Thank you for those who submitted an entry! We received submissions in American Sign Language, Bahasa Indonesia, French, isiZulu, Luxembourgish, Sinhala, and Spanish! The quality of your submissions was commendable and we thank you for your efforts and for your time in creating your entries!

Jeremy Hardjono
with future Redhawks Samuel and Alethia Hardjono

Language: Bahasa Indonesia

Field of Study: Kinesiology, Music Vocal Performance, Premed
College: College of Creative Arts

Translation of the Alma Mater:

Sesepuh Miami di atas puncak
Kau pandang ta'un berganti
Generasi yang kau bentuk
Hati k'uat jiwa suci

Miami Silam Miami baru
Hari lampau dan esok
Anyam crita kebesaranmu
Miami kami untukmu

Miami kami lahir saat
Negara masih muda
Skarang gen’rasi mau bersatu
Di lagu cinta dan pujian

Miami silam Miami baru
Hari lampau dan esok
Anyam crita kebesaranmu
Miami kami untukmu

Kathleen Taylor and Diana Kwak

Language: French

Kathleen's Field of Study: Vocal Performance Major, French Minor
Diana's Field of Study: Choral/General Music Education Major, Disability Studies Minor
College: College of Creative Arts

Translation of the Alma Mater:

Vieux Miami, de ta crête,
Tu as vu le temps passant.
Pendant que tes fils sont sortis,
Forts du cœur et purs de l’âme.

Vieux Miami, nouveau Miami,
À venir et autrefois,
Fais l’histoire de ta gloire,
Vieux Miami, vive-toi.

Vieillir dans ta splendeur simple,
Toi la calme, et eux l’orage,
Tu leur donnais de la joie
Et ta force soutenait leurs bras.

Vieux Miami, nouveau Miami,
À venir et autrefois,
Fais l’histoire de ta gloire,
Vieux Miami, vive-toi.

Reste-toi un phare constant,
Tours de pourpre sous le ciel;
Chercherons toujours ton aide,
Ton pouvoir [ne] mourra jamais.

Vieux Miami, nouveau Miami,
À venir et autrefois,
Fais l’histoire de ta gloire,
Vieux Miami, vive-toi.

Jeremy Hardjono
with future Redhawks Samuel and Alethia Hardjono

Language: Bahasa Indonesia

Field of Study: Kinesiology, Music Vocal Performance, Premed
College: College of Creative Arts

Translation of the Fight Song:

Cinta hormat 'tuk Miami
Kampus kami yang megah
Dengan bangga kami junjung
Di s’luruh tanahku

Alma mater kami puji
Bernyanyi gembira
Cinta hormat
Tuk Miami
Selama lamanya

Dr. Andrew Offenburger with students from his South African History class:
Jules Jefferson, Logan Kronstain, Wil Stevens, Madi McCoun, Alyssa Thrasher, Lennon Isaac, Andile Khumalo, Shukri Toefy, and Will Burleigh

Language: isiZulu

Field of Study: History
College: College of Arts and Science

Daniel Riecker with students and professors on the Luxembourg Campus:
Efraín Pérez, Prof. Anouk Friederici, Simone Mardell, Bennet Chambers, Shelby Ayers, Alex Steindl, Pruitt Miller, Mosey Kernan, Lydia Campe, Abigail Newland, Tara Bennington, Amanda D'Amico, Shannon DiLeonardi, Blakely McCann, Cameron Dingler, Emma Arduin, Brooke Bollinger, Blair Hasset, Clare Mazzei, Katie Kingsbury, Natalie Nagel, and Prof. Wajd Ghazal

Language: Luxembourgish

College: John E. Dolibois European Center

Translation of the Fight Song:

Léift an Éier fir d'Miami
Ons al groussaarteg Schoul
Stolz si mir dir verbonnen
Iwwrall wou mir ginn.

Alma Mater, oh mir feiren dech
Mir sange frouh des Strof
Léift an Éier fir d'Miami
Fir emmer a nach méi.

