C’est à toi, pas à eux [Critique de “L’art subtil de s’en foutre” (Mark Manson, 2016)]

J’avais une prof au lycée, Felisa, prof d’espagnol, qui semblait toujours heureuse et patiente — mais d’une manière qui paraissait un peu fausse. En réalité, tout le monde pensait que cette attitude de hippie était calculée, pas sincère. Pourtant, un jour en classe, Felisa a critiqué ceux qui méprisaient les œuvres littéraires et le cinéma populaires : « Si des millions de personnes aiment ça, ce ne peut pas être si mauvais », disait-elle. En prenant position et en s’exprimant sincèrement contre le snobisme académique et intellectuel — je ne sais pas si elle avait raison ou pas — Felisa gagnait quelque chose de plus important : de la personnalité, de l’identité, de la force, du charisme.

La première fois que j’ai vu la couverture du livre The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, à Manille en 2017, j’ai pensé que ce n’était qu’un pamphlet de développement personnel bon marché, avec une couverture trop commerciale pour être sérieuse. Mes étudiants de psychologie à l’UST en parlaient beaucoup : un truc d’ados, me disais-je.

Mais après presque une décennie, avec plusieurs traductions, des dizaines d’éditions et des millions d’exemplaires vendus — et même une certaine présence dans les milieux universitaires et psychologiques — j’ai décidé de le lire. Et je dois admettre que c’était une bonne idée : avec plus de rigueur que je ne le pensais, je ne peux pas nier qu’il m’apporte, dans ma situation personnelle actuelle, quelques clés très intéressantes.

Ainsi, une œuvre initialement critiquée par les philosophes et psychologues devient un outil pratique de réflexion philosophique et psychologique, rédigé par un coach qui, à l’origine, n’était pas vraiment un spécialiste. Il avait commencé en tenant un blog largement nourri par ses expériences de joueur et de globe-trotter pendant dix ans.

L’esprit du livre et ses idées ne sont pas révolutionnaires : en réalité, le stoïcisme qu’il défend est presque aussi ancien que l’humanité. Mais le bon choix de l’auteur est de l’adapter à la société actuelle et à des profils comme le mien, esclaves d’une certaine philosophie “Manu Chao”. Le cœur du message : sois toi-même sans attendre de récompense, et ne deviens pas ce que tu penses que les autres veulent que tu sois. Sois toi, en sachant que tu n’es rien — et que c’est très bien ainsi.

Ironiquement, Dale Carnegie disait que pour améliorer ses relations, il fallait s’intéresser aux autres, les écouter, suivre leurs intérêts. Mark Manson, lui, affirme que pour avancer vers le bonheur, il faut être sincère et se recentrer sur soi. Mais loin d’être incompatibles, ces deux idées sont complémentaires : notre manière d’être au monde doit s’ancrer dans notre authenticité, sans peur des autres et en acceptant qu’on n’est qu’une personne parmi des milliards. Et, au quotidien, l’une des meilleures stratégies reste de s’intéresser sincèrement aux autres.

Bien sûr, la frontière entre « eux » et « nous » est floue, difficile à tracer. Mais c’est justement une affaire de pratique continue — en somme, c’est ça, la vie.

Manson, M. (2016). The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. HarperOne

Audjourd’hui, la communication directe est plus efficace [Critique de “Comment faire des amis” (Dale Carnegie, 1936)]

Warren Buffet, probablement le meilleur investisseur de l’histoire et l’un des hommes les plus riches du monde, a dit plusieurs fois que le cours qui avait changé sa vie était celui donné par Dale Carnegie, sur la psychologie sociale pratique. Et ce cours est résumé dans un livre publié en 1936, qui est devenu l’un des ouvrages les plus importants du XXᵉ siècle, et une véritable référence pour le traitement des relations sociales ainsi que pour le développement de tactiques économiques. Je parle de Comment faire des amis.

Et si Warren Buffet recommande cette œuvre, un tas d’investisseurs et d’économistes, même presque un siècle après sa publication, parlent encore de ce livre, qui a aussi une très bonne note sur les sites de livres, de vente et dans les librairies. Donc, après avoir terminé mes examens de mathématiques pour devenir fonctionnaire, j’ai décidé que Comment faire des amis serait la première de mes lectures d’été.

Tout d’abord, l’écriture de l’auteur est si amène et facile, pleine d’exemples et de situations quotidiennes amusantes, que même en français, je n’ai eu besoin que de trois jours pour le lire et écrire cette critique. Mais cette simplicité se traduit aussi par une simplicité des arguments et des conseils : dès la première page, les enseignements de l’auteur semblent très simples, rien de nouveau, et très centrés sur le fait de flatter l’interlocuteur : on sait tous que cela n’est pas possible dans beaucoup d’occasions, comme lorsqu’il y a des conflits.

En plus, une partie des enseignements écrits là et des situations correspondent au début du XXᵉ siècle, voire au XIXᵉ siècle, et les contextes et mentalités des personnes aujourd’hui ne permettent pas toujours de les appliquer. Cela devient particulièrement délicat lorsqu’il s’agit des relations sentimentales et de la galanterie dans les derniers chapitres du livre. Mais en même temps, le fait que ce livre ait été écrit dans un contexte de crise, après une guerre mondiale, et par un membre d’une génération très marquée par les événements et les générations précédentes, fait que certains aspects de l’esprit du livre gardent des similitudes avec la situation des milléniaux d’aujourd’hui.

