Our English Language – its rise … part 1

 

How on earth did we get from a language of 1,000+ years ago to the English we speak today – or do we speak English … is a tweet, or text message, or morse code a completely different language … who knows – come back in a thousand years and someone will be able to tell you!

Showing how explorers exploited our lands -
as they expanded their settlements
in 400 - 500 CE (AD)

All I can say is – I am so grateful I'm an English speaker in this day of the internet and books … I have no idea how I learnt to write in English or adapt my own style for my blog – life takes us on odd paths …

I spoke English – no choice there … parents did the same! At school we were taught grammar – I still don't understand it … but seem to have an intrinsic ability to cope …

The Tower of Babel by Pieter Brueghel the
elder (1563) - Humans have speculated about
the origin of language throughout history:
this is one such account

… then throw in Latin – again I'm grateful I had that learning period … it helps with plant identification, some legal words – before French got added to the mix … then for some reason I decided to try Italian, after school came German – before Afrikaans – once I went off to South Africa …

Before the journey down to South Africa – I'd worked with East European countries … so those names had to be absorbed …

Globe showing the African
continent and the area of 
India and Asia

I've never learnt any of these languages, other than that Brit one, nor did I ever go across to the Indian and Asian continents to 'glance at' their languages.

You'll have realised I'm not a linguist … but I do love learning … however I won't go into things I have no idea about … so cannot easily expand on the above ideas, or the next paragraphs for that matter …

Old English epic poem -
Beowulf - in the tradition
of German heroic legend

Old English came about before William conquered back in 1066 AD … we might have been conquered over the centuries, but language adjusted … absorbed by our oral and rural life …

… it might be that the conquerors quite liked the English roses they met and stayed on … ???!!!

Wild rambling roses

English is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to our islands post the Roman era.

The second part of this will follow (if I remember!) ... 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Miscarriage of Justice ...

 

Free Chol Soo Lee – an American documentary film released late last year – has just been screened by our Film Society … how evocative, while being informative, it was … quite, quite extraordinary …

The Towner's guide review is as follows:

Julie Ha and Eugene Yi’s intelligent, insightful and vital documentary explores systemic racism within the American criminal justice system via the extraordinary story of one man.

In 1970s San Francisco, 20-year-old Korean immigrant Chol Soo Lee is convicted of a Chinatown gang murder after cursory racial profiling.

After spending years fighting to survive, investigative journalist K.W. Lee takes a special interest in his case, igniting Soo Lee’s hopes of acquittal and inspiring an unprecedented social justice movement that spanned generations.

At a moment when the Asian diaspora is experiencing a surge in racist violence following the pandemic, this extraordinarily moving documentary feels especially timely, a way of entering and understanding the long history of discrimination faced by this international community.

Exploring Soo Lee’s complex life after being freed, as well as his time in prison, Free Chol Soo Lee is a powerful indictment of systemic racism and the criminal justice system, and the stunning latest in a series of US films and TV series placing a contemporary lens on historic miscarriages of justice and bringing them back into the light.

Our Chairman sent out a reminder to members that they'd be missing out if they didn't get to see the 2^nd showing … the early group all praised it to the rafters …We complete a reaction slip for each film society programme we watch … one member confirmed the film as 'totally engrossing and absorbing' …

Chol Soo Lee

Story telling at its best – but about a real person … I was completely bowled over … so I do hope you'll be able to look into this documentary (86 minutes) … I can't praise it enough … and cannot do anymore than recommend it and hope you all will make a plan to see it …

Mentally I came away wondering how on earth one man could have lived a normal life after being in prison and on death row for years … the torment he must have experienced …

… then relate it to immigrants, and here to refugees, who have travelled vast distances, crossed seas … encountered who knows what …

… coerced into actions they'd never normally take … I am so lucky I live in the world I do … this film and others, I hope, make us realise how fortunate we are … I'm going to hear a talk by an Afghan refugee tomorrow night …

Oh how I would like people to be kinder, more thoughtful, not jump to conclusions … think about things – would you like that to happen to you … we are not living in easy times …

Tony Serra - courtroom sketch

I was intrigued to learn about Tony Serra – the civil rights attorney, activist, tax resister – who came to defend Chol Soo Lee … another real-life character worth knowing about …

Chol Soo Lee – Wikipedia

The Towner Film section … Free Chol Soo Lee

Tony Serra - Wikipedia

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Write … Edit … Publish … Bloghop /IWSG hop: Gone with the Wind …

 

The 'Strandlopers' – roamed free along their South African coastline as their lore suggests – existing and depending upon natural availability – plants, herbs, animals and water … they would have been aware of the weather conditions …

Strandlopers - to be found in the 
Rijks Museum,  Amsterdam

… those early days – the oceans were only known by the effect of the winds … with the celestial knowledge … as indigenous peoples in all countries of the world have their lore …

The Dutch came first to establish a maritime and trading base at Cape Town for the long journey to the far east – a victualling station for passing ships …

Very early Cape Town

… in 1652 the early settlers immediately established a vegetable garden for their own use, as well as for purchase by traders … the gardens had vines and fruit trees for cultivation … especially lemons against scurvy.

Captain Cook travelling via the tip of South America only found New Zealand and Australia in 1769 – 1770 … Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese navigator, in 1520 as he rounded South America approached the Antarctic but was beaten back by the ice-floes …

Gale force winds ... 

European weather lore would have travelled with all explorers and seamen … and they would have learnt to adapt to their new lands.

The success of the gardens was not instantaneous … as the rigorous winter storms destroyed one crop after the other … but the vines thrived – the rootstock coming from Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Brazil …

Stellenbosch vineyard

The Cape area, despite its latitude, had a more European climate – a comfortable one … as the ocean current (the Benguela) cooled the coast down …

Those early pioneers realised that a strong wind often occurred from September to March – this is known as “the South-Easter” …

A tree bending wind (in England)

… but because of a local belief that it clears Cape Town of pollution and pestilence it has become known as “the Cape Doctor” …

Cape Fold belt - greatly influences 'Le Terroir'

… and has the positive benefit of limiting the risk of various mildew and fungal grape diseases, as well as tempering humidity – as long as the grape vines are protected from the wind strength …

Climate, Soil, Tradition, Terrain

Today's understanding of “Le Terroir” (of the earth) scientifically has progressed beyond recognition … yet we need to remember our folklore … realising our forefathers' wisdom …

Gone with the Wind – 

but from me 'may Spring come soon!' ...

Tagline – the wind that blows no ills … we could do with more of these winds in our world …

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories