ELL: Endangered Languages Debate
Matthew McDaniel
akha at loxinfo.co.th
Mon Oct 4 15:05:40 UTC 1999
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Date: Mon, 04 Oct 1999 22:05:40 +0700
From: Matthew McDaniel <akha at loxinfo.co.th>
Organization: The Akha Heritage Foundation
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Subject: Re: ELL: Endangered Languages Debate
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I see here in Thailand that there is always a trade off expected of the Akha.
It is this that I find so odd. Like if the call of God is so great, can't we
just
leave it to the Akha to show up and pick it out?
But no, they have to fabricate the ten great lies to make it happen, which
they
pawn off at each twisting of the arm.
First you should be Christian, that is why you are all ill now, then if you so
choose since we convinced you of that then you have to give up all that you
have,
as the rest of the deal, and in steps by steps they distance the people
further and
further from who they are to the point where they will be little more than a
convenience to the program of the mission. Which by the way needs them as
proof of
success to justify the food that is eaten.
I am from a Christian background. I prefer to say that I believe in the
teachings
of Jesus but am not Christian.
So you might find me believing intrinsic things, but not of any feeling that
it is
my right to push and corral people to get them to believe the same when it
comes to
religion, I think they should believe what they want as they want. If it is
not
the same as me fine, but I have no right to force them to believe what I
believe or
lie to them about the nature of what they believe already to get them to
abandon
it.
The missionaries would mark me very much a pagan.
But when I ask them why they can't just help the Akha with things the Akha
want
help on without charging them the cost of a religion, they must remain silent
and
do.
The cost of Jesus should never be that one should be ashamed of who and what
they
are at birth that they could not choose in the first place. A very odd
concept.
But always what good the mission did is showed as just cause, or the cases
where
some good came out anyway, but what would have happened if they had instead
just
helped people in good faith with no strings attatched?
Matthew
Sean O Seaghdha wrote:
> Ar 3 Oct 99, ag 23:40 scr.obh Kelvin Massey
> f.n .bhar "RE: ELL: Endangered Languages Debat":
>
> > Henry,
> >
> > I agree with you that the acceptance of Christianity has for some
> indigenous
> > peoples been a means of preserving their language and culture. The
> Cherokees
> > in the southeastern U.S. are a perfect example. The most courageous
> > non-Cherokee defenders of their rights during the last century were
> > missionaries. Two of these missionaries spent a year in prison for their
> > advocacy of Cherokee rights. Samuel Worcester, who was one of those
> > imprisoned, was instrumental in founding the Cherokee Phoenix (a bilingual
> > newspaper) as well as in designing the typescript for the Cherokee
> syllabary.
> > He continously agitated for the right of Cherokee people to speak and
> write in
> > their own language, and continued his work in Oklahoma after their forced
> > removal. The courageous examples of Worcester and other missionaries are
> > probably why so many Cherokees today are Christians, and why
> Cherokee-language
> > churches are seen as embodiments of traditional culture by many Cherokees
> > (there are traditionalist non-Christian Cherokees as well).
>
> But how much choice did the Cherokees really have about becoming
> christian? Surely it is at least possible that part of the reason
> the people you mention were *able* to fight for their people was that
> they were "good christians" and therefore had some credibility with
> the mainstream christian culture. Christian doctrines may also have
> inspired them in their fight and that's great, but I don't think it
> justifies evangelism at all.
>
> I think it pays to make a clear distinction between a "means of
> preserving their language" and a relatively benign cultural
> intervention. If christianity was such an effective means of
> preserving the language does that mean that non-christian Cherokees
> no longer speak the language?
>
> It seems to me that christianity was useful in this context because
> of its connection to the dominant culture rather than its inherent
> language-preserving qualities.
>
> `~:.,.:'^`~:.,.:'^`~:.,.:'^`~:.,.:'^`~:.,.:'^`~:.,.:'^`~:.,.:'^`~:.,.:'^`~
> S e . n . S . a g h d h a sean at urania.apana.org.au
>
> Is trom cearc i bhfad. Seanfhocal.
>
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Matthew McDaniel
The Akha Heritage Foundation
386/3 Sailom Joi Rd
Maesai, Chiangrai, 57130
Thailand
Mobile Phone Number: Sometimes hard to reach while in Mountains.
66-01-881-9288
US Address:
Donations by check or money order may be sent to:
The Akha Heritage Foundation
PO BOX 6073
Salem OR 97304
USA
Donations by direct banking can be transferred to:
(Preferred)
Wells Fargo Bank
Akha Heritage Foundation
Acc. # 0081-889693
Keizer Branch # 1842 04
4990 N. River Road.
Keizer, Oregon, 97303 USA
ABA # 121000248
Or In Thailand:
Matthew Duncan McDaniel
Acc. # 3980240778
Bangkok Bank Ltd.
Maesai Branch
Thailand
Web Site:
http://www.akha.com
mailto:akha at loxinfo.co.th
Discussion Groups:
akha at onelist.com
indigenousworld at onelist.com
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