#multilingual societies

[internationalliteracyday]

Literacy also enables people to build harmonious relations with themselves, other people and the planet.

Literacy is a right and empowers people. It opens doors to the enjoyment of other human rights and freedoms. Literacy provides a foundation on which people can acquire broader knowledge, skills and values, as well as cultivate attitudes and behaviours, to foster a culture of sustainability and lasting peace, based on respect for equality and non-discrimination, the rule of law, solidarity, justice, diversit and Tolerance. Literacy also enables people to build harmonious relations with themselves, other people and the planet. It is thus central to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [UN, 2015], forming the basis of peaceful and sustainable societies in which no one is left behind. The world has made gains in literacy. About 50 years ago, almost one-quarter of youth lacked basic literacy skills, compared to less than 8% in 2021. This positive trend can be attributed in large part to the expansion of basic education over the decades. Between 2015 and 2023, the global completion rate (SDG Global Indicator 4.1.2) has increased from 85% to 88% in primary education, from 74% to 78% in lower secondary education, and from 53% to 59% in upper secondary education. Progress, however, has been far from sufficient. Between 2016 and 2023, the global youth and adult literacy rate for the population aged 15 years and older increased by only 1 percentage point: from 86% to 87%. In 2023, at least one in ten young people and adults still lacked basic literacy skills.3 Millions of children are struggling to acquire minimum levels of proficiency in reading, writing and numeracy, while some 250 million children between the ages of 6–18 years are out of school. In addition, disparities persist across regions, countries and populations. Women accounted for 63% of 754 million non-literate youth and adults, a proportion that has remained unchanged over recent decades. Literacy rates for elderly women in several sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries were estimated to be as low as around 10% in 2022, while the highest rate of 99% was estimated for male youth and adults in Europe and North America. The global picture of literacy disparities may be even more dispiriting if we consider additional parameters such as multilingualism, limitations of conventional literacy statistics and/or a lack of relevant data, persistent inequalities, intergenerational impact, and the intended purposes of literacy in different contexts today. These challenges need to be understood in a broader development landscape as they are often intertwined with other forms of past and present injustices in social, economic, political, cultural and environmental spheres. Global challenges such as rising conflict and violence, inequalities, poverty, hunger and climate change are increasingly felt in different areas of human life and through their effects on the planet, and especially by those already marginalized prior to the CΟVID-19 pandemic.

[detectivebambam]

happy holidays to:

people without boobs that wear bras, and people with boobs that don't, people that like the Kingsman movies, people that listen to songs in languages they can't speak, people who snap their paperback books in half, people that like dark chocolate, people with dark circles, people who draw on themselves, people who can't find clothes that fit, people that spend hours in antique stores, people who have read every page of the bible, people who annotate their books, people who color their hair with markers, and people who have mini fridges

[crossbackpoke-check]

yOu'Re gOiNg fOr a LiTeR? | "Habs react to Quebec Maple facts", 10.22.24

[townpostin]

International Tagore Poetry Day Celebrated At Jamshedpur's Tagore Society

Multilingual Recitations Honor Nobel Laureate’s Literary Legacy The event showcased Tagore’s universal appeal with poems recited in various languages, emphasizing his enduring influence on literature. JAMSHEDPUR – Poetry enthusiasts gathered at Tagore Society (Rabindra Bhavan) to commemorate International Tagore Poetry Recitation Day, celebrating the literary genius of Rabindranath Tagore. Ashis…

[lovelyxhiphop]

I must say, as a person struggling with depression and anxiety it is ridiculously hard having to "master", well not really master but fill my vocabularies enough in three different languages in order for people to take me seriously (come from a bilingual area, third language is just a global bonus).

Patient and empathic ppl can understand anyone. I wish more people would prioritize being those instead of competing with others on who remembered more words in order to sound smarter. I am not trying to deny that having an expanded vocabulary isn't advantageous to have more quality conversations but one who is wise will actually listen and focus on comprehending the other person using compassion which comes from integrity that not many ppl have, sadly. Also, to keep in mind, some ppl are not able to expand their vocabulary due to mental illnesses and disorders as well as other neurological disorders that limit their memory capacities and self-confidence, others may be polyglots, etc, so please be mindful and patient when you speak to others

[reasonsforhope]

The loss of life and impact on the communities in Helene’s path is unfathomable — and both the immediate and long-term needs are vast. 

If you’re reading this, it’s likely because you want to help and care about making a difference for those who’ve been impacted by Hurricane Helene.

You’re in the right place. When we see tragedy like this happen in the news, it’s important to not tune it out. Instead, pay attention and truly feel the heartbreak of it — t​​hen, look for and be inspired by the people stepping in to help, and use that energy to make a difference ourselves.

Looking for the helpers

Instead of turning away from tragic events like the devastation from Hurricane Helene — we look closer for people stepping in using what they have, where they are, to make a difference for others.

