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(U) Do You Enjoy Languages? Check Out the CLA
FROM: Steve Huffman
President, CLA
Run Date: 06/23/2006
(U) The second in our series of articles about NSA's Learned
Organizations...
(U//FOUO) The Crypto-Linguistic Association (CLA) is the NSA/CSS
professional organization devoted to the support of our language
community. Founded in 1965 by Sydney Jaffe (pictured), one of
the most brilliant language analysts our country has ever produced,
the CLA functions as a forum to highlight the accomplishments of
the language community, a venue to share problems and expertise,
and an advocate to help develop language skills to the highest
possible level.
(U//FOUO) Currently, the CLA has over 300 members, and is
continually growing. In fact, just this past year new branches of the
CLA were established at NSA/Texas and NSA/Georgia.
(U//FOUO) The CLA works closely with the Senior Language
Authority (SLA) to develop and promote programs and events for
the benefit of the language community, not only here at NSA, but
also in the broader language community throughout the country.
The CLA and the SLA have a special Cooperative Research and
Development Agreement (CRADA) which creates a synergy which
is of benefit to both.
(U//FOUO) Among the activities the CLA sponsors are:
A monthly speaker series. Recently we have had talks
such as "The Decipherment of Linear B" and "Translator
Tools for the 21st Century."
Mini language courses to broaden the community's
knowledge of the world's languages. This past year we
featured mini-courses in Mongolian and Xhosa.
Conversation hours in 20 languages, including Farsi,
Arabic, Korean, Kurdish, Chinese and many more. These
give participants-language analysts and people from other
skill fields who wish to join- opportunities to practice their
oral and aural skills in a friendly atmosphere.
An annual banquet with a nationally recognized speaker
on a topic of interest to the language community.
An always expanding foreign film and audio library, from
which CLA members can check out films, audio books and
music free of charge and with no hassle. At last count we
had more than 170 films in 54 languages.
An annual book swap, both at Ft. Meade and FANX.
A foreign language film festival, which this year presented
SERIES:
(U) Learned Orgs '06
1. The Human
Resources
Management
Association Gets New
Lease on Life
2. Do You Enjoy
Languages? Check
Out the CLA
3. The CryptoMathematics
Institute Adds Up
4. The KRYPTOS Society
Is No Mystery
5. NSA's Women in
Mathematics Society
Continues to Thrive
6. The IAI: 35 Years
and Going Strong
films in Cantonese, Hindi, Armenian, Thai, Portuguese,
Japanese, German, Czech and French.
Field trips to places of interest to the language community.
In the past year, CLA members have had fascinating,
classified, behind-the-scenes tours of the Secret Service,
the Center for Advanced Study of Language and the
National Virtual Translation Center.
(U//FOUO) To honor the achievements of language analysts, the
CLA presents four prestigious annual awards. For long-term
language achievement, there is the Sydney Jaffe Award for
civilians and the Captain Joseph Rochefort Award for military
personnel. For extraordinary achievement by mid-career language
analysts, the CLA presents the Norman Wild Award to civilians and
Colonel Alva B. Lasswell Award to military personnel.
(U//FOUO) All of these awards honor language professionals whose
outstanding mission accomplishments reflect the tradition of
leadership, ingenuity, and scholarship exemplified by their
namesakes. The names past winners can be seen on the award
plaques at the CLA Awards Wall in OPS2B.
(U//FOUO) We enthusiastically encourage anyone who enjoys
language to join the CLA. You don't have to be a language analyst.
We can help you enhance your language skills, learn more about
language, and get to know some of the best language analysts on
the planet. Last but not least, it's fun! Please subscribe to ess1362
or " go cla " and contact one of our board of directors for further
information -- we'd be happy to hear from you!
"(U//FOUO) SIDtoday articles may not be republished or reposted outside NSANet
without the consent of S0121 (DL sid_comms)."
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DERIVED FROM: NSA/CSSM 1-52, DATED 08 JAN 2007 DECLASSIFY ON: 20320108