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Wednesday, August 17, 2016

ANCIENT STORIES




How is this Language in this text similar to and / or different from the Language in everyday conversation?

Because it's an oral story, "Earth on Turtle's Back" can be found in multiple text versions. How important is it for a story to be repeated word for word? Is meaning embellished, distorted, lost, or enhanced in the retelling?

[BONUS] Find your own early (pre-writing/1492) American myth and compare it to "Earth on Turtle's Back" --come to class Thursday prepared to share.


The Language in "Earth on Turtle's Back" is similar to language today by the use of short sentences and words that aren't hard to follow upon. The way it's different is how it's using a combination of words that most people don't use, for example the are no contractions nor slang in said story.

If I'm quite keen on learning the entire story, I'd prefer it to be translated word for word, but in a manner I can easily understand. The meaning is usually distorted because it's being transferred from one individual to another, and each individual has his or her own way of telling it.

Because of our location, it might be challenging to find a common native american folktale without either asking someone of native descent or visiting a site with native folk-legends available to witness. Maybe more people in Santa Maria have legends passed down from their ancestors, the Mayans, the Africans, etc. As for I, I'm mixed European, and no relatives remain that could have legends from Ireland or Germany that are accessible. Maybe my relatives in Austria have stories, but there's no way to tell. Stories are never told the same way they are written, and they never stay with one specific Group of people, so all legends are just Quilts of other words and stories other people added when they learned it, and those before them and so forth. 

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