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(poster) Esperanto, Elvish, and Beyond: The World of Constructed Languages
What are Constructed Languages?
Many people are familiar with languages like English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Swahili, and German. Lesser-known languages include Basque, Georgian, Tibetan, Mohawk, Quechua, and Guguyimidjir. Some languages that are no longer spoken include Etruscan, Gothic, Gaulish, Tocharian, Hittite, Akkadian, and Ancient Egyptian. The one thing that all these languages share is that they all evolved naturally, arising organically within a group of people through various natural forces. No single person defined their vocabularies, designed their syntaxes, or deliberately decided to create them.
Of course, this is a continuum. Some languages (French, for example) are regulated by government bodies like l'Académie Française. Some (like Korean or Cherokee) have had writing systems created for them but otherwise have evolved naturally.
Constructed languages, or conlangs for short, stand at the other end of the spectrum: a single person (or a small group) defines the vocabulary, designs the syntax, and deliberately decides to create a language. Why would someone want to do this when there are so many "real" languages to learn? The reasons are legion: from the simple artistic desire to play with linguistic concepts to the obsession to provide the world with a universal language. Conlangers (those who construct languages) bring a myriad of skills, tastes, and goals to the art and craft of conlanging. Conlanging is a worldwide phenomenon practiced by people of all ages. It is hoped that this exhibit will provide a glimpse into the fascinating world of conlangs and those who take part in this art. As J.R.R. Tolkien may have said in Quenya: Á harya alassë! Enjoy!
(Top left) Invent a new language anyone can understand.
~ Lawrence Ferlinghetti, “Challenges to Young Poets” (excerpt)
(Top right) My language! heavens!
I am the best of them that speak this speech,
Were I but where 'tis spoken.
~ Shakespeare, The Tempest (Act I, Scene 2)
(middle left, quote only) La plus part des occasions des troubles du monde sont grammairiennes.
The greater part of the world’s troubles are due to disputes about grammar.
~ Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Book 2
(Middle, left w/photo) …language is not the frosting, it’s the cake.
~ Tom Robbins, “What is the Function of Metaphor?” Wild Ducks Flying Backward
(Middle, center) But language is wine upon his lips.
~ Virginia Woolf, Jacob’s Room
(Middle right) We shall never understand one another until we reduce the language to seven words.
~ Kahlil Gibran, Sand and Foam
(Middle left, quote only) ...und in irgend einer fernen Zukunft wird es eine neue Sprache, zuerst als Handelssprache, dann als Sprache des geistigen Verkehres überhaupt, für Alle geben, so gewiss, als es einmal Luft-Schifffahrt giebt.
...and in a future as far removed as one may wish, there will be a new language which will first serve as a means of business communication, later as a vehicle for intellectual relations, just as certainly as there will be some day travel by air.
~ Friedrich Nietzsche, “Anzeichen höherer und niederer Cultur,” Menschliches, Allzumenschliches (1876) (Nietzsche’s skeptical late-nineteenth-century prophecy of the possibility of both an international language and air travel.)
(Bottom) Language is a city to the building of which every human being brought a stone.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, Letters and Social Aims: Quotation and Originality
(Dr. Seuss) “In the places I go there are things that I see
“That I never could spell if I stopped with the Z.
“I’m telling you this ‘cause you’re one of my friends.
“My alphabet starts where your alphabet ends!
~Dr. Seuss, On Beyond Zebra!
(small rectangular disclaimer; place in one bottom corner of case please):
NOTE: Translations from The Bible (Genesis 11:1-9 (Tower of Babel text) and Genesis 6:6-7) should not be taken as an endorsement of any specific religion. The use of verses from The Bible for illustrative purposes is due to the prevalence of translations of this work across both time and languages.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
~ Noam Chomsky, Syntactic Structures (Chomsky cites this sentence as one which makes no semantic sense but can make grammatical sense.)
Thrift shop shorts, embellished with strips of repurposed apparel and machine stitching. The symbols are my son's design (which he is charging me to use).
I never realized how important words are... they can make you or break you. That's why I love photographing words. Language/communication is so important... words have the power to tell people you you are; they can represent or misrepresent. Lack of words can leave people in the dark or searching; too many words can leave people feeling overwhelmed. Words can be daggers to your heart or they can uplift your soul. It's important to tell people whom you care about how important they are in your lives and to effectively express to them specifically just what they mean to you.. always communicate to the fullest extent. Ask the important questions and also learn to listen and try not to hurt the ones you love with ugly words. Otherwise you might find that you lose the people who are most important in your life. I have learned this the hard way and it was not fun. Treat people the way you would want to be treated and at the end of the day --- hello, we are all only human, so forgive, forgive, forgive. Life is too short to do otherwise.
Brian Dettmer
Imagining Language,
2012,
Hardcover book, acrylic varnish, ink jet print, frame,
9-1/4” x 8-1/4” x 1-5/8” (book), 15-1/8” x 12-1/8” x 3/4" (framed print)
Image Courtesy of the Artist and Toomey Tourell Fine Art
We've recently adopted this English Language programme for school children, and are running demo lessons for local kids. This was the first.
Seine netting for breakfast on Four Mile Beach, Port Douglas. This bloke, his son and a mate had come down from Mareeba way for the long weekend at Port.
Description: First page of a photograph album from the Royal Normal College for the Blind, England. Handwritten note on page reads, "Prepared by and presented to Perkins Institution for the Blind by Lady Francis Campbell in memory of two pleasant years (1870-1872), spent in that Institution as teacher."
Creators:
Campbell, Sophia Faulkner, Lady, compiler, author
Date: circa 1893
Format: Photograph albums
Language/Script: Handwritten script label in English.
Subjects:
Campbell, Francis Joseph, Sir, 1834-1914
People who are blind–Education
Place of Origin: Norwood, Greater London, England
Historical Note: The Royal Normal College and Academy of Music for the Blind opened on March 1, 1872. It was started by Francis Joseph Campbell, former head of the Perkins music department, who was blind, and Thomas Armitage, a philanthropist, physician, and surgeon who closed his practice when he lost his sight. Campbell (1832-1914) was principal at the College from 1872-1912. The students were trained in social skills and preparation for careers. Teachers for the Royal Normal College and Academy of Music for the Blind were recruited from Perkins, many of them his former colleagues. Among the teachers who left Perkins to join the Royal Normal College were Mary Greene, Joel West Smith, and Sophia Faulkner (who would become Campbell’s second wife in 1875 after Mary’s death in 1873). Campbell retired in 1912. In 1909, Campbell became a naturalized British subject and was knighted by King Edward VII to honor his contributions to the education of the blind.
Source:
Coit, Susanna. “ Francis Joseph Campbell: Educator and advocate.” Perkins Archives Blog, Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA. January 20, 2022.
Biographical Note: Lady Sophia Faulkner Campbell (1849-1933), was a teacher at the Perkins School for the Blind. In 1875 she married Sir Francis Joseph Campbell, a Perkins Alumnus and co-founder of the Royal Normal College and Academy of Music for the Blind in England. She was one of the teachers Cambell had recruited from Perkins when starting the college and as his wife served as a partner in the management and work there, and was even considered a coprincipal at one time. She would contribute to research and discourse on teaching students who are blind, which have since been considered ahead of their time.
