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« Team Kingston in Paris | Main | Dissertation Defense: Anne-Michelle Tessier»

Report from Heather from Pakistan

UMass Amherst Linguistics BA Heather Walts is now living and working in Pakistan. She's been sending reports to WHISC. Here is here latest; we're pround to be able to feature these items:

I've had a crazy three months of my passport being taken, leaving a job, overstaying my visa, waiting five weeks for an official type paper to be sent from one city to another to remedy the visa, spending time in the northern areas where the internet was so slow it was not worth using, and am finally back and settling in Lahore after collecting my things from the six various houses I had left them at! Whew, life in Pakistan. Now I'm running self-designed teacher training workshops including, "Strategies for Building Fluency," "Linguistics for Communicative Learning," "Introduction to English Phonology," and "Integrative Language and Culture in the Classroom." I'm also teaching "LIP," - the Language Improvement Program for in-service teachers. Our slogan is "not just lip service, we get results.".

Language learning here is almost entirely based on literature, as in any higher education in language. Punjab University has just started a Linguistics program, but a far as I know there are not many others in the country. The teachers are enjoying the workshops, and they LOVE drawing syntax trees and using IPA symbols. Hey, it's a start! These English teachers need to know why rote memorization is a thing of the past. Any graduates who don't know what to do next year? You're always welcome to come join me in Lahore. I'll make sure nobody takes your passport and you don't overstay your visa....besides now I know all the immigration officers and how things are supposed to work. Supposed to being the key words.

Here's a short article written in April with the intention of sending it to WHISC.

MotherTongue

At the end of March I was invited to take part in a Christian event happening in the nearby city of Sialkot. I didn't expect to be doing anything on the platform as it was my first time meeting the ministry team, but after one day they had decided that I must sing a worship song, in Punjabi. If you know me you know I like to sing and have led worship at many churches in New England, but here there were two problems. One, I don't speak or understand Punjabi, and two there were 13,000 people attending the event! I had been studying Urdu, which is the national language, but most people in my area speak Punjabi as their first language. I am living in the Punjab after all.

I suggested, why don't I sing a song in English with one of the other Americans? Someone else could translate it into Punjabi either before or after the song. No, no, I must sing in Punjabi so the people would understand.

I spent hours just learning the chorus, which was written out for me in Urdu script. Thankfully, Punjabi and Urdu are related languages, both being in the Indo-Aryan family. The children of the family were my best teachers, mostly because their continual amusement at the "ghori" (foreign girl) trying to sing in their language led to a supernatural amount of patience.

As the time for me to sing drew near I looked out at the sea of people. I nervously made sure my scarf was securely over my head (Christian women here cover their heads while praying or in worship) and looked again at my handwritten song sheet. As Pastor Anwar introduced me I walked up to the mic dressed in my purple shalwar kameez and having been decked out by the church ladies with colorful bangles and golden shoes. Ladies are very shoe conscious here, and my fashion never seems to measure up where the footwear is concerned. My priority is comfort and making sure I don't fall off the stage, whereas they usually have a pair of shoes for each outfit and a few others to spare.

I greet my fellow worshipers in Urdu, "Salaam bahine aur bhaiyo! Aap log thik hai?" (Salaam sisters and brothers. You people are fine/good?) Then the music starts, i look to Pastor Anwar for my cue. I don't feel like I'm worshiping God, I feel like I'm part of some anthropological experiment and am unsure of the results. As my cue comes, I put all my thoughts aside and start to sing.

"Hath chuke ke mang dua, Yesu teri, choli bar de ga..."
*Lift up your hands in praise, for Jesus provides your needs
(Translation from pastor, remember I don't speak Punjabi!)

The worshipers go crazy. They are praising like I haven't seen them praise. Men and women are dancing, in their separate groups of course. The group of pastors and elders bust out dancing on the stage. The people are so excited. We are one. We are united in our worship. I can sing in their native language.
"Hath chuke ke mang dua, yesu teri, choli bar de ga!"
When I sing about lifting up our hands in praise I lift my hands, showing the people that I understand the words. I never sang in front of so many people before! We sing the chorus over and over and over.

Two months later I retured to the same city. Everywhere I went people started singing the song. Yes, now it's started to drive me crazy to the point that I can barely bring myself to endure singing it any longer. But when I see the sparkle in their eyes as I start to sing, I am willed to start that now familiar tune. There is something about the power of worship in one's mothertongue. There is something about being willing to put in the effort to join in with these brothers and sisters that makes me want to learn more songs so I can lift up my voice and sing sing sing.

For languages of Pakistan and more information on either Udru or Punjabi

July 27, 2006 12:08 AM | 04:18 (2006-07-27) , alums , undergrad news