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Thursday, November 18, 2010

Green's Tints & Shades
He loved to work on Wall Street,
T’was there where he learned to cheat.
His great greed knows no bound;
His lies kept him from the ground.
Day or night, it does not matter,
For his wealth grew ever fatter.

His wealth continues to pile;
He always worked with a smile.
Everyone could see it in his eyes,
Others started gathering their spies.
He didn’t think of any need to clean,
He just wanted to ensure his green.

Others have also grown in green,
The more they stare at this fiend.
Their spies have come back,
With his written daily track.
They now have their proof,
“His wealth will disappear in a poof!”

Soon they ready their plot,
Officers took him on the spot.
His piles of greens could not pay,
For them not to take him away.
From big office to chain gang,
He thought he would rather hang.

Like all others, he still has work,
Yet this one came with a perk.
At first, planting made him feel crappy,
But, it grew on him, making him happy.
Time’s hands spun by till he figured he won,
Realizing instead of getting green, he should be one.

                                                              ~Brian Tang (2010)

Monday, November 1, 2010

Everything Dies: Plants, Ideas, Animals, Stars...even Languages T-T

                   
The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
K. David Harrison
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes2010 ElectionMarch to Keep Fear Alive



                   
According to the CIA, there are an estimated “6,768,181,146 people” on this planet as of July 2010 (give or take a couple ten-thousand). These people live in about 266 nations and sovereign powers. Of these people, the annual mortality rate is “8.37 as of 2009.” This crude death rate is a percentage out of 1000 people (have fun calculating that). Of those people who die, a few of them will take something with them that can never be replaced, a language.
According to National Geographic, “Some 7,000 distinct languages” exist on this planet. The catch is “one of them dies about every two weeks.” K. David Harrison is a linguistics professor and an activist in preserving these dying languages. On Friday, February 5, 2010, the last speaker of “Bo,” which once was a language once spoken by people over 70,000 years ago in India, had died and taken all of that rich culture and history with her.
Languages aren’t just how people communicate; it carries with it the vast history and culture of the people who spoke it. There are over 3,000 languages at risk and Harrison wants to ensure that they don’t completely disappear. A vast number of them have never been written down, but with today’s technology they can be recorded through film. Hotspot with the greatest risk from Siberia to Oklahoma to Australia, are all going to slowly die off without aid. These languages tell stories of how the people came to be, the stories they told, the solutions and records they kept on their surroundings, vast amounts of knowledge that has already been discovered by the people living there, but no way to record and analyze if the speaker has already left.
In all reality, this is awfully sad to know and realize. The main reason why most of these languages are becoming extinct is because of influence from a more dominant language. The youth finds it unnecessary to learn another tongue. That or with little use, the knowledge fades from their vocabulary. I once spoke nothing but Cantonese when I was young because that was all my family spoke. When I went to school for the first time, I had no clue what anyone else was saying. Eventually, I understood and started to become integrated in. However, as I spoke more English, I spoke less Cantonese. Cantonese is the third most spoken dialect that is used mainly in southern China. One day it might become an endangered language.
Reading these articles has made me feel terrible sad and ungrateful. I can understand the Cantonese spoken, but can only respond in broken phrases. I don’t know how to speak my native language fluently and my parents feel ashamed. I am too, considering that the next generation after me will feel even less in touch to their Chinese roots. They will not have the joy I had of a diverse household with a completely Asian mindset with values and experiences. To hear the tones but not produce it is saddening as I become more out-of-touch, and it is even more reviling in my sister who is only 4 years younger and does not speak really any coherent thought in Cantonese. Just because I don’t use it on regular bases, doesn’t mean I should forget it and all of its meaning. I hope to one day learn the language before it is too late and make my parents proud. School work, stress, and community are no excuses. I have forgotten because I have lost the insight to realize its true importance and need to recapture it through my mountain of laziness, work, and ignorance. In all reality, it is a dream and will probably stay that way.

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