Another interesting event was held on 25 February at the Department of Intercultural Communication for students of the SPbGASU Preparatory Department for Foreign Applicants. It was timed to coincide with International Mother Language Day, celebrated on 21 February. The students prepared colorful presentations and engaging talks, discussing not only their native languages but also the cultures of their countries.
Every year, students from the Chinese province of Henan come to study at SPbGASU. This year was no exception. Two groups of Chinese students engaged the Russian and international guests with a unique presentation of their native language: one group prepared an entire Chinese lesson, and the audience enthusiastically recited greetings and expressions of gratitude, numbers, and the names of popular dishes. The other group explained that Henan had its own dialect, demonstrating how its words differ from those in standard Chinese, and accompanied the presentation with sights and delicious food, along with brief commentary on the photographs.
Students from Vietnam not only told the complex history of the Vietnamese language through the example of borrowings, but also accompanied their presentation with wonderful flute performance.
Indonesian students prepared a funny story about where to go on vacation in Indonesia and why Indonesian is easier than Russian, and they also played an Indonesian song in Russian.
A Turkish student prepared a serious presentation about her language. Speaking Turkish turned out to be challenging: when a Chinese student, captivated by the speaker's beauty, asked how to say "You are very beautiful" in Turkish, the sentence she delivered was so long that he immediately gave up.
Students from Ethiopia and Algeria presented very interesting papers on Amharic and Arabic. While the writing systems of these languages are distinct, they share a common beauty and ornamentation.
A special group of papers were presented by students from Africa. Each African country has at least a dozen national languages, all significantly different from one another. Among them are tonic (where words differ in pitch, like in Chinese) and atonal. Just look at the names of African languages – Igbo, Bemba, Lunda, Luganda, Fon, Hausa, Bambara! Everyone was particularly impressed by Bemba, where "thank you" sounds almost like the Russian name "Natasha."
At the celebration, the students not only got to know each other but also gained a wealth of information about different countries, cultures, and traditions. As they parted, the students promised to continue sharing their fascinating stories about their home countries.
