Endangered Languages

A friend of mine posted an article on FB about a language from northern Greenland that was at risk of being endangered because of climate change and the fact that they were being forced to move further south, therefore exposing them to "modern" life. One of the responses to the article was by a guy who obviously knew nothing of the subject, but was very adamant about his opinion that it is better for them to stop speaking their language, to stop their cultural practices, and update themselves with the rest of the world. It made me quite upset because it is this kind of attitude that has caused so many problems with indigenous people everywhere, when approached by colonizers or simply those that want to take over their land. A linguist responded to him with reasons that neatly summed it up for a lay person to understand.

Here is a more indepth conversation on the topic by a linguist who spent more than 30 years in the Amazon, studying the Pirahã people. The culture and language of this group is so fascinating and different that puts into many questions what people have thought about science, language, thought, reality etc. This group has no numbers, no system of counting, no myths, no fiction, no stories from beyond immediate experience, has no terms for colours, and only very basic kinship terms. From the scientific perspective, according to Daniel Everett, they were keeping as pets the very same animals that scientists thought had been extinct for more than fifty years.

I am about halfway through his book "Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes", and I'm only 1/7th through the video, but this is an important topic and I wish to share the video with anyone who happens to read my blog. Hopefully, someone like the person who incorrectly assumed that it was best for all people to be like everyone else, can watch this and open his mind a bit.


http://fora.tv/2009/03/20/Daniel_Everett_Endangered_Languages_and_Lost_Knowledge

DTES... & Hobbies!

This past Monday I went to a documentary night at my school, and yet another film about the DTES was played. I think it portrays even more clearly the issues of this area and releases some interesting facts. It is called "Streets of Plenty", and despite the angry comments that it has received on Youtube, I would highly recommend it. I have noticed that most people will talk shit on the internet just because they can. They may know nothing about the issue, but they are violent about their opinion. It irritates me, but trying to educate them does no good. They are hiding behind the walls of their computer screens. They can be, say, do, whatever they want with no consequences.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6-1oo-b3Ds is the link to the first part of seven.


On a more cheery note, I participated in my third ballet class tonight. I had a lot of fun. According to my teacher, I should have been put into dance when I was younger because I have a natural flexibility and apparently I can move my leg and foot in a way (with no effort) that neither she or another student in my class can. They said I could become a prima ballerina. I said I was too old, but my teacher said this was not the case.

Years ago I was quite upset at life because of all the missed opportunities, bad decisions, and failed efforts in the areas of extra-curricular activities. I was quite upset, especially because of my lack of horse lessons (something I was passionate about growing up), and as an example I said "To become a great ballerina, you need to start young. You can't start ballet as an adult an expect to succeed". Everyone agreed with me.

But this news that both my teacher and another girl in my class said that I could become a prima ballerina goes against my original proposition, and they certainly must know more than I do. I hope that they were not joking. I have consistently looking in my life for something that I really enjoy. I have been looking for something that I am naturally good at, that I can afford, that I can practice without exceptional equipment, and that will lead to performances.

I tried singing and guitar. Though I wrote quite a few songs, my voice kept getting weaker and singing became a strain. It no longer brought me joy, but sadness because I could see my ability getting smaller. I tried to join a local choir, but nothing came of it, and my hands are very small, so guitar wasn't working out for me so much. Not to mention that after only a few minutes of playing, my wrists would ache, burn and cramp up. I had to leave this hobby behind. (But luckily my husband sings and plays guitar to make up for it :) )

I tried getting back into horse riding when I was 16. I finally convinced my dad to get me a horse, but good horses cost a lot of money, so I got a cheap horse. My horse was not only cheap, but very green. In fact, before I got her, no one had ever ridden her before. We sent her to these cowboys (who eventually became my friends) and they trained her. I brought her home, but I didn't have a saddle or a bridle (which are also very expensive)! So I couldn't ride her when she came home. I begged my dad to buy me a saddle and finally he bought me the cheapest one, which ended up not fitting her. When I rode her, the saddle would slide back on her back, and no matter how tight I pulled the girth, the saddle would slip. I hadn't had proper riding lessons in years, so this was not a good deal. Plus, being a green rider on a green horse with bad equipment without a decent place to ride, made the whole thing a nightmare. Winter rolled along and daylight hours shrunk, leaving no time to ride. Springtime rolled around and we found out she was pregnant! This is why I have two horses.

