Mereja.Forum

[Abere]

Naga Tuma,

___The operational definition in this context is language is an instrument of communication, just like our iPhone device is a device or a toll. It is a human invention to aid interaction with fellow human being. Just like a living organism language has its own life cycle - birth to death. In this regard, although all human-beings are created equal, I do not think all languages are created equal ( On this, I am ready to accept if you or someone else's convinces with reason). Thus, if all languages are not created equal, that means some has better competitive advantages than others and better odd of staying for sometime around in the market. For the market to operate efficient, the principle of free market is important; just like that for any language to thrive free society is a must - either a better language could evolve or existing languages work better - an efficient free society/market should exist first.

___ More importantly, it is neither will or wish that brings influence and change. It is the level of advance of the country in economy, technology and science that impact the external world - in export trade, product and services. A few years back, the name China and her product had limited familiarity. Now, Chinese language is getting a foot, because Chinese products with their label are flooding the global market. In stead of bringing development and positive and feeding the mouth of the millions of hungry, telling them now and then this language, that language, etc. is useless - their belly wants food not talk. The country is not creating wealth by going in the wrong direction. For instance, since the government is not creating wealth or allow others to create, the single most source of income is confiscating farmers land sell that for money or someone else land. When someone is idle or out of work, talking nonsense is a norm. ስራ ስፈታ ልጀን ላፋታ አይነት ነው.. Amhara and Oromo will never die for ever, but language could. Now, the biggest threat for domestic languages is not one of them against the other, but foreign languages English or Arabic. If you happen to sit an Amhara farmer in the remote part of Ethiopia, he/she cannot understand Amharic news carried by Ethiopian Radio, because it is totally evolved to something outside of the traditional Amharic.

___ I think Ethiopia should invest in building peace and then engage her citizens in Science, Technology and Engineering. Peace is the hardware infrastructure of a functioning society. This fake show staged by OLF-PP cadres should come to an end and face the reality of transforming the country for all. I wish all languages thrive in the country, if they could and see products labeled in Ethiopian languages. Language is an emotional connection, when people are deeply connected they will figure that out - this is the job of society not an imposition.

Define a commodity of communication and you will find the solution to both sides of the argument in there. Won’t you?

Have a policy of bilingualism across Ethiopia’s local languages and you will find the solution to both sides of the argument. Won’t you?

Isn’t a solution to both sides of the argument about Ethiopia’s related languages that simple?

That will also open an opportunity for what literate bilinguals will be able to bring about for easier commodities of communication in the years to come by mending the disfigured related languages? Will it not?

That said, the easiest way to understand the demand on the ground today for the commodity of communication is to imagine how many families in Ethiopia out of every hundred families do their family businesses every single day and night. This is not hard to imagine if you really know Ethiopia. Is it?

It has been said that when people overcome attending to their basic needs like food and shelter, they start doing art like theatre and drama. They will do so using the same language that they have been using to attend to their basic needs.

I am critical of both sides of the argument because they fail terminally when you go back in time to about 500 and about 700 years.

All of you in this lopsided argument should really ask yourselves if these two short time periods of history really define Ethiopia’s ancient history.

Do Yekuno Amlak’s rise in Shewa and Gragn’s arrival in Shewa and Yekuno Amlak’s descendants arrival in Gondar after that fully define Ethiopia. Not at all!

[Naga Tuma]

Abere:

I have just come back to this thread and read your response.

I agree with one point that you made and disagree completely with your suggestion.

I agree that teaching and learning languages should be a practice of inspiration instead of an act of imposition.

If we happen to speak different languages, I can inspire you to learn my language and you can inspire me to learn your language. It wouldn’t be that hard for us to be mutually intelligible.

If two people can do it, more people can do it. In my view, it is that simple. I also imagine that over time, we would make the local languages richer and convergent.

The terminal mistake you have made here is to suggest that a language has a life cycle like an organism. An organism is naturally created to have a biological continuity. Biological continuity has its own self expression.

መለኮታዊ ነዉ። የመለኮት ሚስጥሮች ወይም ሚስትሪዎች ተቆጥረዉ ኣያልቁም። መለኮት ሁለት የቶኬንም ፍሬዎች እና ያፈራቸዉንም ኣስቆራጭ እንዴት እዚህ ዉስጥ እንዳነሳቸዉ ሳስታዉስ ይደንቀኛል። ሌሎቹንም መለኮት እና ቤት ይቁጠራቸዉ።

A fight for biological continuity and all that express it come naturally. So, to suggest that it has a life cycle doesn’t come naturally. ለምሳሌ እኔ ብደፋ ቀጣይ ኣይጥፋ ባልኩኝ ዘመን ኣንተ ከሃገር መዉጣትህን በኣጋጣሚ በቅርቡ ኣነበብኩኝ።

This is the kind of unnatural imposition that some of us have been trying to help solve, which is easy to do when all of us understand deeply the difference between inspiring and imposing.

