WELCOME TO MCU MASTER LINGUISTICS PROGRAM

Class 3: Sept-7, 2015

By Ajarn Syn

Sylvano_007@yahoo.com

Introduction

Today Agenda

Next week article

on Thainess

Who are you ?

Slavery article

World Languages

An overview

QUOTE OF THE DAY

WHO ARE YOU ?

1 min to present yourself

1. Hello my Nickname is

2. I really like to .

3. At my Temple / Family we always .

4. My biggest fear is

5. In conclusion, I am here today to .

Standing up but at your desk

ARTICLE READING

1. Read the article at home

2. Highlight your new words, be ready to share in class

3. Which paragraph or words you do not understand?

4. Be also ready to share 1. Summarized this article (60 seconds)

2. What did you learn?

3. What you dont agree with?

4. How this article can or will change you and your classmates ?

7 WAYS TO EMANCIPATE YOURSELF FROM MENTAL SLAVERY

AUG 9, 2015

Hyacinth was the name given to my forefathers by their slave

owner, then bowing under western supremacy my parents

called me Brigette. I cannot trace my lineage as far back to

Africa, only to Grenada and St Lucia however, all I can safely

conclude is that our slave master must been quite a small

owner because there arent many Hyacinths around.

An image depicting slaves

celebrating after formal slavery

was ended, mid-19th century.

"THE BIGGEST ENEMY YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH IS YOURSELF. IF THERE'S NO ENEMY WITHIN, THEN THE ENEMY OUTSIDE CAN

DO US NO HARM." ~ LES BROWN.

On August 1, Emancipation Day was celebrated throughout the Caribbean. This commemorates 1 August 1838 when full freedom was granted to all slaves. Between 1662 and 1807 Britain shipped 3.1 million Africans across the Atlantic Ocean in the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Africans were forcibly brought to British owned colonies in the Caribbean and sold as slaves to work on plantations. Despite being held captive many slaves resisted their enslavement and refused to be broken.

Although slavery is no longer tolerated. Many of us are held captive by limitations placed on us by ourselves or others. My whole life Ive been told You cant.

' THE MIND IS A POWERFUL FORCE. IT CAN ENSLAVE US OR EMPOWER US. IT CAN

PLUNGE US INTO THE DEPTHS OF MISERY OR TAKE US TO THE HEIGHTS OF ECSTASY. LEARN

TO USE IS WISELY." ~DAVID CUSCHIERI

These limitations inevitably lead to many of us suffering from the "Baby Elephant syndrome. The story is told how elephants are trained. When an elephant living in captivity and is still a baby, it is tied to a tree with a chain or rope nightly. The baby elephant tries with all its might to break the rope but it isnt strong enough to do so. It tries and fails many times until realizing its efforts are futile, it finally gives up and stops attempting for the rest of its life.

Later, when the elephant is fully grown, it can be tied to a small tree with a thin rope and could easily free itself by breaking the rope or uprooting the tree but because its mind has been conditioned by its past experiences, it doesnt even make the slightest attempt to break free. This powerful animal has confined its present abilities by the limitations of past experiences hence, the "Baby Elephant Syndrome."

Human beings are similar to the elephant except for one thing, we can choose not to accept the false boundaries created by the others or the past.

HERE ARE MY 7 TIPS TO BREAK THE CHAINS

THAT ARE HOLDING YOU CAPTIVE.1. Believe in yourself. You have to believe in yourself ultimately. Always Think big

and Dream big. Focus on your strengths and work on developing your shortfalls.

Dont compare yourself to others and dont let circumstances dictate what you are capable of achieving.

"Believe in yourself and there will come a day when others will have no choice but to

believe with you. ~ Cynthia Kersey2. Work hard. Do what you can do. Don't waste time feeling sorry for yourself. Take

responsibility for where you are. Stop feeling like youre owed. In life, there are no handouts. If you want something, you owe it to yourself to go out and get it. Nothing

worth having comes easy.