Source: Welsh, Richard L. " Sir Francis Joseph Campbell and his family: the first family in professional services for people who are blind or visually impaired." Re:view, vol. 39, no. 4, winter 2008, pp. 158+. Gale Academic OneFile. Accessed 8 July 2022.
Collection: Royal Normal College for the Blind, England
Series: Royal Normal College for the Blind photograph album
Extent: One 32 x 25 cm paper album page.
Physical Collection: AG13 Photograph Albums Collection
Location: Perkins Archives, Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA
Related materials:
Photograph of Lady Campbell, formerly Miss Sophia E. Faulkner on Perkins Archives Flickr.
Coit, Susanna. “ Francis Joseph Campbell: Educator and advocate.” Perkins Archives Blog, Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA. January 20, 2022.
Links to Royal Normal College for the Blind annual reports, 1873-1992 digitized on the Internet Archive.
Notes: Part of the Royal Normal College for the Blind photograph album. Digitized at the Boston Public Library and federally funded with LSTA funds through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners in 2012. Re-Digitized in 2022. Date supplied by cataloger and updated in October of 2022 from "no date" to circa 1893. Metadata was added and updated as part of a reparative work initiative, October 2022.
Terms of Access and Use: The Perkins Archives reserves the right to deny physical access to materials available in a digital format. No known copyright restrictions. This image is the property of Perkins School for the Blind and use of this image requires written permission. For more information, please visit Perkins.org/image-licensing.
Digital Identifier: AG13_03_introduction
Photo by Hiro Chang, Presidio of Monterey Public Affairs
The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center opened its doors to the public on May 15 for its annual Language Day event.
The event showcased the cultures of the different departmental languages being taught here through dance, skits and fashion shows.
Exhibits were also presented throughout the school grounds with local Monterey ethnic vendors selling their local cuisines to the customers.
Nearly 2,000 high school students and teachers attended Language Day.
Junagarh Fort (Rajasthani: जुनाग्द क़िला) is a fort in the city of Bikaner, Rajasthan, India. The fort was originally called Chintamani and was renamed Junagarh or "Old Fort" in the early 20th century when the ruling family moved to Lalgarh Palace outside the fort limits. It is one of the few major forts in Rajasthan which is not built on a hilltop. The modern city of Bikaner has developed around the fort.
The fort complex was built under the supervision of Karan Chand, the Prime Minister of Raja Rai Singh, the sixth ruler of Bikaner, who ruled from 1571 to 1611 AD. Construction of the walls and associated moat commenced in 1589 and was completed in 1594. It was built outside the original fort of the city, about 1.5 kilometres from the city centre. Some remnants of the old fort are preserved near the Lakshmi Narayan temple.
Historical records reveal that despite the repeated attacks by enemies to capture the fort, it was not taken, except for a lone one-day occupation by Kamran Mirza. Kamran was the second son of the Mughal Emperor Babur who attacked Bikaner in 1534, which was then ruled by Rao Jait Singh. In the battle, the Mughals were defeated by Rathors. Kamran then returned to Lahore.
The 5.28 hectares large fort precinct is studded with palaces, temples and pavilions. These buildings depict a composite culture, manifest in the mix of architectural styles.
GEOGRAPHY
Junagarh fort is located in the arid region of the Thar desert of Rajasthan bordered on the northwest by the Aravalli range, a range of mountains in western India. Part of the desert area is in Bikaner city, which is one of the three desert triangle cities; the other two cities are Jaisalmer and Jodhpur. The name of the place where Bikaner city with its forts was established was then known as Jungladesh.
HISTORY
Before the present Junagarh Fort was built, an old stone fort existed in the city. This fort was built in 1478 by Rao Bika who established the city of Bikaner in 1472. Rao Bika was the second son of Maharaja Rao Jodha of the Rathor clan, the founder of Jodhpur city. He conquered the large arid lands to the northern region of Rajasthan to set up his domain. As the second son of Jodha he had no chance of inheriting his father’s territory of Jodhpur or to the title of Maharaja. He, therefore, reconciled and decided to build his own kingdom at Bikaner at the place then called "Jungladesh". Bikaner, though a partly of the Thar Desert, was considered an oasis on the trade route between Central Asia and the Gujarat coast since it had adequate spring water sources. Bika’s name was thus tagged to the Bikaner city as well as to the then state of Bikaner (“the settlement of Bika”) that he established. The history of Bikaner and the fort within it thus start with Bika. It was only about 100 years later that Bikaner’s fortunes flourished under Raja Rai Singhji, the sixth ruler of Bikaner, who ruled from 1571 to 1611. During the Mughal Empire’s rule in the country, he accepted the suzerainty of the Mughals and held a high position of an army general in the court of Emperor Akbar and his son Emperor Jahangir. His successful war exploits by way of winning half of Mewar kingdom won him accolades and rewards from the Mughal emperors. He was gifted the jagirs (lands) of Gujarat and Burhanpur. With the large revenue earned from these jagirs, he built the Junagarh fort on a plain land, which has an average elevation of 230 m. The formal foundation ceremony for the fort was held on 17 February 1589 and the fort was completed on 17 January 1594. Raja Rai Singhji, was an expert in arts and architecture and the knowledge that he acquired during his several sojourns to several countries are amply reflected in the numerous monuments he built in the Junagarh fort. Thus the fort, a composite structure, became an outstanding example of architecture and a unique centre of art, amidst the Thar desert.
Karan Singh who ruled from 1631 to 1639, under the suzerainty of the Mughals, built the Karan Mahal palace. Later rulers added more floors and decorations to this Mahal. Anup Singh, who ruled from 1669–98, made substantial additions to the fort complex, with new palaces and the Zenana quarter (royal dwelling for females). He refurbished the Karan Mahal with a Diwan-i-Am (public audience hall) and called it the Anup Mahal. Gaj Singh who ruled from 1746 to 1787 refurbished the Chandra Mahal (the Moon palace). Following him, Surat Singh ruled from 1787 to 1828 and he lavishly decorated the audience hall (see picture in info box) with glass and lively paintwork. Dungar Singh who reigned from 1872 to 1887 built the Badal Mahal (the weather palace) named so in view of a painting of falling rain and clouds (a rare event in arid Bikaner). Ganga Singh who ruled from 1887 to 1943 built the Ganga Niwas Palace, which has towers at the entrance patio. This palace was designed by Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob.[10] Ganga Singh’s son Sadul Singh succeeded his father in 1943 but acceded to the Union of India in 1949. He died in 1950.
Bikaner came under the suzerainty of the British Raj under a treaty of paramountcy signed in 1818, where after the Maharajas of Bikaner invested heavily on refurbishing their Junagarh fort. However, during the 18th century, before this treaty was signed, there was internecine war between rulers of Bikaner and Jodhpur and also amongst other Thakur, which was put down by the British troops. It is reported that during the attack by Jodhpur army, of the two entrances to the fort (one in the east and the other in the west), the eastern entrance and the southern rampart were damaged; marks of cannonballs fired are seen on the southern façade of the fort.