Inspired by Mister Rogers’ famous quote, we call them the “helpers,” — and they’re usually found wherever there’s bad news in the world. Hurricane Helene is no different. Here are some people, businesses, and organizations helping right now:

Chef José Andrés and ​World Central Kitchen teams are serving thousands of meals to communities in need — from Mexico, and the Big Bend of Florida, and into Appalachia.

Volunteer pilots with the Port City Aviators Flying Club are flying supplies to storm victims in western North Carolina.

The national Disaster Distress Helpline is providing free multilingual crisis counseling to those in need.

Southern Smoke Foundation, an organization that supports food & beverage workers in crisis, is providing financial support for groceries, medical bills, lost wages, and more.

Volunteers with veteran-led disaster response organization Team Rubicon are on the ground in Greenwood, South Carolina clearing roads of trees and debris.

A local library branch in Asheville, North Carolina served as a hub for community members in need of internet service.

Workers at Waffle House were “unlikely heroes” providing food to people in need.

A local Fox News correspondent stopped his live broadcast to help rescue a woman trapped in her car in rising floodwaters.

Emergency response teams rescued more than 50 staff, patients, and caregivers from the roof of a hospital in Erwin, Tennessee.

The SPCA of Brevard rescued 20 animals from Hurricane Helene’s path — and it’s now helping them get adopted.

‍

How to make a difference

After we’ve allowed ourselves to feel the weight of the pain and heartbreak associated with bad news, and look for hope and helpers in the midst of it — we always have the opportunity to join in and make a difference, too. 

Here are some ways to help — whether you’re local or far away:

Donate to national organizations 

Here are just a few large-scale organizations that have helpers on the ground in the region.

American Red Cross

World Central Kitchen

Feeding America

United Way

Salvation Army

CARE

Donate to local organizations

Local organizations, recovery funds, and mutual aid groups have been deployed across the states impacted by Helene. Find donation links and updates below:

All States:

GoFundMe Hub for Hurricane Helene Relief

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief

Southeast Climate & Energy Network

Convoy of Hope

Appalachia Funders Network

Americares

Organizing Resilience

The National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster

Tennessee:

East Tennessee Foundation

First Aid Collective Knoxville

RISE Erwin

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee

North Carolina:

North Carolina Community Foundation

Hearts With Hands

Manna Foodbank

BeLoved Asheville

Foothills Food Hub

Haywood Christian Ministry

Samaritan’s Purse

Forsyth Humane Society

Hope Mill

‍

Volunteer locally

Organizations in the affected area are seeking volunteers to help distribute resources and support crucial aid efforts. While many of us are not local to the region, those who are nearby are encouraged to join in a myriad of volunteer opportunities.

(Note: If you aren't in the area, the best way you can help is by supporting local efforts with a donation. Keeping roads clear for rescue crews and local relief agents is vital in maintaining safety in these already devastated regions).

For local volunteers, check out:

World Central Kitchen

Operation BBQ Relief

Marco Patriots

Operation Airdrop

Baptists on Mission

‍

Contact your elected officials and ask them to take climate action

Climate scientists agree, the intensity and extent of the devastation brought by Hurricane Helene was made worse by climate change. 

While we can’t go back in time and burn less fossil fuels — we can make a difference now to secure a safer future and prevent future climate disasters. 

In addition to talking about how this disaster is connected to climate change in our own conversations and holding media outlets accountable for how they talk about climate change — this is a great time to tell your elected officials that you want them to take meaningful climate action.

We’re making incredible progress in the U.S. and globally in reducing emissions, but we need to work even faster — and incorporate climate mitigation efforts into our plans — to limit the most severe impacts of global warming.

[copperbadge]

Hi, I've read and loved your Shivadh novels up to the Lady and the Tiger! I was wondering why Askazer-Shivadhlakia speaks English. And what language was spoken there before? There was a mention of the British having been there, but is there anywhere with more detailed information?

I'm so glad you've been enjoying them!

There's a little bit of an explanation in the next book, The Twelve Points of Caleb Canto, but most of the explanation is floating around in posts I've made to @shivadh. Essentially, during the War of Spanish Succession, the English sent troops through Askazer-Shivadlakia as a way of getting at mainland Europe from the other side, which meant invading and holding the country as well. They insisted that the inhabitants learn and speak English instead of Shivadh, which is what they spoke before (Shivadh is technically a romance language but also has a lot of Slavic influence).

Most of the actual occupying force was Welsh, so Shivadh speak English with a vaguely Welsh accent. And after the war was over, many of the Welsh soldiers looked around at the sexually permissive culture on a beautiful Mediterranean coast and said, "Thanks but I'll stay here actually," which perpetuated the use of English in a multilingual society. Most Shivadh speak English as a first language, perhaps a little Shivadh they remember from school, and a fair bit of French, Italian, or both, because those are the closest neighbors. As a majority Jewish country there's also a fair amount of people who have at least some Hebrew and Yiddish.