Determination and perseverance move the world; thinking that others will do it for you is a sure way to fail. ~Marva Collins3. Be Positive. Turn negatives into positives and make it a growing experiencing.

Dont dwell on others opinions of you or take things personally. Dont blame and harbour toxic emotions. It will only hold you back. Let it add fuel to the fire. Envision

the future and maintain your focus.

As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom. I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison. ~Nelson Mandela

4. Never give up. Be confident. Ask for what you want. Purpose in your heart that you

will keep fighting for your dreams. How many times will you try before you decide to

give up? This is your dream and you have to protect it. I try every door until I have

exhausted all options and yet I dont give up. Once there is a will, there is always way and I am determined to find it!

"You've only got three choices in life: Give up, give in, or give it all you've got. Unknown.

5. Be Patient - F or everything there is a time and season. The waiting period can be

the most difficult but it's important to not let doubt and fear creep in.

No matter how great the talent or efforts, some things just take time. You can't produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant ~Warren Buffett

6. Have a strong support network. You cant do it alone. There are days when it becomes too much for you. You may need a little help to get back up.

Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see the greatness within you. ~Edmund Lee

7. Have faith that things will work out. Some things are out of your control. I trust that

God will take me through those difficult moments and that gives me peace even when

things don't go my way. Faith is like the radar that sees through the fog ~Corrie Ten Boom

Additionally, as my grandmother would always say, Make books your friends! It opens your mind to new possibilities and helps you learn from the experience of others.

The saddest state a person can reach is mental slavery. They have already given up. Everyday I counsel individuals and I wish I could make them believe in themselves, but I cant. They will have to remove the shackles for themselves. This is your life! Dont let anyone else write your story. Take back the pen and make a great ending!

"None can destroy iron but its own rust can. Likewise, none can destroy a person, but his own mindset can" ~Ratan Tata.

NEXT WEEK ARTICLE

1. Read the article at home

2. Highlight your new words, be ready to share in class

3. Which paragraph or words you do not understand?

4. Submit a 1/2 page summary, 2 short paragraph.

5. Be also ready to share 1. Summarized this article (60 seconds)

2. What did you learn?

3. What you dont agree with?

4. How this article can or will change you and your classmates ?

An open conversation about 'Thainess'The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand finally tries

to uncover the truth behind the propaganda18 Jun 2015

We live in Thailand. We speak Thai. We eat Thai food. We have Thai manners. But do we know what so-called Thainess is? And can we see how "Thainess" has evolved over time?

This is a perennial problem that marks a battleground for competing definitions and ideologies. Last week the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand hosted a panel discussion with five speakers engaged in this familiar yet ambiguous topic: What is Thainess? The five speakers presented contemporary as well as official views surrounding Thai culture, politics andidentity. The speakers were Darunee Thamapodol from the Ministry of Culture; Chattan Kunjara Na Ayutthaya from the

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT); Philip Cornwel-Smith, a long-time Bangkok resident; Somtow Sucharitkul, the Thai novelist and composer who likes to place Thai elements into Western art forms; and political science lecturer Pitch Pongsawatfrom Chulalongkorn University.

The TAT earlier this year launched the "Discover Thainess" campaign to promote tourism, with an emphasis on the traditional aspects of what Thailand is. Chattan, TAT's executive director of Advertising and Public Relations said: "Thainess is a distinctive characteristic that lies at the heart of the national and cultural identity of Thai people. To convey Thainess, especially to foreigners, is a challenging task, so we have defined seven areasthat we are promoting to the foreign target market: Thai food, Thai arts, Thai ways of life, Thai wisdom, Thai wellness, Thai festivity and Thai fun. This, in a nutshell, is how the TAT has defined Thainess. Next year, we are going to delve deeper, with stories that play on Thai words; for instance, is it a 'good plate of phad thai' you are having, or is it a 'yum'? There's a funny and interestingstory behind everything."