Ganga Singh was the best-known king among the Rajasthan princes. A favourite of the British Raj, he earned the title of Knight Commander of the Star of India. He served as a member of the Imperial War Cabinet, represented the country at the Imperial First World War Conferences and the British Empire at the Versailles Peace Conference and was aware of the shift of fortunes in the World War II but died in 1943, before the war was won by the allies. His contribution to the building activity in Junagarh involved separate halls for public and private audience in the Ganga Mahal and a durbar hall for formal functions. The hall where he held his Golden Jubilee as a ruler of Bikaner is now a museum. He also got a new palace - north of Junagarh fort - designed and built by Swinton, the third of the new palaces built in Bikaner and named it Lalgarh Palace in the name of his father and shifted his residence from Junagarh fort to this palace in 1902. The royal family still lives in a special suite in the Lalbagh palace, which they have converted into a heritage hotel.
STRUCTURES
The structures built within the Junagarh fort are the palaces and temples, which are made of red sandstone (Dulmera) and marble. The palaces are described as picturesque with their assortment of courtyards, balconies, kiosks and windows. The fort, the temples and the palaces are preserved as museums and provide insight into the grandiose living style of the past Maharanas of Rajasthan. The fort is called “a paradox between medieval military architecture and beautiful interior decoration”.
OVERVIEW
The massive fort built in the plains of Bikaner has a rectangular (quadrangular) layout with a peripheral length of 986 m. The fort walls are 4.4 m wide and 12 m in height. It encompasses an area of 5.28 ha. It was surrounded by a moat which was 6.1–7.6 m deep with a base width of 4.6 m and top width of 9.1 m. However, the moat no longer exists. The fort is well fortified with 37 bastions (‘burj’ in local language) and seven gates (two are main gates) to counter enemy attacks. The fort was built as a “new stronghold” outside of the ruins of an old fort built by Rao Bika and on the periphery of the Bikaner city walls (1.5 kilometres from the city centre); the old fort was demolished a century after it was built.
The fort with seven gates contains several palaces, pavilions and many temples of Hindu and Jain religions - the earliest dated to the 16th century. A major feature of the fort is the stone carving done in red and gold coloured sandstones. The interiors of the palaces are decorated and painted in traditional Rajasthani style. The Junagarh palaces have a large number of rooms, as every king built his own separate set of rooms, not wanting to live in his predecessors’ rooms. These structures were considered as “at par with those of Louis’s France or of Imperial Russia”. Several types of architectural style are discerned in the fort complex and hence it is called a true depiction of composite culture. The earliest style is of Rajput architecture, defined by Gujarati and Mughal architectural influence reflecting the association with Mughal rulers, the second type is of semi-western architecture reflecting British influence, and finally the revivalists Rajput architecture that evolved particularly during the rule of Maharaja Ganga Singh. Only the most representative of all these architectural styles are on display for visitors. Thus, the unique monuments on display in the Junagarh Fort represent sixteen successive generations of the rulers of Bikaner, starting from the end of the 16th century.
GATES
While the main entry gate was Karan Pol or Parole, facing east, the current gate of entry is called Suraj Pol (meaning the Sun gate), 'pol' also colloquially spelt prol, built in gold coloured or yellow sandstone, unlike the other gates and buildings built in red sandstone. It is the east facing gate permitting the rising Sun’s rays to fall on the gate, which is considered a good omen. The doors of this gate are strengthened with iron spikes and studs to prevent ramming by elephants during an attack. At the entrance to the gate, two red stone statues of elephants with mahouts stand as sentinels. The gate was also the location for announcing the arrival and departure of royalty by musicians playing the trumpet from a gallery in the gate. The other gates are Karan Pol, Daulat Pol, Chand Pol (a double gate) and Fateh Pol; these provided access to various monuments in the fort. The Karan Pol gate is also braced with iron spikes to prevent battering of the gate by elephants. To the right of this gate is Daulat Pol. Forty-one hand imprints are seen on the Daulat Pol gate wall, in red colour, of the wives of the Maharajas of Bikaner, who committed sati (self immolation) on the funeral pyres of their husbands who died in battle.
Between the main gate and the palace, there is a quadrangle, and then another gate called the Tripolia gate (triple gateway) before accessing the royal chambers. Next to this gate is a small temple called the Har Mandir, where the Royal family used to offer worship. In the quadrangle, which houses a large pavilion with a water pool built in Carrara Italian marble. The Karan Mahal, where public audience was held in the Diwan-i-Am by Karan Singh (1631–39) and his successors till the 20th century, can also be seen in the same quadrangle.
TEMPLES
Har Mandir temple was the royal chapel - private temple of the royal family. The royal family celebrated the Hindu festival of Dussera and Gangaur here, apart from celebrating other family functions such as birthdays and marriages. In the Dussera celebrations, weapons and horses were worshipped here. The main deities worshipped in this temple are the Hindu deities Lakshmi Narayan, a combined representation of god Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi.
The Ratan Behari temple located near the Junagarh Fort, was built in 1846 by the 18th ruler of Bikaner. It was built in Indo-Mughal architectural style using white marble. The Hindu god Krishna is deified in this temple.
PALACES
Karan mahal (Public Audience Hall) was built by Karan Singh in c.1680 to mark his victory over the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. It is considered as one of the most exquisite palaces built with gardens, which displays the aesthetic sensibilities of the royalty of Rajasthan. It has stained glass windows and intricately carved balconies built in stone and wood fluted columns. Later Rajas, Anup Singh and Surat Singh, also added lot of glitter to this palace with inlaid polychrome glass, intricate mirror patterns, and red and gold paint. In the coronation chamber, there is a shored up alcove, which was used as a throne.
Phool Mahal ("Flower Palace") is the oldest part of the palace and was built by king Raja Rai Singh of Bikaner, who ruled between 1571-1668.
Anup Mahal is a multi-storey structure, which functioned as the administrative headquarters of the kingdom. It has ornate wooden ceilings with inlaid mirrors, Italian tiles, and fine lattice windows and balconies. It has some gold leaf paintings. It is considered as one of the “grandest construction”.
Chandra Mahal has the most luxurious room in the palace, which houses gold plated deities and paintings inlaid with precious stones. In the royal bedroom, mirrors have been strategically placed so that the Maharaja could see from his bed, any intruder entering his room.
Ganga Mahal was built in the 20th century by Ganga Singh who reigned for 56 years from 1887 to 1943, has a large durbar hall known as the Ganga Singh Hall that houses the Museum. The museum has exhibits of war weaponry and also a World War I aeroplane (biplane), which is stated to be well maintained.
Badal Mahal (The weather palace) is part of the Anup Mahal extensions. It has paintings of Shekhawati Dundlod chiefs paying respects to the Maharaja of Bikaner in different types of turbans. Photos of people standing on nails, wood, swords and saws are also depicted here – a display of faith and endurance. The walls in this palace depict fresco paintings of the Hindu god Krishna and his consort Radha amidst the rain clouds.
Bikaneri Havelies located both within and outside the fort in the Bikaner city’s by lanes are also of unique architectural style in home architecture. Aldous Huxley who visited these havelis reportedly said “They are the pride of Bikaner.”
FORT MUSEUM
The museum within the fort called the Junagarh Fort Museum was established in 1961 by Maharaja Dr.Karni Singhji under the control of "Maharaja Rai Singhji Trust". The Museum exhibits Sanskrit and Persian manuscripts, miniature paintings, jewels, royal costumes, farmans (royal orders), portrait galleries, costumes, headgear and dresses of gods’ idols, enamelware, silver, palanquins, howdahs and war drums. The museum also displays armoury that consists of one of the assorted collection of post medieval arms.
