The 2nd Annual Language Capital of the World - a free, fun family event - is taking place on May 14 and 15, 2016 and will feature over two dozen cultural performances! Why is this event so important?

Here's why...

The trademarked slogan of “Language Capital of the World®” for Monterey County was recently approved by the Library of Congress. The slogan has been used for many years to reflect the many institutions involved with international studies and language instruction in Monterey County.

Monterey County organizations also play an important role in providing translation (written word) and interpretation (spoken) services around the globe such as LanguageLine Solutions and MediaLocate USA, among others. Organizations such as the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio of Monterey, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Monterey Peninsula College, California State University of Monterey Bay and other local entities provide instruction in many languages.  The Naval Postgraduate School has hosted students from more than 100 nations and provides professional, service-oriented educational programs for the U.S. armed forces and international militaries. Monterey County is also a very popular destination from visitors throughout the world, and Monterey's languages and cultural diversity is reflected in its Native American, Chinese, Filipino, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Portuguese, Spanish and Vietnamese roots.

According to Dino Pick, Deputy City Manager, City of Monterey, “We are thrilled to highlight our institutions of higher learning, military installations and businesses such as MIIS, DLI, and LanguageLine Solutions again this year at this very special event. These organizations and their world-class faculty, staff and students help to make Monterey the ‘Language Capital of the World’”.

So, be sure to check it out this year!