Three ways to learn English by Jamila Lyiscott 

 

This video for you today entitled ‘3 ways to speak English.’ This video is rich with culture, linguistic diversity, and spirit. This video also presents a “spoken word” poem. Spoken word is a type of poetry that is performance-based. It is similar to preforming a monologue in a play. Spoken word poetry also often involves word play and story telling. This type of poetry originated in America among African-Americans in Harlem, a neighborhood of New York City.

This poem is about the performer’s (Jamila Lyiscott) experience of speaking English three ways: at home with her family, at school/work, and with friends. It artfully tells the story about how we all have different dialects, words, phrases, and tones of speech that we use depending on the context of who we are speaking to in a given situation. Dr. Lyiscott’s experience of navigating the use of different dialects is one that many Americans and ESL learners experience. In this poem she will also introduce you to a dialect of English you may never have heard before.

In her spoken word essay you will hear Dr. Lyiscott use the word “articulate” a number of times. So, it is important that you know what this means, both literally and in the context of the poem, the poet, and her African-American heritage.

The word “articulate” (an adjective) is defined as “a person with the ability to speak fluently and coherently.” When a person speaks articulately they are said to speak “properly” or “well.”

The context the word “articulate” has in this poem is something that you as an ESL speaker may not be aware of. The United States is still a white-dominant society, in which throughout the history of this country (and present day) people who are not white have been treated as less-than or not as good as white people (often to horrific extremes) in many circumstances. So, when a white person tells a black person that she or he is “articulate” there is a subtle, or not-so-subtle, message that the white person expects the black person to be not articulate. That is, the white person is surprised that the black person speaks so clearly and similar to the white person. In sum, telling this poet that she is articulate is not really a complement, it is an insult.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful piece of spoken word. I highly recommend that you first read through the transcript of this poem. You can find the transcript here. Reading through the transcript first will give you some familiarity with the words before you hear them. Second, when you watch the video, I recommend that you choose to watch the performance with English subtitles. You can choose to have the subtitles present by clicking on the subtitle icon in the lower right hand-corner of the video screen. Lastly, if you want to listen to the poem a second time, you may want to see the subtitles in your native language. But, definitely use the English subtitles first :). 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9fmJ5xQ_mc

History Makmeugang

The Origin of Meugang Tradition in Aceh Before Ramadhan​

"Jak barangkahoe jeut, makmeugang woe." As soon as the parent's short message when his son will go abroad. The sentence is short, but very easy to remember, especially before the fasting or feast day. Meugang or "Makmeugang" is a tradition of the people of Aceh welcoming Ramadan, Idul Fitri, and Idul Adha Day by slaughtering an ox or a buffalo. ​

History Makmeugang: 

 

From various sources of history, mentioned that that meugang first appeared in the 14th century AD. Along with the development of the teachings of Islam in Aceh, the tradition is not expected to extend throughout the region of Aceh, then in the 16th century AD, Meugang idea was triggered by the young Iskandar Sultan to be held evenly by the entire people of Aceh. At that time the term makmeugang is included in the Qanun Meukuta Alam, the Law that applies during the Glorious Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam under the leadership of Sultan Iskandar Muda. The tradition is still valid today in Aceh.

On the day of Meugang, the young iskandar Sultan and the royal authorities always cut the animals in large quantities, then the meat was distributed free of charge to the people, as a form of alms and gratitude for the prosperity of the kingdom as well as a form of gratitude for his people in welcoming the coming of the holy month of Ramadan with the heart Who was happy with the King and the royal authorities.

The success of the young Sultan Iskandar in applying the political system of government, economy, society or social as well as his role in all things including in the international world did not escape from the foundation of the strong Tradition, Culture and Religion which became the reference and references.

The resilience of the reign of the young Sultan Iskandar at that time was based on his ability to build a culture and also the structure of the Acehnese society to become one of the civilization segments of the human "Civilization of human right". It is summed up in the philosophical values ​​of Narit maja "Hadih madja". Narit maja is the foundation of the creation of tradition and also the culture known as the motto: Adat ngon hukom "religious law", Lagei ngon sifeut substance. The implimentation structure is summarized in {Adat bak poe teumeuruhom, Hukom bak syiah kuala, kanun bak putroe phang, Reusam like admiral}. Which later became the way of life "philosophical foundation".

 

For Acehnese, meugang becomes a tradition that will never and can be forgotten. Although Acehnese are far from their communities, wherever possible, although on a small scale, they will undoubtedly carry out this tradition even in the overseas. When meugang come, in the homes of the Acehnese will certainly smell the aroma of meat dishes typical of Aceh, especially red curls are very tempting. For those who are in the overseas, our conscience does not deny that in the moments when we arrive we secretly harbor deep longing for homeland. Because it is actually overseas, at times like this, Saved many memories of the village that will not be forgotten. There are smiles of family members who will never disappear. There are mothers, fathers, adenents ngen adoe and colleagues who drift in togetherness, accompanied by the smell of sie meugang from the houses.

 

 

Language Diversity In Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam

To refresh our memories of the regional languages ​​of the province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, here I first describe the profile and brief reviews of the local.  

