The Linguistic Isle

Sometimes we have to make an intentional choice to define which cultural values to pass on..

Why I don’t celebrate Halloween with my children It was late October 2007 when my colleague from my Master’s program invited me to her birthday party. It was going to be a costume party, fitting since her birthday is towards the end of October. L…

Spitfire: A Linguistic Isle Review

“..And I am walking my way to Freedom, dancing my way to Freedom, running my way to Freedom,” the catchy melodic tune woke me up out of peaceful slumber. Last night I had the fortunate opportunity to attend the final showing of Spitfire: The Lohkay Story. My good friend Rochelle asked me after the show what did I think about it and I was so bubbled with emotions and fresh off the energy, I couldn’t gather all my thoughts so let me tell you what I thought about it.

What I saw: Well first of all we were greeted by the cutest little helper who made sure we all got a booklet outlining the characters, writer and director and it outlines some things to pay attention to in the story. It was like clockwork, it started right on time! (Loved that) and each scene flowed smoothly into the other, the stage hands were working mighty quickly! Now as I knew and read in the booklet, this was supposed to take place in the gardens at Bellevue, but instead took place at the Culture Centre. Tall screens were set up displaying images of the various scene locations such as the master’s great house, slave quarters, the fields etc. The large screens added a sense of modernity and technology that allowed us to go back in time to view how a slave was captured away from his family. I liked this moment of that split moment connection between the theatrical and cinematic world. And the video quality and mic quality were all excellent.

The show opened with one of the original songs by Head of Culture Department, Ms. Clara Reyes. We saw the cast in their torn slave wear, dusty faces, bent backs, yet joyful spirits. The make- up was on point, especially when we experienced Lohkay getting her breast cut off!

What I heard: I heard the sounds of St. Martin. Each original song had this timbre and musicality to it. They used the sticks they were holding and pans they were carrying to create the beat, the rhythm and the harmonies echoed throughout the culture centre, and this was no surprise because in that cast, I made out stalwart voices like my former teacher Mrs. Juliana Hodge-Shipley, Oris Jack, and Rita Carty…just to name a few.

What I felt: I felt so proud seeing my classmates, friends, Toastmaster colleagues and everyone bringing this St. Martin story to life. What the play does is make Lohkay more than a tale, it makes her human. We get to feel that connection between her and her friends and family. We get to feel her fighting spirit and we want her to win because we are experiencing it with her. Actress Shi Shi, embodied the role in every word, glare and in that run!

The story is written in such a way that ties in the historic Haitian Revolution and also the British Abolition of Slavery in Anguilla. It also deepens that line of African connection with the character Mullah who unlike the other characters wasn’t born a slave and tells them of this place where he’s from, where there’s hope, where you are not a slave, where you are free. We learn that he is from Guinea, West Africa and I wondered was that country intentionally chosen out of all the West African countries and if so why?

There’s Tom who is simple at best, but Mr. Fernando Clark as the comedian he is, truly brought out that role of the slave who couldn’t see a vision of more than where he was at that moment.."Well Master John say, Master John say" he would begin almost every line. We were ready to take him out personally!

There’s a love story with Mullah and young Josie. Josie shows her inexperience, “I love your courage” (referring to Mullah), yet grit in her voice, “She do something sch-oopid” (referring to Lohkay) When Mullah screams “What could I do?!” for me it was a peak and full circle moment to how they both were in this battle together, where they saw and experienced injustice, but it was out of their hands, but their screams said I wish I could do something about it!

Ma’ Dotto was the cunning comedy of the show. Wise enough to stoop and follow orders, but behind the scenes she was the power house, healing, guiding, stirring up the pot, (literally) and transferring information that would lead to Lohkay’s run.

From the weaponization of the Bible by the slave masters, to the ra**ng of the women, the slave masters perspective was also well laid out. This was a game of economics for them and slaves were not human. They were doing “good work” by raising good “Christians”.

I also really was intrigued by the writer, Shujah Reiph’s’s take on her being Lohkay and not One tété Lohkay. It fell seamlessly in the script where it is insinuated that the masters gave her that name, as a scar to intimidate and remind the other slaves, don’t try what she did. In a line he even mentions that you know how ‘they’ like to call each other names. Ouch! I thought how even today as a people some of our name calling can be humorous, but also at times degrading.

