"There are over 7,000 languages spoken and signed around the world," explained Larry Hayashi, linguistics professor at TWU and at Canada Institute of Linguistics (CanIL). He continued, "For an infinite God, there must be infinite ways to praise him. Each language provides unique and irreplaceable perspectives through which to understand life and God."
Trinity Western University celebrates diversity and multilingualism on International Mother Language Day. TWU hosts the Canada Institute of Linguistics (CanIL), which provides linguistics instruction for both undergraduate and graduate degrees offered by TWU and ACTS Seminaries. Alumni are serving language communities in linguistics, literacy and Bible translation across the globe.
"In the Field Methods class, students learn to hear different sounds and make sense of them in face-to-face interaction with a mother-tongue speaker of a non-European language from around the world," said Hayashi.
One year, the language teacher for Hayashi's class was Mary Ngugi. Ngugi, whose mother language was Kikuyu, from Kenya, interacted with students to help them collect words, phrases and stories.
Read Larry Hayashi's and Mary Ngugi's story on TWU Stories:
TWU Stories
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier Christian liberal arts university dedicated to equipping students to establish meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. It is a fully accredited research institution offering liberal arts and sciences, as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has five campuses and locations: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, Ottawa, and Bellingham, WA. TWU emphasizes academic excellence, research, and student engagement in a vital faith community committed to forming leaders to have a transformational impact on culture. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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