D’un autre côté, même si l’œuvre est simple, elle présente quelques conseils encore très utiles, que j’ai notés dans mon téléphone portable pour les lire le matin : soyez plus intéressé par les autres, laissez-les parler au moins autant que vous ou plus, et d’autres recommandations. Je suis déjà en train d’appliquer ces conseils et j’ai déjà noté des différences, même si souvent il n’est pas facile de faire en sorte que les autres s’ouvrent.

On peut dire que Comment faire des amis est une des références majeures en psychologie sociale pratique et en économie, que son importance pour comprendre la société du XXᵉ siècle est indéniable, et que même aujourd’hui, il fournit encore quelques conseils valables. Mais je trouve que, dans notre société, il est plus important et efficace de parler directement, sans détours, même lorsqu’il faut exprimer des mécontentements et des désaccords, sans flatteries ni mesures palliatives — bien sûr avec politesse, et surtout, avec honnêteté. Et en plus, j’ai toujours aimé pouvoir dire “je te l’avais dit” quand j’ai raison, et je ne veux pas arrêter de faire ça.

Carnegie, D. (1936). How to Win Friends and Influence People. Simon & Schuster. 

How the Philippines changed, How the Philippines changed me [Review of “El individuo flotante”, of Marino Pérez Álvarez]

Manila, 2017. I am excited about my new job at the University of Santo Tomas and the new experiences I am having in the Philippines. I find a new surprise every day, a new intellectual or physical stimulus, and it took me nine months to feel routine. Joining a jeepney means losing the control of your body to become part of a communal body, no matter your age of gender, and everyone accepts it. And never say no to a karaoke, because singing alone makes no sense, and singing together is the best of enjoyment, even if you don’t have the right pitch, because there is no “right pitch” or “the best pitch”. And if you think you have it, the group will allow you to sing the same number of songs as the rest, and everybody happily accepts it.

But at some point, I needed an (individualistic) break, I needed to walk calmly alone in the park, breathe deeply, and relax. It is not easy when there is virtually only one large park in the city, Luneta, but luckily, I lived relatively close to it. I went there, but during the few hours I stayed, many nice people came up to me wanting to talk about anything or offering to street-dance cheesy songs. I deeply appreciated it, but I just wanted to be alone! Some days later, after discussing this experience with a young independent illustrated upper-class colleague, she recommended that I use headphones or pretend to read a book, even if I weren’t listening to or reading anything at all, and she was right. But after half an hour, I needed to feel pinoy social hearts warmth. And all that reminded me of my childhood in Venezuela.

Manila, 2024. After a bunch of bad experiences, especially in Vietnam, I came back to the Philippines, and I came back to my trips around the country, to my walks around the barangays, and to my chilling moments in Luneta. However, I found crowds looking at their smartphones -bought thanks to the economic development of the country especially after Covid-, more foreigners than before, and no one coming to greet me and wanting to have a small conversation. I found, as “El individuo flotante” states, people living together alone. And I felt sad and even desperate.

Still in Manila, strolling around the disappearing traditional lower-class barangays and markets, the cemeteries, or the cockpits makes you feel like you are in the Middle Ages. And “El individuo flotante” accurately adds this kind of communal society, based on social habitudes in which there are very few means for individualism, is the society that existed until the Renaissance. So yes, it seems the disappearing Manila takes you back to the Middle Ages even in the deepest unrealizable touches. However, here’s one of the challenges the book faces: it is always suspicious to establish the first moment for something, and even though Marino Pérez Álvarez strongly defends the birth of modern individualist societies after the Middle Ages, he also opens the door to some kind of individualism during the evolution of the ancient Greek polis.  

Back to 2017’s Manila, many people -among them my colleagues at Miguel de Benavides Library- sadly looked at me when I said I lived alone. For them, it was like the most depressing fact on Earth for a human, but I internally thought that I would never live together with anyone, except for a couple or a family maybe, because I would not want to deal with anyone, and I wanted to be always free. Interestingly, one of the people who looked at me with compassion when I said I was living alone got a nice opportunity to develop an individualistic life in Madrid, and it seems she doesn’t want to return to the social Filipino life anymore. And this is one of the other weak points of “El individuo flotante”: it doesn’t focus enough on the economic conditions that enables and enhances individualism, although it mentions them. In my case, I enjoyed -and I miss- the communal societies like 2017’s Manila, but I did so from the individualistic side: I did not live in a room with other five or more people and a bunch of mosquitoes, cockroaches and rats, but just alone, with all the possible amenities and services, and with a nice salary. They -the social Philippines- were a psychological and philosophical relief to my needs and wrongs derived from my excessive individualism, and I took advantage of it when I needed without renouncing to the advantages of the individualistic way of life, which makes such a hypocrite illusion even more individualistic.