The joke, only partly true, is that after learning English for a generation, Shivadh kept speaking it mostly to irritate the French. :D

It originated after Infinite Jes when I referenced Jes having a "faded" Shivadh accent, and someone asked me what the Shivadh accent sounded like. I said it would be funny if it was Welsh, for no particular reason, but then thinking about it I really liked the idea. I have some Welsh heritage and I love the Welsh accent; I think the Welsh are still very maligned in British culture, so it's a little tribute to Welsh culture and to Torchwood, which was one of my defining fandoms.

[starlightshadowsworld]

I have a headcannon that a lot of the orphanage staff fought in the Great War. They were originally from other countries that were allied with Japan before settling down there.

And work in an orphanage because orphanage staff were in high demand after the war due to how many were orphaned because of it.

The Headmaster himself grew up during war times and I feel he’d open his doors to them.

They’re just as cruel as the native staff with the added bonus that they will speak their mother tongue. They do not care at all of the kids don’t know what they’re talking about.

‘I don’t understand’ is not a valid excuse. So the kids had to learn and adapt in order to not to be punished for ‘disobedience’ for not knowing other languages than Japanese.

This results in Atsushi being multilingual.

He doesn’t actually know it’s not a normal thing to be because everyone at the orphanage knew several languages outside of their mother tongue. It’s how you survived after all.

I can just imagine so Atsushi is confused when everyone’s trying to figure out Fitzgerald’s message.And he recites it almost perfectly to them.

Because we know European countries such as the UK and France were involved in the war. It stands to reason a number of the orphanage staff would be from European countries.

Hence Atsushi knowing English and well he’s not perfect, far from it. But he also spent at least a decade surrounded by and talking to native speakers. So he knows quite a lot, especially swear words because no one at that place knew how to talk kindly to children.

Especially Atsushi.

I like to think there’s a similar precedence for Yosano. Having to interact and treat soldiers aiding Japan that weren’t Japanese. I can see kid Yosano stubbornly refusing to give up and learned so she could better treat and comfort people.

Even if they’d end up screaming in her face like everyone else did.

So when Atsushi starts to think this is another thing that alienates him from everyone else, Yosano talks to him. She reassures him he’s not alone and knowing other languages helps you connect with people.

Yosano and the others especially Kunikida encourage Atsushi to learn more about the languages he knows. And Atsushi does, he and Yosano pick a language everyday to speak in to each other.

And yeah and their a bit out of practice but they get there. And Atsushi feels a sense of comfort in speaking more than one language, because that was his reality for years.

And this time there’s no punishment for getting things wrong.

To the point Atsushi managed to muster up the courage to talk with foreign clients during non serious cases. And they more often than not think it’s sweet, are happy to see someone try to speak their mother tongue and give him pointers.

Atsushi is able to talk and help people that are often forgotten by society, much like he himself was. And it makes him feel better about it, that he can use this knowledge to help people.

Although he would prefer if Dazai didn’t come to his desk everyday and badger him into teaching him Russian swears.

[eepywriters]

.✦°. • Birthday boy ( ´∀｀)

warnings: none, just pure fluff and simp Quackity

a/n: HI GUYS, I had to speedrun this so if it feels rushed I’m so sorry ���� but I put heart into it so I hope y’all enjoy!!

Ah the bed, what a glorious invention. It’s comfy, fluffy, warm and, most importantly, it’s where, usually, one of the best activities it’s conducted: sleeping.

Now, Alex loves working, he does! It’s written all over his projects. The passion that drives every piece of work he makes couldn’t be as strong as it is without determination and etiquette. After all, he is indeed THE Alex Quackity, creator of the first multilingual server with live translations.

But sometimes, just sometimes, he doesn’t mind sleeping the day away. His pounding head and aching eyes beg for rest on the daily, so it’s nice to actually give his body and his mind a moment to shut down once in a while.

A touch on his naked arm made him stir in his sleep. He groans. He wasn’t ready to let go of his sweet slumber just yet.

“Alex, baby, wake up, I’ve got something for you”.

An half-conscious grumble leaves him, which was more of acknowledgement of hearing your voice speak to him rather than an answer to whatever you were babbling about. Cause listen, as sleep deprived as he could be, nothing could separate him from his bed when he was actually set on resting.

“Baby c’mon, we can nap later”.

The soft feeling of pillowy lips pressing against his temple finally rouses him from his sleep. He sighs, a throaty, sleepy sigh, while stretching his back lightly.

“There you are baby”

The gears on Alex’s head are slowly turning as his systems finally makes sense of the world surrounding him. And while most of his mind is concentrated on your delicate hand stroking oh so lovingly his cheek, he can’t help but notice the delicious smell that was floating around the air.

He opens his eyes, now wanting to find out what exactly was making his taste buds tingle in curiosity.

Oh what a grave mistake that was.

A streak of sunlight pierces his eyes instantly, making him close them back on instinct with a weak cry.

“Noo turn off the lights” he drawls sleepily, shielding his poor, aching eyes with his arms. His mouth was still pasty from his sleep and he, quite frankly, didn’t understand what was the deal about waking him up so soon.