And that’s how this play was, it gave you a lot to think about. Did Josie and Mullah later run to the hills with Lohkay? Whatever happened to Tom and Ma’ Dotto? Those slaves like Lohkay that took a chance and ran…are they us, are we them? And if they walked, ran and danced their way to freedom and even lost a tété over it, how could we ever find satisfaction in not being our utmost self, not running our own race with endurance and perserverance when those before us risked their lives for it?

“Run down the hill one tété,- run down the hill Ms. Lohkay, Run down the hill and fetch dem”-Spitfire
Yeah… fetch us out of this slumber, we are free!

Wishing everyone a Happy Emancipation Day!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CuLAZVwpGGh/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Do you know the Ponum Dance? The Ponum Dance is SXM''s National Dance of Freedom. On the first of July the Dutch Kingdom recognizes Emancipation Day. So today, just as in May (French abolition of slavery) we #bussdichains and recognize those that came before us. #ponumdance #stmartinculture #sxmstrong #sxmhistory #caribbeandance #caribbeanhistory #freedom

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Did you also know that speech sounds are categorized by Place (Where does the sound originate? Are two lips needed like /m/ or is it glottal like /h/) ,Manner (How do you get the sound out ex. is it a plosive sound like /p/? and Voicing (voiced or voiceless? Sounds /b/ and /p/ only differ that one is voiced and one is voiceless.) Try saying both sounds, touch your voice box (larynx) at the neck and see if you can tell the difference.

Cheers to better speech!

When my son was two he wasn't saying much. I can particular remember he would say "Dog, Dog Dog!" everytime he saw one. That was great! But other than that he wasn't engaging much. As a mother and teacher, I knew something was off. As he got older, he had difficulty answering yes or no questions. It would be basic things like Do you want juice? He would say no and then cry when you take it away. He was just using words with no comprehension. I remember specifically at around 3 or 4 getting him tested by an SLP and she did an assessment where he did a lot of repeating and recognition of sounds- He ACED IT! I remember she looked at me like "c'mon Mommy, give him a chance." Made me start to think maybe I was overthinking. It was only after I was enrolled in SLP classes myself that I realised my son didn't have a speech concern, there was a language concern/deficiency. So just sharing what my experience was like in hopes to help other mothers and teachers to understand the difference.

Hi everyone! This month is Better hearing and Speech Month so I will be sharing some tips and guides about speech, language and communication for parents and teachers! We start with acknowledging the difference between speech and language.

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https://youtu.be/w7MnKu76WH0

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http://classroomcommunique.home.blog/2022/09/07/freedom-vacation-adventures-2022-blog-1/

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This week the northern half of the island paid hommage to the abolition of slavery. The ministry of education has made some resources available. Check out https://olivierbeaufour3.wixsite.com/esclavage

Une plateforme en ligne consacrée à la commémoration de l’abolition de l’esclavage :

C’est dans le cadre de la mission « Commémoration de l’abolition de l’esclavage 2021 » qu’a été élaborée une plateforme en ligne qui recense de nombreuses ressources pédagogiques et des documents authentiques utiles pour les enseignants.

Les équipes pédagogiques des écoles, collèges et lycées de Saint-Barthélemy et de Saint-Martin y trouveront :

- Le document de référence d’EDUSCOL « La place de l’esclavage, ses formes et ses mémoires dans les programmes scolaires » ;

- Le texte original de François-Auguste PERRINON, daté de 1847, publié par la BNF ;

- Les numéros spéciaux du magazine Héritage, édités par l’association archéologique de Hope Estate ;

- Des liens utiles ;

- Des documents pédagogiques modifiables et exploitables en classe ;

- Et bien d’autres choses encore…

La commémoration annuelle de l’abolition de l’esclavage a lieu le 28 mai à Saint-Martin, le 9 octobre à Saint-Barthélemy.

Pour accéder à la plateforme : https://olivierbeaufour3.wixsite.com/esclavage

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http://classroomcommunique.home.blog/2022/05/15/can-toastmasters-help-your-language-learning-goals/

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