The rise of individualism after the Middle Ages made humans abandon their traditional references -God, family, king, and later nation- to gradually make themselves their own reference points, and finally to get totally lost in their individualism, as they need to find some meaning inside themselves. Ironically, these meanings are chosen from external “markets of meanings”, and simultaneously, the buyers find others as entities to “conveniently use”. Even though this analysis has been present for more than a century, Pérez Álvarez clearly explains and structures it, considering the idea of “salvific communities” as substitutes for the traditional references. Nowadays, individuals substitute God or family for bachata, Aragonese language, new religious options, or CrossFit communities, even when they do not have any traditional -e.g. Family, village- or other substantial reason to adopt them. Or even worse, they try to solve individualism self-exploiting -taking a Master, then another Master, and then a PhD, and then another PhD, and then a BA in Mathematics- generating more stress and more individualism.  This process becomes even more pernicious with the spread of smartphones and social networks, plenty of easy-to-access “salvific communities”, developed following colorful addictive individualistic patterns like the “like culture” and the “selfie culture”, with the final goal of the profit of a few global corporations that sell an image of freedom while enhancing addictive slavery.

The previous analysis is not original, but it is accurate and well-founded in Pérez Álvarez’s piece. However, the draft solutions the author suggests -e.g., controlling spaces, timings, or swimming- are weak and detract from the overall power of the piece. Pérez Álvarez also defends a progressive limitation of social networks, while from my own experience, it might be total -as with many other addictions. While criticizing mindfulness and other cheap -often individualistic- psychologies, what he does in his book is not so different, but more formal, refined, and, from my experience, useful. In this sense, his veiled reluctance to scientific and analytical psychologies and philosophies, in favor of rigorous humanistic options, is too radical.

“El individuo flotante” is a piece that deserves to be widely read and spread, not only because of its analysis on how smartphones and social networks are making us increasingly unhappy, but because of its reflections on how we are becoming increasingly individualistic, with no references, with no paths, considering the others as entities to “properly use”: as a result, loneliness is filling our souls, being the base for many of our current psychological pathologies. Interestingly and ironically, I read “El individuo flotante” a week I had three cancelled dates by different people in different places, always at the last minute: trying to overcome my individualism and set commitments after my Manila’s experiences, what I am finding is more and more individualism.

Before finishing, I would like to apologize for writing an individualistic review of a book that offers clues for solving individualism, but I could not have done it another way. I find “El individuo flotante” an excellent self-help and social analysis book, even though the author tends to criticize the former. In fact, it helps me as much as writing my blogs.

“He feels overwhelmed with exhaustion and can no longer bear his doctoral thesis, his mother, his house and his street, the hypocritical people he has to greet or who greet him. So, he decides to move to another city, one that is there, waiting for him—empty and brand new—where he will have a different job, a different woman, see a different landscape when he opens the windows, spend his nights on different hobbies, friendships, gossip. And so, his life is renewed, move after move…” (adaptation from “Invisible Cities”, Calvino, 1972, mentioned in page 165 of “El individuo flotante”).

Pérez Álvarez, Marino (2023). El individuo flotante: la muchedumbre solitaria en los tiempos de las redes sociales. Deusto.

C1 de português

Resultado da prova oficial de português do Brasil, Celpe-Bras: nível avançado, equivalente ao C1 no Quadro Europeu Comum de Referência para Línguas.
Mais uma vez, muito obrigado, Brasil! 🙂🇧🇷


Official result of the Brazilian Portuguese proficiency exam, Celpe-Bras: advanced level, equivalent to C1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Once again, thank you so much, Brazil! 🙂🇧🇷

Las definiciones lingüísticas de “leonés” en los Diccionarios de la Lengua Española

Las definiciones lingüísticas de “leonés” en los Diccionarios de la Lengua Española. My last article at Lletres Asturianes.

Joven Romero, M. A. (2024). Las definiciones lingüísticas de “leonés” en los Diccionarios de la Lengua Española. Lletres Asturianes, (131), 124-132.


Resumen en español

La Real Academia Española (RAE) ha regulado el idioma español desde 1713 e incorpora términos relacionados con fenómenos lingüísticos en sus diccionarios, incluyendo el leonés, aunque no sin controversia. En el siglo XX, la lengua leonesa experimentó un renacer en el interés académico, social y cultural. Este resurgimiento condujo a que las primeras definiciones de ‘leonés’ aparecieran en los diccionarios de la RAE en la década de 1980. Este artículo explora de manera analítica la evolución histórica de las entradas ‘leonés’, abordando su contenido y lógica interna. El análisis abarca todas las instancias del término ‘leonés’ en los Diccionarios de la Lengua Española (DLE), abordando términos relacionados como ‘asturleonés’, ‘dialecto’ y ‘romance’.

Abstract in English

The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) has regulated the Spanish language since 1713, and it has included terms related to linguistic phenomena in its dictionaries, including Leonese, though not without debate. In the 20th century, the Leonese language experienced a resurgence in academic, social, and cultural interest. This resurgence led to the first definitions of ‘Leonese’ appearing in RAE dictionaries in the 1980s. This article analytically explores the historical evolution of ‘Leonese’ entries, addressing their content and internal logic. The analysis covers all instances of the term ‘Leonese’ in the Dictionaries of the Spanish Language (DLE), addressing related terms: ‘Astur-Leonese,’ ‘dialect,’ and ‘romance.’

What is value?