And then you laugh, and on a normal occasion he would’ve bite back, cause you were obviously laughing at his idiotic behavior, but he was sooo sleepy and your laugh sounded sooo pretty. (When did he go to sleep again? 2 Am?).

Slowly blinking the sleep out of his system, Alex was met with a rather endearing sight: there you stood, a cute, big grin brightening your face whilst you looked down at him with an amused gaze. He could tell you where sleepy yourself, if not by your tired eyes, by the dark circle that were adorning your features. After all, what did anyone expect from the partner of Quackity? Two sleep deprived people are better than one. (He’s not gonna delve into what seeing you standing there with only an old t-shirt of his was doing to his body).

“Good morning birthday boy”.

Oh, now he knows why you rudely (not really) woke him up.

“Hey” he mutters, scratching his crusty, tired eyes, hoping that the sleepy haze that was still clouding his mind will go away.

“Damn that’s all I get? Not even a pet name? We live in a society…” you frowned.

“Shut up” he snorts, looking back at you, just for his eyes to stop at a little red box you were holding. It is very pretty: a big yellow ribbon was tying together the bright red walls of the box, and hey, was that a duck painted on the side of it?

Before his fogged brain can even come up with a question, you are already in action.

“Stand still, your only job is to look pretty now”

He quirks a brow. He’s not sure of what you have going on today, but he’s in for it, especially since he can still smell the sweetness of the treat you’re hiding inside that box.

He sits up and his head lolls backwards onto the cupboard, giving him the perfect angle to watch you fiddling around.

“It’s rude to stare you know?”

“Mhh is it? Even when there’s something so beautiful to look at?” he replies, jokingly wiggling his eyebrows up and down at you.

“You’re such a flatter” you sigh, yet he can see you hiding your smile in your arm.

You soon bring out a tray to him, which had a plate, a fork, an empty glass and a cute, pink piece of paper on top of it. You had obviously written on the paper - he could recognize your handwriting instantly in any context given - and really, it wasn’t even debatable since the paper read “Happy bday amor <3”.

He brought the paper up to his lips, leaving a soft peck on it before putting it on his nightstand. Was he dramatic with it? Yes, but he swears that when it comes to you he just can’t help himself but cherish everything you give him.

“Here you go, I hope you like it”.

You finally open the little box, reveling an adorable, tiny chocolate cake. It was simple: it was round, not more than 10 centimeters wide, and it feature a raspberry and two blueberries on top.

He licks his lips and dives into it immediately, not waiting for approval nor giving it any second thought. He chews on the cake with a satisfied hum, letting the sweet, but strong taste of chocolate invade his mouth. Again, it was really simple, but the fact that it came from you made it ten times more tasteful.

“Where did you buy this? It’s great” he says, searching for the label of the bakery on the tiny box you handed to him. Maybe later he could’ve bought some sweets for his guests there. He strangely couldn’t find it.

“Actually… I made it”.

Saying his mouth was agape would be an understatement, his jaw was on the floor.

“WHAT” he screams with his mouth still full. He did have the decency to swallow before screaming out again: “THERE’S NO WAY”.

He swears he could’ve died right there. Your shy smile and the light blush that paints your cheek enough to send his brain into override.

“Yeah, woke up early to make it today. I’m surprised you didn’t wake up sooner, I made quite the mess” you cackle to yourself, probably remembering all the ruckus you made whilst scratching your neck in embarrassment.

“Im surprised you liked it that much honestly” you trail off, insecurity dripping from your hushed tone.

Was it really though? Alex would eat anything you gave him if it followed a “I made it for you”. Yes, he was that whipped, and he isn’t ashamed of it. It always has been you, trough life and death, he knew from the moment he uttered the first “I love you” that you were his ride or die.

“You did amazing (Name)” he smiles, craning his neck just enough for you to share a sweet, short kiss.

“I can tell you worked hard for it, I’m proud of you” he whispers at mere centimeters from your face, like it’s something just for you to hear and hold dear onto. He leaves a peck on the corner of your mouth before sitting back again.

“I’m very glad you liked it” you say softly, giving him one of those genuine smiles he’d die for “BUT we got much more to do! It’s time to open your gifts!”.

You clap your hands excitedly, already scurrying off to put the tray away.

“What if I want to unwrap another type of gift” he taunts, moving his arms behind his head while wearing a sly grin. He kinda felt bad about making you do all the work, but he figures that maybe, just this once, he can let himself be babied a little.

You shake your head, looking at him with faux disappointment. Your hands found your hips as you scold him: “Cmon you horny bastard, we are going”.

“You called me a WHAT” he says in his typical high pitched voice, following after you. He catches up to you in an instant and wraps his arms around your frame, keeping you still.

“Say that again, i dare you” he threatens light heartedly.

“Nu uh”.

“Okay, you asked for it” he whispers in your ear, impossibly close.

The world went quiet. Your eyes widened.

You knew what was coming.

“No wait, we can talk ab-“

You weren’t fast enough to stop him. You signed your fate.