I went for a ride in the summer in a park. It was difficult to do this because I was (at the time) not capable of driving the truck with the trailer, and my dad usually needed the truck for work, so arranging times was difficult, and he didn't want to wait 2 hours for me to ride my horse around the park. So on one of these rare occasions while I was riding, my horse, Dancer, refused to move. I tried every trick I knew, but I couldn't get her to budge. Finally, another horse and rider came and that convinced her to put her feet in motion. I finally made it back and I was so frustrated with everything. I was frustrated with my horse for not being obedient, and I was frustrated with myself for not knowing enough. It was time to send her to a trainer. When it came the time that I was able to wean my colt. I sent Dancer to a barn to get trained with the intention of us both getting trained at once. I was told this was not to be.

I was immediately started on lessons twice a week on a much better-behaved horse in the style of Western Pleasure. I was told I had a natural talent, and within 2 or 3 years I could be showing. I missed my horse, despite her bad traits, and I wasn't allowed to ride her. When I was doing the lessons, I began to have serious back problems, and my doctor told me I needed to stop riding. I rode the whole summer before with no problems, so I had to contribute the ultimate factor to that style of riding. There wasn't anything else in my life that could possibly be harmful to my back.

I eventually quit those lessons because they became too stressful and too painful. All I wanted was to ride my own horse. I eventually started lessons once a week on my own horse for a little while before I took her home. I had wonderful fun during these lessons despite the terribleness of both my and my horse's skills. I realized that when I ride, I need to ride for my own pleasure now, and not for anything else. Western Pleasure is not western pleasure in my books.

Later in life, I tried lessons again so that I could do barrel racing, but my teacher wouldn't teach us to barrel race because we couldn't go in a straight line. I agreed to lessons so that we could go in a straight line. But after many lessons and no sign of improvement, I lost sight of my hope to barrel race and I quit. It was much too expensive, anyway. I also tried going to a thing called cowplay. I had loads of fun at this as well, but it doesn't continue in the summer, and I never heard from them again in the fall. Hopefully I can start this again soon, both Dancer and I really enjoy cowplay. I took Kaden (her son) once, and he was terrified of the cows, but much better behaved. Dancer likes to bite the cows, but she doesn't know how to go where I need her to go.

So this brings me to dance. I have always enjoyed dancing. I was in ballet and tap as a very young child, but was pulled out for some reason. My mother's recollection of it differs greatly from mine. I remember quitting ballet because I wasn't learning anything, and I was told that I wouldn't learn anything (mainly pointe) until I was 9. That was 5 years away at the time, and I didn't see the point in waiting. My mom would say differently.

But dancing itself, I greatly enjoyed. I would always dance by myself. No one would ever see me dance. When I finally did dance in front of my friends when I was 14, I was made fun of. I never wanted to dance in front of anyone. But dancing helped me feel alive. It was how I dealt with too much emotion. I never, ever, thought that I should actually join a class. The only dance I saw was hip-hop, which I'm not that interested in, and lyrical/jazz, which I think just looks silly. I didn't think about joining ballet again.

Honestly, I'm not exactly sure what made me determined to go in ballet again. In the fall of 2009, I considered taking belly dancing, but that didn't work out in my schedule. I think it has to do with two reasons. The first is that when I dance by myself, I notice that my moves are often ballet-like. I thought that I should take this tendency and become trained in it. Besides, those who do ballet are extremely strong and fit and capable of doing amazing things. I want to be strong, fit and capable of doing amazing things without having to go to the gym. The second reason is because of my rebellious nature. I have this rebellious nature in me that likes to take on challenges and prove the other person, statistic, etc. wrong. I may not follow through with it, but I often will find a challenge where someone says "no" and I say "just you wait".

Perhaps, and I may be totally wrong in saying this because I really do lack commitment in most of my engagements, I will become that prima ballerina. If I have that potential, I want to take a hold of it and take myself to the next level. I can prove myself wrong by saying "You can start ballet as an adult and succeed. Your past really doesn't have to determine your future. It will affect you, but you can start over now. Now marks the beginning of a new decision. You can either succumb to the pain and disappointment of the past, or you can rebel and take the challenge. You can succeed in that challenge."

Drugs

In response to my blog yesterday please watch "Through a Blue Lens"

Here is a link for the video on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTH1rbTeqyg

Bland

I had been wanting to write in my blog today, but my internet was poo. Now that it is working, I can't remember what I wanted to write about.

I went to the DTES this morning with my husband, my friend, and her friend. We served hot chocolate to the homeless and not-so-well-off people who showed up.

When it comes to poverty, I think in ways of getting people out of it. I do not think it is best to throw things at impoverished individuals so that we can feel good about the good deeds we have done. If we really care about these individuals, we should give them the skills and opportunities to get themselves out of poverty. For example, a micro-loan in Peru could get an entire family out of poverty by giving them the means to do so, and it also gives them determination because they have the responsibility to pay the loaner back. I have heard of people doing this, and over 90% of micro-loans are paid back, and those who used the loan find themselves in a more encouraging situation. I am very much for fair trade and ethical buying. I do not think it is good to enslave people so that I can buy a $5 t-shirt. But this is a different kind of poverty.

