<div>Heather...</div>
<div>Was there supposed to be another message here?</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Susan<br><br></div>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Feb 25, 2008 at 8:00 PM, Heather Souter <<a href="mailto:hsouter@gmail.com">hsouter@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">On 2/25/08, Mia Kalish <<a href="mailto:MiaKalish@learningforpeople.us">MiaKalish@learningforpeople.us</a>> wrote:<br>
> Everyone was so *cool* about this.<br>> In one way, I feel a bit silly about being to absolutely incensed both about<br>> the content of Dirk Elzinga's email, and about what it seems to me to be the<br>> nerve that it took to send it. I was watching an episode of Dexter at lunch,<br>
> and one of the characters used the term "entitlement." I guess that's<br>> perhaps what it is, a sense from a certain group of people that they have<br>> the right to tell others how to be. (I'm doing it again; I'll stop.)<br>
><br>> It's been interesting reading everyone's responses. I guess for me, the<br>> intersection of language, religion and hegemony cut close to the bone. I<br>> frequently find myself thinking, in response to some unthinking person's<br>
> attribution of "whiteness" to me, When did the Jews become "white"? Was it<br>> after the Holocaust killed 18 million of us and our closest undesirable<br>> friends, like the Indigenous Gypsies? Maybe it was when we built Hollywood<br>
> because we weren't allowed to hold more "desirable" jobs; we are grateful<br>> for the diamond and gold markets. Or maybe, it was when we built the Mt.<br>> Sinai hospitals, arguably some of the best in the world - because we weren't<br>
> allow to practice in "white" hospitals. Maybe it was then that we became<br>> "white". Although, the rumors of our horns still abounded in the middle 40s,<br>> when a friend's father surprised his army cohort because they didn't see<br>
> them when he took of his hat. We know it definitely wasn't then.<br>><br>> Maybe on second thought, we learn about the world and people's place in it<br>> and their/our relation to others when we talk about the things that hurt us,<br>
> the things that bring tears to our eyes: Maybe it's the million points of<br>> light in Yad Vashem, one for each of the million children whose names are<br>> read endlessly, in remembrance.<br>><br>> Maybe it's "The Silent Scream" and maybe it shouldn't be silent any more.<br>
><br>><br>> Mia<br>><br>><br>><br>> -----Original Message-----<br>> From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:<a href="mailto:ILAT@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU">ILAT@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU</a>]<br>
><br>> On Behalf Of Mark Sicoli<br>> Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2008 12:35 AM<br>> To: <a href="mailto:ILAT@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU">ILAT@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU</a><br>> Subject: Re: [ILAT] traditions of assimilation...<br>
><br>> Dear Jimmy, Thank you for this response and the information you provided.<br>> It's very interesting how the Chinese nationalist project also produced<br>> the same ideological relationship of one language=one nation, with similar<br>
> oppressive results for vernacular languages. Since I work in and am from<br>> ex-european colonies, I trace it's effects there to European nation<br>> building which was the model for the colonies. You show the same type of<br>
> process where the Chinese communists model their idea of nation building<br>> on past symbols deployed for unification. In all these cases the belief<br>> in unity doesn't match the real life diversity. I would like to learn<br>
> more. Can you recommend a book or article?<br>><br>> I wish you luck with your work with Siraya and look forward to hearing<br>> more about your work in the future.<br>><br>> Mark<br>><br>><br>
><br>> On Sun, February 17, 2008 12:33 am, Jimmy/ Chun said:<br>> > Hi all,<br>> ><br>> > This is my first time writing here, so please allow me to<br>> > introduce myself.<br>> ><br>
> > I am a Siraya from Taiwan, now a PhD student under Dr Hardman's<br>> > supervision at UF. I work at revitalizing Siraya language that is<br>> > noted as extinct in Ethnologue (Ethnologue also uses Chinese terms<br>
> > that actually means "savage" in its Siraya entry). I work with a<br>> > group of Sirayan people that are also Presbyterian; with the<br>> > little re-constructed mother tongue, they have written a few<br>
> > Christian songs in addition to some folk songs with Austronesian<br>> > tunes in Siraya. I enjoy the fact that we now have songs to sing.<br>> > In the songs we sing the name of Alid...when singing Alid, I think<br>
> > of the Sirayan Goddess-mother, although my folks use it to refer<br>> > to the Western God/Lord.<br>> ><br>> > I love this thread and I'd like to contribute to the discussion of<br>> > "tradition of assimilation" by recommending a movie called<br>
> > "Hawaii" made in 1966, directed by George Roy Hill. It's a looong<br>> > movie and makes me sad, but it has given me plenty to think.<br>> ><br>> > Also I very much agree with Mark Sicoli that the concept of "one<br>
