AMERICA the BILINGUAL E78 Steve Leveen interviews Ilan Stavans, a Tocqueville for our century

Season 2, Episode 1262,   Oct 17, 02:44 PM

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“The more languages you speak,” observes Ilan Stavans, who speaks several, “the more capacity you have either to experience this world as a multilayered place, or to live in multiple universes at the same time.” 
Ilan still remembers how, when as a youngster he and his family immigrated to New York City, “the juxtaposition of languages would become remarkable to me as an aspect of how languages are born, how languages remain alive, and even how they might die.” The word “immigrant” came up frequently in Steve’s conversation with Ilan. Its Latin root means “to move from one place to another.” In Ilan’s case, that’s not just physical places, but those other “multilayered places” and “multiple universes” he occupies. He is, for example, the Lewis-Sebring Professor of Humanities and Latin America and Latino Culture at Amherst College; a consultant to the Oxford English Dictionary; publisher of Restless Books; and author, coauthor, and translator of more books than he’s bothered to count. His is a multifaceted, multilingual life. There is, for instance, the unusual role that The Flintstones and Star Trek played in Ilan’s first knowing English as a child in Mexico, where his first language was, of course, Spanish. Not long after that, when his family moved to the US, Ilan soon appended “American” after “Mexican.” And then came the unexpected place that Yiddish now occupies in his heart.  At one point in this episode, Steve says: “The question I really want to ask you: is there a common theme to what you do?” To which Ilan replies: “Such a question, Steve, truly.”  And such a conversation. Once you listen to it, you’ll know why we’ve dubbed him a Tocqueville for our century.

LISTEN to ALL America the Bilingual podcasts on Apple Podcasts here: America the Bilingual by Steve Leveen; on Spotify; or wherever you tune in to your podcasts.
CREDITS Thanks to members of the America the Bilingual Project team for this episode: Mim Harrison, editorial and brand director of the America the Bilingual Project; Fernando Hernández Becerra and his production house in Guadalajara, Mexico, Esto No Es Radio, which provides sound design and mixing; and Jen Cavagnaro at Daruma Tech, who manages our website. Music credits, in order of appearance: HoliznaCC0, Tranquil Mindscape ( Lofi , Happy , Reflection ); U.S. Army Blues, Kelli’s Number; John Bartmann, African Moon, Somewhere Nice; HoliznaCC0, 20 Minute Meditation 1; U.S. Army Blues, Oginiland; Komiku, In the Restaurant; Koi-discovery, Oxforf by Night.
ABOUT THE PODCAST HOST Steve Leveen is the founder of the America the Bilingual project and the host of the America the Bilingual podcast. Leveen created America the Bilingual as an ongoing initiative to bring together Americans who believe that bilingualism can be an instrument of positive social change. Leveen was named a Fellow of the Advanced Leadership Initiative (ALI) of Harvard University in 2015 and a Fellow of the Distinguished Career Institute (DCI) at Stanford University in 2016. He used both fellowship years to conduct research for his book on bilingualism, America’s Bilingual Century: How Americans are giving the gift of bilingualism to themselves, their loved ones, and their country.
Listen to Nanette Wiser's interview with Steve Leveen here.
More on the book on America the Bilingual project here.
 Learn more here.     Follow Steve on Linked In.
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