[Seth-Trips] The Linguists: A Very Foreign Language Film (Oct. 19)

[Seth David Schoen]

I'm planning to go see the documentary "The Linguists" at the
San Francisco International Documentary Film Festival at 12:30
on Sunday, October 19, at the Roxie.  (I'm not sure whether it's
necessary to buy tickets ahead of time.)

http://www.thelinguists.com/
https://sfdocfest08.withoutabox.com/festivals/event_item.php?id=18319

   Scientists estimate that of 7,000 languages in the world, half will be
   gone by the end of this century. On average, one language disappears
   every two weeks.
   
   'The Linguists' follows David Harrison and Gregory Anderson, scientists
   racing to document languages on the verge of extinction. David and
   Greg's 'round-the-world journey takes them deep into the heart of the
   cultures, knowledge, and communities at stake.
   
   In Siberia, David and Greg seek to record the Chulym language, which
   hasn't been heard by outsiders for more than thirty years. The linguists
   encounter remnants of the racist Soviet regime that may have silenced
   Chulym for good.
   
   In India, tribal children attend boarding schools, where they learn
   Hindi and English, a trade, and the pointlessness of their native
   tongues. Similar boarding schools for tribal children existed in the US
   through most of the twentieth century. David and Greg travel to the
   children's villages, where economic unrest has stirred a violent Maoist
   insurgency. The linguists experience firsthand the fear and poverty that
   have driven children from their native communities.
   
   In Bolivia, the Kallawaya language has survived for centuries with fewer
   than one hundred speakers. David and Greg trek high into the Andes to
   unlock its secret. 
   
-- 
Seth David Schoen <schoen at loyalty.org> | Wol dir, werlt, daz du bist
     http://www.loyalty.org/~schoen/   | also freudenriche!
     http://vitanuova.loyalty.org/     |           -- Carmina Burana