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VOA慢速英语2013 Rosetta Project Aims to Save Languages for Future Generations

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Rosetta Project Aims to Save Languages for Future Generations

Welcome to American Mosaic1 from VOA Learning English!

I’m June Simms.

On the show today, we play songs from a new album by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

We also hear about a creative way one American school is making English classes more available to immigrants.

But first, we learn about a project to protect endangered languages.

There are about 7,000 languages in the world. Experts say half could disappear by the end of the century. But an effort called the Rosetta Project is working to protect them for future generations. Kelly Jean Kelly reports.

These two American linguistics2 students can speak several languages, including French. They are among 12 students taking part in a summer internship4 program with the Rosetta Project in San Francisco, California. They are working with trained linguists5 to expand a digital record of endangered languages.

The project’s name comes from the Rosetta Stone, the ancient stone marker kept at the British Museum in London. The marker has examples of writing in two different Egyptian writing systems and an early form of Greek. It helped experts understand Egyptian hieroglyphs6.

Rosetta Project is creating an online collection and an optical disc of writings in different languages. The disc version can be held in the palm of a hand. But it contains 13,000 pages representing 1,500 languages. The Long Now Foundation, a non-profit group, launched the Rosetta Project. Alexander Rose is the Executive Director.

“A single parallel text, a description, a map of where it’s from, these types of things that just give you enough that you can compare to another language that you know or have studied or scholars have figured out, you can start pulling parallels between the two and reconstruct the basics of a language.”

The Smithsonian Institution recently organized a demonstration7 of endangered languages at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington. Crowds heard examples of Hawaiian and other disappearing languages like Tuvan, which can still be heard in southern Siberia.

Many languages are spoken by small groups, says Rosetta Project director Laura Welcher.

“They’re spoken by thousands of people or even smaller-sized groups and a lot of those languages are in remote parts of the world. They haven’t been well documented.”

Linguists at universities and research centers are in a race against time to record these languages before all speakers are gone. 

“The idea is to purposely create a massively parallel collection that is broadly representative of all our human languages, that can be that kind of secret decoder ring for human languages and what we leave for the future.”

And, Ms. Welcher says linguists and student interns3 at the Rosetta Project are doing their part.

An ESL Class on the Move

Immigrants and refugees arriving in the United States often have trouble with the way many Americans move from place to place. Only the biggest American cities have good public transportation systems. So you need a car to get to school or work in other parts of the country. This can be a problem for some immigrants.

To pass a driver’s test, they need to speak and understand English. But to learn English, they might need to take classes that they can only get to by driving. One school has found a creative solution to the problem.

On a recent Saturday morning, students gathered at the Foreign Language Institute in Nashville, Tennessee. They came for training in English-as-a-second-language, or ESL. The building where the class was held is hard to get to on foot, and there are no sidewalks.

More than 1,200 refugees settle in Nashville each year. Like many American cities, Nashville was built for drivers and their vehicles, not people on foot or bicycles. That makes things difficult for the refugees, since many of them can neither drive nor speak English.

Many refugees in Nashville live in apartment buildings 20 kilometers away from the Foreign Language Institute. The Institute decided8 that if the ESL students could not get to the classroom, the classroom would come to the students.

The organization purchased a delivery van and made the back of the truck into a classroom. Officials call it “ESL-to-GO.” It visits communities where immigrants and refugees usually gather. Ashley Ekers is the ESL-to-GO Curriculum Coordinator9.

“A lot of the time they just couldn’t get to the classes. It was too far for them to walk. They were unfamiliar10 with the bus system. It was just a barrier that a lot of them couldn’t get over.”

Lulu Nhkum is a refugee from Burma. She was one of the people who urged the Institute to bring ESL classes into the community.

“They want to go to the ESL class, but especially in the winter they are also working. For our people - they don’t need to travel. The truck is really helpful to our community.”

ESL-to-GO was launched in May. But there is already a waiting list. Even some adults in their 70s are signing up for the classes.

“I would be very hesitant probably at that age to attempt to learn a language, but they just believe that they can and they want the skills. They’re very eager to learn.”

Ashley Ekers says the refugees she teaches are hard-working students. They want to be independent. And they see learning English as the key to success.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

The Los Angeles group Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros released their third album last week. The self-titled album brings back some of the sounds from American music of the 1960s.

Madeline Smith plays some of the new music.

Edward Sharpe may be in the band’s name, but the lead singer is really called Alex Ebert. He came up with the character of Edward Sharpe when he was dealing11 with a drug addiction12, and used it as inspiration for the band.

The Magnetic Zeros is the name for the other 10 group members. They include the singer Jade13 Castrinos, who helped Alex Ebert start the band. The other musicians play instruments and make a chorus of back-up vocals14, like on the song “Better Days.”

