Our catch phrase is on its way.
Dear Fellow Earthlings,
In my most recent session with G (on September 22, 2015), I let her know that I have been able to go up to “Worksheet 50-2” for the Seneca GaEnO’ (Jingles) and am prepared with a good general outline about what forms they will take.
I then told her she needed a picture of “what is to come”. We picked up from “dewashE:h sga:d (21) koh neh (hyphen) sga:d (1) wadO’ta’ (Worksheet) and worked our way through all the way up to wis niwashE:h koh neh dekhni:h (50-2) wadO’ta’.
We covered dewashE:h sga:d (21) koh neh sga:d wadO’ta’, which consisted of my asking her various questions – and those questions turned out to be EXTREMELY ESSENTIAL.
Just to give you one example, I had entered the gesture “dE’h go:wa:h saya’dA gO:Oje!” which I had thought conveyed the meaning
“Words that sound similar but have different meanings” – but which G told me meant “Why are you late?” …!
Such are the trials and tribulations of HadenOhSyOniS (“The guy who comes up with Jingles”), which is my Seneca name, bestowed on me by G.
As we made various adjustments to the worksheets, G said that each sound of Seneca has to be developed correctly – and suddenly I realized more than ever how great a task it is trying to save a dying entity!
“We are trying to pet a flower with bear paws.” as we seek to bring OnOndowa’ga:’ (known in English as “Seneca”) back…. This was my way of describing our task to G.
G and I went back to an earlier time – and the words began to flow forth, words describing 8-year-old G’s fear of snakes and her father’s words of wisdom:
“aso nA chi iksa’a: da’ni wa’akh nih ‘o’jogyo ta dos o no sO. da jo ogesa gacho’ ni ges ha niske se’osaista’ da ne wachowi jinggo wase:da oshaista’da: neh neh nAso Asi sigwaosE danangg osge’ Ooya’ko. dajo desnE kana oge:ye ja nenAne soda joh’Onyedes osgawagO o’skada’ wEnyeh.”
One English translation for this would be:
“When my father and I used to walk in the woods together, I used to always be afraid of snakes. And he told me one time that all I need to say is “Go away and don’t ever come near me again!”. And so the next time I saw a snake, I said that -- and then, after that, I wasn’t afraid any more of snakes when I walked in the woods.”
We wrapped up our session promising each other to work diligently on our respective homework assignments. The September 22nd session ended on a high note. Unlike in European cultures, the Seneca people see autumn not as a prelude to winter, but rather as a colorful season and a time to be thankful for good harvests – and delicious squash!
Steve Walker Earthsaver and Jingles Creator
© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.