The kind of poverty I saw today is a "fat" poverty. It is a selfish poverty because it needn't be that way. I am somewhat embarrassed of my views of the Canadian impoverished and "impoverished" because I have seen people work their asses off and make in a day what I usually make in an hour. They work hard and struggle to put food on the table and a roof over their heads and clothes on their backs. Our impoverished? When they receive new donations, they sell them. There is such an abundance of food, that if someone knows how to work the system, he can eat 11 times a day. He is free from taxes and yet everything is provided for him. He doesn't have to work and yet he receives a cheque twice a month.

I understand that there are reasons why these people flock to the streets: addictions, mental illness, family troubles, abuse, cycle of poverty etc. and these are all very important and very serious things. Of course they must be dealt with, but it is hard for me, because of who I am, to feel very much for them. I feel more for the person who struggles to live but is restrained by society, than for the person that loses themselves and is sustained by society. Because of my irritation towards the latter class of people, I must expose myself to them more often. With exposure (combined with an open mind) comes understanding, and understanding produces friendship, or at least gets rid of ill-feelings.

It's not that I despise these people, because I don't. I just don't get how they can live the way they do, with teeth rotting out of their mouths, without bathing, throwing garbage on the ground, and not cleaning up after themselves (this is not everyone, but this is some of what I saw today). But then again, I do not understand my own husband who often doesn't clean up after himself, or shut a closet door after he opens it etc. etc. Anyway, I believe that I must expose myself to things that I am not comfortable with. I need to stretch and grow myself. I will not die an old, ignorant woman, who lived only with what pleased her. To what great purpose my learning will serve, only time will tell. Perhaps I will fade away like a small, old star, that no one ever really noticed among the billions in the night sky. Perhaps I will grow into a red giant and supernova, creating a great spectacle in the sky for many to see. Whatever the case, I must always do my best with the few cycles around the sun I have been given. Even if it all amounts to nothing, time will always know I tried.
Image retrieved from: http://www.wallpaperbase.com/wallpapers/space/supernova/supernova_3.jpg

Faith

Life is all about faith, whether we wish it to be or not. Most of the "facts" that we "know" we have not experienced firsthand, and therefore we have faith in the source to relay to us the truth. We have faith in them, that they are not trying to trick us, that they're not trying to make fools of us. It is because of this trust, this faith, that many crimes happen. Yet it is not possible to live without faith. If we were to trust nothing, not even what our own sense tell us, how can we do anything? If we go back to Descartes' brain in a vat idea, what we see, what we touch, what we experience might not even be true. But in order to live, we must have the faith that it is true. Faith in what is seen, faith in what is not seen.

This whole idea of truth has become a tricky topic for me in the past while. When I read something, especially in the news, how do I know that it is true? Even an article that was once written about me had 9 falsities in it. I have heard it time and again of people that have been in situations that were documented by the news, and the truth has been stretched, twisted or even ignored! So why read the news if I know that most of it cannot be trusted? I watched a video once about "slavery in Canada". The producer had the idea that what was written in our history books was not entirely the truth. They wrote a story that they wanted to be true, and now that is what we believe. We had faith in the authors that they were telling us the truth, and according to this person, it isn't truth at all.

I have also been noticing that science is not truth either. Science is still full of mysteries, and experiments are manipulated to find the answers the experimenter is looking for. Science cannot study something that we are still not fully aware of. Even in the social sciences, people study and spend their life researching something. They pour their whole lives into something, and yet no one can agree on it. What seems like obvious truth to one is heresy to another. Maybe this is why people are religious. It is not so big of a step to believe something totally unbelievable when we do it every day. Who is to say that it is true that anything we know is true? Truth is relative. Truth changes over time. If I say on May 20 "I am going to study at UBC this fall". It is true at the time. I have chosen my courses, paid my fees etc. August roles around and I find that my finances can't support such a costly tuition, so I switch to UFV. My statement on May 20 is no longer true, but it was true at the time. Truth is not infinite.

Why believe anything? Because it is necessary. Without faith we cannot live. We could not trust the food we eat, the air we breathe, the things we see, the things we hear, that the chair we are sitting on is real and will continue to support us.

Of Tea and Private Ryan

I went to Tim Horton's today with my mug from home. I brought this with the intention of avoiding needless waste of one of the paper cups. I ordered my steeped tea, making it clear that I wanted it in my mug. The girl at the counter grabbed a paper cup and started to make my tea.

"I wanted that in my mug," I told her.

"I know. I have to make it in this first because we're not allowed to stir mugs from home."

