Week 10 Final Assessment

Final Assessment:  It is hard to believe that Week 10 has arrived!  Although this is a milestone, it is not the end of this language-learning odyssey.  After taking some time off for summer travel, I will return and set some new goals.  I feel good about the progress I made over the past ten weeks in reaching the goals that I set at the beginning of this course.  My language-learning did slow down over the past two weeks due to entertaining guests and final school projects.  Perhaps, I subconsciously gave myself permission to make a little room for these other things because I knew that I had met most of my objectives.  Writing my own poem was the ‘big’ task still hanging over my head this week.  Here is my final assessment checklist:  

	Learning Goals Checklist for Isthmus Zapotec		Met by June 3, 2013
	Primary Objectives	yes	no/level attained
1	Recite 20 lines of poetry	X
2	Know and be able to orally produce all phonemes		pretty close
3	Recognize basic grammatical features (i.e., word order; identify verbs, nouns, objects, articles, preps)	X
4	Write one original poem	X
	Secondary Objectives	yes	no/level attained
1	Learn origins of Zapotec language and people	X
2	Learn history of IZ language and people	X
3	Learn origins of literary traditions and role of literature and poetry in IZ culture and society		Still have more questions
4	Learn about current IZ issues		Learned more about other Zapotec current issues
	Wishful-Thinking Objective	yes	no/level attained
1	Meet a native IZ speaker		Still looking; met goal of meeting Shook and other Zapotec speakers

Concerning Primary Objectives:  I apologize that I am not going to go into detail about the goals attained in this checklist at this time.  My blog posts since my midterm progress report reveal in more detail to what degree I have met these objectives.  In terms of furthering my primary objectives, I will continue to work through the Pickett and Black grammar book.  I am nearly halfway through now.  I think I will need to read the whole book two or three times to become very familiar with the grammatical concepts.  I believe the best way to practice newly learned grammar is through reading and writing in the language.   I plan to continue reading IZ poetry and literature for this practice, and write my own poems.  My speaking opportunities will be limited to reciting poetry for now. 

Concerning Secondary Objectives:  Because of the vast subject matter, my secondary objectives were ‘in general’ and not very specific.  I was looking to familiarize myself with these topics, rather than memorize large chunks of information.  There is still much that I want to learn about the Binnizá.

Further Research:  My interviews with native speakers of other Zapotec languages gave me privileged insight into the language issues of the indigenous people of Oaxaca.  I feel that these people need their voices heard, and as a staff member told me at the literacy center where I conducted some of the interviews, “They are ready to talk.”  I have interpreted this statement to mean that they no longer want to feel ashamed of their indigenous heritage and that they are ready to defend and preserve it, even while living outside of their homeland.  Speakers of indigenous languages in Mexico are discriminated against, and are oftentimes called “backwards.”  Because of this, when outside of their home community, indigenous people may deny their native tongue.  Join me in advocating for the respect and preservation of indigenous languages.    

Week 10 My Own Poem

Week 10

Word of the Week: dede ca ‘the end’

(Actually, it is just the beginning!)

My own poem:  I could not make my final assessment without first writing my own poem.  This was not easy.  I struggled with writing a personal poem, but found that I need a lot more study time before I can translate my personal thoughts into Isthmus Zapotec.  I was frustrated with my task to write a poem with my limited language skills, but was able to accomplish this when I just started to “play around” with it and not take it too seriously.  I am not sure if my verb conjugations are spelled correctly, but this is what I came up with. 

Ba’du’ ne Xtibe Bi’cu’                                               A Boy and His Dog

Neegue la, guziibe ba’du’ ca bi’cu’ yaase’.                Yesterday, the boy bought a black dog.

Laabe nadxiibe xtibe bi’cu nacubi                              He loves his new dog

ne laame nadxiime xtime ba’du’ nacubi.                    and the dog loves his new boy.

Yannadxí riguitecabe cue’ fuera.                                Today they played together outside.

Padxí rusidxagacabe la,                                              When they were tired,

rasicabe lu baca’nda’ ca xti yaga ngola.                      they slept in the shade of a big tree.

Padxí zacanda la,                                                        At sundown,

cue’ la,                                                                         together,

ribicabe                                                                        they went home

ne rugazecabe ne zoocabe.                                          and bathed and ate.

Guixí zazibe ba’du’ ca xtibe bi’cu’                             Tomorrow the boy will buy for his dog

yanni nacubi sicarú                                                      a beautiful new collar

ne zusiga’de’ lá laame.                                                and give him a name.

I would love some feedback from anyone familiar with this language.  Please, tell me if what I have written in IZ does not make sense or if there are spelling errors.  As I continue to study the language, I will revisit this poem and try to improve it as I learn more.