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In Training with New Tribes Mission for Tribal Church
Planting and Bible Translation
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Dear friends and family, Greetings to you all once again from New Tribes Language Institute in the middle of Missouri!
As I looked out on my fellow students here in chapel this morning I thought about all the people here, what they have done, and what they are doing now. We have an interesting mix of students here. Many of them had former careers. Among our fellow missionaries here, there is a college math professor, a cabinet builder, a US Army helicopter pilot, an electrician, a 4th grade school teacher, an architectural draftsman, an accountant, and many more. There are also many who heard the call early, and forsook the opportunities to develop careers, staking their future on God’s desire to see |
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George & Ginny Olson 134 Main Drive Box 67831 Roach, MO 65787-9724573-317-9635
george_ginny@yahoo.com
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the nations reached with His message of love and grace. In this day and age when we are so close to seeing the return of Christ, it is ever so important to finish the work and take His message to all the nations.
NEWS ALERT --- BREAKING NEWS We interrupt this program for an important news update on the trial of ‘z’ sound in the Aptaynen language:
Capital T: Good afternoon, this is news anchor Capital T reporting live for ABCDE news. This is our latest update on important developments at Phonemics District 27. As you all know, the outcome of this trial will have major ramifications for the Aptaynen people. They are just on the verge of being taught how to read, and their ability to read will depend greatly on how well their alphabet represents the sounds in their language. We will now go live to the courthouse at district 27 to our reporter there to get the latest. Capital M?
Capital M: That’s right, Capital T. The jury has just gone into deliberations. The defense just finished their arguments in favor of the identity of ‘z’ sound. This morning we had several very interesting events happen:
SAPA = Sound Alphabets Protection Agency WCCAA = We Create Confusing Alphabets Agency
“In the language analysis, where were you, sound ‘z,’ when the word mlazu was first spoken?” “I was between the ‘a’ and the ‘u’,” replied sound ‘z.’ The prosecutor then said, “That’s right! You were between the ‘a’ and the ‘u’. But where were you when mlasu was whispered by one of the people?” To this, sound ‘z’ responded, “I was not there, don’t you see? I was not there in that word. That proves I have to be a separate sound from the ‘s.’ sound!” Then the prosecutor stepped in strong. He said, “Ah but you tried to trick us! Because the person who said the word mlasu was sick from laryngitis, and could not make a ‘z’ sound because he lost his voice! We only found this out when it was determined that mlasu and mlazu both meant ‘finger,’ and only the person who was sick was saying mlasu!” At this point, the defense yelled out “Objection!” but the judge overruled and directed the prosecutor to continue questioning. The prosecutor then said, “Mr. ‘z’ sound, is it or is it not true that you are only heard when between two vowel sounds? Remember that you are under oath.” To this, ‘z’ came back with, “Well, so I happen to like vowels as companions. So many consonants like to hang out with other consonants. I just enjoy the company of vowels!” When ‘z’ said this, a murmur went through the courtroom crowd, for which the judge had to call the courtroom to order. The defense elected not to cross examine sound ‘z,’ and so the judge ordered the closing arguments. It was at this point, that the prosecutor made his best case, and it went something like this:
He stood up to address the jury. “Letters and gentlemen of the jury, I submit to you today that ‘z’ sound is not a separate sound at all, but that he is in fact the same sound as the ‘s’ in the Aptaynen language. It is clear that the Aptaynen people, when they speak, normally say the ‘s’ sound in their words, but when the ‘s’ sound is surrounded by a vowel on either side in a word, it becomes a ‘z’ sound. The linguist hears the difference, but the Aptaynen people do not. “This is made clear by the following words. First, as noticed before, Aptaynen people always say mlazu for ‘finger’ unless (as happened recently) someone has laryngitis and the word sounds like mlasu. Second, we have noticed that Mr. ‘z’ only shows up when he is surrounded by vowels, and never in any other case. For example, the word mezo means ‘nose’ and tizu means ‘elbow.’ In both cases, the ‘z’ is surrounded by vowel sounds. However, the word spespo, which means ‘rock,’ is an example of a word that has ‘s’ next to a consonant. The ‘s’ sound seems to show up in many different words all over the Aptaynen language, but it never shows up between two vowel sounds. So we must conclude that the people are simply changing the ‘s’ sound to a ‘z’ sound when vowel sounds are around it, but they think of them as being the same sound. Is this true and reasonable? Yes it is.”
The defense then rose to make his case. “Letters of the jury, you must allow ‘z’ to retain his separate identity from ‘s.’ If you allow ‘z’ to be absorbed into ‘s,’ their alphabet will be easier for them to understand. It will be easier for the people to learn to read, and they will be able to read the Bible in their own language, and we certainly don’t want that! They must be kept primitive! Reading the Bible will cause them to stop looking to their spirit guides for wisdom, and they will turn to God! You must not allow this to happen!”
So, Capital T, that about sums up the arguments in the case this morning. Wait… it looks like the jury is returning from deliberations right now. Yes – here they come in. They will be reading their verdict. Let’s have the camera move in on the jury foreman to hear a live reading of the verdict.
<the jury foreman stands> “Your honor, we the letters and gentlemen of the jury find the defendant, the ‘z’ sound, guilty of trying to maintain a separate identity from his true identity, which is the ‘s’ sound.”
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<the judge speaks> “Sound ‘z,’ you have been found guilty of maintaining a separate identity from letter ‘s.’ You are hereby sentenced to have your identity forever absorbed into the letter ‘s’ in the Aptaynen language. Bailiff, please escort sound ‘z’ away from the courtroom.”
<back to the reporter> Well, there you have it. It was determined that ‘s’ and ‘z’ are one and the same sound. That is good news for the Aptaynen people – they are one step closer to being able to read! Back to you, Capital T.
Capital T: Thank you, Capital M. It certainly is good news for the Aptaynens. As we all know, it is much easier for illiterate people to learn to read if the alphabet accurately represents the sounds made in their language. In other news on the Aptaynen alphabet, the sounds ‘i’ and ‘e’ were proven to be separate sounds, and will each receive their own letter in the alphabet. This was made clear when it was found out that pish meant ‘tree’ and pesh meant ‘water buffalo.’ It was only the different ‘i’ and ‘e’ sounds that changed the meanings of those two words. So, congratulations to the Aptaynens, and we will all look forward to the final creation of that alphabet! This is Capital T for ABCDE news. Good night.
WE NOW RETURN TO OUR REGULAR SCHEDULED PROGRAM
I hope you all enjoyed that little story. I was praying for wisdom as to how to communicate the things we are learning in an interesting way, so I hope the story was effective! It may seem like a small thing, but a lot of work goes into the creation of an alphabet for an unwritten language. This is a major component of virtually all tribal ministries, and without a good solid alphabet that is easy to understand, they will not be able to learn to read. The key to developing this alphabet for them is that you must figure out how they are thinking of the sounds they make when they speak.
As of June of this year, we will become official members of New Tribes Mission, Lord willing. Ginny will finish her training in May, which will allow us to do this. Besides our summer break, we will remain in Missouri through next December so that I will be able to finish the Linguistics Analysis training. So keep us in your prayers! We are very busy with classes and ministry, but we always enjoy hearing from you by letter or email or phone!
Because of His Grace, George for the Olson team
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