Have you ever heard of the Wampanoag?

WAMPANOAG means " Eastern People " or " People of the First Light".
The Wampanoag People have been living in Southeastern New England for over 12 OOO years.
Before the 17eme century, there were around 50 OOO of them in about 67 villages.

Today there are approximatively 4 to 5 000 Wampanaog who live in the area most of them in Mashpee on Cape Cod and Aquinnah on Martha's vineyard where Muriel has already been.

They don't like to be named Indians, (I suppose because they were not born in India) but NATIVE PEOPLE or NATIVE AMERICAN.
As their language was dying inexorably, (they relied on oral tradition), they fought strongly to maintain it and succeeded.
Today,scholars are teaching it in their community. Maybe, one day, we will meet somebody speaking Wampanoag at the Cafe Langues.

One of their chief or king or sachem, as you want it, was called Massasoit.
That name, later was altered and turned into Massachusetts.

Harry Hornblower, an American who had been fascinated by the story of the pilgrims and their neighbors, decided to build the Plymouth Plantation I was lucky enough to visit last sunday.

I appreciated the fact that The Native People are considered today members of a civilsation and they have their own culture, they have a long and complex history, they are not solely defined by colonization.

If there is something to remember of that, it is that we must stop saying " Les Indiens" but the Native People to show we respect their entity and identity.

Irene.

Hi Irène, Muriel, hi everyone,

Oh thanks a lot for this subject Irène!

It's bloody very interesting! Go on visiting the neighborhood and tell us about everything!

PS: Sorry, I was speaking Australian!! I forgot we were in Massachusets.

Hi Irène,

If you are not bored with my remarks, I found a few mistakes in your text:
- approximatively approximately
- strongly is correct - I just would like to add that strong is also used as an adverb... maybe in special expressions
- "neighbor" - thanks! I like the American spelling!
However, you should use "civilization" (with a "z" - you wrote civilsation)... don't even know if the word exists with an "s".

As their language was dying inexorably, (they relied on oral tradition), they fought strongly to maintain it and succeeded.
Today,scholars are teaching it in their community. Maybe, one day, we will meet somebody speaking Wampanoag at the Cafe Langues.

Did their written language exist before the arrival of Europeans? or did Europeans create their alphabet?
Is teaching due to Yankees or were they worrying about their dying civilization themselves?

we must stop saying " Les Indiens" but the Native People to show we respect their entity and identity.

Do Americans (white ones) respect this noun (so I think)?
How do they make a living: tourism, subsidies?

Thanks again for this report!

(posted on March 24 2:59 am)
I am not able to manage with the Cafe Langues, I am too bad using a computer.

I want to apologize for having done that horrible mistake when I wrote : " Yesterday, it has been snowing all day. "
I should have written : " Yesterday, it did not stop snowing " .
Had my grammar teacher seen that, she would have had a stroke.

This morning, I took my grand daughter to her school and stayed there a while in order to help the librarian putting the books on the right shelf.
I like that school. It is so well conceived, so wide, so comfortable, so well organised!!!!
A surprising high number of people work there.

I am never upset when you signal my mistakes, on the contrary, I appreciate, it helps. Don't hesitate but I am afraid that is time consuming.

Let me know answer your questions:
So far as I know, the Wampanoag have no written language, they fend by themselves for keeping known their civilization and I think they make their living just like the American people do.
Generally speaking, I doubt they use the expression Native American or Native People : my grand son who is only four says " the Indians".

Have a whale of a time!

Irene.

Hi Irène,

Thanks a lot for your message!

ireneO a écrit:(posted on March 24 2:59 am)
I am not able to manage with the Cafe Langues, I am too bad using a computer.

You are not bad at using a comp'.
You started this topic...
When reading this post, at the bottom of your screen (you may need to scroll down), you can see "Répondre". If you click this button, it opens a window and you can type down your text, then you click "Envoyer" to validate the message.