An open conversation about 'Thainess'In contrast, Pitch, the political science lecturer, views Thainess through the different lens of cultural politics. He also agrees with Chattan that Thainess characterises Thai people's identity.

'Thainess is the way we explain ourselves. It's the issue of identity. The way people try to present themselves as being normal ina situation where they are not very normal is also very Thai. You can learn the way Thai people keep the meanings and the waythey tell you the things they are not allowed to say.

On the other hand, Somtow gave a totally different opinion on the meaning of Thainess. He explained the ideology of Thainessthrough Thai food. "Everything that is Thai can be summed up in a simple plate of yum a Thai salad. The most important thing about Thai salad is that each ingredient maintains its individuality. Some ingredients are crispy. Some are mushy and they are all together on the same plate at the same time. When you eat it, you enjoy every single flavour simultaneously even when they may contradict each other. Many cuisines are all about blending everything beautifully into a smooth sauce, but Thai cuisine is aboutco-existing and being together, despite differences.

The concept of Thainess seems to be tangled with other ideas, such as nationalism and stereotypes. Cornwel-Smith, author of the book Very Thai, which explores the meaning of Thai culture through small everyday elements, commented on how the stereotypical idea of Thainess is overstated. Some parts of the culture that Thais claim to be rare and unique, he said, are actually shared with many other cultures. "When I went to Bali, I saw people sawadeeand do the wai when they greet. There's nothing unique about that whole thing, yet Thai people present it at the airport and tourist brochures as something specifically Thai."

Somtow added: "Everybody in my mother's generation said saying sawadee was very lower class and the older Thais tend to not say it; instead we should really wai. Actually, the word sawadee was invented by the government because it was thought to be something cool. How could something become so Thai in only three generations?

Is Thainess something fixed in time or evolutionary? The panellists agreed that they noticed a huge change in Thainess over time. Cornwel-Smith noticed that there are more Thai girls and boys today who are intimate in public something that used to be a social taboo.

An open conversation about 'Thainess'He also noticed that the changes sometimes occurred through necessity and a growing relationship between Thailand and the world.He raised the case of Thai herbs as an example: "When I came to Thailand, all the talk surrounding herbalism highlighted that it was under mortal threat. Then along came the economic crash in 1997, and the country could no longer afford foreign things. It was the best thing that could have happened as the crash made Thailand reassess its own internal assets and resources to come up with ideas. Now herbalism has become an integral part of the spa industry in Thailand.Pitch pointed out the changes within Thainess in terms of Thai food: "When you question what has actually changed in the past twenty years, I think the Thai food culture has changed a lot. Now, If I really want to have Thai food, I have to go to Thai town in LA. It's the taste that I'm familiar with from 20 years ago. The Thai food in LA is more authentic than the Thai food on Sukhumvit."Thai food is undergoing many changes, and the authenticity of Thai food outside Thailand has been better preserved. Somtow pinpointed a disconnect with the past as being a reason that leads Thai society to undergo changes every two decades:

"Kids have no idea what happened 20 years ago. My students don't even know who Hitler was. And I think that in order to solve all problems that we talked about, we must reconnect with our past. But perhaps most importantly, Pitch explained that the key that will lead Thai people to unity is being ready to accept different ideas on Thainess.

"You can do whatever you like, and claim that it's Thai. You just have to justify it. I have enjoyed witnessing how Lin Ping, the first giant panda born in Thailand in 2007 has now become a part of the local craft of Chiang Mai and is claimed as one of its greatestattractions," he said.

"I think we should open the space not only the physical space that people can try something, but also in terms of having an open conversation about Thainess. It should be okay to say this is Thai, and this is also Thai."

WORLD POPULATION VS. LANGUAGES

7102 LANGUAGES IN WORLDONLY 23 WITH +50M USERS

TOP 23 MOST SPOKEN LANGUAGES (+50M)

MOST POPULAR LANGUAGESBEING LEARNED IN THE WORLD

DISTRIBUTION OF LIVING LANGUAGES USED AS 1ST LANGUAGE IN

60 COUNTRIES