National Museum of Language VP Announces Release of Latest Book

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presidential-language-trivia ANNAPOLIS, Md. – When author and NML vice president Gregory J. Nedved realized that there were no trivia books pertaining to presidents and their foreign language experiences, he set out to change that. From his background as a professional Chinese-Mandarin linguist and published author, Nedved brings us Presidential Foreign Language Trivia.

Presented in a trivia book format, Nedved’s book about the foreign language backgrounds and experiences of U.S. presidents is a first of its kind. “Seeing how past presidents dealt with language issues can be instructive in today’s debates,” the author notes.

“One thing I hope they will learn is that not all presidents were good in languages or even cared about them.  Nor does language skill equate to success as a president,” Nedved adds.

Presidential Foreign Language Trivia is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Xlibris. Stay tuned for an interview with the author later this month!

About the Author

Yankton, SD, native Gregory J. Nedved has over 30 years of experience as a military and government Chinese-Mandarin linguist, translator, interpreter and instructor.  Currently a Defense Department historian, he won a 2011 literature award for his research on the Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979.  He is also the vice president of the National Museum of Language (NML) in College Park, MD. He led the effort to create NML’s unique International Flag of Language in 2008.  He is the author of numerous books and articles in topics as diverse as presidential trivia, steamboats, UFOs, and the Chinese of Deadwood, South Dakota. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Saint Vincent College in history and Masters of Arts from Hawaii Pacific University in diplomacy and military studies. He is also a graduate of the Naval War College Fleet Seminar Program and the University of Chicago’s Advanced Translation Certification Program. He also wrote the books South Dakota Presidential Trivia in 1995 and SDUFO: A Case History in 2004.

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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.