Each and every one of us has our own way and, if you will, style of dressing, whether dictated by our upbringing, nationality, ethnicity, personal needs & desires, or societal pressure. We may dress our physical selves to meet the basic needs of decorum, to please ourselves and/or to meet the expectations of the society in which we live. Consciously or subconsciously, we judge our own 'looks' and people judge us on our physical appearance which covers our sense of dressing.

This is our physical self, but what about our inner self, particularly, of thought? As said by Samuel Johnson (one of the most well-known poets, essayists, biographers, moralists, literary critics, and lexicographers to have contributed greatly to English literature), language is the dress of thought. To get by well in this day and age, attention must be paid to how we dress our thoughts. Language can open doors of opportunity, raise our status in the eyes of others, and bring us close to the heart of others and others close to us. On the other hand, language can also do a lot of harm. So, dear visitors, what choice would be yours?

Dear visitors to our PPBLT website, (from among citizens of USM and from outside of USM, both from within Malaysia and outside of Malaysia),

If you choose to use language to good and productive ends, and to avoid possible language-related harm, you’ve come to the right place. The School of Languages, Literacies and Translation (SoLLaT / PPBLT) can help you achieve what you desire with language.

SoLLaT is a large language school in beautiful USM, spread across its 3 branches - main campus, engineering campus and medical campus. With over 150 qualified language teachers and lecturers and modern language learning facilities, SoLLaT is able to offer good quality language programmes and courses to satisfy the language needs of a large range of students. To date, we have a large number of students pursuing research studies for a PhD/Master degree, an ever-increasing number of students following their B.A. degree in English for Professionals, all USM’s undergraduate students improving on their Bahasa Melayu and English language, over 800 students per semester getting an edge through courses in 9 foreign languages, and students from countries like Thailand, Japan, and Germany learning Malay and its culture through short intensive courses. In short, we have it all! 

We see students coming back for more language classes, we welcome them as part of the family at PPBLT or SoLLaT, we serve the USM community and reach out to the community outside, we host cultural events that give language a place, we are a friend and an advisor to our students and language lovers all over.    

I can go on and on about us but I’d rather invite you to try to come and see it for yourself. So, please continue to weave through the pages of our website and please don’t stop there. Pick up the phone and call us, or drop us a line through email, or better still, come by to see us at the main campus of USM. We look forward to welcoming you here, either way you choose to reach us. 

       MR AZRIL ALI

       ACTING DEAN
       SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES, LITERACIES AND TRANSLATION
       UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA
       E-mail: azril@usm.my