I have suggested a while ago that the political avenue of administrative decentralization creates a solid space for languages to thrive while channeling Ethiopia’s recent political happenstances. An example is channeling different administrative states for Meles Zenawi and Hayelom Araya’s constituents. Or for Lencho Leta and Dawud Ibsa’s constituents. I imagine they will create more healthy political spaces for Ethiopia to move forward based on healthy internal political deliberations.

Those states would be capable to choose what languages serve them best for economic competitions. Wouldn’t they be?

BTW, the ball is still in your court about which of the following words predates which: ጎፍታ፣ ጌታ። I hope you remember the discussion.

quote=Abere post_id=1484587 time=1718803294 user_id=51466]
Naga Tuma,

___The operational definition in this context is language is an instrument of communication, just like our iPhone device is a device or a toll. It is a human invention to aid interaction with fellow human being. Just like a living organism language has its own life cycle - birth to death. In this regard, although all human-beings are created equal, I do not think all languages are created equal ( On this, I am ready to accept if you or someone else's convinces with reason). Thus, if all languages are not created equal, that means some has better competitive advantages than others and better odd of staying for sometime around in the market. For the market to operate efficient, the principle of free market is important; just like that for any language to thrive free society is a must - either a better language could evolve or existing languages work better - an efficient free society/market should exist first.

___ More importantly, it is neither will or wish that brings influence and change. It is the level of advance of the country in economy, technology and science that impact the external world - in export trade, product and services. A few years back, the name China and her product had limited familiarity. Now, Chinese language is getting a foot, because Chinese products with their label are flooding the global market. In stead of bringing development and positive and feeding the mouth of the millions of hungry, telling them now and then this language, that language, etc. is useless - their belly wants food not talk. The country is not creating wealth by going in the wrong direction. For instance, since the government is not creating wealth or allow others to create, the single most source of income is confiscating farmers land sell that for money or someone else land. When someone is idle or out of work, talking nonsense is a norm. ስራ ስፈታ ልጀን ላፋታ አይነት ነው.. Amhara and Oromo will never die for ever, but language could. Now, the biggest threat for domestic languages is not one of them against the other, but foreign languages English or Arabic. If you happen to sit an Amhara farmer in the remote part of Ethiopia, he/she cannot understand Amharic news carried by Ethiopian Radio, because it is totally evolved to something outside of the traditional Amharic.

___ I think Ethiopia should invest in building peace and then engage her citizens in Science, Technology and Engineering. Peace is the hardware infrastructure of a functioning society. This fake show staged by OLF-PP cadres should come to an end and face the reality of transforming the country for all. I wish all languages thrive in the country, if they could and see products labeled in Ethiopian languages. Language is an emotional connection, when people are deeply connected they will figure that out - this is the job of society not an imposition.

Define a commodity of communication and you will find the solution to both sides of the argument in there. Won’t you?

Have a policy of bilingualism across Ethiopia’s local languages and you will find the solution to both sides of the argument. Won’t you?

Isn’t a solution to both sides of the argument about Ethiopia’s related languages that simple?

That will also open an opportunity for what literate bilinguals will be able to bring about for easier commodities of communication in the years to come by mending the disfigured related languages? Will it not?

That said, the easiest way to understand the demand on the ground today for the commodity of communication is to imagine how many families in Ethiopia out of every hundred families do their family businesses every single day and night. This is not hard to imagine if you really know Ethiopia. Is it?

It has been said that when people overcome attending to their basic needs like food and shelter, they start doing art like theatre and drama. They will do so using the same language that they have been using to attend to their basic needs.

I am critical of both sides of the argument because they fail terminally when you go back in time to about 500 and about 700 years.

All of you in this lopsided argument should really ask yourselves if these two short time periods of history really define Ethiopia’s ancient history.

Do Yekuno Amlak’s rise in Shewa and Gragn’s arrival in Shewa and Yekuno Amlak’s descendants arrival in Gondar after that fully define Ethiopia. Not at all!

[/quote]