I want to apologize for having done that horrible mistake when I wrote : " Yesterday, it has been snowing all day. "
I should have written : " Yesterday, it did not stop snowing " .
Had my grammar teacher seen that, she would have had a stroke.

... a very severe teacher
What about "Yesterday it snowed all day"?

This morning, I took my grand daughter to her school and stayed there a while in order to help the librarian putting the books on the right shelf.
I like that school. It is so well conceived, so wide, so comfortable, so well organised!!!!
A surprising high number of people work there.

My dictionary is a Hachette-Oxford, I mean a British one... I think that organise is wrong: the right spelling is organize.
> in order to help the librarian putting the books
Though she was in the process of putting the books... I don't think it's grammatically correct, we've to write: "in order to help the librarian put the books..." (American would rid the "to")

I'm very glad you could help the librarian and probably speak with her and better know their schools and organization.

I am never upset when you signal my mistakes, on the contrary, I appreciate, it helps. Don't hesitate but I am afraid that is time consuming.

Thanks Irène. Don't worry about the time: it's a pleasure!

Let me know answer your questions:
So far as I know, the Wampanoag have no written language, they fend by themselves for keeping known their civilization and I think they make their living just like the American people do.
Generally speaking, I doubt they use the expression Native American or Native People : my grand son who is only four says " the Indians".

Have a whale of a time!

Irene.

Thanks again! Have a good day! Take care!

Hi Irène, Muriel, Gérard,

Organise exists !
If you look in a Merriam-Webster dictionary (British version) you will find "organise" and the explanation is that it is the British variation of "organize".

Where Americans use a Z at the end of a verb, British tend to use an S

Other examples,
categorise, finalise, hospitalise, etc

The suffix -ize/-ise has been productive in English since the time of Thomas Nashe (1567-1601), who claimed credit for introducing it into English to remedy the surplus of monosyllabic words.
Almost any noun or adjective can be made into a verb by adding -ize or -ise

Civilisation (with an S) also is the good British spelling !

Hi Krystyna, Irène, Muriel, hi everyone,

krystynaD a écrit:... Organise exists !

If you look in a Merriam-Webster dictionary (British version) you will find "organise" and the explanation is that it is the British variation of "organize".

My excellent Hachette-Oxford Dictionary is mainly British and occasionally has US additions: it doesn't include "organise"

By chance, have you got a fake Webster dictionary, prolly an Australian one (Webster was American and anti-British)?

Where Americans use a Z at the end of a verb, British tend to use an S

Other examples,
categorise, finalise, hospitalise, etc

The suffix -ize/-ise has been productive in English since the time of Thomas Nashe (1567-1601), who claimed credit for introducing it into English to remedy the surplus of monosyllabic words.
Almost any noun or adjective can be made into a verb by adding -ize or -ise

Thanks for the lesson


> Civilisation (with an S) also is the good British spelling !
Oh poor world! Close to its end!!

Ah Gérard, ye of little faith !

Look here ...
http://www.britannica.com/

At the bottom on the right is a dictionary link for Merriam-Webster.
Type in ORGANISE and you will indeed see the explanation !

I think you are confusing the Webster brothers ?
There was Maurice and Claude, and one liked the Brits and the other didn't !

> There was Maurice and Claude, and one liked the Brits and the other didn't !
LOLOL
... like the Berteaus??

LOLOL ... I'm pretty sure the Websters were cousins of Les frères Berteau !

A Gerard,

You can write " Yesterday, it snowed all day".

I am back and enjoy to be at home.

Many thanks too to Krystina, Muriel .

Welcome back home Irène!

So shall we see you next Thursday in café-langues?

ireneO a écrit:... I am back and enjoy to be at home...

As far as I know, you must get rid of "at" and say: "I'm back home" as well as "enjoy to be home".
I wonder if we must get rid of the "at" (I think so) or if we may... I mean I don't think it's American En: Krystyna??

Hi Gérard, hi Irène,

You're welcome Irène and I hope to have been of some help to you !

Plenty of ways to say, but I like ...

"I'm back and enjoying being home"
or
"I'm enjoying being back home"