the first thing members of the household will look at when they wake up the next day so as to bring auspiciousness and prosperity for the new year.
Image credit: Hema
Traditionally, on New Year day priests in temple will prepare “Maruthu Neer” which is water that has been boiled with various fragrant herbs, flowers, and leaves. This water is then placed on heads of all family members during their bath. This ritual is believed to wash away all the negative energies from the previous year and bring in positive energy for the new one. After taking the bath, the New Year is celebrated by wearing new clothes, and particularly traditional Tamil clothes. The entrance of houses is decorated with mango leaves and kolams (made of powdered rice flour). We also offer prayers to God and our ancestors seeking blessings for a prosperous year ahead.
As with all festivals, food always plays an integral part in Tamil New Year. A hearty vegetarian feast is traditionally prepared, alongside a very important dish – Mangai Pachadi – a dish made with raw mango. This dish is believed to represent “Arusuvai” or a variety of tastes (e.g. sweet, astringent, sour, bitter and spicy) to represent a new year that should be filled with all tastes or flavors of life.
In a world that is so fast paced and impermanent, Tamil New Year is a time for new beginnings and hope. It is an occasion to forget the past and look forward to a brighter future. The traditions and customs associated with the festival not only bring joy and happiness but also foster unity and harmony amongst family and friends.
We would also like to send our best wishes to those who are celebrating their New Years (Bengali / Cambodian / Hindu / Lao / Myanmar / Nepali / Thai) on/around the same day.
You are welcome to write posts on your own cultures and contribute them to our celebrating Cultural Diversity at Queen’s for sharing.
Bonjour! Did you know today, the 20th March, is the UN French Language Day? Joyeuse journée de la langue Française !
On this special day, Manon Merle, a French student doing Politics at Queen’s School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, shared with us her experience of coming to study at Queen’s with her language exchange needs.
I am Manon, a French native speaker studying at Queen’s as an Erasmus student. And there are quite a few Erasmus students from France like me studying on campus! We are very eager to get to know you!
In my home university in France I study political science and am going to apply for a master in the ecological transition. I have decided to study abroad in Belfast mostly to improve my skills in English, to discover new people, a new city, a new culture and a new educational system. Many other French students have the same idea as I have, and we hope to contribute to Queen’s as a vibrant French-speaking community. As I hope this experience here to help me with my English, I recently signed up for the Tandem Language Exchange programme. So, I’ll be happy to promote my native language as well as to learn other languages from you!
To learn French (or the other languages) with us Language Centre, visit www.qub.ac.uk/lc (or scan the QR code) and sign up for the classes which will commence week beginning Monday 24 April 2023.
To find a language partner for language exchange, visit Tandem Language Exchange (TLE) programme. The coming TLE session is scheduled on Wed 22 March between 11:00 and 12:00 at the Training Room 2, McClay Library.
Observed on the 21st February every year since 2000 it was created by UNESCO to address the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity for sustainable societies.
The Language Centre at Queen’s is committed to promoting language learning and use in different contexts of education for a variety of purposes. We also value the richness of languages and cultures brought in by staff and students to Queen’s as the main part of the assets of our multicultural campus. We believe that linguistic diversity is a key feature of university campus life, and part of our Equality Policy.
To celebrate the International Mother Language Day we would like to invite you to join us in our Tandem Language Exchange (TLE) programme, via which you may find language partners to swap with each other’s native language in a mutually supportive and respectful way.
For more details and registration information, please check the TLE page or scan the QR code below for a quick access. The coming TLE session is scheduled on Wednesday 22nd February 2023.
We are pleased to have met quite a number of our international students, including the new cohort of Erasmus/Study Abroad students today at the Tandem Language Exchange event and the SU Welcome event at the Graduate School Social Space today! All seemed very keen and enthusiastic about starting their journey of language learning and intercultural exchange at Queen’s and elsewhere.
We look forward to the language course and academic programme start from the next week onward and welcome more students, as well as staff members, to join us in the coming round of enrolment and related events.
Did you know that Wednesday 16th November is the International Day for Tolerance? What does tolerance mean for you? Here’s what the UNESCO’s Declaration of Principles on Tolerance in 1995 states:
“Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world’s cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human.”
UNESCO
Within our Queen’s community, we are all so fortunate to be a part of such a diverse campus, with students and staff members coming from over 80 countries and regions, representing a range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. We would like to invite you to join us in appreciating the rich diversity of our multicultural campus, and to show our shared respect for inclusivity today and every day.
One of the most direct ways of experiencing cultural differences is through tasting food. But to what extent can we have tolerance towards food from different cultures? Our QUB student, MA Xiaoxiang (马小翔), who obtained an MA degree in Arts Management (2019) and is completing his second MA degree in Film Study (expected 2022), with School of Arts, English and Languages, has his own thoughts on cultural diversity and tolerance through his recent documentary, as part of the BBC 100 – Make Film History Project.
‘Different foods, countless flavours, diverse cultures, unique connotations. I try to use the traditional Chinese dish called Phoenix Feet [essentially, finely cooked chicken feet] as a clue to explain the relationship between food and culture. I also hope to use food as a metaphor for culture and interpret cultural exchanges in my eyes from different perspectives.’