MAHARAJA RAI SINGHJI TRUST
Maharaja Rai Singhji Trust has been set up by the 'Royal family of Bikaner' with the basic objective to showcase the fort with professional inputs in various areas and to improve the experience for visitors. Another objective is to promote education and research scholarships, cultural activities, setting up of libraries and integration with other such trusts.
WIKIPEDIA
Duncansby Head is the most northeasterly part of both the Scottish and British mainlands, slightly northeast of John o' Groats. It lies approximately 20 km (12 mi) east-southeast of Dunnet Head, the northernmost point of both the Scottish and British mainlands. Duncansby Head is located in Caithness, Highland, in north-eastern Scotland. The headland juts into the North Sea, with the Pentland Firth to its north and west and the Moray Firth to its south.
The point is marked by Duncansby Head Lighthouse, built by David Alan Stevenson in 1924.
A minor public road leads from John o' Groats to Duncansby Head, which makes Duncansby Head the farthest point by road from Land's End.
The Duncansby Head Site of Special Scientific Interest includes the 6.5-kilometre (4-mile) stretch of coast south to Skirza Head. It includes the Duncansby Stacks, prominent sea stacks just off the coast.
In 2016, it was reported in The Sunday Post newspaper that scientists from the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldemarston had proposed a nuclear weapon test on the Stacks of Duncansby in 1953, but that the prevailing wet weather was too much for contemporary electronics and the idea was shelved
The Highlands is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands. The term is also used for the area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east. The Great Glen divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands. The Scottish Gaelic name of A' Ghàidhealtachd literally means "the place of the Gaels" and traditionally, from a Gaelic-speaking point of view, includes both the Western Isles and the Highlands.
The area is very sparsely populated, with many mountain ranges dominating the region, and includes the highest mountain in the British Isles, Ben Nevis. During the 18th and early 19th centuries the population of the Highlands rose to around 300,000, but from c. 1841 and for the next 160 years, the natural increase in population was exceeded by emigration (mostly to Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and migration to the industrial cities of Scotland and England.) and passim The area is now one of the most sparsely populated in Europe. At 9.1/km2 (24/sq mi) in 2012, the population density in the Highlands and Islands is less than one seventh of Scotland's as a whole.
The Highland Council is the administrative body for much of the Highlands, with its administrative centre at Inverness. However, the Highlands also includes parts of the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Moray, North Ayrshire, Perth and Kinross, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire.
The Scottish Highlands is the only area in the British Isles to have the taiga biome as it features concentrated populations of Scots pine forest: see Caledonian Forest. It is the most mountainous part of the United Kingdom.
Between the 15th century and the mid-20th century, the area differed from most of the Lowlands in terms of language. In Scottish Gaelic, the region is known as the Gàidhealtachd, because it was traditionally the Gaelic-speaking part of Scotland, although the language is now largely confined to The Hebrides. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably but have different meanings in their respective languages. Scottish English (in its Highland form) is the predominant language of the area today, though Highland English has been influenced by Gaelic speech to a significant extent. Historically, the "Highland line" distinguished the two Scottish cultures. While the Highland line broadly followed the geography of the Grampians in the south, it continued in the north, cutting off the north-eastern areas, that is Eastern Caithness, Orkney and Shetland, from the more Gaelic Highlands and Hebrides.
Historically, the major social unit of the Highlands was the clan. Scottish kings, particularly James VI, saw clans as a challenge to their authority; the Highlands was seen by many as a lawless region. The Scots of the Lowlands viewed the Highlanders as backward and more "Irish". The Highlands were seen as the overspill of Gaelic Ireland. They made this distinction by separating Germanic "Scots" English and the Gaelic by renaming it "Erse" a play on Eire. Following the Union of the Crowns, James VI had the military strength to back up any attempts to impose some control. The result was, in 1609, the Statutes of Iona which started the process of integrating clan leaders into Scottish society. The gradual changes continued into the 19th century, as clan chiefs thought of themselves less as patriarchal leaders of their people and more as commercial landlords. The first effect on the clansmen who were their tenants was the change to rents being payable in money rather than in kind. Later, rents were increased as Highland landowners sought to increase their income. This was followed, mostly in the period 1760–1850, by agricultural improvement that often (particularly in the Western Highlands) involved clearance of the population to make way for large scale sheep farms. Displaced tenants were set up in crofting communities in the process. The crofts were intended not to provide all the needs of their occupiers; they were expected to work in other industries such as kelping and fishing. Crofters came to rely substantially on seasonal migrant work, particularly in the Lowlands. This gave impetus to the learning of English, which was seen by many rural Gaelic speakers to be the essential "language of work".
Older historiography attributes the collapse of the clan system to the aftermath of the Jacobite risings. This is now thought less influential by historians. Following the Jacobite rising of 1745 the British government enacted a series of laws to try to suppress the clan system, including bans on the bearing of arms and the wearing of tartan, and limitations on the activities of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Most of this legislation was repealed by the end of the 18th century as the Jacobite threat subsided. There was soon a rehabilitation of Highland culture. Tartan was adopted for Highland regiments in the British Army, which poor Highlanders joined in large numbers in the era of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1790–1815). Tartan had largely been abandoned by the ordinary people of the region, but in the 1820s, tartan and the kilt were adopted by members of the social elite, not just in Scotland, but across Europe. The international craze for tartan, and for idealising a romanticised Highlands, was set off by the Ossian cycle, and further popularised by the works of Walter Scott. His "staging" of the visit of King George IV to Scotland in 1822 and the king's wearing of tartan resulted in a massive upsurge in demand for kilts and tartans that could not be met by the Scottish woollen industry. Individual clan tartans were largely designated in this period and they became a major symbol of Scottish identity. This "Highlandism", by which all of Scotland was identified with the culture of the Highlands, was cemented by Queen Victoria's interest in the country, her adoption of Balmoral as a major royal retreat, and her interest in "tartenry".
Recurrent famine affected the Highlands for much of its history, with significant instances as late as 1817 in the Eastern Highlands and the early 1850s in the West. Over the 18th century, the region had developed a trade of black cattle into Lowland markets, and this was balanced by imports of meal into the area. There was a critical reliance on this trade to provide sufficient food, and it is seen as an essential prerequisite for the population growth that started in the 18th century. Most of the Highlands, particularly in the North and West was short of the arable land that was essential for the mixed, run rig based, communal farming that existed before agricultural improvement was introduced into the region.[a] Between the 1760s and the 1830s there was a substantial trade in unlicensed whisky that had been distilled in the Highlands. Lowland distillers (who were not able to avoid the heavy taxation of this product) complained that Highland whisky made up more than half the market. The development of the cattle trade is taken as evidence that the pre-improvement Highlands was not an immutable system, but did exploit the economic opportunities that came its way. The illicit whisky trade demonstrates the entrepreneurial ability of the peasant classes.
