'In', 'for', or 'with'?

[Mia Kalish]

Hi, David, 

When I first read your email, I thought I would wait and see what others had
to say. But then, after some talk with one of my friends about things that
are occurring, I thought I would share our perceptions. 

We, too, behave differently in different groups. In the disciplines, there
are different ways of thinking. In journals, there are different ways of
writing and formatting. In technology, there are different languages to
write in, and in social milieus, there are different sets of mores and
expectations. One doesn't wear jeans to a state dinner and expect to be
invited back. One doesn't dress poorly to attend a quincinera without
expecting to give great insult. One doesn't talk about object oriented
programming in a Psychology seminar, nor about Communications theory in a
Physics seminar. 

It takes time to learn what people in different groups expect and value, and
also to decide whether we want to be part of that group or not, and if so,
how much. 

How we speak varies with what our audience understands. I don't talk about
creating Event Listeners when I am teaching people how to build learning
materials, although Event Listeners are a critical part of how the
technology works. But it is just not appropriate for the people who are
trying to learn. Also, I don't flood them with words and expect them a) to
build their own images (takes too much time), and b) expect them to build
mental images that match mine (no matter what, their images will always be
their own). 

One day, I was trying to talk with my new neighbor, who is from Mexico and
speaks Spanish. All that kept coming out was Apache. It was inappropriate
for talking with my neighbor; I could keep doing it, but she would keep not
understanding me. The Apache was a funny little glitch with my mind, but it
brings up a good point: Should one speak in a preferred language because
"this is who they are" . . . or should they use another language because
their goal is to communicate with someone else who is not privy to the
"preferred language". 

I have heard Native people talk about "the different worlds". But there is
also a "different worlds discourse" for Native people. There is little or no

different worlds discourse for others, although for every first generation
college student, there are certainly different worlds. For everyone who
enters the white collar corporate world, or leaves it to enter the blue
collar world, or to live life on the street as a homeless person, there are
different worlds. 

I think perhaps people haven't talked about it because they don't realize
how widespread it is. Certainly people have talked about the difficulty of
getting an education for the 1st gen people, but not many have detailed
"why", especially in terms of the language and culture and familial
expectations. 

Where I live here in New Mexico, white people assume that a college
education is a "good thing" because of the upward mobility that is entailed
through the learning and graduation processes. The other people who live
here assume that a college education is a "bad thing" because their children
will move away and not be with the family. Some people get degrees and write
about these perceptions, and then we know more. 

Mia   

-----Original Message-----
From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU]
On Behalf Of David Gene Lewis
Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 9:00 AM
To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
Subject: Re: [ILAT] 'In', 'for', or 'with'?

Klahowya all, 

Wow, this is turning into a great thread!, 

Anyway I wanted to ask another question. How many people have had the
experience of culture shifting? I mean, I live in several worlds and
at times can shift my thinking and language according to the
circumstances. When in a Native context I know that my language and
demeanor and thinking changes to fit the correct context. And when I
am in the academic university context IO will change to fit that world
including using a different language and demeanor. When I am with
family, I feel also different, changing my thinking and language. So
has anyone noticed this. Its rather odd but I think is part of what
Native people do to operate in our world (s). 

David 


David Lewis
University of Oregon
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde