The Men Behind the Words
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
THEY worked in silence, jotting down without voice. Behind them, languages were threatened with extinction. Before them, limited capital and slim publication chance could abruptly dampen their enthusiasm. On remote islands, the writers of dictionaries were poking around for words. Tempo records a small part of their heroism. Many things certainly escape notice. But it's an all too important world very rarely visited.
arsip tempo : 173225713060.
Talugai no tundulu
Talu gouha nonggolu
Talogia nonggohulu
Doao ado Allah ado Rasul
Mootoduwo notindaho nuru(verses of demise in the Suwawa language)
HE came to listen to dialogs of the elderly. The words, in the Sumawa language, use affixes and have no vowel "e."
The man, Mansoer Pateda, 64, a professor of linguistics, was diligent. Every day he went through a ritual: at 10pm he arranged the next day's plan, from lecturing
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