MEDFOHD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFOHP, OREGON
Translators Bring Christianity, Written
(Edilor'i Nolt: Indiana
publlihtr "Sam" Lambert
Hulfman recanlly spani sv
aral dayi in tha wildi of
Mexico living with Wyclifla
Translators who ara trying
to learn the language of re
mote tribes so they can
bring Christianity to them
in the Indian's previously
unwritten tongue. In this
dispatch, he tells how the
translators work and live,
and how automo' now
kelps them in their' job.)
B7
'SAM' LAMBERT
HUFFMAN
Written for UPI
Three women live in a mud
hut 110 miles north of Mexico
City in a dusty, century plant
dotted desert where they can
work with an Indian tribe
that lives in hidden hogans.
On their roush-he-vn table
are books on plionemics, the
science of converting sounds
into an alphabet; morphology,
the study of hnw words are
made; syntax, the study of
sentence structure; and liter
acy, how to teach people to
rcfld.
The women - Ethel Wallis,
Nancy Lanier of Santa Bar
bara, Calif., and Patricia Cow
an of Waco, Tex. - are Wy
cliffe Translators, a non-denominational
croup of lin
guists dedicated to giving un
lettered peoples around the
world a written language.
Ethel, Nancy and Pat live
In Tetzu - a town that on first
glance doesn't seem to exist.
Hidden Indians
"1 know you can't see jl,
hut the huts are camouflaged
by these huge ce..tury plants,"
Nancy explained. "Within
half a mile of us there are
over 300 Indians. The entire
tribe of over 80.000 lives
within a hundred miles of us."
Until the three women ar
rived, the Indians could not
write or read their own lan
guage. Now they are taking
the first step toward learn
ing. Kitty Pride, whose dark
eyes sparkled might have
been an ordinary Englifh
housewife. Kitty is English,
but her concern at the mo
ment was not housewifery.
Sitting across from her at
the Wycliffe translation cen
ter in Mexico City was a
young Chinanlec Indian wear
ing a bright blue shirt.'
Beside the Indian stood Kit
ty's husband, Leslie, a thin,
scholarly lookin,; young man.
"Tell him, lez-ly," Kitty
said, "to illustrate the tonal
ending? on the word 'cuno'."
Meaning Change
Leslie turned and quickly
repeated her instructions to
the Indian, who, understand
ing, repeated the word five
times.
"It will no doubt surprise
you." Kitty said, "to know
that Pedro has expressed five
different ideas. Now listen
again, carefully, as he
speaks."
All five prounciatlons of
the word "cuno" still rounded
the same. "What did he say?"
I asked.
"The first time, snake, the
second time, load, the third
lime, thief, and the fourth
time, mirror. The fifth time
was 'he will cry'."
Pedro repeated the word.
"Now watch his endings, In
almost a whisper he gives the
last syllable of 'cuno' a mu-si-ral
ending. We have discover
ed that his language has sort
of a five tone scale for this
very purpose," Kitty said.
Rules Emerge
"How one word has come
to mean all these widely di
verse tilings we do not know,"
till!1!
Z CORNER
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NEAR PLANE Lacondon Indians from
primitive Mexican tribe stand next to a
plane at Lake Naja airstrip. Plane is one
used by Wycliffe Translators, who visit
she added, "but rules lor use
of these various tonal endings
are slowly emerging."
Dr. Bob Longacre of Akron,
Ohio, director of Wycliffe's
language center, said that in
Mexico alone there are more
than 100 languages that have
no alphabet, cannot be writ
ten or read. In the world, he
added, there are perhaps
5.000 different languages
with fewer than 1,200 of these
having been rec'ueed to writ
ing. Because of the job remain
ing to ' done, he said, Wy
cliffe Translators seek ways
to hurry their work.
Use of Computers
"For instance. Bill Mary
field, who is with us here, is
using electronic computers to
develop language formulae. I
really think that our hopes lie
in finding the basic language
from which all these languag
es emanate," Longacre said.
He said he believed the un
written languages of Mexico
might all spring from a com
mon root called Otomancu
ean, just as 'he so-called Ro
mance languages stemmed
from Latin, By 1964. Long
acre said, he hoped the root
to all unwritten Central
American languages might be
found.
Another timrravcr now
used is bringing translators to
Mexico City when they have
collected enough dat; for sub
stantial attacks on breaking
down the spoken language. In
the translation center, Long
acre said, they ha j the facil
ities and more time.
"Once we have begun to an
alyze and set down our find
ings, we simply can't afford
WOUDS that COMFORT Jl
HA
Thy word is a lamp
unto my feet,
and alight
unto my path.
