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From: ARAYA KASSA (ktaraya@shaw.ca)
Date: Sat Nov 06 2010 - 22:44:05 EST
Selamat,
I would like to bring your attention, to those who are interested that is, to a topic that is close and dear to my heart – tgriNa grammar. It is frustrating and sometimes disheartening not to be able to find a decent book on the subject. The oft mentioned handful or less books are decades old, have been out of print for decades, and could not be found anywhere in Asmara. Every book or booklets that I lay my hands on that profess to enhance the written language are generally not comprehensive and hardly mention or build upon materials written before them. Thus when I came across the articles and discussions (or tug-of-war) that is going on through Haddas-ertra on tgriNa grammar courtesy of the prime mover Amare Weldeselassie, I was elated.
This post is just to inform and not intended for a threaded discussion, here in dehai, of the articles on Haddas-ertra but I would like to thank and encourage Amare for his tenacity and coolness in engaging the rebuttals that come from various angles. May be in the name of eye catching or thought provoking, the chosen titles of the articles have becoming topics in and by themselves. I would have preferred, for documenting and referencing purposes, if the title and topic would stay focused on the main substance of the original article but nonetheless I am enjoying them, better than none at all. The written history of the language and its dissemination to the masses is very much a recent phenomenon compared to the age of the spoken language. My gut feeling is that this gap and its consequence is the root cause of the disagreements on the syntax of the language that is being manifested. Besides Amare and the other contributors such as Tekie Tesfai, the author of the authentic Tigrigna Dictionary, Yemaneberhan, and Tumzghi, I would also like to thank Haddas-ertra for being the medium and the MOI’s website (http://www.shabait.com/haddas-ertra) for making the paper accessible online.
My personal primary focus is on Tigrigna as a Second Language (TSL) for children in the Diaspora. I am engaged in developing age- and context-appropriate teaching materials and teaching my own kids. For those who are interested, have a peek at a sample at my website (http://araya.chorwong.com). Also, for those who are interested at higher level on the ongoing discussion in Haddas-ertra and have no access to them or missed them, I will post the link and the articles on my website sometime in the near future.
selam,
--Araya
ktaraya@shaw.ca
Calgary, AB