— MA Xiaoxiang
Xiaoxiang (right) facilitating the Chinese calligraphy stand during the CNY (Year of the Pig) at Queen’s
About the film ‘Taste of Culture’
The original proposal for making this ‘Taste of Culture’ documentary is to weave a line between Chinese and Western cultures with some interesting elements. This is the reason why I chose Chinese food as the trigger. In the depths of its delicious flavour, there are many aspects to underline the cooking method – history, culture, regional variations, and other factors to help decode such a culture of practice, all of which is like a variety of spices and ingredients used in cooking, making the process of cultural interpretation more flavourful and charming and being more conducive to intercultural exchange.
Screenshot from ‘Taste of Culture’ – Shopping for chicken feet
Screenshot from ‘Taste of Culture’ – Preparation for chicken feet cooking
Screenshot from ‘Taste of Culture’ – A finished presentation of chicken feet dish (Cantonese style)
Screenshot from ‘Taste of Culture’ – A finished presentation of chicken feet dish (Xiaoxiang’s style)
As an international student, I have studied and lived in Belfast for a few years, with great interest in discovering other cultures. At the same time, being away from my home country, my culture of origin, also has given me a great chance of observing the traditional Chinese culture that I have a great passion for. This way of distancing myself from my native culture has made me think of the verses of a famous poem written by SU Shi (苏轼), one of the greatest poets to have lived in the Song dynasty over a thousand years ago:
“不识庐山真面目，只缘身在此山中” [Of Mountain Lu we cannot make out the true face, For we are lost in the heart of the very place. — Translated by XU Yuanchong (许渊冲)]
It seems that I also live in a mountain, but I can observe the mountain from different angles. Therefore, when embarking on making this film, I hoped to discuss cultural issues from a relatively objective and diversified perspective.
The making of the film
I felt excited when I saw the email forwarded by our Department of Film. I really felt excited because this was such a precious chance for new filmmakers. Without much hesitation I decided to go for it, and attended four workshops in total, including online and offline workshops, in order to get a better understanding of the project and to find inspiration through discussions with the organisers, my supervisors and peers. As an international student, I felt that I had more challenges in terms of language and cultural barriers, despite the fact that I have a master’s degree with Queen’s already. But I did gather my strength and eventually gain very valuable experience through attending these meetings. The organisers and other participants also gave me great encouragement and help. In fact, some of the anecdotes and questions that came out of the discussions were used in the documentary. This inside-out and outside-in methodology has become the guidance for making this film.
Xiaoxiang (central) at the screening panel discussion in the Strand CinemaXiaoxiang (central) at the screening panel discussion in the Strand Cinema
I was able to finish the scriptwriting and postediting of the documentary myself, thanks to my friend HU Chenrui (胡宸瑞), an undergraduate student also from our Film Department, who provided me with great assistance for my shooting. We enjoyed working together to get the shooting done. In the process of making this short film, I not only gained rich practical skills in documentary-making, but also achieved a deeper understanding of Chinese and British cultures through cooking chicken feet. Overall, the filming and creation process was a ‘delicious’ experience.
That’s one small step for delivering Chinese culture through my film, but it is one giant leap for myself as a novice filmmaker. Interestingly, this step was not made by my foot, but by the “chicken feet” in the documentary. In the future, I hope to continue to create more films about intercultural exchange and exploration, to convey the spicy flavour of cultures from a unique perspective.
Happy Diwali to all who celebrate it at Queen’s and elsewhere!
Diwali (Deepavali or Divali), also known as the Festival of Lights, is a Hindu religious festival and one of the most important festivals within Hinduism. Falling on 24th October this year, it generally lasts five days, and is celebrated during the Hindu lunisolar month Kartika.
“Hindus, Sikhs and Jains both in India and across the world usually take part by decorating houses and public spaces with thousands of lights, candles and colourful designs. As well as the bright colours and glittering lights, there’s music, dancing, delicious food and a cresting wave of community feeling.”
Nimmy john Lecturer, School of Nursing & midwifery; co-chair of bame & International staff network
Thanks to the Graduate School’s organisation, on Monday 24th October Queen’s students and staff have joined in the celebration of Diwali at the 1st Floor Social Space of the grand ‘Ruskinesque’ Gothic building, with a taste of Indian tea and sweets.
‘Happy Diwali!’ is the most common festival greeting that people use to send their best wishes to each other.
Did you know that there are approximately 72 million deaf people in the global population? These people collectively use over 300 different sign languages! Alongside all the national languages, there is a shared international sign language used by the deaf community to communicate socially, on trips abroad, and in international business settings.
This International Day of Sign Languages, celebrated on 23rd September each year, to coincide with the creation of the World Federation of the Deaf in 1951, sits within International Week of Deaf People (19th-25th September 2022). The theme for this year is Building Inclusive Communities for All. Learning basic communication in sign language, whether national or international, can really help to make the global community of deaf people feel more included in society. As actress Rose Ayling-Ellis so aptly puts it, “There’s nothing wrong with being deaf – it’s society that’s the problem”.
The Language Centre offers British Sign Language courses in Levels 1 and 2 and registration for these is open now, via our website: www.qub.ac.uk/lc
