Interview with Dr. Pat Barr-Harrison Scholarship Awardee

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On January 1, 2024, Dr. Patricia Barr-Harrison, a Museum co-founder, passed away.  The National Museum of Language started a scholarship fund to honor Dr. Barr-Harrison’s work in promoting language learning.  In May 2025, Cindy Moussangui became the first winner of that award. It was presented in Dr. Barr-Harrison’s honor at Laurel High School, MD (Laurel High School, in Prince George’s County, is representative of the many schools that Pat oversaw when she ran the foreign languages department for Prince George’s County Public Schools).  The following is the gist of the interview with Cindy conducted by Greg Nedved, NML’s former president.

Read more about Dr. Barr-Harrison’s life.

What is your foreign language background?

CINDY: I grew up in a bilingual household.  My languages were English and French. I studied Spanish at Laurel High School.  My languages, in order of fluency, are English, French and Spanish.
I feel that coming from a bilingual background has made me more diverse and open-minded.  It has made me more accepting of other cultures.  It has been a motivating force for me.

What were your language activities at Laurel High School? 

CINDY: I tutored my classmates in French. One of my teachers arranged for me to do this, either before or after class.  I helped my classmates with French slang, something they were eager to learn.  

What are your plans after high school?

CINDY: I plan on attending the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES), where I will study dentistry.  I expect to handle patients in at least two languages (English and French).  I also expect to continue my French tutoring as a student.    

What would be your next language conquest?

CINDY: Most people would probably go towards Spanish but I think Arabic is interesting.  I like the way it sounds.

What advice would you give somebody starting out learning a foreign language?

CINDY: I doubt they would listen to me anyway (ha, ha!) but I would say just dive right into it and go at your own pace so that you can understand it. 

Do you have any final comments?

CINDY: I am so happy that I got the award.  It really was a surprise to me.  I also want to thank Dr. Pat Barr-Harrison for her work.

Watch the interview:

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Fanni is Radnóti's wife
Located near the Tang capital city of Chang’an, site of the modern city of Xi’an in Shaanxi province, in central China.
Soldiers of that time commonly wore a white head cloth, similar to what is still worn by some peasants in China today.  The implication is that the conscripts were so young that they didn’t know how to wrap their head cloths, and needed help from elders.
Before China’s unification under the Qin dynasty in 221 B.C. there were several competing smaller kingdoms.  Han and Qin were two of these kingdoms. Han was located east of famous mountain passes that separated that area from the power base of the Qin dynasty, with its capital in Chang’an. The Qin dynasty itself only lasted about 15 years after unification due to its draconian rule, but soldiers under Qin rule retained a reputation as strong fighters.
The area of Guanxi, meaning “west of the passes”, refers to the area around the capital city of Chang’an.
This is an alternative name for a province in western China, now known as Qinghai, which literally means “blue sea”.  Kokonor Lake, located in Qinghai, is the largest saline lake in China.  
Before China’s unification under the Qin dynasty in 221 B.C. there were several competing smaller kingdoms.  Han and Qin were two of these kingdoms. Han was located east of famous mountain passes that separated that area from the power base of the Qin dynasty, with its capital in Chang’an. The Qin dynasty itself only lasted about 15 years after unification due to its draconian rule, but soldiers under Qin rule retained a reputation as strong fighters.
Oulart Hollow was the site of a famous victory of the Irish rebels over British troops, which took place on May 27, 1798. The rebels killed nearly all the British attackers in this battle. (Source: Maxwell, W. H. History of the Irish Rebellion in 1798. H. H. Bohn, London 1854, pp 92-93, at archive.org)
The phrase "United Men" is elaborated upon in the Notes section below.

Ghetto

An Italian word meaning “foundry.” It originally referred to a part of the city of Venice where the Jews of that city were forced to live; the area was called “the ghetto” because there was a foundry nearby. The term eventually came to refer to any part of a city in which a minority group is forced to live as a result of social, legal, or economic pressure. Because of the restrictions placed upon them, ghetto residents are often impoverished.

"You’re five nine, I am do-uble two"

A reference to the year 1959 and the year 2020.

"The Currency"

Meaning US dollars - this is drawing attention to the fact that Cuba is effectively dollarized.

"Sixty years with the dom-ino stuck"

This sentence is a reference to the Cold War notion that countries would turn Communist one after the other - like dominos. Cuba was the first domino, but it got stuck - no one else followed through into communism.

رحلنا

رحلنا, or "rahalna," means "we have left."

Habibi

Habibi means "my love."

Ra7eel

Ra7eel, or "raheel," means "departure."

3awda

3awda, or "awda," means "returning."

أهلاً

أهلاً, or "ahalan," means "welcome."

a5 ya baba

a5 ya baba, pronounced "akh ya baba," means "Oh my father."

golpe

Treece translates "golpe" as "beating", which is correct, however misses the secondary meaning of the word: "coup".

Carlos

The “Carlos” referred to in the poem is most likely Carlos Bolsonaro, a politician from Rio de Janeiro and the second son of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s current president. His and his father’s involvement in Marielle’s murder has been questioned and investigated.