In 2021, the 17th-century Ecce Homo painting was rediscovered. Initially attributed to Jusepe de Ribera, a second-line painter, it was valued in 1500 euro. However, further research demonstrated it was painted by Caravaggio, subsequently raising a value of 36 million euro. Furthermore, if we dig deep into the object, it is just a piece of canvas and paints that cost less than 100 dollars.  Why such value differences?

Every object and service may have three different values: a material value -the canvas and the paints-, a social value -which explains the difference between Caravaggio’s and Ribera’s painting-, and a personal value

Let’s consider a 1$ bill. Its social value is 1$, as we make transactions considering such value for that object. The value is given by some public institutions and international conditions that at the very end are nothing but groups of people. However, what we really hold in our hands is just a piece of paper and ink with a value of a few cents. Let’s imagine the 1$ dollar was given as a present by my father just before he died: then his personal value to me would be infinite. 

Cristiano Ronaldo was a successful Real Madrid player. He was appreciated by the fans (social value) as a consequence of his good performances (material value). However, as he was getting older and his performance was decreasing, he was losing material value and the club decided to sell him before he also lost social -and transfer market- value. It is likely to be a difficult decision for the head staff of the club, who may have developed a personal attachment (personal value). 

Apple began as a small company that produced high quality computers -and later, mobile phones. That material value (high quality computers) evolved into a social value (brand), which made their products more expensive. Other brands like Xiaomi, initially cheap alternatives, are experiencing the same process in the last five years. 

Ultimately, our system of values, that is, how we chose and distribute among social, material, and personal value in our daily life, determine our identities. Consequently, our identity also explains our system of values. I prefer to go hiking in the mountain and having some Spanish soft meal like fried eggs with Spanish ham and bread, while other people prefer going to exclusive social events wearing expensive elitist brands. No one is better here: it is just that the system the values and the identities of persons are different. 

However, analyzing the concept of value and how we distribute its material, social, and personal aspects can help us to design and reach our goals

Toponimia hispánica de Manila y su aplicación al análisis del español en Filipinas

Toponimia hispánica de Manila y su aplicación al análisis del español en Filipinas. My last article at BAFLE: Boletín de la Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española.

Joven Romero, M. A. (2024). Toponimia hispánica de Manila y su aplicación al análisis del español en Filipinas. Boletín de la Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española (BAFLE), (2) 24-33.


Resumen en español

La toponimia describe la geografía, la historia, la lingüística y las sociedades de territorios en todo el mundo, y los topónimos urbanos suelen centrarse en las dimensiones sociales: reflejan la sociedad y las personalidades de diferentes épocas y comunidades, sus distribuciones, luchas políticas, intereses económicos y estrategias de dominación. El 15 de diciembre de 2021 defendí una tesis doctoral bajo el título Toponimia Hispánica de Manila, en la que estudio la toponimia de la capital filipina, dirigida por los profesores José Ramón Carriazo Ruiz (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, España) y Jorge Mojarro Romero (University of Santo Tomas, Filipinas). Aprovecho estas líneas para valorar y agradecer su trabajo preciso y su apoyo continuo.

Los topónimos de Metro Manila atestiguan la presencia histórica de tagalos y otros pueblos nativos, comunidades procedentes de China, Indonesia y Borneo, y colonizadores procedentes de España y de Estados Unidos de América. Hoy, estos topónimos se mezclan con otros de diferentes raíces lingüísticas debido a modas globales. Esto ocurre en zonas recientemente urbanizadas, pero también en nuevos topónimos que reemplazan a otros previos, como ocurre, por ejemplo, en la Mahatma Gandhi Street, anteriormente llamada Calle Looban.

La evolución de la toponimia de Metro Manila muestra las tensiones y el desarrollo de las comunidades que se han establecido en los límites de la región, y también refleja la formación política de la nación filipina desde finales del siglo XIX y durante el siglo XX: políticos, intelectuales, artistas y otras personalidades relevantes para el nuevo estado independiente ocupan la mayoría de los nombres del mapa actual de Manila.

Abstract in English

Toponymy describes the geography, history, linguistics, and societies of territories worldwide, and urban toponyms often focus on social dimensions: they reflect the society and personalities of different epochs and communities, their distributions, political struggles, economic interests, and domination strategies. On December 15, 2021, I defended a doctoral thesis entitled Hispanic Place Names of Manila, in which I study the toponymy of the Philippine capital, under the guidance of Professors José Ramón Carriazo Ruiz (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Spain) and Jorge Mojarro Romero (University of Santo Tomas, Philippines). I take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank them for their precise work and continuous support.

The toponyms of Metro Manila attest to the historical presence of Tagalogs and other indigenous peoples, communities from China, Indonesia, and Borneo, and colonizers from Spain and the United States of America. Today, these toponyms mix with others of different linguistic roots due to global trends. This occurs in recently urbanized areas but also in new toponyms that replace previous ones, as is the case, for example, with Mahatma Gandhi Street, formerly known as Calle Looban.

The evolution of the toponymy of Metro Manila shows the tensions and development of the communities that have settled within the region’s boundaries, and it also reflects the political formation of the Philippine nation since the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century: politicians, intellectuals, artists, and other relevant personalities for the new independent state occupy most of the names on the current map of Manila.