Agricultural improvement reached the Highlands mostly over the period 1760 to 1850. Agricultural advisors, factors, land surveyors and others educated in the thinking of Adam Smith were keen to put into practice the new ideas taught in Scottish universities. Highland landowners, many of whom were burdened with chronic debts, were generally receptive to the advice they offered and keen to increase the income from their land. In the East and South the resulting change was similar to that in the Lowlands, with the creation of larger farms with single tenants, enclosure of the old run rig fields, introduction of new crops (such as turnips), land drainage and, as a consequence of all this, eviction, as part of the Highland clearances, of many tenants and cottars. Some of those cleared found employment on the new, larger farms, others moved to the accessible towns of the Lowlands.
In the West and North, evicted tenants were usually given tenancies in newly created crofting communities, while their former holdings were converted into large sheep farms. Sheep farmers could pay substantially higher rents than the run rig farmers and were much less prone to falling into arrears. Each croft was limited in size so that the tenants would have to find work elsewhere. The major alternatives were fishing and the kelp industry. Landlords took control of the kelp shores, deducting the wages earned by their tenants from the rent due and retaining the large profits that could be earned at the high prices paid for the processed product during the Napoleonic wars.
When the Napoleonic wars finished in 1815, the Highland industries were affected by the return to a peacetime economy. The price of black cattle fell, nearly halving between 1810 and the 1830s. Kelp prices had peaked in 1810, but reduced from £9 a ton in 1823 to £3 13s 4d a ton in 1828. Wool prices were also badly affected. This worsened the financial problems of debt-encumbered landlords. Then, in 1846, potato blight arrived in the Highlands, wiping out the essential subsistence crop for the overcrowded crofting communities. As the famine struck, the government made clear to landlords that it was their responsibility to provide famine relief for their tenants. The result of the economic downturn had been that a large proportion of Highland estates were sold in the first half of the 19th century. T M Devine points out that in the region most affected by the potato famine, by 1846, 70 per cent of the landowners were new purchasers who had not owned Highland property before 1800. More landlords were obliged to sell due to the cost of famine relief. Those who were protected from the worst of the crisis were those with extensive rental income from sheep farms. Government loans were made available for drainage works, road building and other improvements and many crofters became temporary migrants – taking work in the Lowlands. When the potato famine ceased in 1856, this established a pattern of more extensive working away from the Highlands.
The unequal concentration of land ownership remained an emotional and controversial subject, of enormous importance to the Highland economy, and eventually became a cornerstone of liberal radicalism. The poor crofters were politically powerless, and many of them turned to religion. They embraced the popularly oriented, fervently evangelical Presbyterian revival after 1800. Most joined the breakaway "Free Church" after 1843. This evangelical movement was led by lay preachers who themselves came from the lower strata, and whose preaching was implicitly critical of the established order. The religious change energised the crofters and separated them from the landlords; it helped prepare them for their successful and violent challenge to the landlords in the 1880s through the Highland Land League. Violence erupted, starting on the Isle of Skye, when Highland landlords cleared their lands for sheep and deer parks. It was quietened when the government stepped in, passing the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act, 1886 to reduce rents, guarantee fixity of tenure, and break up large estates to provide crofts for the homeless. This contrasted with the Irish Land War underway at the same time, where the Irish were intensely politicised through roots in Irish nationalism, while political dimensions were limited. In 1885 three Independent Crofter candidates were elected to Parliament, which listened to their pleas. The results included explicit security for the Scottish smallholders in the "crofting counties"; the legal right to bequeath tenancies to descendants; and the creation of a Crofting Commission. The Crofters as a political movement faded away by 1892, and the Liberal Party gained their votes.
Today, the Highlands are the largest of Scotland's whisky producing regions; the relevant area runs from Orkney to the Isle of Arran in the south and includes the northern isles and much of Inner and Outer Hebrides, Argyll, Stirlingshire, Arran, as well as sections of Perthshire and Aberdeenshire. (Other sources treat The Islands, except Islay, as a separate whisky producing region.) This massive area has over 30 distilleries, or 47 when the Islands sub-region is included in the count. According to one source, the top five are The Macallan, Glenfiddich, Aberlour, Glenfarclas and Balvenie. While Speyside is geographically within the Highlands, that region is specified as distinct in terms of whisky productions. Speyside single malt whiskies are produced by about 50 distilleries.
According to Visit Scotland, Highlands whisky is "fruity, sweet, spicy, malty". Another review states that Northern Highlands single malt is "sweet and full-bodied", the Eastern Highlands and Southern Highlands whiskies tend to be "lighter in texture" while the distilleries in the Western Highlands produce single malts with a "much peatier influence".
The Scottish Reformation achieved partial success in the Highlands. Roman Catholicism remained strong in some areas, owing to remote locations and the efforts of Franciscan missionaries from Ireland, who regularly came to celebrate Mass. There remain significant Catholic strongholds within the Highlands and Islands such as Moidart and Morar on the mainland and South Uist and Barra in the southern Outer Hebrides. The remoteness of the region and the lack of a Gaelic-speaking clergy undermined the missionary efforts of the established church. The later 18th century saw somewhat greater success, owing to the efforts of the SSPCK missionaries and to the disruption of traditional society after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. In the 19th century, the evangelical Free Churches, which were more accepting of Gaelic language and culture, grew rapidly, appealing much more strongly than did the established church.
For the most part, however, the Highlands are considered predominantly Protestant, belonging to the Church of Scotland. In contrast to the Catholic southern islands, the northern Outer Hebrides islands (Lewis, Harris and North Uist) have an exceptionally high proportion of their population belonging to the Protestant Free Church of Scotland or the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The Outer Hebrides have been described as the last bastion of Calvinism in Britain and the Sabbath remains widely observed. Inverness and the surrounding area has a majority Protestant population, with most locals belonging to either The Kirk or the Free Church of Scotland. The church maintains a noticeable presence within the area, with church attendance notably higher than in other parts of Scotland. Religion continues to play an important role in Highland culture, with Sabbath observance still widely practised, particularly in the Hebrides.
In traditional Scottish geography, the Highlands refers to that part of Scotland north-west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which crosses mainland Scotland in a near-straight line from Helensburgh to Stonehaven. However the flat coastal lands that occupy parts of the counties of Nairnshire, Morayshire, Banffshire and Aberdeenshire are often excluded as they do not share the distinctive geographical and cultural features of the rest of the Highlands. The north-east of Caithness, as well as Orkney and Shetland, are also often excluded from the Highlands, although the Hebrides are usually included. The Highland area, as so defined, differed from the Lowlands in language and tradition, having preserved Gaelic speech and customs centuries after the anglicisation of the latter; this led to a growing perception of a divide, with the cultural distinction between Highlander and Lowlander first noted towards the end of the 14th century. In Aberdeenshire, the boundary between the Highlands and the Lowlands is not well defined. There is a stone beside the A93 road near the village of Dinnet on Royal Deeside which states 'You are now in the Highlands', although there are areas of Highland character to the east of this point.
A much wider definition of the Highlands is that used by the Scotch whisky industry. Highland single malts are produced at distilleries north of an imaginary line between Dundee and Greenock, thus including all of Aberdeenshire and Angus.
Inverness is regarded as the Capital of the Highlands, although less so in the Highland parts of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Perthshire and Stirlingshire which look more to Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth, and Stirling as their commercial centres.