> > nation = one language" has a lot to do with European nation-state<br>> > building. But I'd just like to point out that such belief has a<br>> > Chinese root as well. Since as early as 259 BC, the Qin King in<br>
> > China was already obsessed with the notion of a huge, unified,<br>> > China Kingdom that spoke and wrote (!) only one language. This<br>> > Chinese nationalist ideology has informed the communists in China<br>
> > as well as the Chinese Nationalists in Taiwan and led to many<br>> > Mandarin-only (commonly thought to be "the Chinese language"<br>> > today) policies. By 1930's the Japanese colonializers in Taiwan<br>
> > still documented about 30 indigenous Austronesian languages spoken<br>> > around the island; now we have speakers for only about 13 of them<br>> > and two peoples (Siraya and Bazai) are trying to re-constitutes<br>
> > their lost mother tongues (mostly based on written documents --<br>> > 17th century land contracts and bibilical stuffs [!!] left by the<br>> > Dutch missionaries). Luckily (??) I can't recall any Taiwanese or<br>
> > Chinese politician talking about us having a "tradition of<br>> > assimilation" :)<br>> ><br>> ><br>> > Jimmy (or "Chun Huang," my registered Chinese name, which is again<br>
> > a case of assimilation. Siraya used to be matri-focal and people<br>> > used to have only first names, but the Chinese colonial government<br>> > has assigned Chinese last names to us based on fathers being the<br>
> > head of a household).<br>> ><br>> ><br>> ><br>> ><br>> ><br>> > On Sat Feb 16 17:03:15 EST 2008, David Lewis<br>> > <<a href="mailto:David.Lewis@GRANDRONDE.ORG">David.Lewis@GRANDRONDE.ORG</a>> wrote:<br>
> ><br>> >> I for one appreciate more dialogue about how Christians and other<br>> >> sects have contributed to the assimilation of Native peoples,<br>> >> which in turn has contributed to the extinction or<br>
> >> near-extinction of many native languages. I too will use this in<br>> >> my classes.<br>> >><br>> >> David G. Lewis<br>> >> Manager, Cultural Resources Department<br>
> >> Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde<br>> >><br>> >><br>> >><br>> >><br>> >> -----Original Message-----<br>> >> From: Indigenous Languages and Technology on behalf of Mark<br>
> >> Sicoli<br>> >> Sent: Sat 2/16/2008 12:49 PM<br>> >> To: <a href="mailto:ILAT@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU">ILAT@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU</a><br>> >> Subject: Re: [ILAT] traditions of assimilation...<br>
> >> Thank you Phil, well said. The nationalist myth is based on a<br>> >> pervasive<br>> >> ideology where a single language is taken (or given) as the<br>> >> symbol of a<br>> >> singular identity. The one language=one nation association goes<br>
> >> back to<br>> >> nation-state building in Europe and the practices of linguistic<br>> >> unifications, like in Spain, France, and Italy, and other such<br>> >> places<br>> >> where vernacular languages were ideologically "erased" in the<br>
> >> formation of<br>> >> national unities. These served as models for nation building in<br>> >> the<br>> >> Americas and the ideology is real prominent in Mexico where I<br>> >> work, and<br>
> >> where language shifts from indigenous languages to Spanish are<br>> >> currently<br>> >> occurring at unprecedented rates. The same basic ideology is at<br>> >> work<br>> >> equating one language with one individual, which serves to work<br>
> >> against<br>> >> bilingualism and bilingual education, thus facilitating language<br>> >> abandonment rather than bilingual maintenance. For these reasons<br>> >> I agree<br>> >> that this is a worthwhile discussion for this list.<br>
> >><br>> >> Mark<br>> >><br>> >><br>> >> On Sat, February 16, 2008 9:02 pm, phil cash cash said:<br>> >>> For the language advocates (LA) it might be worthwhile to point<br>
> >>> out these<br>> >>> "assimilationist" agendas are all founded on a nationalist<br>> >>> myth.?? In<br>> >>> today's<br>> >>> contemporary context, this nationalist myth states that our<br>
> >>> societies are<br>> >>> or<br>> >>> can become linguistically, culturally homogenous.?? When in<br>> >>> reality, this<br>> >>> may<br>> >>> be impossible.?? And as Richard points out so well, the<br>
> >>> nationalist myth (in what ever<br>> >>> manifestation it may take) supports other agendas as well.?? Phil<br>> >>> UofA<br>> >>><br>> >>><br>> >><br>
> >><br>> >> -- Mark Sicoli Ph.D.<br>> >> Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics<br>> >> Postbus 310<br>> >> 6500 AH Nijmegen<br>> >> The Netherlands<br>> >><br>
> >><br>> ><br>> ><br>><br>><br>> --<br>> Mark Sicoli Ph.D.<br>> Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics<br>> Postbus 310<br>> 6500 AH Nijmegen<br>> The Netherlands<br>
><br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>____________________________________________________________<br>Susan D. Penfield, Ph.D.<br><br>Department of English (Primary) <br>American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI)<br>
Second Language Acquisition & Teaching Ph.D. Program (SLAT)<br>Department of Language,Reading and Culture<br>Department of Linguistics<br>The Southwest Center (Research)<br>Phone for messages: (520) 621-1836<br><br><br>
"Every language is an old-growth forest of the mind, a watershed of thought, an ecosystem of spiritual possibilities." <br> <br> Wade Davis...(on a Starbucks cup...)