The Whistlers of Mexico (2)

The Chinantec lifestyle 
Over 104,000 Chinantec people live in northern Daxasa, Mexico, mostly in small villages where their traditional languages are spoken. Some temporarily move to Mexico city to work but most return home afterward. Most Chinantecs farm maize and beans. They also produce coffee, timber and chili peppers as well as pottery and baskets. Most of them no longer wear traditional clothing except on special occasions, but they may make and sell it.

The whistled language is mostly used by men, and while women usually can interpret it, they don't "speak" it.

A threatened lifestyle 
Chinantec whistling has ancient roots, but can it survive in a changing world? Modern inventions like cellphones are replacing whistling as a form of long-distance communication. And the Chinantec languages themselves may be in danger. As Spanish becomes more and more prevalent, even within Chinantec communities, some fear that traditional languages will disappear. Linguists are studying this unique and fascinating language while they have the chance. Yet they hope that Chinantec whistles will fly over the mountains for years to come.

Info Cloud
Teaching Topic: Quantifiers

Quantifiers are, as the name suggests, words that express the quantity of something.
They're different from numbers in that they don't give a precise amount, they're approximate.

Some of the most common quantifiers are "all," "some," "much," and "most."

And quantifiers normally come before nouns.
In today's lesson, our author writes, "Most Chinantecans farm maize and beans."
"Most" is the quantifier here, and it modifies the noun Chinantecan.
And so, we learn that not all Chinantecans are farmers who raise maize and beans.

Quantifiers can sometimes act as pronouns, though.
Let's look back to the previous sentence for an example.

OK. In it we read, "Some temporarily move to Mexico City to work, but most return home afterward."
Here, the quantifiers, "some" and "most," are acting as pronouns.

OK. Finally, we should know that certain quantifiers only work for certain kinds of nouns.

Right. The quantifier "most," for example, works for both uncountable nouns, like maize, and countable nouns, like beans.

Others, like "a little," work only with uncountable nouns: a little maize.

Well, other quantifiers, like "each," work only with countable nouns: each bean.

Now, the best way to keep quantifiers straight: practice.

quantifier n.數量詞、量詞
1. 代表大約的數量
such as "all", "some", "much", "most", "a little", "each", "any", "a lot of"...etc.
2. 量詞有時可當代名詞
- Some temporarily move to Mexico city to work but most return home afterward.
some, most 都是代名詞
3.a little只可用來修飾不可數名詞
- There is a little time left.
4.each可修飾可數名詞
- My technique improved with each lesson.

Language Lab
temporarily adv.暫時地、短暫地
/ˌtɛmpəˈrerəli/
continuing for a limited amount of time : not permanent
- Sherry is staying with her sister temporarily, and then she will get her own place.
Sherry現在暫時和妹妹住，然後她會找自己的住處
temporary adj.
/ˈtɛmpəˌreri/
- Timothy needs a temporary job to earn money for his tuition.
Timothy需要一份暫時的工作來賺取學費

chili pepper 墨西哥紅蕃椒
a small pepper with a very hot flavor —called also chili pepper
- Daniel loves to put chopped up chili peppers on his pizza.
Daniel喜歡在他的披薩上放切碎的紅番椒
red pepper 紅辣椒
a hot pepper that is red and that is added to food to make it spicy ; also [noncount] : cayenne pepper
- The chef used some red peppers to decorate the dish.
主廚用紅辣椒來裝飾這道菜

prevalent adj.普遍的、盛行的
/ˈprɛvələnt/
- Addiction to computer games is prevalent among teens.
沉迷電腦遊戲在青少年中是常見的
prevalence n.
/ˈprɛvələns/
[noncount] formal — usually + of
- The campaign fights against the prevalence of smoking among young people.
這個宣傳活動就是要遏止年輕人抽菸的普遍問題

fascinating adj.迷人的、極好的
/ˈfæsəˌneɪtɪŋ/
very interesting or appealing
-The plot of the hit movie was so fascinating that a lot of viewers went back to see it a second time.
這部電影的情節太棒了，因此許多觀眾回來看第二次
- The fascinating view of the lake captured our eyes.
這座湖泊的美景吸引我們的視線
 fascinate v.
/ˈfæsəˌneɪt/
to cause (someone) to be very interested in something or someone [+ obj]

