DARPA Funds Game To Teach Arabic To Army

finnhart writes "According to a [free reg. req.] New York Times article, DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) has funded a project at the University of Southern California's School of Engineering to create a 'virtual camp' in which US soldiers can learn to speak Arabic, as well as learn local customs: 'All discussions with the villagers will have to be conducted in Arabic, and Sergeant Smith must comport himself with the utmost awareness of local customs so as not to arouse hostility. If successful, he will be paving the way for the rest of his unit to begin reconstruction work in the village'."

Comments

Re:Learning a language is not that easy

[aixou]

Is it really possible to teach the soldiers enough Arabic -- basically in their free time -- to communicate with the "villagers." Seriously, people spend years studying foreign languages, and usually only come out with mild fluency.

Never doubt the power of knowing just a little bit of another language. It's the thought that counts. Yeah sure, our soldiers aren't gonna become fluent, but it would show the Iraqis that the soldiers actually do have some respect for the culture and customs, and aren't mindless killing machines.

If you're ever abroad and happen to strike up a conversation with a stranger, bring up some obscure local custom of theirs (e.g. perhaps their is a local festival taking place, or a type of food made only in the area), and you'll be amazed at how excited they might become just at the fact that you know of it. We don't even think of such things here because America is so gigantic and omnipresent, and almost everyone has a cusory knowledge of American culture.

(btw, I'm assuming you're American... if you're not, then :P)