MSI Press Blog

  MSI Press managing editor contributed two chapters to this book and hopes readers interested in language and culture studies, as well as military studies, will enjoy it. The digital edition is free! VISIT MSI PRESS  WEBSITE  TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL OUR AUTHORS AND TITLES. Sign up for the MSI Press LLC monthly newsletter: get inside information before others see it and access to additional book content (recent releases, sales/discounts, awards, reviews, Amazon top 100 list, links to precerpts/excerpts, author advice, and more) Check out  recent issues .     Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book ,  Pinterest , and  Bluesky .       MSI Press welcomes submissions that reflect legacy and lived experience. Learn more about our publishing process on  our website . We help writers become award-winning published authors. One writer at a time. We are a family, not a factory. Do you have a future with us? Find out at www.m...

  You know how to describe things. You can say “It’s hot,” “She’s tired,” “He’s angry.” You can name emotions, explain concepts, and recount events. But can you evoke them? 🌡️ Metaphor Is Cultural Temperature Metaphor mastery is the ability to express meaning through imagery that resonates within a culture. It’s not just about being poetic—it’s about being precise . In one language, someone might be “burning with shame.” In another, they “want to dig a hole and hide.” One culture might describe grief as a heavy coat; another, as a swallowed stone. At Level 3, your metaphors may be literal, borrowed, or mismatched. You might say “I’m drowning in work” in a culture that sees stress as fire. Or “I’m walking on eggshells” in a culture that uses glass or thorns. You’re expressive—but not anchored . 🧠 Metaphor Reveals Cultural Cognition Metaphors aren’t just decorative—they’re diagnostic. They reveal how a culture thinks, feels, and frames experience. They show whether time is a line ...

  Dr. Betty Lou Leaver, MSI Press Managing Editor, co-authored two chapters in the book, Language, Regional Expertise, and Culture   in the Military: State of the Science  (edited by Watson, Wolfel, & Kalkstein): (1) with Mowafiq Alanazi: "Identifying Transforming Values and Conforming Values of Arab and U.S. Leaders: An Exploratory Study in Cultural Relativism" (20 With Jeff Watson: "Transformative Language, Regional Expertise, and Culture (LREC) Instruction: Promoting Cross-Cultural Leadership" The book can be downloaded for free from the West Point Press website . Book description: In today’s complex global security environment, military effectiveness depends not only on advanced technology and tactics but also on the ability to understand, communicate, and collaborate across cultures. This interdisciplinary volume examines the evolving role of language, regional expertise, and cultural competency (LREC) in U.S. military training, strategy, and leadershi...

  You’ve mastered the vocabulary of emotion. You can say “I’m sorry,” “I’m thrilled,” “I’m worried,” in your second language. You know how to express joy, grief, gratitude, and frustration. But do you know how much to express? When to express it? To whom ? 🎚️ The Volume Dial of Emotion Emotional calibration is the ability to adjust your emotional expression to match cultural expectations. It’s not just about what you feel—it’s about how you signal that feeling. In some cultures, grief is public and loud. In others, it’s private and restrained. Joy might be exuberant or quietly dignified. Anger might be direct or veiled in irony. At Level 3, you may express emotion clearly—but not appropriately . You might apologize too profusely, celebrate too loudly, or offer comfort too intimately. Your words are fluent, but your emotional timing is off. 🕰️ Emotion Is a Cultural Clock Every culture has its own rhythm for emotional expression. Some cultures value immediacy—say what you...