The Whistlers of Mexico (1)

For the Chinantec people, whistling is a language
對奇南特克人而言，吹口哨是一種語言

If you find yourself in Mexico's Sierra Madre del Sol mountains, listen for a whistle floating across the rugged peaks. Then listen for an answer - you may overhear a conversation in a rare and unusual language.

For centuries, the Chinantec people have lived in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. They established villages and planted crops on the steep slopes. But the rough landscape made travel - and communication - difficult.

Shouting over the mountains can strain one's voice, but whistling does not. So some Chinantecs developed a language composed entirely of whistles. It can express almost every word in their spoken language. Some scholars think this form of communication dates back to the time of the first languages. Chinantecs use different styles of whistling at different distances. The shortest is used face to face.

A median-range style can be heard up to 200 meters away. And for long-distance communication, they place their fingers in their mouths and let out a piercing whistle. In some circumstances, it can be heard over a Kilometer away.


Grammar Gym
find yourself: you are
- If you find yourself in Mexico's Sierra Madre del Sol mountains...
- If you find yourself wondering what the tour guide is saying please don't hesitate to ask for clarification.
- After studying chemistry for two years, Dennis found himself feeling bored in his classes.


Info Cloud
Oh, I am so close.

Huh... so close to what, Ken?

Well, I'm trying to make an anagram, using the words "Chinantecan whistlers."

And, what have you got so far?

"When a rich cat listens," but that doesn't make sense.
Plus, I have an extra 'n' I don't know what to do with.

Hmm... keep trying.
Friends, an anagram is a type of word play.
You make one by rearranging the letters in a word or phrase to produce an altogether new word or phrase.

Now the tricky part is each letter from the original word or phrase may only be used once.

And, it needs to make sense.
Anagrams have been around for centuries.
They've been used by scientists and diplomats to create secret messages.
They've been used by psychiatrists to test patients' memories.
But, mostly anagrams have been used for fun.

The best anagrams have in some way a connection with the original work.
For example, "dormitory" can be turned into "dirty road."
See the connection?

Good one, how about the anagrams "two plus eleven" and "one plus twelve?"
Not only do both use the same letters, they give the same mathematical result, thirteen.

anagram n.變位詞(組)
將一個單字裡的字母或片語拆開，重新排列組合成另一個單字或片語
such as： tea --- eat (重新排列成eat)
dormitory 重新排列成 dirty room


Language Lab
overhear v.偶然聽到、無意中聽到、偷聽
to hear (something that was said to another person) by accident [+ obj]
- The patient overheard the doctors discussing his condition.
這位病人無意中聽到醫生們在討論他的病情
- Gina intentionally stood close to the judges to overhear the results of the contest.
Gina故意站著離評審很近，想要偷聽比賽結果

establish v.建立、設立
to begin or create (something that is meant to last for a long time)
- The charitable organization was established by a group of teachers.
這個慈善機構是由一群老師所建立的
establishment n.建立；企業、機構
a place or organization where people live or do business
- The food chain is a well organized establishment.
那個餐廳連鎖企業非常的有組織

be + composed of 由某些事物(人)組成的
- The band is composed of top musicians.
這個樂團是由頂尖的樂手組成的
- Her diet was composed of mainly vegetables and chicken breasts..
她的餐飲主要是由蔬菜和雞胸肉所組成的

circumstance n.情況、環境、境遇
the conditions that affect a situation, action, event etc:
- Under the circumstances, we have to cut our expenses as much as possible.
就目前情況而言，我們必須盡量減少開銷
- Under no circumstances will we agree to sell our store.
在任何情況下，我們都不會賣掉我們的店