His hands move swiftly all around your body, wiggling his fingers on those he knew to be your weak spots. He laughs at you, laughs at your misery. Your body twitches uncontrollably and your lungs beg for air.

“S-STop FUGAHAH, oh my GOd- HAHAhH ALEX” you cry out, trashing around in his hold while he brought hell on earth on your poor body. He continues to laugh at your weak attempt to wiggle out of his grip, determined to make you regret calling him names.

“Nu uh”

Needless to say, you where among the few guests on Alex’s birthday stream, and you were also the one who had clean all of it up. Nonetheless, the afternoon was filled with laughter, a bit of alcohol, and carefree dances.

　　*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

extra:

Well cleaning up that mess was sure a challenge. You had to do 3 Tiktok browsing pauses before actually getting it done (to be honest, you did spend more time on your phone than cleaning, but you’re sure nobody will snitch on you).

Right as you put down the broom, you spot Alex coming towards you, the shit eating grin he was wearing giving away his intentions.

“Can I get my final gift now?” he speaks, using a gravelly tone that catches you off guard. It was hard to take him seriously when he still had some confettis stuck to his clothes, even though you’d be lying if you said you minded the offer.

“You moron” you laugh, instinctively wrapping your arms around his neck.

“Is that a yes?” He whispers, leaving a soft peck on the crook of your neck.

“Fuck yes”.

[mrsoftthoughts]

Broke: Nico is only a bilingual knowing Italian and English .

Woke :Nico is a multilingual because he picked up the languages while learning how to shadows travel and end up in half of the globe in the process.

Besspoke: Nico is a multilingual because he is a Boy born and raised in a high society Noble family at the 30s in Italy and being fluid in various languages was something Expected from him.

[cissyenthusiast010155]

High Society ~Melissa Schemmenti x Lauren Reynolds(Emily Prentiss) xFem Younger!Spy!Reader (High Society AU)

Summary— Reader is infiltrating the international high society of crime… She meets two of the most notorious European crime bosses, Melissa Schemmenti and Lauren Reynolds…

Mommy… Master List

Requests & Prompt-List

Warnings: fluff, flirting, light physical affection, criminal activities, implied criminal activities, etc.

Enjoy (;

Your shoulders tensed as you strode through the immaculate doorframe of the expansive ballroom. The decor across the entire room reminded you of French Revolutionary Era fashion. Many well dressed men and women filled the room, intermingling with one another in multilingual pockets. The high walls and higher ceiling caused the chatter of the room to echo and grow into a beast of its own. Your heels clicked and clacked on the marble floor, as you strode into the ballroom with a deep breath.

Eagerly accepting some champagne from a waiter, you began to mingle. You immediately realized how hard it was to keep up with conversations with these high society people. You had not been trained enough for this part, the socializing. But you realized that she could tackle one pocket of conversation at a time, gathering information as you went. Walking up to her first pocket of three men and one woman each surrounded by one or two escorts, you shook off her nerves and put on a flirtatious smile.

“Ciao bella! Come ti chiami!!” The redheaded older woman exclaimed with a purr.

“Mi lusinghi, sono Carmen. Voi uomini sembrate conoscere la folla in cui vi siete.” You hummed, batting your eyelashes at each of the men, but especially the older, powerful woman, playing along and pretending to be flattered.

As you did so, you noticed the men’s attire. There were three of them, and they each wore standard Italian government shoes. Their suits were expensive, but not a fortune, again speaking for a government salary. All of them stood out in the ambience of the French ballroom. The french music accompanied by their hearty Italian voices were like two shrill violins being played at once, their styles just did not go well together. Then there was the older woman. She stood out from the rest of the pocket. Her attire still screamed Italian mob, just like the men, but wealthier. You gulped and wondered whether you stood out as much as they did. Because they belonged in this crowd, and you most certainly did not.

“Sei venuto nel posto giusto, tesoro. Il nome è Melissa! Lascia che ti presenti in giro!” The older, powerful redhead cooed, stepping forward playfully and offering her arm to you.

You sent the wealthy mob boss a coy smile, sauntering yo ur way over, hips swaying deliciously, in a way where all of their eyes were magnetized to you. You noticed the expensive bracelets on her arm as you linked your arm into hers.

“Come potrei rifiutare? Guida la strada, Melissa.” You hummed teasingly, your eyes sparkling with flirtation in submission.

As Melissa guided you out of one pocket and towards another, you stifled the gag in her throat from the rest of the room’s behavior (especially the men). You may have the skill of deception down, but you certainly had not gotten used to how disgusting it made her you with what she had to play to.

As they swayed in tandem across the floor, you picked up the many other languages being spoken, as well as the many cultural fashions being worn. A group of Japanese business men were tucked into the corner of the ballroom, conspicuously chattering away, on the other side was a group of mixed gender Portuguese officials. Corruption from all around the globe was present, the highest officials doing business with one another, the worst of the worst gathering annually, all under the pretense of diplomacy. You was triggered out of her thoughts and nervousness by the sound of a new tongue, a group of old money men drinking and chuckling to themselves.

