America the Bilingual

The American journalist, linguist, and author Michael Erard (Babel No More) has lived in South America, Asia, and now in Europe. He’s always had an ear to the native languages as much as for them. A deep researcher of language, he shares in this episode why he believes that “human beings are meant to have very complex linguistic systems in their brains.” He also explains why he likens learning a language to weaving a rope. Thanks to members of the America the Bilingual Project team who worked on this episode: Fernando Hernández, writer for this episode, and his production house in Guadalajara, Mexico, Esto No Es Radio, which provides sound design and mixing; Mim Harrison, editorial and brand director of the America the Bilingual Project; and Karla Hernandez at Daruma Tech, who manages our website. Meet the entire America the Bilingual team—including our bark-lingual mascot, Chet—here. Music in this episode, in sequence: Demoiselle Döner, - Des têtes trop pleines https://bit.ly/421rrhp John Bartmann - African Moon https://bit.ly/47Avvqe Kevin Macleod - QuasiMotion https://bit.ly/KevinMacleod_QuasiMotion Loyalty Freak Music - Waiting TTTT https://bit.ly/3HEwICx TRG Banks - Michael Landon https://bit.ly/47ytYkp TRG Banks - Horse Ride 2 https://bit.ly/3LRPuZv Jorge Mario Zuleta - En Detención https://bit.ly/JMZ_detencion John Bartmann - Bouncy Gypsy Beats https://bit.ly/4aR7RZv

Join Steve for a lively, upbeat and often surprising conversation with first-generation Chinese American Amy Chua. A Yale law professor who gained fame as the Tiger Mom, she made sure that her children grew up as she did: bilingual. Listen as Amy describes three traits American immigrants share that help them excel. She also explains what the reviewers got wrong about her controversial bestseller “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” and explores how American bilingualism could bolster what Amy’s parents taught her was “just the greatest document in the world”: the American Constitution. Plus: why Amy’s newest book is nothing like her others. Join us now for this episode of America the Bilingual. Thanks to members of the America the Bilingual Project team for this episode: Fernando Hernández and his production house in Guadalajara, Mexico Esto No Es Radio, which provides sound design and mixing; Mim Harrison, editorial and brand director of the America the Bilingual Project who wrote and directed this episode; and Karla Hernandez at Daruma Tech, who manages our website. Music artists and selections, in order of listening: HoliznaCC0 - Dream pop https://bit.ly/3ZNXhx4 Loyalty Freak Music - Friend to friend https://bit.ly/3 iMYXWs Kevin Macleod - Quasi motion https://bit.ly/KevinMacleod_QuasiMotion Loyalty Freak Music - Shoepop https://bit.ly/3RMh9yM Pictures of the floating world - Nomadic https://bit.ly/3LVlpYV Loyalty Freak Music - One cool minute https://bit.ly/42WvMlk TRG Banks - Horse ride 2 https://bit.ly/3LRPuZv Soft and furious - Superconnected sleep https://bit.ly/3rN902r John Bartmann - Secret agent rock https://bit.ly/3ZMr0X8

As a native English speaker who became smitten with Spanish, the American journalist Joe Keenan decided that nobody else had written how to break out of beginniner’s Spanish, so he would have to do it himself. That’s just how he titled his first book, back in 1995. It became a bestseller, one that continues to sell more than 20 years later, and in an updated edition. In this exclusive interview, hear some of the author’s best tips for giving your Spanish a turbo boost, plus other tips that apply to learning any language. Along the way, learn some Mexican Spanish dichos, or sayings crafted from popular wisdom. You’ll get to know what false cognates are and how to avoid them on your own journey to intermediate and advanced levels of Spanish. Thanks to members of the America the Bilingual Project team for this episode: Fernando Hernández, who wrote and directed this episode, and his Mexican production house Esto No Es Radio, which provides sound design and mixing; Mim Harrison, editorial and brand director of the America the Bilingual Project; and Karla Hernandez at Daruma Tech, who manages our website. Music artists and selections, in order of listening: Loyalty Freak Music - One cool minute https://bit.ly/42WvMlk Kevin Macleod -Quasi motion https://bit.ly/KevinMacleod_QuasiMotion Koi Discovery - Beer blues https://bit.ly/3pIQxmi Komiku - In the restaurant https://bit.ly/3OfJTOs The new mystikal troubadours - NMT_the lonely hunter pt. 1_11.21.20 https://bit.ly/3pKr6AL Wax Lyricist - A bad death https://bit.ly/3WbFwG7 HoliznaCC0 - Endless Grind https://bit.ly/3MxdT7r Pictures of the floating world - Cycles https://bit.ly/41L8uxT