"I know, but you're supposed to use a straw," I retorted (at the Tim Hortons that I worked at 4 years ago, and all the others that I have seen use a straw instead of the spoon to stir the contents of mugs from home). I took my mug back and told her not to bother as there was no point in using my mug if she was just going to use and dispose of the paper cup anyway.


Before this incident, I spent most of the day PAing for my brother's friends' rendition of Saving Private Ryan in 60 seconds. It is part of a competition for Virign 95.3 in Vancouver where contestants have to re-make their favourite movie in 1 minute. Another group of my friends did a pretty good job of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, but I have a feeling that this one will take the cake. Not only did I work on it, but the amount of time, effort, and people involved in this one is too amazing not to win. There are explosions, awesome costumes and stunt men. They have one more day of filming, then to edit and finally will be submitted.

The website is: http://vancouver.virginradio.ca/VideoChannel/FakeFilmFestival/Channel.aspx

Willy Wonka can currently be viewed. I have my fingers crossed that Saving Private Ryan will be finished by next week, as I am beyond excited to see it! Check out Willy Wonka now, and be sure to return to watch Saving Private Ryan!

A New Life

I can't believe I've already been married for more than 6 months. Perhaps this is not such a big deal for the average person, but for me it is. Time is slipping away so quickly. Six months have already passed since my wedding! How many more days until my body completely falls apart? How many more days until I am dead?

It is interesting to me how the perception of time changes when one gets older. Time has always been a frustrating concept for me, even more so after briefly studying relativity in a university astronomy class just over a year ago. Is time real? What makes our bodies age and molecules degrade over time? These are questions I continue to ponder on occasion, but I need the time to sit down and study it. I need time to think it over and full comprehend it. I haven't yet been able to find that time. I have been consumed for the past 5 years in my studies at university. Though I despise the whole system, I somehow found myself trapped in it. Though I do not regret how it has opened my mind and has taught me so many things, the way that it is set up is torturous to me, and I will be glad to be done with it.

My non-academic readings lately have been about human trafficking. Strangely enough, it has been within the past 6 months that my interest in this area has been perked, and I have brought myself to read the following books so far:

On the Side of the Angels: Dr. Joseph D'Souza
Invisible Chains: Benjamin Perrin
Ending Slavery: Kevin Bales
Not For Sale: David Batstone
The Natashas: Victor Malarek

I must admit that I am quite overwhelmed by the whole thing. I have been reading articles, studies and other things on top of these books. The first one I read was overtly religious, but I didn't know that when I read it. I read it anyway, and only found it slightly practical. Invisible Chains was great because it deals with the problem specifically in my own country, Canada. Ending Slavery was quite a to deal with. It is a very thick book crammed with facts, statistics, stories and ideas. For a detailed understanding of modern-day slavery, I would recommend this one. Not For Sale was a much easier read considering that I had read Ending Slavery just before it. The stories in it are quite brutal, but it is formatted in a reader-friendly way. I am on the conclusion of The Natashas right now. It makes me so mad at the corruption that is happening in the world, and the lust of women and money that fuels it. I wish I could do something, but I feel so powerless. I have been trying to volunteer for some agencies in my area, but this has been an uphill process. It is such an old concept, but new to be battling slavery in these days, and there isn't much structure in Canada with which one could place himself. It won't stop me from trying, but it is quite defeating knowing that these rapes, murders, and horrific crimes are happening every day and I am doing nothing to stop it because I don't know how.

The first thing that I decided to do is educate myself on the issue, because the worst thing to do is to go in fighting while remaining ignorant. In one of my linguistics classes this past semester we were given an anecdotal story at the beginning of class:

Somewhere on an island, way out in the middle of the ocean, there was a monkey. The monkey was a happy monkey, eating his bananas, climbing trees, and spending his days soaking in the rays of the sun. One day a storm came. The wind was howling and it was raining really hard. The waves in the ocean were large and rough. He noticed a fish swimming against the current. It was having quite a difficult time getting anywhere. The monkey climbed a tree and went out on a branch and scooped the fish up into his hand. He quickly put the fish on dry land, cheering that he had saved the fish. The fish squirmed around in a panic, but because the monkey didn't understand the fish, he thought the fish was wiggling in delight. Soon the fish was quiet. The monkey thought he had gone to sleep, resting after the difficult battle against the waves a few minutes earlier.

The best of intentions can have disastrous results if one walks into a situation in ignorance. There is so much to learn before action is taken. Though this may seem ridiculous because so many bad things are happening RIGHT NOW, action should be taken immediately, and things figured out along the way. As history has taught, this approach actually does more damage than good. Yes, sometimes immediate action does need to take place, but if possible, it is best to understand and then do the work rather than think that one knows enough and make things worse.