Las definiciones lingüísticas de ‘aragonés’ en los Diccionarios de la Lengua Española


Las definiciones lingüísticas de ‘aragonés’ en los Diccionarios de Lengua Española. My last article at EPOS, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia.

Joven Romero, M. A. (2023). Las definiciones lingüísticas de ‘aragonés’ en los Diccionarios de la Lengua Española. Epos : Revista De filología, (39), 121–135. https://doi.org/10.5944/epos.39.2023.38224

For this article, I attach a video-pill explaining it, accessible in this post or this link.


(Resumen en español) La Real Academia Española (RAE) regula el español desde el año 1713, y ha incluido términos referentes a hechos lingüísticos en sus diccionarios, incluyendo al aragonés, no sin debate. En el siglo XX, el aragonés resurgió en interés académico, social y cultural, y, en consecuencia, las primeras definiciones de ‘aragonés’ en los diccionarios de la RAE aparecieron en los años 80. Este artículo explora analíticamente la evolución histórica de las definiciones de ‘aragonés’, tratando su contenido y su lógica interna. El análisis abarca todas las definiciones de ‘aragonés’ en los Diccionarios de la lengua española (DLE), tratando también los términos apuntados en las mismas: ‘navarroaragonés’, ‘dialecto’, ‘romance’ y ‘altoaragonés’.

(Abstract in English) The Royal Spanish Academy of Language (RAE) has regulated the Spanish language since 1713, and it has included terms related to linguistic phenomena in its dictionaries, including ‘Aragonese,’ not without debate. In the 20th century, Aragonese experienced a resurgence in academic, social, and cultural interest, leading to the first definitions of ‘Aragonese’ in the RAE dictionaries appearing in the 1980s. This article analytically explores the historical evolution of ‘Aragonese’ definitions, addressing their content and internal logic. The analysis encompasses all definitions of ‘Aragonese’ in the Dictionaries of the Spanish Language (DLE), also addressing the related terms: ‘Navarro-Aragonese,’ ‘dialect,’ ‘romance,’ and ‘Altoaragonese.’

Toponymy of Manila since 1898: Philologia Hispalensis

Toponymy of Manila since 1898. My last article at Philologia Hispalensis, Universidad de Sevilla.

Joven-Romero, M.A. (2023). Toponymy of Manila since 1898. Philologia Hispalensis, 37(1), 55–86. https://doi.org/10.12795/PH.2023.v37.i01.03


Hispanic toponymy is common in Manila and the Philippines due to historical reasons. In the following pages, I show the changes of place names present in the historical City of Manila at the end of the Spanish colonial rule in 1898, and the results are analyzed in terms of preservation and linguistic filiation: English, Spanish, Tagalog, and other languages. Defining and proper place names are distinguished, and it is concluded that 54.79% proper place names have disappeared, while 45.21% are preserved. New place names substituting disappeared proper place names tend to be Hispanic eponyms due to cultural, historical, and social reasons.

https://revistascientificas.us.es/index.php/PH/article/view/21226

Download whole pdf article here

How to obtain an official postgraduate in a Spanish University without leaving your city?

The establishment of postgraduate studies related to the Spanish language and cultures is of potential interest to Vietnamese students and society in their current circumstances.

Here I dig into the motivations for these studies in Vietnam, sketch the general process for establishing postgraduate studies, the main challenges, and introduce a solution for the training personnel question based on existing distance education.

I propose the establishment of a distance Spanish-language university examination center at Hanoi University as the first step to developing a proper postgraduate degree.

Introduction

Spanish language and cultures are an asset for Vietnam, and the subsequent establishment of Hispanic postgraduate studies in the country is a potential advantage. Here I sketch the creation of these studies, their main concerns, and I focus on the personnel training challenge.

In the first section, “Motivation in Vietnam,” I discuss the reasons for establishing postgraduate studies in Vietnam, considering that pragmatic motivations related to tourism, international business, and relations with the Hispanic countries must prevail.

In the second section, “Requirements for a postgraduate degree,” I sketch the general basis for the establishment of these studies anywhere, which are the accreditation and support of the hosting University and other related authorities, the existence of academically trained personnel, the availability of facilities to develop researching and teaching activities, the creation and implementation of a curriculum, and the existence of a potential market. I mention similar initiatives in Asia that may serve as an example for Hanoi University and Vietnam.         

In the third section, “A possible first step for academic training,” I explain the distance university system, its history, its aims, how it helps to solve economic and logistic difficulties associated with face-to-face training in foreign countries, and I also explain how Spanish options are already implemented in the whole world, including Vietnam.

In the fourth section, “The specific case of UNED,” I discuss the case of the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, the leading online university in Spain and the Hispanic countries.

In the fifth section, “The proposal,” I argue that establishing an examination center of a Spanish-language distance university may offer an excellent advantage for advanced training and validation studies for Vietnamese students, helping to solve the training challenge.

In the sixth section, “The further step: the creation of a proper postgraduate degree,” I argue that the collaboration with a Spanish-language distance university may extend to other aspects once the proper postgraduate degree is established.

  1. Motivation in Vietnam

Spanish language in Vietnam constitutes a developing asset, especially in tourism, international business, and relations with Hispanic countries.

