Meet the new NML President: Greg Nedved!

Last night, on January 11th, Mr. Gregory Nedved was sworn in as the NML’s newest President. We are sad to see Dr. Jill Robbins leave us, but Mr. Nedved is bringing a long history and commitment to the NML to his new presidency, and we are excited to see the future of NML with him. I had a brief interview with him about the NML moving forward into 2018 and beyond, and here’s what he had to say.

 

Please tell us a bit about your language background.

My language by profession was Chinese-Mandarin.  Over a 30+ year career, I pretty much did it all, i.e., teaching, translating, interpreting for both the US Army and the Department of Defense.  I also did freelance translation.  I learned my Chinese at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA, and other Defense Department schools as well as at schools in China, Taiwan and Singapore.  I also have a couple of translation program certificates from the University of Chicago.  For the last ten years though I have not really been doing language work—I’ve been a historian for the Center for Cryptologic History, with my research focusing on Asia and on languages in general.

 

What is your history with the NML?

I have been with the Museum since 2008 (right when we opened our doors to the public) and have since served in various capacities, i.e., associate, trustee, secretary, vice president—and now president.  I’ve run our speaker program (still do) as well as our newsletter.

 

What are you most excited about as president?

I’m looking forward to the challenge of taking this Museum into the next decade.

 

What is your vision for the future of the NML?

We are always looking for skilled and energetic volunteers—especially since we have just lost my predecessor, Dr. Robbins, who was an administrative and technical whiz.  While our Virtual Museum experiment was a necessary step for us to take, I would like to get us back into an actual building again.   The Virtual Museum was never intended to be a permanent solution.

 

Are there any new initiatives or projects coming in the future for NML?

One immediate goal is to complete our website games project—we are nearing the end for that.  We will continue with our various outreach projects, e.g. summer camp, speaker programs.  As stated, my goal is to take the Museum into the next decade.

 

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Fanni is RadnĂłti'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.