Transnational College of LEX

LEX Japan has an institute where languages and human beings are
analyzed from the viewpoint of natural science.

The Transnational College of LEX (TCL, also known as Torakare) was created in Tokyo in 1984 as a place to research and learn about the intriguing relationship between human beings and languages. It is a sort of "LEX college." The unique thing about this college is that there are no grades, teachers, textbooks or tests. People of all ages, from recent high school graduates to grandparents, work on research revolving around the theme of "human beings and language." Like their ages, their research topics vary. The books they have published range from the bestseller The Code of Hitomaro to new research on classics in The Mystery of Makura Kotoba. They are also well known for Who is Fourier? A Mathematical Adventure, and What is Quantum Mechanics? A Physics Adventure, and What is DNA? A Biology Adventure. To students of TCL, physics and mathematics are languages with which to explain natural phenomenon, and classic poems from books such as Kikimanyo are a treasure chest which explain modern-day language structures. Students are supported by Senior Fellows, a group of topnotch, professional scientists and academics who provide advice and lectures which stimulate intellectual curiosity. The creative and broad-ranging research done at TCL is integrated and closely related to the Hippo Family Club (known as LEX Language Project in the U.S.) and the Transnational Exchange Program.

Bonjour! My name is Marie Kitamura. I'm an Assistant Senior Fellow at the Transnational College of LEX, a research institute that goes by the nickname of "TCL." I'd like to tell you about TCL.

At TCL there are no examinations, no homework, no checking attendance, and no certification, even though we do graduate. There are many students of different ages here - some have just graduated from high school, some are housewives who have children, and some are office workers who have quit their jobs. But, we are all members of Hippo Family Club and enjoy Hippo's multilingual activities very much.

We are especially interested in investigating how humans acquire language and in developing a natural learning environment. Therefore, we try to create a relaxed environment in which students freely interact and learn from each other. Utilizing our many points of view, we think and talk about issues that interest us.

While people usually speak of "crossing" or "transcending" a border, we at TCL think in "transnational" terms. This means that we try to think of things without borders between them. So, we talk about science and literature together, not separating them into two different disciplines that don't connect. At TCL, there are also no borders between teachers and students or freshmen and seniors - we are all together.

Our interest in multilingualism doesn't just involve what are traditionally thought of as languages - French, Russian, Chinese, etc. In our investigations we look at other subjects, such as quantum mechanics, as languages. At TCL we approach understanding science just as we approach foreign languages at our Hippo Club meetings.

For example, when we started down the road that ended with the writing of What is Quantum Mechanics? A Physics Adventure, we didn't even like physics or math. We didn't believe that we could ever really understand them. But we approached them in the "Hippo way." We worked at understanding little by little, and we talked about what we knew among us. It was very similar to when we started learning new foreign languages. We found that physics and math were also languages describing natural phenomenon. Therefore, we were able to learn them!

We enjoyed this learning process so much that we wrote about it and what we understood of math and quantum mechanics. Many people have had the experience of struggling to learn something, and therefore have been interested in our books, which describe how we learned something difficult. The books are as much about this learning process as they are about mathematics and physics.

Our most recent publication is a book about genetics and DNA called What is DNA? A Biology Adventure.

Senior Fellow Comment

An Atmosphere of "Joyful Thinking"
By Dr. Keiko Nakamura
Molecular Biologist, Professor of Osaka University
Deputy Director General, Biology Research Hall
Japanese Translator of Molecular Biology of the Cell,
Molecular Biology of the Gene, Double Helix

I always look forward to my visits to Transnational College of LEX (TCL). It's because the place has an atmosphere full of "joyful thinking." There are many "joyful" places. And there are many "thinking" places. But it's very hard to find a place like this one that incorporates the two.

Above all, TCL is appealing to me because the students there are thinking about language. Language is the fundamental basis of what makes humans "human." It doesn't matter where a baby is born - in time that baby will be able to speak [given the physical ability]. If adults approach language as naturally as a baby does, we should be able to speak any language too.

Although this premise is obviously true, it had never been much discussed before LEX began to create "Families," clubs where many languages were spoken. These Families are connecting through language to families all around the world. It makes us believe that there is just one "human language."

DNA, I believe, which I am researching as the fundamental basis of living things, is similar to language. Both of them are interesting for scientific study! Thinking about them together with friends and colleagues is even more exciting! At Transnational College of LEX, the students continue to enjoy their "Adventures in DNA," and "Adventures in Language." And I also will continue to enjoy the adventure with them.

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