Author Archives: sj135198

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Reading the story of the Ansarac, I easily imagine that Usurla kroeber has been influenced by her parents’ experience with Ishi. The inspiration of creating that sort of “antrhopological science fiction” projected in the future directly derives from the differences that her parents noted in the ways of living of Ishi’s tribe. When Ursula mentions ” he was a little bored and lonely among the uninterested tourists,and when he found me a willing listener (surely not the first or last, but currently the only one) he took pleasure in telling me about his people, as we sat with a tall glass of iced U in the long, soft evenings…” ( on the first and second pages of the extract). I cannot help but think of the relationship between Ishi and Dr Kroeber. The same bond that linked Ishi and the doctor, seems to link the Ansarac and the narrator. Dr Kroeber discovered a world that was totally foreign to him when he befriended Ishi and learned about his culture. I do believe that Usurla writes about the Ansarac to also reflect on cultural diversity all over the world.

sj

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My thoughts on the talk at Engelman

What really marked me during the talk was when Nadeem Aslam said ” when you smile to someone when you don’t feel like smiling is JIhad”  I do not know if I am misinterpreting what he said but I do feel like this is the total opposite of the idea of Jihad that was

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The speaker whom I enjoyed the most was Nadeem ASlam, the Pakistani writer. He came from a tumultuous background and I admire that he chose literature to voice his concerns  and to advocate. he addressed the issue regarding the prejudices and discrimination against the Muslim with such fervor. He also denounced the US government for thE assassination of a journalist/ reporter and his wife.

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ABSTRACT!

 

Discrimination through language in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

 

Although the language Creole, Haitian Creole or sometimes called French Creole was a key element that led the Revolution that helped abolish slavery in Haiti, a French colony a the time, the language has never been a subject of study, or the center of historical studies. It was widely spoken during the colonial era and still spoken by most Haitians. Creole is the demotic of Haiti, thus it is essential for a comprehensive understanding of Haiti’s history, culture, and  folk wisdoms. However, Creole has been officially recognized as the official language of the country only about twenty years ago. That being said, one must understand that there has not been a systematic use of Creole in schools in Haiti for many years. To understand Creole’s status today, I offer to go back into time to trace the educational system of Haiti. Consulting authors like Micheal J. Dalsh, and Arthur K. spears, Michel Degraff among others, I propose to collect some interesting facts about the contradictions and ironies that surround the use of this language in Haiti.

Stephanie

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Hopi cultural objects Put out to Auction In Paris

Hi everyone,

On Friday, I was watching the news and this annoucement caught my attention.  Since we talked about the Hopi language and culture in class I thought that you might find this interesting.

 Despite  the Hopi tribes’s demands and the U.S ambassdor to France efforts to discontinue the process, several Hopi masks were sold to a collector; the incident caused quite a stir.  They raised about 752,000 Euros by selling these sacred Hopi  objects collection.  I first saw the news on tv5 Monde, and then I made some resaech and found one interesting article on Reuters.  Apparently, even Robert Redford protested against the sales of these objects.

One of the most  interesting things in this article is the collector’s comment :  “One day I might give some back,” said the collector, who declined to be identified. “But if it had not been for collectors in the 19th century who contributed to the field of ethnology, there would be very little knowledge of the Hopi.

I would like to know what would an anthropologist make  of that comment.  on one part, we have the Hopi tribes perspective; they think that selling these object is abominable. On the other end, the collector’s perspective; he/she think that their efforts to collect such objects help with the study of the culture.  What would be an anthropologist’s viewpoint. What do you guys think ?  

 There are many other interesting stuff that have been said in regards to the situation. I invite you all to read the article.  

This is the link for the article.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/12/entertainment-us-france-masks-idUSBRE93B0AH20130412

 Thank you

Stephanie Joseph

 

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I recognize that John Quejada was very ambitious to have the prevention of making a language as exact and precise as Mathematics. At first, I relate to Quejada because of his wanting to mix cool aspect of many languages to combine it together. This, by the way, for me would represent an incentive to learn the language.  However, from my perspective, removing all metaphors form a language would make the language  dull. Even Math has its own metaphors. These metaphors could be either clear : the sum of two and two; which is four. There are others that are more complex the product of the square root of the number 16 by the integer 1, still 4. Metaphors, apparently are intrinsic to languages or communication.

John Quijada probably made a comprehensive effort in forming this language , but, to me, unlike these Ukrainians, the language is not so much appealing.

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My memoir paper reflected the ambiguities of speaking Creole in Haiti. I would like to take it a step further and research the current status of creole today in Haiti.