Tourism is a rising economic sector in Vietnam, and despite the Covid pandemic, figures are returning to 2019, when 80.000 Spanish citizens visited the country (Vietnam News Agency 2021). However, that is still a tiny number compared to the total of twenty million Spanish tourists visiting foreign countries, and these statistics do not account for other Spanish-speaking visitors: there is room for expansion. More in general, the Spanish-speaking world is constituted of twenty countries in which Spanish is the official language, mainly located in America but also in Europe and Africa. Some other territories like Puerto Rico also recognize Spanish as an official language, and even if figures vary according to different criteria and methodologies, it is usually assumed that the Spanish language presents more than five hundred million speakers. Political relations and business with these countries, territories, companies, and peoples are global economic advantages for any country. In this sense, Spanish speakers suppose 9% of the Global GPD, and countries where Spanish is the official language constitute 6.2% of the Global GPD (Fernández Vítores 2022).

The potential student of a postgraduate degree in Spanish or Hispanic Studies may be interested in the purely cultural and historical issues of the Hispanic world. However, to ensure the success of the proposed studies, the aforementioned economic and pragmatic reasons must be key elements when developing and implementing these studies.

Several Vietnamese universities offer postgraduate studies, mainly MA degrees, some of them Hanoi University, Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Vietnam National University, and Hanoi Foreign Trade University. However, as far as I know, no Vietnamese or Asian university offers a specific postgraduate degree in Spanish or Hispanic Studies. The lack of potential students’ market for such studies explains the absence, but economic and pragmatic reasons in the global world are potent motivations to think about their implementation. In this line, some Asian universities offer broad postgraduates in foreign languages or international relations in which the students can specialize in one or a few specific languages and geopolitical areas, among them Spanish or the Hispanic world. Some examples of these solutions are found in the National University of Singapore, Peking University, Fudan University in Shanghai, University of Tokyo, Seoul National University, National Taiwan University, and University of the Philippines (University of the Philippines 2023). To ensure the success of the proposed studies for Vietnam, these Asian options offer established reliable paths and models to follow.

On the other hand, nowadays the Spanish National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation has officially approved more than 500 MA and Ph. D. programs in Spanish universities that may potentially interest Vietnamese students (ANECA 2023).

  1. Requirements for a postgraduate degree

The requirements to create a postgraduate degree change among universities and countries, according to different legislation that usually varies over a few years. However, the essential criteria for the establishment of these studies are the accreditation and support of the hosting University and other related authorities, the existence of academically trained personnel, the availability of facilities to develop researching and teaching activities, the creation and implementation of a curriculum, and the existence of a potential market.

Here I will focus on personnel training and the possible collaboration with other institutions specialized in Hispanic Studies. Issues related to the university and institutional support are far from the scope of the present text, but I will add some points about researching and teaching activities, and the creation and implementation of a curriculum. First, it must be noted that postgraduate degrees require more facilities and resources than bachelor or similar degrees, as research activities constitute the kernel, and even when Information and Communication Technologies have eased access to materials during the last 20 years, the new necessary resources imply extra funding. Second, the creation and implementation of a curriculum must be in line with the curriculums established by other institutions all over the world, adding distinctive elements according to the Vietnamese case. In this sense, curriculums already developed by other Asian universities offering postgraduates related to Spanish and Hispanic Studies must be an inspiration.

I finish this section by emphasizing that to ensure the proposal’s success, a potential broad market must be guaranteed, and I establish two recommendations. First, the postgraduate program cannot focus on cultural, literary, or historical aspects but preferably on pragmatic elements. Second, the postgraduate program should be a broad foreign language or international relations program with different branches, including the Spanish option.

  1. A possible first step for academic training

Most of the academic personnel in a postgraduate program must hold a Ph. D. degree, usually lasting between 4 and 7 years. In the absence of opportunities to obtain a Ph. D. in Spanish-related issues in the country, Vietnamese citizens need to go to an international research center, which is economically and vitally very demanding.

The solution here detailed is distance education in the Spanish language. It allows BA Spanish graduates to continue their studies coursing master and doctoral degrees without the necessity of going to another country –more in general, admitted people can also take BA studies. In the Spanish case, these degrees are wholly recognized by the public system and broadly admitted in the private sector when offered by public universities and some specific private universities. Furthermore, titles given by public distance Spanish universities are acknowledged by the rest of the universities in the country –also by most of the European universities– which supposes an automatic validation of studies the student has been taking, so that a person can take an online MA and then continue her Ph. D. studies in the traditional face-to-face manner in any Spanish university.

Nowadays, and thanks to the collaboration of the Spanish Embassy in Vietnam, it is already possible to study in Spanish distance universities or traditional face-to-face universities offering distance programs, taking the subsequent exams three times a year in the facilities of the institution mentioned above. During the last two years, one student at Universidad de Alcalá and one at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, both living in Hanoi, have benefited from this collaboration, and it is open to any student at the Spanish public universities.

However, distance education also presents cons. First, not all students can adapt to this modality, especially when focusing on language and communication. Second, in our case, not experiencing local Hispanic cultures, and research methodologies and facilities at local institutions handicap the overall training. To counterbalance these issues, educational institutions are prepared for short research and training stays, which helps to solve these lacks without implying the money and vital consumption of a whole face-to-face postgraduate degree.

