Magyar News, 2004. szeptember-2005. augusztus (15. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2004-10-01 / 2. szám
money tiuks THIS WE KNOW. The question is: what language? The answer is simple, money language. Whatever money chooses. I was hoping it would be Hungarian. But no such luck. By this time our readers would ask why is he harping on this? To be honest, I don’t know. Well it so happened that I was visiting a money place, not that it was my choice, I was at one of the Indian Casinos in Connecticut. Every information was in English so it was easy to get around. If it had been in one of the many Indian languages then the need of an interpreter would be handy. Browsing around -1 don’t gamble -1 saw some publications. Among them was the Pequot Times. Being sensitive to languages, for example, to what happens to the Hungarian languge, I immediately picked up the paper. I found out that the Indians want to put together their own language and teach it to their people. The first question in my mind was about teaching the Hungarian. It didn’t take much time to figure it out that there is a country, Hungary, that takes care of the Hungarian language. On the other hand the Indians have no other country, this United States is where they lived and spoke their language. Until the year 1638 when the Pequot war ended with the Hartford Treaty. This treaty banned the use of the Indian languge. Since the Europeans came to this land 800 Indian languages disapeared, 75 in the 20th century. The Pequots have around a thousand of words that were properly documented. Not much if one compares it to the English language. The American Heritage Dictionary has 90,000 entries. This gives you a real picture. About taking away the language from the people, Charlene Jones, Tribal Council Secretary, said:”The language is truely the soul of the nation. Language defines us within our environment. It defines us as a cultural group.” As I mentioned, I am not a gambler, so I tried to figure out what good comes out of the existens of a gambling casino. First, I remember, there was a small room downstairs with a very few Indian artifacts. But after a while the big money established the Indian Museum. I must say it was worth the wait. I absorbed every square inch of it. Now the Indians are putting together programs, research, buildings to teach their own language. Finally money talks. It isn’t an easy route to walk. We learn a few things from Wayne Newell, a Passamaquoddy elder, a graduate from Harvard, the Ivy League School. He says: “Right now, only the State Board of Education can certify teachers. We're saying that we're sovereign entities within the state. The state doesn't have any competency in this. Who have they got that's expert in our Indian language - no one besides us. We said we'll assume that authority and will tell you who is certified as an instructor. After ‘No Child Left Behind’ law was passed, it removed our people who teach the language, who, are fluent but not certified. It made them illegal. The government says you have to go to college and get your degree. A 64-year-old lady who has taught all of her life, and who is a dam good teacher, says to me, Tm not going to any college. I'll stay home and make baskets.' Who loses? Our own children.” Why is this problem in a Hungarian publication? It makes us think about ourselves. Living on the land of their ancestors, Hungarians by the millions were put under other nations rule by the Trianon (not Hartford) Treaty. Just like the native Indians under the rule of the U.S.A. Those Hungarians lost churches, schools, financial institutions (where the money is), were discriminated against for jobs, offices, etc. In Romanaia a couple in front of the altar lost their right to be married because the grome said “I do” in Hungarian and not in Romanian. I don’t think in these cases money would matter much. Besides where would the money come from? From those who by discrimination stmggle making ends meet? I took a look at an other geographic area, right in our neighborhood. We still claim that there are one and a half million Hungarians in the United States. The Hungarian churches were doing their best, starting a century ago, to help the sizable Hungarian communities preserve their national identity. In the Bridgeport area churches were able to be proud of the Hungarian summer schools numbering hundreds of students at a time. Since the numbers of the community dwindled down, the churches gave up on teaching the Hungarian languge. Well teaching didn’t stop, just that now it is in the hands of sacrificing volunteers, like the Magyar Studies of America. For almost three centuries this organization has been the local force for teaching Hungarian. These devoted people work for preserving their identity, the respect for the ancestors, and teaching about what their Hungarian people gave to the world. There is no money behind this. The words may be whispering, it maybe not be loud enough, but the soul of these teachers and ‘students’ are still alive, they are Hungarians. The Indians are not alone. Thanks for the unusual circumstances, a small portion of the casino money happens to be speak the right language. Joseph F. Balogh Revitalizing the Pequot language | $y Tnsr.e A. ItoMtyer «took about a year get lisc pretext together, lo&e« s»d. ’'Fror» j »»S year'» work a&d frem all that vs< know !h< tw!g>x»gc. wc want- ! 'f> ihn iHf-Ji euck s&at. 1» the fVouot ianuu&w thix tA n> on; ««<*«»»<• n>*>cf*r xv* tuiiv W >«.« (,.> n >.:t, I **:♦* 4w«kfk*» PW « * i-x* twawxitex ^ *<! tup !*♦ Xhraty * ** W*« *« Mf-« C+UX+****« Page 1