. PSALM 119:103
PERL
FUHERAL HOME
SIXTH AND OAKDALE
Spacious Parking Lot
U f r-ro'plv rf
pond to nil mill,
thy or nifht.
INVITATION
the interruptions that occur In
village livin. ," he said. "So it
is our plan to bring transla
tors and their informants in
here three months at a time
once each year."
Daily life with a tribe per
haps less than a decade away
from savagery does cut into
the translators' main work.
The translators set up hospi
tals, schools and churches
MacLaren School
Escapees Caught
Albany - WPP - Two teen
age members of the MacLaren
School for Boys Drum and
Bugle Corps dashed away
from their group during the
Rose Festival Parade in Port
land Saturday in an escape
bid that was stopped on the
U.S. 09 freeway near here.
State police wounded one
of the boys from Coquille, in
the shoulder after a high
speed auto chase. He was in
good condition in Sacred
Heart hospital in Eugene. The
other boy, from Eagle Point,
was returned to the school.
Police said the boys took
a car in Portland and headed
south on the U.S. 09 freeway.
State police picked up the
car at the Halsey interchange
and chased it at "high speed."
Two other police cars joined
the chase and when they blew
their sirens to pull the boys
over, their car veered across
the median strip and contin
ued south in the northbound
lane. A police car followed,
and police fired a shot
through the rear window of
the fleeing car, hitting the Co
quille youth.
The shooting occurred near
the Coburg Interchange.
HORSE DAMAGES CAR
Livingston, N.J. -- (1IPD - Wil
liam Raab was leading his
horse to water Saturday when
the bay mare bolted and
jumped onto the hood of a
passing car. Neither horse nor
passengers were injured, but
the car was damaged and
Raab was charged with letting
an animal run at large.
Money From
LOANS TO S1S00
CRATER FINANCE t
S 135 FINE CVSR 664-1273 g
tribes, learn languages, and bring Christian
ity to them In Indians' previously unwritten
tongue. (UPI)
whenever possible. Often they
are called on to give technical
help or serve a: an arbitor in
an inter-tribe dispute.
It is not an easy life, but
one which the translators say
is most rewarding. And. there
is no other way to study un
written languages.
Airplanes and radio com
munications now make trans
lators' jobs easier. For exam
ple, a trip that takes four days
by foot and canoe through the
rain forests takes but 20 min
utes by plane.
In Mexico City, I talked
with Paul Carlson whose
tribe, the Tarahumaras, lives
only 500 miles south of the
U.S. border yet is so cut off
that only a few adventurers
and loggers have ever seen
them.
Paul, who attended the
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) and Har
vard and worked for a while
on the U.S. Atlas long-range
rocket, told me he was eager
to get back to his tribe despite
the day-to-day hardships.
He explained:
"All the money in the
world couldn't buy the Joy I
find in working with the Tar
ahumaras. There are 100,000
of them spread like icing on a
cake over mountains 10,000
feet high and canyons deeper
than the Grand Canyon. They
cover an area 100 miles in
diameter and are eagerly
waiting for us to teach them
to read and write In their own
language."
Degrees Conferred
On Medford Couple
Eugene - Mr. and Mrs. Don
ald Walkcn of Medford each
received bachelor of science
degrees from the University
of Oregon in commencement
exercises recently.
Mrs. Walken is the daugh
ter of Mrs. Esther Newcomb,
Talent.
The 19B2 class was the larg
est group to receive degrees
in the university's 86-year-old
history. Degrees were con
ferred on 2.031 candidates, in
cluding 1,677 from the Eu
gene campus and 264 at the
university medical school in
Portland.
Crater Finance
Is Like
MONEY
FROM
HOME!
HOME OWNED i OPERATED
An Unlovable Instrument
Professor Describes the Human Nose
As a 'Wonderful Piece of Machinery'
By DICK WEST
Washington-HTIi-In this day
and age, you rarely run
across anyone who has any
thing good to say about the
human nose.
By and large, we have
come to regard the nose as
an unpleasant connotation,
ly large.
Furthermore, the word
'smell" has for most of us
an unplesant connotation. !
This is what makes Dr.
James W. Johnston, associate i
professor of physiology at the j
Georgetown University
School of Medicine, such an
unusual man.
For the past several years.
Dr. Johnston has been mak
ing a study of the human
sense of smell, and he is pro
nose all the way.
Any disparagement of the
olfactory organ is to Dr. John
ston deplorable, for he is
convinced that the nose is a
wonderful piece of machin
ery. Talked With Doctor
I had a nasal type chat
with the good doctor at the
opening of an exhibit set up
here by Schenley Industries.
The exhibit is called "Scent-A-Rama,"
otherwise,known as
the "whiffskcy test."