In the next section, I detail the case of Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (from now on, UNED). However, it must be noted that it is not the only open Spanish university and that traditional face-to-face universities are also establishing an increasing number of online degrees. Furthermore, other countries in Latin America like Mexico and Argentina have also settled many open universities during the last twenty years. I exemplify the proposal with UNED because it is the oldest open university in the Hispanic world and has developed most collaboration protocols with Spanish institutions, among them Spanish Embassies worldwide.

  1. The specific case of UNED

The Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) was established in 1972 to provide tertiary education for areas and people who had access difficulties, at that time mainly people living in rural areas or specific groups, like prisoners. Rural exodus and communications improvement eased rural people studying at universities in the province capitals, but at the same time, some other people found UNED helpful to obtain a second bachelor, a master, or a postgraduate degree (UNED 2023a).

UNED presents 74 associated centers, 61 in Spain, 13 out of Spain, and 117 examination centers, 108 in Spain and 9 abroad. Since 1981, UNED has opened international associated centers in Buenos Aires, Caracas, Lima, México, Sao Paulo, Berlin, Berna, Brussels, Lisbon, London, Paris, Bata, Malabo, and international examination centers in Bogota, New York, Quito, Santiago de Chile, Seattle, Frankfurt, Munich, Oporto, and Rome. Furthermore, UNED has established collaboration agreements with the Spanish Department of Foreign Affairs and the Spanish Department of Defense so that any student can require for examination at Spanish Embassies or military facilities in exceptional situations (UNED 2023b). In 2022, UNED had 160.307 students, 6.932 students out of Spain, 143 in Asia, and 1 in Vietnam. These figures are increasing in Latin America (UNED 2023c).

Among the Spanish distance education options, UNED is the most institutionalized one, which eases collaboration with other Spanish institutions, like the net of Spanish Embassies or the AECID in Equatorial Guinea. On the other hand, UNED started its operations with a classical mail work philosophy, and with the irruption of the Internet during the 90s and its development until the present, the university platforms are sometimes obsolete or overlap. Old-fashioned and multiple interfaces, tools, and protocols make it difficult to study at UNED, and the university offers the students an introduction course. Online universities established afterward (e.g., UDIMA in 2006, UOC in 1995) usually have more intuitive platforms.

A MA at UNED costs about 2.000€, a BA costs about 4.000€-5.000€ in total –1.000€ every year, four years–, and a Ph. D. costs about 3.000€ in total –600€ every year, four years. These prices are indicative but include total costs –the tuition fee, the initial inscription fee, and the title, record, and English translation expenditure fees. They may vary slightly depending on the degree, and they are similar in the rest of Spanish public universities. However, Spanish private universities tend to be much more expensive.

  1. The proposal

Any person anywhere in the world, preferably Spanish speakers, can apply for studies at open Spanish universities. However, local titles are not immediately accepted, and academic commissions at the receiving universities must evaluate every particular case, which delays procedures. These admission procedures have three possible outcomes: total acceptance, refusal, or acceptance under certain conditions, typically requiring taking extra subjects to be accepted in the program and the studies. In addition, international validation by the Spanish Department of Foreign Affairs and the Spanish Department of Education may be required for students applying to BA studies.

Furthermore, Spanish Embassies can manage exceptional cases, as they are doing nowadays. However, they might not have the material and personal means to manage examinations for a growing number of students.

To solve both issues, I propose to establish collaboration between an open university and Hanoi University (from now on, HANU) to develop an examination center of an online university at HANU facilities and to create a protocol of studies validation that can benefit Vietnamese BA graduates in Spanish language who want to continue their training in Vietnam.

Focusing on the existing cases, UNED has often established its international centers thanks to agreements with other Spanish institutions –e.g. Spanish School Miguel de Cervantes at São Paulo, AECID at Equatorial Guinea centers– or renamed international universities or private companies –e.g. Microsoft in Seattle. For an Asian case, Universidad a Distancia de Madrid (from now on, UDIMA) has established an international center in Hong Kong, under an agreement with Rosaryhill Secondary School, where any student can take the MA in Spanish Teaching, the MA in Bilingual Teaching, and the Ph. D. in Education (UDIMA 2023).

My proposal establishes the creation of an examination center in HANU, but not an associated center. While I consider the former a feasible option, the latter implies more personal recruitment and larger material means –tutors and tutorships, classrooms, library, administrative staff– which are not affordable according to the possibilities of the current Vietnamese market of Spanish and Hispanism potential scholars.

Finally, such a center of an open university in HANU would serve not only HANU students and instructors but the whole of North Vietnam, and probably the whole country as well as surrounding countries like Cambodia and Laos. Spanish-related students in this area would have this examination center as a reference.

  1. The further step: the creation of a proper postgraduate degree

The aim of this communication is not the promotion of Spanish language distance universities in Vietnam or just the formation of students and teachers to help them to obtain MA or Ph. D. degrees in Hispanic Studies, but to sketch the general ideas and challenges to settle postgraduate studies related to Spanish language and Hispanic Cultures in Vietnam, and more specifically in Hanoi University.