The Highland Council area, created as one of the local government regions of Scotland, has been a unitary council area since 1996. The council area excludes a large area of the southern and eastern Highlands, and the Western Isles, but includes Caithness. Highlands is sometimes used, however, as a name for the council area, as in the former Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service. Northern is also used to refer to the area, as in the former Northern Constabulary. These former bodies both covered the Highland council area and the island council areas of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles.
Much of the Highlands area overlaps the Highlands and Islands area. An electoral region called Highlands and Islands is used in elections to the Scottish Parliament: this area includes Orkney and Shetland, as well as the Highland Council local government area, the Western Isles and most of the Argyll and Bute and Moray local government areas. Highlands and Islands has, however, different meanings in different contexts. It means Highland (the local government area), Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles in Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service. Northern, as in Northern Constabulary, refers to the same area as that covered by the fire and rescue service.
There have been trackways from the Lowlands to the Highlands since prehistoric times. Many traverse the Mounth, a spur of mountainous land that extends from the higher inland range to the North Sea slightly north of Stonehaven. The most well-known and historically important trackways are the Causey Mounth, Elsick Mounth, Cryne Corse Mounth and Cairnamounth.
Although most of the Highlands is geographically on the British mainland, it is somewhat less accessible than the rest of Britain; thus most UK couriers categorise it separately, alongside Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and other offshore islands. They thus charge additional fees for delivery to the Highlands, or exclude the area entirely. While the physical remoteness from the largest population centres inevitably leads to higher transit cost, there is confusion and consternation over the scale of the fees charged and the effectiveness of their communication, and the use of the word Mainland in their justification. Since the charges are often based on postcode areas, many far less remote areas, including some which are traditionally considered part of the lowlands, are also subject to these charges. Royal Mail is the only delivery network bound by a Universal Service Obligation to charge a uniform tariff across the UK. This, however, applies only to mail items and not larger packages which are dealt with by its Parcelforce division.
The Highlands lie to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which runs from Arran to Stonehaven. This part of Scotland is largely composed of ancient rocks from the Cambrian and Precambrian periods which were uplifted during the later Caledonian Orogeny. Smaller formations of Lewisian gneiss in the northwest are up to 3 billion years old. The overlying rocks of the Torridon Sandstone form mountains in the Torridon Hills such as Liathach and Beinn Eighe in Wester Ross.
These foundations are interspersed with many igneous intrusions of a more recent age, the remnants of which have formed mountain massifs such as the Cairngorms and the Cuillin of Skye. A significant exception to the above are the fossil-bearing beds of Old Red Sandstone found principally along the Moray Firth coast and partially down the Highland Boundary Fault. The Jurassic beds found in isolated locations on Skye and Applecross reflect the complex underlying geology. They are the original source of much North Sea oil. The Great Glen is formed along a transform fault which divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands.
The entire region was covered by ice sheets during the Pleistocene ice ages, save perhaps for a few nunataks. The complex geomorphology includes incised valleys and lochs carved by the action of mountain streams and ice, and a topography of irregularly distributed mountains whose summits have similar heights above sea-level, but whose bases depend upon the amount of denudation to which the plateau has been subjected in various places.
Climate
The region is much warmer than other areas at similar latitudes (such as Kamchatka in Russia, or Labrador in Canada) because of the Gulf Stream making it cool, damp and temperate. The Köppen climate classification is "Cfb" at low altitudes, then becoming "Cfc", "Dfc" and "ET" at higher altitudes.
Places of interest
An Teallach
Aonach Mòr (Nevis Range ski centre)
Arrochar Alps
Balmoral Castle
Balquhidder
Battlefield of Culloden
Beinn Alligin
Beinn Eighe
Ben Cruachan hydro-electric power station
Ben Lomond
Ben Macdui (second highest mountain in Scotland and UK)
Ben Nevis (highest mountain in Scotland and UK)
Cairngorms National Park
Cairngorm Ski centre near Aviemore
Cairngorm Mountains
Caledonian Canal
Cape Wrath
Carrick Castle
Castle Stalker
Castle Tioram
Chanonry Point
Conic Hill
Culloden Moor
Dunadd
Duart Castle
Durness
Eilean Donan
Fingal's Cave (Staffa)
Fort George
Glen Coe
Glen Etive
Glen Kinglas
Glen Lyon
Glen Orchy
Glenshee Ski Centre
Glen Shiel
Glen Spean
Glenfinnan (and its railway station and viaduct)
Grampian Mountains
Hebrides
Highland Folk Museum – The first open-air museum in the UK.
Highland Wildlife Park
Inveraray Castle
Inveraray Jail
Inverness Castle
Inverewe Garden
Iona Abbey
Isle of Staffa
Kilchurn Castle
Kilmartin Glen
Liathach
Lecht Ski Centre
Loch Alsh
Loch Ard
Loch Awe
Loch Assynt
Loch Earn
Loch Etive
Loch Fyne
Loch Goil
Loch Katrine
Loch Leven
Loch Linnhe
Loch Lochy
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
Loch Lubnaig
Loch Maree
Loch Morar
Loch Morlich
Loch Ness
Loch Nevis
Loch Rannoch
Loch Tay
Lochranza
Luss
Meall a' Bhuiridh (Glencoe Ski Centre)
Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary at Loch Creran
Rannoch Moor
Red Cuillin
Rest and Be Thankful stretch of A83
River Carron, Wester Ross
River Spey
River Tay
Ross and Cromarty
Smoo Cave
Stob Coire a' Chàirn
Stac Polly
Strathspey Railway
Sutherland
Tor Castle
Torridon Hills
Urquhart Castle
West Highland Line (scenic railway)
West Highland Way (Long-distance footpath)
Wester Ross
mirit ben nun woman women feminine female composition artistic artwork strong language influence idea powerful center of art participate gallery exhibition vision work works muse leading art artist gallery museum paint painter painters painting paintings drawing draw drawings israel israeli media acrylic talented timeless dynamic emerging energetic exceptional expressive extreme figurative fresh imaginative abstract aesthetic authentic inspiring the beautiful classic colorful conceptual contemporary creative decorative detailed participates in an exhibition powerful leading model diferent special art world talented virtual gallery stunning symbolic reclyced material unexpected visual intuitive inventive layered like mature moving original personal pure refreshing remarkable looks good magical angle art sales drama positive red easy perfect minded eye fun funny natured someone special the gifted special diferent influent light happy colorful hardworking intellectual intelligent wish wonderful the drawings paintings draw colorful influence israeli reclycled material magnetic angelic accepting bright careful half main curious perfect work works picture pictures working shape leading model first representing the wonders independent woman african american leading talented muse solo exhibition leader subject group exhibition exhibit the subject look vision image outside country artist art sales sale acrylic canvas artworks modern contemporary original visual sculpture collection collector image images figurative exhibit exhibition abstract culture museum figurative decorative dealer
And then the two of them together produced a brilliant team effort.
Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia.
636 CE: Arab conquest starts. Egypt is under their total control by 642. Arabic language and Islam are introduced.
969: The Fatimids, a Shi'i dynasty with Tunisia as base, conquers Egypt. Cairo is founded as their new capital.
1171: The Fatimids are sacked, when Saladin unites the country with Syria. The Ayyubid dynasty is established, and Egypt returns to Sunni Islam.
1250: A revolt among the war captives, known as Mamlukes, starts and has as a final outcome the overthrow of the Ayyubids.