The purpose of the demon
stration is to show how aging
improves the smell of whisky,
and how the smell, in turn,
improves the taste. Somehow
I got the impression that
Schenley is in the whisky
business.
Personally, I am inclined
to think that the effect of the
aging process on whisky is
not as important as the effect
of the whisky on the aging
process of wnisKy nnnKors.
But we needn't get into that.
Back to Mr. Johnston.
He and I fell into a disrus-
Pastor Is Delegate
To Church Session
The Rev. Clarence Jackson,
minister of Pilgrim Holiness
church, Central Point, attend
ed the general conference of
the church in Winona Lake,
Ind., as the official delegate
to the conference represent
ing the Pacific Northwest dis
trict. The session starled June 12
and continued through Mon
day. Sat your favnrila
Electrical Lemma
L
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sion as to why smelling is less
popular than the other four
senses. Dr. Johnson said it I
was because most people don't I
smell well.
11 is wrong, however, to
hold the nose responsible for
this. We have only ourselves
to blame.
Nose More Sensitive
According to Dr. Johnston.
the olfactory organ actually is
more sensitive than the hu-i
man eye. If it seems dull and
lifeless, it is because we abuse
it and neglect it.
We constantly exercise our
sight, hearing, touch and taste,
while letting our sense of
smell, go to pot. Many of us
MONDAY AND TUESDAY
COMPLETE
B10W1T0I
SET FOR 4
Include! 2 metal poiti, 2 birdies, poll frjpportt, 4 rac
quiti and officii! ruli in attractivg carrying cait
1 DOWNTOWN STORE f 1
iiMiiSiriu ill
CalOn
Jcaler.
MONDAY, JUNE IS,
Language to
hasten its decline by using
our noses as smokestacks,
Under such conditions the
nose brings us little pleasure
We tend to regard it as mere
ly a pedestal for sunglasses,
except when we have a had
cold. Then we criticize it for
dripping so much.
But when properly develop
ed, the sense of smell is a
thing of beauty and a joy for-
ever.
Mine is a bit clogged at the
moment, but as soon as the
sinus passages drain I intend
to start a campaign to rehabil-
itate the nose and restore its
good name,
Dr. Johnston has convinced
me that smelling can he fun.
. c u
Don't give in. to summer heat and humidity I Convert your
home to the living comfort provided by a modern air con
ditioning unit. ..Sleep Better. ..Feel Better ...L:ve Better...
in the cool, filtered, dry air of an air-conditioned home this
summer and every summer.
Appliance Mrt -
Big Y Appliance Center
Feldman & OIon
Home Appliance Company
Johnston Storct
Leonard Electric Company
Modern Plumbing
Montgomery Ward & Co
Paulsen & Gates Thrift Market
Trowbridge Electric
Western Auto
Sears Roebuck
Lodge Wins GOP Spot
In Senate Contest
Worcester, Mass - ll'PP
George Cabot Lodge Saturday j
' ' Congressman !
tSZZ ZCU. I fnrIhi,S;
state Republican
convention endorsement for
the U.S. Senate.
Lodge, 34-ycar-old son of
former United States Ambas
sador Henry Cabot Lodge,
polled 936 votes to 848 for the
68 year - old congressman
on the first and only ballot.
BOATS , MOTORS
MUST GO
Before We Move to the Medford
Shopping Center!
We ara going to open our new store with new
1963 models. We're holding our clearance now
during the best boating season.
1 rvgt
The DEALS that we art making GUARANTEE a
complete SELLOUT right away. This is your chance
to make a REAL DEAL and get tha kind of outfit
that you will be proud of.
P14
Evinrude
Generous Trade-in Allowance
Convenient Terms
JOHNSTON STORES
112 South Riverside
ft.
772-4131
773. .3032
773-2811
773-5395
773-3619
773-4541
773-5368
773-7301
664-2283
773-6241
772-7301
772-6255
1362 J
Tribes
COMPLETES COURSE
Pvt. Carl A. Vanderpooi,
son of Mrs. Francis Vander
pooi, 827 Gilman rd.. Med-
ford recen1 completed th(,
flve.week 8lngle ePngine ob.
aon and utility "airplane
maintenance course at thn
j Army Aviation school, Ft.
1 Rucker, Ala. He entered the
Army last December and re
ceived basic training at Ft.
Ord, Calif., Vanderpooi,
1058 graduate of Crater High
school, attended Southern
Oregon college.
Dorsett
Mastcrcraft
Hotpoint
Wesfinghouie
Feddert
General Electric
RCA-Whirlpool
Frigidaire-Amana
Carrier
Wards Tru-Cold
Amana
Westinghouse
Wiiard
Kenmore
cJnJilcroiilunuiltJffilialiai nflkfCtuialUQunavLDittchj-