Aceh language

Among the regional languages ​​found in the province of NAD, the language of Aceh is the largest and most widely spoken language of the region, which is about 70% of the total population of Aceh province (Daud, 1997: 10, Daud and Durie, 1999: 1). Native speakers of Aceh are spread over the East and West coast of NAD province. Native speakers of Aceh language are those who inhabit Aceh Besar District, Banda Aceh City, Pidie District, Aceh Jeumpa Regency, North Aceh Regency, East Aceh Regency, West Aceh Regency and Sabang City. Native speakers of Aceh are also found in several areas within the district of South Aceh, especially in the areas of Kuala Batee, Blang Pidie, Manggeng, Sawang, Hands-on, Meukek, Trumon and Bakongan. Even in the districts of Central Aceh, Southeast Aceh and Simeulue, we find also a small portion of its Aceh-speaking community. Moreover, outside the province of NAD, in the overseas areas, there are also Acehnese groups who still maintain the language of Aceh as their mother tongue. This can be found in Acehnese communities in Medan, Jakarta, Kedah and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Sydney in Australia (Daud, 1997: 30).

 

Gayo. 

This language is believed to be a language closely related to the ancient Malay language, although now there is quite a lot of Gayo language vocabulary that has been mixed with the language of Aceh. Gayo is the mother tongue for the people of Aceh who inhabit Central Aceh district, a small part of Southeast Aceh region, and Lokop region in East Aceh district. For most people outside the Gayo community, this language reminds them of the mellifluous strains of the dance artistic poems. 

 

Alas Language. 

This language sounds more like the language used by the Karo ethnic community in North Sumatra. Communities inhabiting Southeast Aceh Regency, along the foot of Leuser Mountain, and people around the Singkil river upstream in Singkil regency, are native speakers of Alas language. The residents of Southeast Aceh Regency who use this language are those who are domiciled in five districts, namely Lawe Sigala-gala, Lawe Alas, Bambel, Babussalam, and Bandar (Abdullah, et al. 1987: 2). 

 

Tamiang language. 

The Tamiang language (in the language of Aceh is called the Teumieng language) is a variant or dialect of the Malay language used by the people of Aceh Tamiang District (formerly East Aceh district), except in Manyak Payed sub-district and the City of Kuala Simpang Mixture, ie Indonesian, Acehnese and Tamiang). Until now the taste of Malay still feels very thick in the Tamiang language.

 

Aneuk Jamee Language. 

This language is often also referred to (mainly by Acehnese speakers) with Jamee or Baiko. In Kabupaten Aceh Selatan, this language is the mother tongue for residents who inhabit the areas of Susoh, Labuhan Haji, Samadua, Tapaktuan, and Kluet Selatan. Outside of Aceh Selatan, according to Wildan (2002: 2), this language is also used by small groups of people in Singkil and Aceh Barat districts, particularly in Kaway 16 Sub-district (Peunaga Rayek Village, Rantau Panyang, Meureubo, Pasi Meugat, and Ranto Kleng), as well as in Johan Pahlawan sub-district (especially in Padang Seurahet village). Language Aneuk Jamee is a language born from the assimilation of a group of Minang people who come to the west coast of Aceh with the local language of the local community, namely the language of Aceh. The name Aneuk Jamee (which literally means 'guest child', thus 'immigrant nation') attributed to this language is a reflection of the meaning of the migrant community itself. This language can be referred to as a variant of the Minang language.

 

Kluet language.

Kluet is the mother tongue for the people who live in North Kluet and South Kluet sub-districts in South Aceh district. Information about the Kluet language, especially academic studies, is still very limited. The people of Aceh in general, with the exception of Kluet speakers themselves, Not much to know about the ins and outs of this language. Perhaps the Kluet-speaking community can take the spirit of the PKA-4 to start writing something in Kluet's local language, so that one day people can easily get books in Kluet in the form of language textbooks, short stories, and Even poetry. 

 

Singkil language.

 Like the Kluet language, information about the Singkil language, especially in the form of publishing, is still very limited. This language is the mother tongue for some people in Singkil regency. I say partly, because we find there are some other people in Singkil who use the Acehnese language, Aneuk Jamee language, some use Minang language, And some also use Dairi (or Pakpak language) especially among traders and business people in Subulussalam region. Besides the Singkil people who inhabit Many Islands, they use the

 

Haloban language.

So there are at least six regional languages ​​that are used as the language of daily communications among fellow members of the Singkil community in addition to the Indonesian language. From a linguistics perspective, the Singkil community is the only group of people in the most pluralistic province of NAD in terms of language use. Language Haloban. As mentioned earlier, the Haloban language is one of the regional languages ​​of Aceh used by people in Singkil Regency, especially those who inhabit Many Islands, Particularly on Tuanku Island (Wildan, 2002: 2). This language sounds very similar to the Devayan language used by people on the island of Simeulue. The number of Haloban speakers is very small and if efforts to progress, development and preservation do not begin immediately, it is feared that one day the language will remain in the memories of local language researchers. 

 

Simeulue language. 

The language of Simeulue is one of the regional languages ​​of Aceh which is the mother tongue for the people of Simeulue Island with a total number of speakers of about 60,000 people. In the study of the Morphology of Simonulue Language Nomina, Fun & Daud, et al (2000: 1) found that the similarity of names of islands and languages ​​has led to misunderstanding for most Acehnese people outside of Simeulue island: they assume that on Simeulue island there is only one regional language, the Simeulue language. Whereas in Simeulue District we encounter three regional languages, namely the language of Simeulue, Sigulai language (or also called Lamamek language), and Devayan language. There is a difference of opinion among the language researchers about the number of languages ​​on the island of Simeulue. Wildfire (2000: 2) for example, says that on the island of Simeulue there is only one language, the language of Simeulue. However, this language has two dialects, namely the Devayan dialect used in the District of Simeulue Timur, Central Simeulue and in Tepah Selatan District, As well as Sigulai dialect used by communities in the area of ​​West Simeulue and Salang sub-districts. Of the few members of the Simeulue Island community we contacted, we obtained information that the three languages ​​on the island are distinct and separate languages. 

 

If my friends have additional information may be added in the comment box, let me update.

Thank you :)