In the previous sections, I have discussed how distance universities are feasible solutions to face the economic and logistic challenges taking postgraduate studies in any Hispanic country may suppose for Vietnamese citizens. Therefore, these institutions may favor Vietnamese teachers’ and student’ training.

Based on the proposed collaboration, the open Spanish university and HANU can establish further collaboration on research projects, exchange programs, materials, and mutual degree recognition once the postgraduate degree is founded in HANU. In other words, the distance university is not only a tool for Vietnamese teachers’ and students’ training, but it also may offer further support and mutual collaboration that benefit both parties, being the initial examination center the cornerstone of the whole partnership. Furthermore, between personnel training and the establishment of proper postgraduate studies, co-advisory of Ph. D. and MA theses by both a Hispanic professor and a Vietnamese professor is a compelling instrument to enhance the collaboration environment.

Finally, we should not forget that no degree establishment is possible without institutional support and a potential market of interested people.

Conclusions

The general factors for the establishment of a postgraduate degree anywhere are the accreditation and support of the hosting University and other related authorities, the existence of academically trained personnel, the availability of facilities to develop researching and teaching activities, the creation and implementation of a curriculum, and the existence of a potential market.

Accreditation and support of the hosting University and other related authorities are far from the scope of this communication, as well as the arrangement of facilities. About the existence of a potential market, I defend a pragmatic approach focused on economic activities for the interest of Vietnamese society. In this sense, postgraduate studies must pay special attention to tourism, business, and international relations. On the other hand, and following similar Asian experiences, I argue that generic postgraduate studies on foreign languages, business, and relations, with specificities and branches in Spanish, are a much more reliable and feasible option to ensure the success of these programs. Their curricula must be established according to these principles, again paying attention to what other Asian universities have developed during the last decades.

However, the hotspot of the present communication is personnel training. To establish a postgraduate program, professors must have deep conditioning, most of them holding doctorate degrees. Nevertheless, spending years in another institution to achieve this goal is very demanding economically and vitally. The proposed solution involves promoting distance education, with the possibility of mixing distance and face-to-face pieces of training. It must be noted that distance education is totally recognized in Spain and Europe, and it is already possible in Vietnam thanks to the collaboration of the Spanish Embassy –two cases in the last three years. In this sense, a partnership with a Hispanic distance university to establish an examination center would benefit current instructors and students who want to continue their training. In addition, it would ease examination procedures and validations. For example, UNED has a long international trajectory, Spanish institutional support, and competitive fees, while UDIMA has already founded an associated center in Hong Kong.

The alleged partnership would also suppose a starting point for further association on research projects, exchange programs, materials, and joint degree recognition once the proper postgraduate studies are created. Finally, the cooperation project, and more specifically, the foundation of an examination center of a Hispanic distance university, supposes a benefit for both Hanoi University and the Hispanic institution, and such mutual convenience, if honest, would assure the success of the collaboration.

References

ANECA [Agencia Nacional de Evaluación de la Calidad y Acreditación] (2023), Listado de titulaciones. Accessed on February 15, 2023. Available on https://srv.aneca.es/ListadoTitulos/busqueda-titulaciones/

Fernández Vítores, David (ed.); El español en el mundo: anuario del Instituto Cervantes 2022, Madrid, 2022. Available on https://cvc.cervantes.es/lengua/anuario/anuario_22/

UDIMA [Universidad a DIstancia de MAdrid] (2023), Centros colaboradores. Accessed on February 15, 2023. Available on https://www.udima.es/es/centros.html/

UNED [Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia] (2023a), Conócenos. Accessed on February 15, 2023. Available on https://www.uned.es/universidad/inicio/conocenos.html/

UNED [Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia] (2023b), Solicitud de realización de exámenes en situación excepcional. Accessed on February 15, 2023. Available on https://serviI b.uned.es/matricula/examenes-extranjero/contacta.asp/

UNED [Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia] (2023c), Portal estadístico. Accessed on February 15, 2023. Available on https://app.uned.es/evacal/genmat.aspx/

University of the Philippines (2023), Graduate and Postgraduate. Accessed on February 15, 2023. Available on https://upd.edu.ph/academics/graduate-and-postgraduate/

Vietnam News Agency (2021, October 8). Webinar seeks to attract Spanish tourists to Vietnam. Accessed on February 15, 2023. Available on https://en.vietnamplus.vn/webinar-seeks-to-attract-spanish-tourists-to-vietnam/209412.vnp/

Hispanic Social Place Names of Manila: Estudios de Lingüística Aplicada

Hispanic Social Place Names of Manila. My last article at Estudios de Lingüística Aplicada.


Place names mirror the social history of a territory, the daily life, and the relations of its settlers. Hispanic historical social place names in Manila depict the urban society during the colonial period. In the following pages, I gather and explain the living Hispanic toponyms coined before the 1945 Manila battle and discuss the different activities, peoples, and economic classes they depict. I conclude that different areas were prone to administrative, financial, leisure, military, nonprofit, rural, transport, and working-class activities: the distance to Intramuros, the core of the historical city, witnessed their relevance.

https://ela.enallt.unam.mx/index.php/ela/article/view/997/1072

Download the whole pdf article here.