Martina Castro, the award-winning production impresario behind Duolingual’s popular multilingual podcasts and NPR’s Radio Ambulante, has become a major force in audio storytelling. Hear this Uruguayan American recount her own story of being bilingual in America, in Episode 64 of the America the Bilingual podcast, “ A Global Audio Storyteller: The Journey of Martina Castro.” You can read about other inspiring American bilinguals in the book “America’s Bilingual Century.” Details are on the Book page of americathebilingual.com Thanks to members of the America the Bilingual Project team for this episode: Mim Harrison, editorial director of the Project; Karla Hernandez at Daruma Tech, who manages our website; and Fernando Hernández, who wrote, mixed, and sound designed this episode. Music credits: HoliznaCC0 - Ugly Truth https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/left-overs/ugly-truth/ Kevin Macleod - Quasi motion https://bit.ly/KevinMacleod_QuasiMotion HoliznaCC0 - 20 minute meditation1 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/space-sleep-meditation/20-minute-meditation-1/ HoliznaCC0 - Sky scrapers https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/city-slacker/sky-scrapers/ Wax Lyricist - the brass brigade https://freemusicarchive.org/music/wax-lyricist/the-wax-lyricist/the-brass-brigade/ HoliznahCC0 - Endless grind https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/city-slacker/endless-grind/

“I don’t know that I would have become a writer had I not grown up with this very deeply rooted fascination with language and the ways that for me it existed in these two worlds.” That’s the Peruvian American author Natalia Sylvester, whose newest book, “Breathe and Count Back from Ten,” was named a 2022 Today Show Pick. In Episode 62 of the America the Bilingual podcast, we talk with Natalia about how words have shaped her experiences as a young Latina immigrant to America. She also describes how she writes her novels in English, but with her home language of Spanish often guiding what appears on the page. Music credits, in order of appearance: John Bartmann - Umlungu https://freemusicarchive.org/music/John_Bartmann/Public_Domain_Soundtrack_Music_Album_One/umlungu/ Kevin Macleod - Quasi motion https://bit.ly/KevinMacleod_QuasiMotion Monplaisir - A good start https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Monplaisir/American_Dreams_Soundtrack/Monplaisir_-_American_Dreams_Original_Soundtrack_-_12_A_Good_Start/ Loyalty freak music - Shoepop https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Loyalty_Freak_Music/MELODIES_WITH_A_BEAT/Loyalty_Freak_Music_-_MELODIES_WITH_A_BEAT_-_09_Shoepop/ Komiku - The tablets https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Komiku/Helice_Awesome_Dance_Adventure_/the-tablets/ Monplaisir - Brother https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Monplaisir/American_Dreams_Soundtrack/Monplaisir_-_American_Dreams_Original_Soundtrack_-_04_Brother/ TRG Banks - Daybreak in a new town https://bit.ly/TRGBanks_Daybreakinanewtown

“I do consider Puerto Rico a borderland of the United States,” says Brenda Piñero of her homeland, which is both a part of, and apart from, the U.S. In Episode 60 of the America the Bilingual podcast, Brenda shares what it’s like to work on the border in South Texas as an American immigration attorney from a part of America that is a territory rather than a state. Every day she crosses emotionally from stories that are heartbreaking to those that are heartwarming. Often, they’re both.

In 1491, the Taíno people of the Caribbean and their language were thriving. After 1492, both had been extinguished. Or so many history books would have you believe. In Episode 58 of the America the Bilingual podcast, Priscilla Colón—whose DNA tested YES for Taíno—shares what it’s like to reclaim a language that was nearly lost. The language that was, in fact, the first Indigenous American language of contact with the European explorers.

Concert pianist Andrew von Oeyen has been learning languages even longer than he’s been performing with the world’s top orchestras—and he made his professional debut at age 16. In Episode 56 of the America the Bilingual podcast, he explains how his fluency in three other languages infuses his work with greater meaning (and did a lot for his relationships as well).