“Meine Herren, darf ich Sie meiner Bekannten Carmen vorstellen!” Melissa exclaimed in a semi broken speech.

These men did not react as openly as the previous pocket, and their gazes seemed to be more judgemental. You tried not to look like she was having a panic attack at how intensely these men were analyzing her. She tried to focus on her mission: analyze the party goers and collect character information. After a moment however, a brunette woman on the side of the pocket extended her hand to the you.

“Es ist schön, dich kennenzulernen, Vivian. Ich bin Lauren.” the international woman hummed, while shaking the your hand.

These men and Lauren seemed to blend into the scene more than the previous. They were quieter and more reserved, but that by no means meant that they were any less powerful than the former. You were sure that each person in here could realistically put out a hit on her and have her killed in less than 24 hours.

You continued to mingle, allowing Melissa and Lauren to guide you by your lower back and hand you the introductions you needed on a silver platter. You laughed at all their jokes while collecting all of the details you could. You had now gotten used to how suffocating the air was. You had successfully established yourself in the inner circle.

~~~

Part 2, more heated fic, of this High Society AU…? 😏

Melissa Schemmenti Masterlist

Emily Prentiss Masterlist

[internationalliteracyday]

Promoting multilingual education: Literacy for mutual understanding and peace’.

The International Literacy Day (ILD) 2024 is being celebrated under the theme of ‘Promoting multilingual education: Literacy for mutual understanding and peace’. Conflicts today threatens mutual understanding, harmonious co-existence, pluralism and peace, serving as a sharp reminder of the need to begin by constructing the defences of peace in the minds of people, in which literacy is central. Meanwhile, multilingualism is increasingly common in our world, in which approximately 7,000 living languages are unevenly spread across around 200 countries, with higher degrees of diversity in subSaharan Africa and Asia and the Pacific. This is due to a range of factors, including globalization, digitalization, and the increasing mobility of people. As recently as one decade ago, about two in three children grew up in a multilingual context. In 2022, the number of refugees, many of whom may need to master a host country’s language, reached 35 million, an increase of 8 million over 2021. More than 108.4 million people had been forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations, representing an increase of 19 million people over the previous year. Based on the current trend, the number of people who use more than one language in daily life could continue to grow in the coming decades. Meanwhile, about half of living languages are in danger of extinction by the end of the century. In 2021, 77% of communication in cyberspace was dominated by only 10 languages. Given that languages – oral, written, and sign languages – are not only essential tools for communication and knowledge management but also for embracing and preserving people’s identities, cultures, worldviews, and knowledge systems, conscious efforts are needed to use and preserve everyone’s first languages in daily life and in the public sphere. Globally, however, it is estimated that about 40% of the population does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand. In Africa, 8 in 10 children learn in a language that is different from their first language, and the prospects of learning in one’s first language appear even slimmer for youth and adults, who may often be outside the formal education system. This not only hinders the acquisition of basic literacy skills, but also undermines linguistic and cultural diversity, creates epistemic and cultural hierarchies, and impacts social and economic development of individuals and communities, which could be detrimental to building inclusive, peaceful and sustainable societies.

[storiesfromgaza]

Greetings, everyone

Ever since the inception of this blog, a persistent question has been haunting me: Will any of this truly make a difference? I swiftly brushed it aside, reminding myself, 'Why should I concern my mind with this? I'll focus my abilities on doing everything within my power without fixating on the outcome.'

With this in mind, I embarked on the path of translation and article writing with unwavering dedication, telling myself that if I could reach just one individual and dispel the darkness that media relentlessly tries to cast over their eyes, veiling their spirit, that would be fulfilling enough for me.

And now, a mere five days after the creation of this blog, I felt compelled to write this message to you because I understand that this question plagues your thoughts as well. Does any of this hold significance? Does any of this create a meaningful impact?

This is a comment from a woman on the video of the elderly couple who were carrying a lifeless child (their son or grandchild) after they brought him out from under the debris.

This is just one example of a woman who heightened her awareness and began harnessing everything within her grasp, investing it in any opportunity to help, from offering support to educating herself and sharing her knowledge with those around her, including her family.

Today, and just five days after the creation of this blog, we have reached 10,871 people. which I'm asking you not to treat it as a mere number; because each one of them represents an individual, a person with an identity, a life, a story, a family, friends and an impact on society, no matter how small. Each one of them is a human being, just like her. Even if we assume that only a quarter of this number are people who have increased their awareness and shared the truth with those around them, we're talking about 2,717 people! A significant number in a short period, just five days.

The second noteworthy point is when Gaza was completely cut off from the world, with internet, communication networks, and even electricity severed, after the uprising in which everyone, including you, participated. The internet was restored to Gaza after only two days.

Furthermore, a literary magazine that focuses on multilingualism contacted us, asking to publish the stories and articles we've translated here in their upcoming issue, which will expand their reach to a larger audience.

