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<TITLE>Re: [ILAT] Question about saying</TITLE>
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<FONT FACE="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:14pt'>Thank you. MJ<BR>
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On 3/14/10 3:19 PM, "Alicia Fuentes-Calle" <<a href="alicia.fuentescalle@GMAIL.COM">alicia.fuentescalle@GMAIL.COM</a>> wrote:<BR>
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</SPAN></FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:14pt'>This sentence is by Malian author Amadou Hampâté Bâ, it goes </SPAN></FONT><SPAN STYLE='font-size:14pt'><FONT FACE="Arial"> “In Africa, when an old person dies, it is like a whole <BR>
library is being burned”<BR>
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On Sun, Mar 14, 2010 at 8:08 PM, MJ Hardman <<a href="hardman@ufl.edu">hardman@ufl.edu</a>> wrote:<BR>
</FONT></SPAN><BLOCKQUOTE><SPAN STYLE='font-size:14pt'><FONT FACE="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial">I believe in this list I first read a saying regarding the death of a<BR>
speaker of a threatened language that goes something like:<BR>
When an elder dies a library dies.<BR>
Do any of you know this one, its origin and how it really goes?<BR>
I want to use this in regard to the death of my comadre. Her loss does make<BR>
what we are trying to do in spite of the Ministry more difficult. Just when<BR>
I thought we had a full good-faith commitment, they found a technical way to<BR>
postpone another year! Meanwhile, children are switching to Spanish without<BR>
the necessary commitment to the language required by use in the schools. Dr.<BR>
Bautista first knocked on the doors of the Ministry nearly 70, yes 70, years<BR>
ago. After a few years he was sent to SIL (there being no linguistics<BR>
then); for one day he knew that writing his language was possible. Then a<BR>
little over 50 years ago I appeared, and we started knocking on the doors<BR>
together. As a Peruvian friend explained, there are only us, the same<BR>
through all the years, while every year or two the Ministry changes people<BR>
and they can start the barrier arranging anew. Even as the laws now say<BR>
language preservation, the action is language destruction. I have been<BR>
wondering whether Dr. Bautista and I will manage to see this in our<BR>
lifetime. 70 years. And one more library gone. And they don't get it.<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#888888">MJ<BR>
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