The Miami Lingua Mater competition invites students and alumni to translate Miami's Alma Mater and/or Miami's Fight Song into a different language and submit a video of the performed translation.

The Lingua Mater competition originally began at Cornell University's Language Resource Center by Dr. Angelika Kraemer in 2018 as a part of Cornell's Global Grand Challenges Symposium. 

2022 Competition Details

Can you translate Miami’s Alma Mater and/or Fight Song into your mother tongue, a language you are learning/have learned at Miami, or ASL and sing/sign it? We invite you to translate our Alma Mater and/or Fight Song and submit a video of you (and your friends!) performing it somewhere on any of Miami's campuses (if you are a student) or anywhere in the world (if you are an alum).

Translations do not need to be exact or perfectly in meter but should capture the feel and tune of the university’s Alma Mater and/or Fight Song. As is customary for the Alma Mater, include the first verse, refrain, second verse, and refrain in your video submission (for guidance, listen to a performance and read the lyrics below).

Video submissions need to be MP4 or M4V files at 1920 x 1080 (1080p), in landscape mode with an aspect ratio of 16:9. Please ensure that you have copyright permission for any images/videos you use.

Submission deadline: February 25, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. USA Eastern Time
Deadline Extended to Noon on Monday, February 28, 2022, USA Eastern Time

Winners will be announced March 15, 2022 and the winning videos in all categories will be posted online that week.

Entries may be submitted by any currently registered Miami student or group of students, active faculty, or active staff members.
Alumni entries may be submitted by any Miami alumni group, local, regional, national, or international chapter.

Please contact Daniel Meyers, Director of the Interactive Language Resource Center, if you have any questions.

Judging

Entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges. Submissions will be judged equally on the quality of translation, the musical quality, and the creativity in visual presentation.

The judges for the 2022 competition will be:

• Dr. Jeremy D. Jones, Deparment of Music and Director of the Miami University Men’s Glee Club
• Ms. Sacha DeVroomen Bellman, Department of Media Journalism & Film
• Mr. Daniel Meyers, Direcor of the Interactive Language Resource Center
• Language Faculty Representatives (To be determined based on languages submitted)

Judges will have final determination and say of winners.

Prizes

Prizes will be awarded for the following:

• $250 for the winning Alma Mater submission and the winning submission will be sung by the Miami University Men's Glee Club at a future concert!
• $150 for the runner-up Alma Mater submission
• $150 for the winning Fight Song submission and the winning submission will be sung by the Miami University Men's Glee Club at a future concert!
• $100 for the runner-up Fight Song submission
• The winning alumni entry will receive $300 to their local chapter for an upcoming alumni event plus some sweet Miami swag to go along with their event.

Co-Sponsors

The Miami Lingua Mater Competition is co-sponsored by:

• The Interactive Language Resource Center
• The Department of French, Italian, and Classical Studies
• The Department of German, Russian, Asian, and Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures
• The Department of Spanish and Portuguese
• The Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology
• The College of Arts and Science
• The Department of Music
• The Miami University Men's Glee Club
• The Miami University Alumni Association 

Thank you to these departments for donating funds, resources, and time to this competition!

The Songs to Translate

Miami Alma Mater

Sung by the Miami University Men's Glee Club

Melody only

Text:

Old Miami from thy hillcrest,
Thou hast watched the decades roll;
Generations questing from thee,
Sturdy hearted, pure of soul.

Old Miami! New Miami!
Days of old and days to be;
Weave the story of thy glory,
Our Miami, here’s to thee!

Our Miami, you were founded
In our nation’s early days;
Now we join with generations
In this song of love and praise.

Old Miami! New Miami!
Days of old and days to be;
Weave the story of thy glory,
Our Miami, here’s to thee!

Miami Fight Song

Sung by the Miami University Men's Glee Club

Melody only

Text: 

Love and honor to Miami,
Our college old and grand.
Proudly we shall ever hail thee,
Over all the land.
Alma mater now we praise thee,
Sing joyfully this lay.
Love and honor to Miami,
Forever and a day.