Sabaydii my fellow Satjadham,
As Somvay had suggested some time ago that I should clarify this
topic a little bit more, here is my intro to the Mother Tongue topic.
Please help me brush it up before I post this one up in SCL on Sept 1st.
*****
The Intro to the Mother Tongue
No language is sweeter than the language
you first spoke.
No language is more meaningful than the language
your parents talk to you.
And no language is more wholesome than the language
your ancestors inherit it to you.
I think the verses above capture the importance of the mother
tongue, the primary language. As a Lao, our mother tongue is, of course,
lao. Back in our country, the statement above is a fact for we, Lao
people, are born, raised and grown up in an ambience that is Lao. We
hear everybody speak Lao, read and write in Lao. Now, we have another
dimension to tackle with in the above statement. As a Lao emigre, kids
of a Lao emigre and the grown up in this exotic land, some of us can't
speak, read or write Lao at all. That's why it is of a tremendous
importance to address this issue along with its implications.
Satjadham, as an avant guarde of a new Lao, would like to
present you with the mentioned issue. We will talk about why speaking
Lao is more than speaking Lao. This act entails the consciousness of
being Lao which no other languages are comparable to. Yes, we might be
able to convey the same message through other languages but what is Lao
is somehow lost. The reason is when we communicate in a certain
language either through speaking, writing or even thinking, we tend to
perceive things in the way that language is constructed and nourished.
That is its way of life, and its tacit assumptions.
Also, we will talk about our adopting of the Western names
instead of our Lao names. By this act, what we get and what we lose.
Judging by the result, is it worth that we adopt the Western names?
These are just some of the facets which we will touch on. I am
sure that, with our best minds joined together, we will be able to
delve into the depth of this mother tongue issue.
And here is the line-up for this interesting topic:
*****
P.S. Please sign up for those who haven't done so.
Hak phaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
http://www.sonic.net/~kongkeo/sjdnews.html
This is the posting schedule for "Mother Tongue"
which will begin in the first day of September.
The first round:
9/1/96 - Intro to the topic
9/4/96 - Kongkeo
9/8/96 - Pam
9/11/96 -ALISAK...
9/15/96 -
9/18/96 -Somvay
9/22/96 -Ky
9/25/96 -Dr. Pao
9/29/96 -On
The second round:
10/3/96 -
10/6/96 -
10/10/96 - Ly Luck
10/13/96 -
10/17/96 -
10/20/96 - Joe Boulom
10/24/96 -
10/27/96 -
10/31/96 -
If any members want to participate in this round
of posting, just pick the vacant slot and please let me
know by emailling to
kongkeo@sonic.net