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros first became famous in 2009 with their single “Home,” a song with a happy chorus and a catchy15 whistled melody. Now, their sound has become more like popular music from the 1960s, with folk and psychedelic influences.

Love and hopefulness are common ideas in their songs, and the large group of band members all work together. The lyrics16 of the song “Life is Hard” talk about celebrating and being thankful for life although it might sometimes be painful.

We leave you with one of the sadder songs from the new album. Here is the final track from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, called “This Life.”

I’m June Simms. Our program was written by Caty Weaver17 and Madeline Smith, who was also the producer. Mike Osbourne and Mike O’Sullivan contributed to this report.

Do you have a question about American life, people or places? Send an e-mail to [email protected]. We might answer your question in a future show. You can also visit our website at learningenglish.voanews.com to find transcripts18 and audio of our shows.

Join us again next week for music and more on American Mosaic from VOA Learning English.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 mosaic CEExS     
n./adj.镶嵌细工的,镶嵌工艺品的,嵌花式的
参考例句:
  • The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
  • The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。
2 linguistics f0Gxm     
n.语言学
参考例句:
  • She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
  • Linguistics is a scientific study of the property of language.语言学是指对语言的性质所作的系统研究。
3 interns b9fd94f8bf381b49802b6b686cb9d5ac     
n.住院实习医生( intern的名词复数 )v.拘留,关押( intern的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • Our interns also greet our guests when they arrive in our studios. 我们的实习生也会在嘉宾抵达演播室的时候向他们致以问候。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
  • The interns work alongside experienced civil engineers and receive training in the different work sectors. 实习生陪同有经验的国内工程师工作,接受不同工作部门的相关培训。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
4 internship oqmzJB     
n.实习医师,实习医师期
参考例句:
  • an internship at a television station 在电视台的实习期
  • a summer internship with a small stipend 薪水微薄的暑期实习
5 linguists fe6c8058ec322688d888d3401770a03c     
n.通晓数国语言的人( linguist的名词复数 );语言学家
参考例句:
  • The linguists went to study tribal languages in the field. 语言学家们去实地研究部落语言了。 来自辞典例句
  • The linguists' main interest has been to analyze and describe languages. 语言学家的主要兴趣一直在于分析并描述语言。 来自辞典例句
6 hieroglyphs d786aaeff706af6b7c986fbf102e0c8a     
n.象形字(如古埃及等所用的)( hieroglyph的名词复数 );秘密的或另有含意的书写符号
参考例句:
  • Hieroglyphs are carved into the walls of the temple. 寺庙的墙壁上刻着象形文字。 来自辞典例句
  • This paper discusses the fundamental distinctions between the hieroglyphs andforerunner of writing. 英汉象形文字的比较是建立在象形文字具体内涵的基础上。 来自互联网
7 demonstration 9waxo     
n.表明,示范,论证,示威
参考例句:
  • His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
  • He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。
8 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
9 coordinator Gvazk6     
n.协调人
参考例句:
  • The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下,负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
  • How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室?
10 unfamiliar uk6w4     
adj.陌生的,不熟悉的
参考例句:
  • I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
  • The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。
11 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法,待人态度
参考例句:
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
12 addiction JyEzS     
n.上瘾入迷,嗜好
参考例句:
  • He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
  • Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。
13 jade i3Pxo     
n.玉石;碧玉;翡翠
参考例句:
  • The statue was carved out of jade.这座塑像是玉雕的。
  • He presented us with a couple of jade lions.他送给我们一对玉狮子。
14 vocals fe5262cfb22a0b2ee8d36fbf8b3f4942     
(乐曲中的)歌唱部份,声乐部份( vocal的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Also look out for soaring vocals on The Right Man. 另外,也可留意一下《意中人》中的那高亢的唱腔。
  • Lazy bass line, lazier drums, lush violins, great piano and incomparable vocals. 懒惰的低音线,较懒惰的鼓,饮小提琴,棒的钢琴和无比的声音。
15 catchy 1wkztn     
adj.易记住的,诡诈的,易使人上当的
参考例句:
  • We need a new slogan.The old one's not catchy enough.我们需要新的口号,旧的不够吸引人。
  • The chorus is very catchy to say the least.副歌部分很容易上口。
16 lyrics ko5zoz     
n.歌词
参考例句:
  • music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
  • The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。
17 weaver LgWwd     
n.织布工;编织者
参考例句:
  • She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快,而且布的质量很好。
  • The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。
18 transcripts 525c0b10bb61e5ddfdd47d7faa92db26     
n.抄本( transcript的名词复数 );转写本;文字本;副本
参考例句:
  • Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样,都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
  • You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书,你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

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