The most interesting fact today is that unlike the situation of the common languages in the Central African Republic and in Bangui who are near extinction, the demotic of Haiti, Creole, is widely used and spoken by everyone. What you might be curious about is why am I concerned with this language if it is widely spoken. In fact, although it is widely spoken, Creole remains at  an undeveloped phase because no efforts have been made to enrich the language and make it a modern vehicle of communication and education. Maybe people did not deem this important, since any “broken or odd” pronunciation of French becomes Creole; some people even call it “French Patois”, which would not be exactly correct. In my research paper, one of the first thing I will aim at is try to define the language and its origin.

At some point in Haiti’s history, Creole went from “common language” status to “official language” status, just like French. What drove this change of status. But as of today, I can reassure you that the two languages are perceived entirely differently although they have the same status. How many official speeches are given in Creole?  Do we use creole in Haiti’s education system? I will try to provide a rough amount of how many books are published in Creole today. I will interview news publishers here in New York to talk about the current status of creole and on which occasion it is used or on which occasion it is not used. Are people concerned with the revival of  this language, which, even if spoken by the majority, is still placed in margins?

Stephanie Joseph

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Foreign and Local Words.

Interestingly enough, and luckily for me, I found various points of connections with Alexakis’s Foreign words and my memoir paper. What connects Alexakis and I is more his experience with Sango and his journey in Bangui rather than his personal life and his quest to reinvent himself.

On one hand, there is a correlation with Haitian Creole and Sango in the sense that both languages are spoken by the population as a whole but they are banned in favor of French Language. This, clearly , is the aftermath of years of colonization. Both the people carry the  the stigmata of colonization. The struggle faced by Haitian who only speak Creole are beating. To think that people who only speak Creole are sometimes considered pariahs is very striking. Growing up, Many times the question posed by the ambassador’s wife recured in Haiti as well  :”Is Creole a real language’? this again leads us to the question what are the benchmarks to weight  a real language? It is measured by how many people who speak the language or how many books are published in Creole. The rare books published in Creole are the New Testament and some poetry by authors like Georges Castera who wants to promote the language and show its beauties. In fact to understand the Haitian culture, one must understand the people and one way to get to the people is through Creole. When I went to school, the Fables I learned was Lafontaine’s Fable. But the Creole folktales I learned  were tales counted to me at home  in “clandestinity” at night  not at school .

On the other hand, I sometimes do find myself in Alexakis’s shoes when I go back to Haiti for the holidays per example, the Haitian people do not alway consider me essentially Haitian, in creole they say ” Ayisyen natif natal” . They consider me as ‘diaspora” because I live abroad and I speak other language. In fact, it is very disturbing to see that because I speak English and French, people approach me a different way. It is very intriguing to see how language refers to status; and unfortunately in Haiti the more one strays from Creole, the more status  he or she has. Just like Marcel Alingbingo resents it when it comes to Sango, I resent that the language is being suppressed by not only French but by also English.

These are the correlations with Foreign Words and my memoir.

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Gangnam Style !!!

Hello all,

I do not know how to drop the youtube video here. I went to a place this saturday and the famous song “Gangnam Style” was playing… and everyone was dancing to it. (also singing if that applies) It made me think of Connie’s comment  about language not being always a barrier for communication. I do not know the lyrics of the song, and I also never googled the lyrics to figure out what it means. Usually, if I really love a song sand in another language I try to figure out its meaning. I just assume that this song is a happy song. I found it a great example on how sometimes through music language is not a problem.I am sure most of you know this song and dance to it whenever it comes on.

Now let’s be clear, this is not the traditional chinese folk music. If it was, what are the odds that we would not even hear of it? what are your thoughts?

Stephanie Joseph

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Growing up in a francophone country where only Creole is understood by almost everyone

Reading Vassilis Alexakis’  Foreign Words, I got inspired to talk about my experience with a language similar to Sango : Creole, Haitian Creole precisely. Growing up, I have been taught to ban Creole, although it is one out of the two official languages of the country. In certain parts of Haiti, Creole was seen (is still seen) as a vulgar language compared to French. It was most preferable to express oneself in French in school, at Church, at social gathering, even at home. For many, Creole did not meet the requirements to be a language, many Haitians reprimanded the use of Creole. As I became more aware of the Haitian culture, I gained a deeper understanding of how the language is essential and central to both the culture and to the people.For example, telling a Haitian folktale in French seems absurd to me, and most people tell stories of the folklore in Creole.  although most Haitian speak Creole and not French, Creole was never recognized as valuable language. Creole was a language that I grew to love passionately despite all of the society’s efforts in making me denying as a beautiful language. I wish to recover a lot of my childhood memories to tell this story, the story of a battle between two native languages that I particularly cherish.