1517: Sultan Selim 1 of the Ottoman Empire takes control over Cairo. From now on, Egypt is reduced to a province inside the Ottoman Empire.
1798: The arrival of Napoleon, and his French army. Napoleon takes control over strategic places in Egypt. The most important results of the French arrival, is that contact with the Western world is restored for Egypt, as well as that the modern science of Egyptology starts.
1801: The French are expelled, but the memory of them impregnates the way of thinking among the ruling elite of Egypt.
1805: Albanian Muhammad Ali Pasha becomes viceroy of Egypt, with the recognition of the Ottoman sultan.
1811: The Mamlukes are driven out of power.
1820: Campaigns against Northern Sudan starts.
1831: After disagreement with the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Ibrahim, son of Muhammad Ali, conquers Syria.
1838: Syria lost.
1841: War with the Ottomans. Muhammad Ali defeats the Ottomans, and he becomes the hereditary ruler of Egypt. Muhammad started programs to reform and modernize Egypt.
1869: The Suez Canal is opened, after construction help from French companies.
1875: With the declining economy of Egypt, the new ruler, Khedive Ismail Pasha, sold most of Egypt's shares in the Suez Canal to Britain.
1876: Egypt is put under control from a joint Anglo-French debt commission.
1881: A nationalist revolt starts.
1882: The nationalist revolt is suppressed by the British, who takes control over the country, but not in the shape of colony or protectorate.
1883 Lord Cromer becomes, as the British administrator, the effective ruler of the country.
1914: With the start of World War 1, Egypt is turned into a British protectorate, and Egypt was used as a British base during the war in the actions towards the Ottoman Empire.
1922: The Protectorate is ended. Egypt becomes a monarchy, with Fuad as king.
1937: Faruk becomes king. The British troops leave the country, except from area around the Suez Canal.
1940-45: Egypt becomes the allied to Britain during the World War 2.
1952: The army forces Faruk to abdicate.
1953: Egypt becomes a republic, and general Muhammad Naguib becomes the first president.
1954: Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser forces Naguib out of office, and he himself becomes new president.
1956: After Western countries withdraws an offer to finance the building of a new Aswan dam, Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal. Britain, France, and Israel invade Egypt as a response. The invading forces are soon forced to leave after pressure from USA, Soviet Union and the UN.
1958: The United Arab Republic, a union with Syria, is formed.
1961: United Arab Republic is dissolved after disagreement with the Syrians. Egypt continues to use to name for its own country.
1967 June 5-10: The Six day- war against Israel which destroys the Egyptian air force, but even more the pride and confidence of the Egyptians. The war is a result of the closing of the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli ships. Sinai is occupied, and the Suez Canal, now full of mines, is closed.
1970 September 28: Nasser dies.
October 15: Vice-president Anwar as-Sadat becomes the new president, after a referendum where he gains 90% of the ballots. There are no opposing candidates.
1972: 20,000 Soviet military personnel are ordered to leave by Sadat.
— Violent clashes between police and Egyptian students. These disturbances continued into 1973.
1973 October 6: Attack on Israeli-occupied territory, from Egypt and Syria. With the aid of USA, manages Israel to hold back, but loses a strip of Sinai along the Suez Canal, and half way down the Western coast of Sinai.
1974: Reestablishment of diplomatic relations between USA and Egypt
1975 June 5: Reopening of the Suez Canal, after 8 years of being closed.
September: Agreements with Israel on disengagement of military forces.
1976: Sadat breaks a friendship treaty with the Soviet Union from 1971.
1977 November 19: After invitation from the Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin 8 days earlier, Sadat visits Jerusalem. He speaks in the Knesset, the national assembly, where he signals what needs to be done to reach peace: Israeli withdrawal and the establishment of Palestinian state.
1978 September 17: A peace treaty is signed in Camp David, the country house of the American president, by Israel's prime minister Menachem Begin and the president of Egypt, Anwar as-Sadat. Within 2 1/2 years, Israel shall withdraw from all territories occupied by them in 1967, except Gaza Strip, which was not originally Egyptian. Another agreement is signed parallel to the first. This concerns the occupied territories, the West Bank and Gaza, where an autonomous administration is to be settled for 5 years. In the same period, no new Jewish settlements can be put up.
1979: Egypt is kicked out of the Arab League of Nations, as a reaction to the peace agreement with Israel.
1980 January: Diplomatic relations with Israel are established.
1981 October 6: Sadat is shot by 3 soldiers of the Egyptian Army. The hitherto unknown organization of Liberation of Egypt claims responsibility.
— October 13: Vice-president Hosni Mubarak is elected to new president by the national assembly. Mubarak states that he will follow up Sadat's politics.
1982: Israel withdraws from all of Sinai, except Taba.
1984: Egypt reenter the Islamic Conference organization.
1989: Israel withdraws from Taba on Sinai. Egypt reenters the Arab League.
1991: Egypt participates as the third largest party in the allied actions towards Iraq, after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait the year before.
1999 February: International grants and loans to Egypt are cut from US$2.5 billion in 1998 to US$1.5 billion for 1999. This as a reflection of less need of foreign aid, due to increase in foreign investments.
This article from aclasstravel.net/_history_of_modern_egypt-599-egypt.aspx
Although Romansh is a national language, the majority of the Swiss population will capitulate with this sign. There are only about 100,000 people, mainly in Graubünden, who can handle this language. That's not too bad, because it actually only affects local residents. It's about digging up gentian roots to make schnapps from them. A permit is required for commercial purposes, and it is freely permitted for personal use. Respect for nature must be observed. Otherwise a general ban will be issued. It stands in the Val Uffiern on the path to the Cristallina Pass. Switzerland, September 6, 2022.
Information über das Ausgraben von Enzianwurzeln
Gemäss Art. 19 des Naturschutzgesetzes braucht es eine Bewilligung um Wildflora für Erwerbszwecke zu sammeln. Die Bewilligung wird durch das kantonale Amt erteilt.
Die Absicht des Gemeindevorstandes von Medel/Lucmagn ist nicht, neue Verbote zu schaffen, sondern nur die Gräber zu informieren. Wir machen darauf aufmerksam, dass es frei erlaubt ist, Enzianwurzeln für den eigenen Gebrauch zu graben wenn diese mit voller Rücksicht auf die Natur gesammelt werden. Es wäre bedauerlich, wenn die Gemeinde ein generelles Verbot erlassen müsste.
Curaglia, August 2014, Gemeindevorstand Medel/Lucmagn
(Top) Amikejo
The Esperanto Nation That Almost Was
In 1815, after the fall of Napoleon, the borders within Europe had to be re-established. Prussia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands experienced a disagreement over the territory known as Moresnet where an important zinc mine was located. As neither Prussia nor the Netherlands wanted the other one to own the mine, negotiations dragged on for a year. Finally, it was decided that Moresnet would be divided into three parts: One to the Netherlands, one to Prussia, and one declared a neutral territory around the disputed zinc mine called Neutral-Moresnet or Neutrales Gebiet “Neutral Region.” Neutral-Moresnet comprised only seventy acres but was strategically important.