All of this, thanks to God, happened in less than one week (five days) after creating the blog. Now, after all this, have you received an answer to your question?

#2- many of you are asking about is how you can help? In reality, there are several ways, with the Blaze feature offered by Tumblr being a prominent one. This feature allows the audience to promote any post they choose on the blog to a specific number of viewers, constrained by the amount of Blaze.

With only 5 dollars, the smallest amount of support, you can promote a post to 2,500 people! 2,500 Human!

25 dollars your chosen post will reach 7,000 people! 7000 Human!

65 dollars will result in the chosen post reaching 20,000 people, 20,000 Human!

and for the maximum support amount, which is 150 dollars, your selected post will be delivered to 50,000 people, 50,000 Human!"

Promoting posts with Blaze won't only increases the reach of the specific post but also directs more traffic to the blog itself, as those who see the promoted post are likely to visit the blog and explore other stories and articles. So, it's impact not limited to a single post.

Furthermore, you can choose the audience of the country you want to target using the Blaze feature, such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States. You can do all of this by clicking the Blaze button below any post you want to promote.

If you are able to support with any amount, it will make a significant difference in reaching a larger audience and increasing awareness. If you find it difficult to select a specific post or story to use the Blaze feature on, I will provide some suggestions here that would be beneficial to promote and reach a wider audience:

The video of the elderly couple carrying a child's lifeless body, with the man's face adorned with a thousand years of sorrow, helplessness, and despair, while the woman continues to weep beside him. [https://www.tumblr.com/storiesfromgaza/732477157492834304/two-elderly-people-the-mans-face-adorned-with?source=share]

The video of the woman carrying her child's body, weeping and asking her father to leave her child in her embrace, and then requesting them to bury her with him. [https://www.tumblr.com/storiesfromgaza/732437085371432960/after-losing-her-child-to-the-shelling-a?source=share]

The story of the suffering of the girl Saba [https://www.tumblr.com/storiesfromgaza/732282818040872960/saba-my-cousin-is-in-the-third-grade-in-2019?source=share]

The story of Emad's only son. [https://www.tumblr.com/storiesfromgaza/732168563115409408/i-sat-with-emad-on-the-corner-of-the-street-he?source=share]

The story of Majd's little sister. [https://www.tumblr.com/storiesfromgaza/732160503297769472/my-little-sister-in-the-midst-of-everything?source=share]

The child Yussuf. [https://www.tumblr.com/storiesfromgaza/732146206757830656/what-is-the-worst-nightmare-for-any-healthcare?source=share]

Your support will make a significant difference, and for those who cannot provide support, simply sharing the content here and on Instagram (@amrshater), following and engaging with it, and sharing it on your own accounts' stories will also make a significant impact by reaching a larger audience.

In the end, Alhamdulillah (praise be to God), and thank you all.

[cadere-art]

Text from the image:

The Gichan are the product of a long history of conquest, fueled by their much coveted mountain passes and watersheds. The culture of the Kingdom of Gichan is highly syncretic. It owes its mores and traditions in varying parts to the underlying cultural substrate, to the Ghøwout Empire's centuries of rule, to the practices of their neighbors and to those of the new Gichan regime. To defend its precious lands, Gichan has a well-developped military with a strong core of professional soldiers, Gichan's regime is indissociable from its military: all noble families have a strong military background and it is customary for nobles of all rank to serve as officers for years or even decades.

Gichan was originally the name of a small nation in the mountains up the Cianji River, which became legendary for their unabating resistance in the face of the early Ghøwout Empire. When Ghøwout's northernmost province rebelled and seceded, it took on the name Gichan as a symbol of their resistance against imperial rule.

Gichan society is strongly divided between its military and peasant classes, but its peasants are far from powerless. Peasantry in Gichan is much revered : it is said to carry the nation on its strong back. as it works the fields and crafts the goods that feed and clothe the nation's soldiers. This romanticized potrayal often impedes serious understanding between local leaders and military lords, but fosters an attitude of gratitude towards the peasant's hard toil. In the harsh Gichan lands, a satisfied peasantry is seen as a priority.

Gican society is organized as chains of villages, each with their own village leaders, trading spouses and ressources up and down the mountains. They are ruled in a roughly feudal fashion, paying taxes in labour and goods to local military lords which themselves defer to higher lords up to the Gican royal court. Like in Ghøwout, religious specialists are excluded from this hierarchy: known as chui-chuøn (t. wild men), they are traditional healers and spiritual leaders often living in relative hermitage. In a set of practices long considered uncivilized by the Ghøwout, chui-chuøn wear numerous pelts and animal bones as a symbol of their otherworldly connections and hermitage. Uniquely, chui-chuøn do not wear tail brooches, as a way to signal that they are apart from society and clanship.

The Gichan use a modified Ghøwout script and many ghøwoutish loanwords, but most Gichan do not speak the Ghøwout tongue. They speak a variety of dialects, the most common of which is Tchougougch. Much of the peasantry is multilingual, having learned the language of a neighboring community within Gichan or of the many foreign traders using Gichan's mountain passes.

