Tyler: Historian Leading with Asian & European Languages
Professionals across industries and skill levels are sharing the value of language learning
Meet Tyler—an Assistant Professor of History at Virginia Wesleyan University who employs his language skills at home and abroad to unlock research from the early modern period.
Language skills have helped me build deep friendships and professional relationships across countries.
Languages: Sinhala, Thai, Sanskrit, and Dutch (with some Tamil and French)
Grew Up In: Sacramento, CA
Degrees Held:
- California State University, Sacramento (BA in Philosophy and Religious Studies, 2013)
- University of Colorado Boulder (MA in Religious Studies, 2016)
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (PhD in History, 2024)
How and when did your language journey begin? Did you always know that you wanted to learn multiple languages?
My language journey started in high school, when I discovered that I really enjoyed learning French and, to my surprise, that I wasn’t half bad at it! At the time, I didn’t expect to go on to study multiple languages, but I had a sense that language learning came naturally to me; much more so than math, that’s for sure. Even then, it seems I was already on a path toward the humanities.
In college, my interests expanded toward Asia, especially the fascinating history of Buddhism across the Indian Ocean. That passion eventually led me to begin studying Sanskrit and Sinhala during my master’s program at the University of Colorado Boulder. I studied Sanskrit at Naropa University, just up the road, and Sinhala at the South Asia Summer Language Institute at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. These languages opened up a new world of research and cross-cultural engagement. Later, during my PhD at Wisconsin, I also studied Thai and Dutch to support my dissertation research. So, while I didn’t always know I’d study multiple languages, it turns out they’ve been key to every step of my academic and professional journey.
How have your language and cultural skills supported and/or enhanced your professional opportunities?
My language skills have been absolutely essential to my work as a historian. I research early modern Buddhist monks and European colonialism in the Bay of Bengal—a world of movement, translation, and diplomacy that can’t be understood through just one language. To piece together this history, I need to read texts and interpret sources in Sinhala, Thai, Dutch, and sometimes Pāli and Sanskrit. Each language adds another layer to the story, and without them, much of the richness and complexity would be lost.
On a typical research day, I might be walking the streets of Colombo, Sri Lanka, speaking Sinhala with colleagues and shopkeepers, then sitting down in the National Archives translating 17th and 18th century Dutch records, and later comparing them with Thai royal chronicles.
But it’s not just about academic work. Language skills have helped me build deep friendships and professional relationships across countries. Being able to speak with people in their own language opens doors to connection and understanding in a way that no translation ever could. It also means that, even when I’m far from home, I’m never really lonely.
Could you share a moving or memorable cultural experience you had while studying or traveling abroad? Why is it important to learn about cultures in conjunction with languages?
On one of my early trips to Sri Lanka in 2015-2016, I was still getting used to the complexities of Sinhala grammar—especially how to make singular nouns plural, which isn’t as straightforward as it is in English.
I was in Anuradhapura during the height of mango season and stopped at a roadside fruit stall. I started chatting with the shopkeeper, telling him how much I loved mangoes and how amazing it was that Sri Lanka had so many different varieties. I told him, enthusiastically, that I wished I could buy them all.
He burst out laughing, like, really laughing. It turns out that I had mistakenly used the word ambu to refer to mangoes in the plural (the correct form is amba, or amba gedi in the singular). Ambu is actually slang for a pregnant woman! So, instead of talking about my love for mangoes, I had just earnestly told a stranger that I wanted to buy all the different types of pregnant women in the country. Mortifying at the time, but now one of my favorite stories to tell.
That moment reminds me how deeply intertwined language and culture are. You can memorize vocabulary all day long, but if you don’t understand how language lives and breathes in context—slang, humor, tone, gesture—you’re missing something essential. Culture gives language its meaning, and learning them together makes both more meaningful.
What advice would you share with current language learners or those considering studying a language?
Don’t be discouraged by languages that are seen as “difficult” or rarely taught. You—yes, you—can do it. While non-alphabetic scripts, unfamiliar grammar, or cultural references may feel overwhelming at times, these are also the very things that make language learning so rewarding.
I’ve learned over the years that success in language study isn’t about having a natural gift or being a genius, it’s about persistence, curiosity, and showing up again and again, even when it’s sometimes hard.
Stay consistent. Immerse yourself as much as possible in class, in the community, or through news, music, TV, podcasts, and movies.
Real fluency often grows not from perfect lessons but from everyday interactions: the confusion when someone uses an idiom your textbook never mentioned, the joy of finally understanding a joke, or the humility of making a mistake and being corrected with kindness. Those are the moments that stick, and they’re often the ones that help you grow the most.
So go for it. Pick up that language you’ve always been curious about. Whether for your career, your studies, or just for the thrill of discovering new worlds. It will be worth it.
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