Lingua Franca

Cineglos

By Kenneth Reeds, department of foreign languages

It is said and written so often that it is certainly a cliché, but it is indeed true that the internet has changed our world. That understood, it also needs to be admitted that a great number of the webpages that exist are entertainment at best, if not a complete waste of time. With this in mind, it is nice to share a project developed by Bridget Franco, Sheila Coursey, and Kelsey Smith, faculty and students at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA.

Called “Cineglos” (http://college.holycross.edu/projects/cineglos/), it will be of interest to anyone who enjoys cinema; particularly those interested in Latin American and Spanish film. As its name implies, it is a glossary of cinema terminology. However, instead of a simple discipline-specific dictionary, the developers have taken advantage of technology to include easy-to-play examples of whatever term you have searched for.

For example, if you go to the term “pantalla partida” (split screen) you will find a written definition on one side of the screen and, on the other, excerpts from two films that illustrate what a split screen looks like.

Created with a Spanish-speaking audience in mind, it is easy to imagine this webpage being useful for language teachers and students. Perhaps the best part of all is the potential to expose us to numerous films we have not seen and may never have heard of. It is wonderful to see the internet being put to such a good use.

Cineglos webpage