Gichan's territory has often been coveted and contested, much to the suffering of its locals. The revolution that broke Gichan apart from Ghøwout was strongly backed by the people, who felt Ghøwout had abandoned them in the face of the invading Senq Ha Empire. The Senq Ha had come from overseas and taken the Peninsular lands like a wildfire, and were now at their door, but Ghøwout, weakened by illnesses brought by the conquerors and internal strife, failed to mount a defense for Gichan in time, allowing much of it to be conquered. After this betrayal, the people of the passes, under the rule of two different empires, united and rebelled under the legendary name Gichan. They became the first province to secede from Ghøwout, initiating the Empire's long decline, and one of the first major setbacks of the Senq Ha in their invasion of Uanlikri.

[beautiful-basque-country]

So the f*cking French Senate is discussing that Andalusia has decided to get rid off of French classes from publich schools

Why this is a French question d'état escapes my understanding.

The audacity of stating: "If multilingualism is not encouraged from an early age in public education, opportunities will be reduced, affecting the solid construction of a multicultural and multilingual European society." But fuck regional languages, they're not included.

"This situation leaves the teaching of French at the discretion of educational establishments and dependent on a minimum number of interested students." As it should in like... a country that is not France??? WTF, I can't believe this is real.

"Consequently and with the aim of overcoming a possible educational crisis, he requests that a mission be carried out in order to evaluate the application of all the European Union agreements signed in 2002, as well as the successive Franco- Spanish." These delusional people are really ready to bring this to the EU, my god, French nationalism is on another level 💀.

[avelera]

So I’ve gone back and I’ve been reading some Old Guard fic (as I try to get motivated to write the last damn chapter of my one damn TOG WIP finished so I can finally moved on), and I must admit, one silly and very minor pet peeve I have in some Nicky/Joe fics for the Old Guard that explore their Crusader days is the trope of having them go a really long time without being able to understand each other. Because based on Nicky’s path as a Crusader even getting to the Holy Land, and the various hints we have that Joe has a pretty worldly background, I would suggest they should have had a baseline to communicate already when they met and that bridging the gap would have gone very quickly for one or both of them once they committed to learning.

There’s a few reasons I find them going a really long time without speaking each other’s language (most likely Nicky picking up Arabic) somewhat implausible:

- First, just based on my own personal experience: I went through a full language immersion experience myself and yes it was painful and yes, having textbooks and classes certainly helped, but all told it was 3-4 months from almost zero before I could start doing normal things for my age group like read simple books and do homework. However, the most effective language learning program in the country, Middlebury, does a full immersion program that gets people to baseline functionality in 6 weeks. Yes, learning a language is hard and I will be the first to say that mastery takes years and mastery without immersion is nearly impossible, but if you’re completely immersed there, without options, it goes much faster. You won’t be fluent of course but you will be conversational. Also, by all accounts, being illiterate or otherwise not bothering to learn how to read and write at the same time and ONLY going for verbal communication actually makes things go even faster.

- People who pick up by speaking (rather than reading and writing) and people who speak multiple languages already tend to pick up other languages even more quickly. Once you learn one or two, a lot of polyglots don’t stop there. There is that old joke: the word for speaking three languages is trilingual, two languages is bilingual, and speaking only one language is American. Which is to say I think native English speaking writers might be the ones underestimating how quickly a language can be learned (at least to a conversational level).

- Now throw in the fact that both Nicky and Joe have been recently in multilingual societies or organizations as a requirement of their meeting during the First Crusade, no matter how you slice it. Either as both coming from a merchant trading backgrounds traveling across international (so to speak) lands, or Nicky being part of the pan-European Christian army where multiple languages would be spoken across the camp, to him possibly having a priest background which would mean Latin as well. Not to mention Greek if Nicky picked up anything while in Constantinople (if he came over land). Nicky also would have been on the road to the Holy Land, if he went overland, for as long as 3 years and in Antioch before Jerusalem.

- Now, as an admitted caveat to all of this, I’ve lived overseas and it is absolutely common for expats to live in a country for years without bothering to pick up the local language at all. There were cultural and societal reasons that European Crusaders and the Egyptian Fatimids who lost Jerusalem wouldn’t bother to learn each other’s languages or any of the common merchants tongue or other common languages like Greek to bother to talk to each other. That’s absolutely fair to invoke for why they wouldn’t have a single word of any language in common.

- However, I will say, once both or either of them decided to try, I think some writers don’t give enough credit for how quickly one or the other would pick a language up, especially if it’s the language of the country they’re in (basically, I think once he tried, Nicky would pick up Arabic very quickly if he’s still in the Holy Land by the time he and Joe start trying to communicate). Effort plus full immersion is probably the single fastest way to learn a language, you’d be able to have rudimentary conversations within a few months at most. Really from there it’s just a question of whose country are they in once they start talking and stop trying to kill each other.

TL;DR I will be the first to say an author should go with what makes their story work best BUT there’s plenty of historically backed reasons why Nicky and Joe should have been able to carry on a basic conversation with each other from when they first met, and not be completely stymied in communicating with each other because of a language barrier.