In 1816, only 256 people lived in the disputed territory, but the number of inhabitants grew steadily, especially due to the development of the zinc mine. In 1830, there were 500 inhabitants, and, by 1858, this number had grown to 2,572. Of these, 695 were so-called “Neutrals” (mainly offspring of the first inhabitants); 852 were Belgians; 807, Prussians; 204, Dutch; and 14 were immigrants from other countries. Imports from the surrounding countries were toll free; the taxes were very low; and prices were lower and wages higher than in the surrounding countries. A disadvantage for the "Neutrals" was that they were stateless if they were abroad.
The Esperanto connection to Neutral-Moresnet comes with the legendary Dr. Wilhelm Molly. Born in Wetzlar, Germany, Dr. Molly emigrated to the territory and set up a medical practice. He became admired for his low fees and became even more popular when he helped to quell a cholera epidemic. In 1906, Dr. Molly met the French professor Gustave Roy. Roy and Molly, both avid Esperantists, decided to establish an Esperanto state and Neutral-Moresnet seemed the most suitable territory. In 1908, a great demonstration was held and glowing speeches were given for the establishment of the Esperanto free state to be called “Amikejo” (“friend-place” in Esperanto). During this gathering, the zinc miners’ band even played the proposed national anthem, “Amikejo-march.” The February 23, 1908, edition of the New York Times carried a short article heralding the “new European state,” albeit with some skepticism.
However, the fate of “Amikejo” was sealed when the local zinc mine was depleted. Prussia began to reassert claims over the territory, and the inhabitants of Moresnet petitioned for annexation by Belgium, which had declared independence from the Netherlands in 1830. The Prussians occupied the territory and asserted control. However, in 1919, final control of the territory was ceded to Belgium, bringing an end to the existence of Neutral-Moresnet and the dream of “Amikejo.”
(Middle left)My advice to all who have the time or inclination to concern themselves with the international language movement would be: "Back Esperanto loyally."
~ J.R.R. Tolkien, The British Esperantist (1932)
(Middle center)George Soros
Native Esperanto Speaker
George Soros, the Hungarian-born billionaire-philanthropist-philosopher, is the son of Tivadar Schwartz, a proponent of Esperanto. Soros’ father changed the family name ahead of a rising tide of anti-Semiticism in Europe: “soros” is both Hungarian for “next in line” and Esperanto for “will soar.” George Soros survived Nazi-occupation by posing as a non-Jewish Hungarian and escaped Soviet occupation by attending an international Esperanto youth conference and emigrating to Britain. His advocating for open societies and international cooperation were, in part, likely shaped by the ideals of Esperanto instilled in him by his father.
Soros’ father’s memoir, Maskerado ĉirkaŭ la morto: Nazimondo en Hungarujo was translated into English from the original Esperanto in 2000 and entitled Masquerade: Dancing Around Death in Nazi-occupied Hungary.
(Middle right) Kim “Kimo” Henriksen
Native Esperanto Speaker
Kimo’s Danish father and Polish mother met through Esperanto and used the language as the everyday medium of their home life. Kimo grew up speaking both Esperanto and Danish but considers the invented language his “native” tongue. Kimo formed an Esperanto rock group Amplifiki (Esperanto for “amplify”). It was during this time that he wrote the song “Sola” (Esperanto for “alone”) which has become a mainstay at Esperanto gatherings. He has performed with the Danish-Bosnian-Polish group Esperanto Desperado, whose album broKANTAĴOJ contained covers of several songs by Amplifiki.
(Bottom left) Jules Verne
Esperanto Enthusiast
The French novelist Jules Verne (1828-1905) was an early proponent of Esperanto. Although most likely unable to speak or read Esperanto at the time, Verne was made first honorary president of an Esperanto society in the town of Amiens, France, in 1903. Another direct link to the language is contained in an unpublished manuscript of a novel entitled Voyage d'étude (Voyage of Discovery). This book contained a character who was an Esperanto admirer and contained these lines: La clé d'une langue commune, perdue dans la Tour de Babel, peut être seulement construite par l'usage de l'Espéranto. (The key of a common language, lost in the Tower of Babel, can only be remade by the use of Esperanto.); L'espéranto, c'est le plus sûr, le plus rapide véhicule de la civilisation. (Esperanto is the surest, most rapid vehicle of civilization.). The novel was revised and published posthumously by Verne's son, Michel, under the title L'Étonnante Aventure de la Mission Barsac (The Astonishing Adventure of the Barsac Expedition). Michel removed all references to Esperanto in the final version.
(Bottom right) The Babel Text in Esperanto
1.Sur la tuta tero estis unu lingvo kaj unu parolmaniero.
2.Kaj kiam ili ekiris de la oriento, ili trovis valon en la lando Ŝinar kaj tie ekloĝis.
3.Kaj ili diris unu al alia: Venu, ni faru brikojn kaj ni brulpretigu ilin per fajro. Kaj la brikoj fariĝis por ili ŝtonoj, kaj la bitumo fariĝis por ili kalko.
4.Kaj ili diris: Venu, ni konstruu al ni urbon, kaj turon, kies supro atingos la ĉielon, kaj ni akiru al ni gloron, antaŭ ol ni disiĝos sur la supraĵo de la tuta tero.
5.Kaj la Eternulo malleviĝis, por vidi la urbon kaj la turon, kiujn konstruis la homidoj.
6.Kaj la Eternulo diris: Jen estas unu popolo, kaj unu lingvon ili ĉiuj havas; kaj jen, kion ili komencis fari, kaj ili ne estos malhelpataj en ĉio, kion ili decidis fari.
7.Ni malleviĝu do, kaj Ni konfuzu tie ilian lingvon, por ke unu ne komprenu la parolon de alia.
8.Kaj la Eternulo disigis ilin de tie sur la supraĵon de la tuta tero, kaj ili ĉesis konstrui la urbon.
9.Tial oni donis al ĝi la nomon Babel, ĉar tie la Eternulo konfuzis la lingvon de la tuta tero kaj de tie la Eternulo disigis ilin sur la supraĵon de la tuta tero.
Translation by L.L. Zamenhof
(http://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babela_turo)
The Babel Text in Ido (Reformed Esperanto)
1.Nun la tota mondo havis un linguo e komuna parol-maniero.
2.Dum ke homi movis este, li trovis plano en Shinar e lojeskis ibe.
3.Li dicis a l'uni l'altri, "Venez, ni fabrikez briki e par-koquez li." Li uzis briko vice petro, e gudro vice mortero.
4.Pose li dicis, "Venez, ni konstruktez urbego por ni, kun turmo qua extensas a la cielo, por ke ni darfas establisar nomo por ni e ne dis-semar sur la surfaco di la tota tero."
5.Ma la Sinioro venis infre por vidar la urbego e la turmo quin la homi konstruktis.
6.La Sinioro dicis, "Se kom un populo parolanta la sama linguo li komencis facar to, do nulo quon li projetos facar esos ne-posibla por li.
7.Venez, ni irez infre e konfundez lia linguo por ke li ne interkomprenos."
8.Do la Sinioro dis-semis li de ibe sur la tota terglobo, e li haltis konstruktar la urbego.
9.To esas pro quo ol nomesis Babel - pro ke la Sinioro konfundis la linguo di la tota mondo. De ibe la Sinioro dis-semis li sur la surfaco di la tota terglobo.
(www.langmaker.com/db/Ido_Babel_Text)
Russian House (Allencroft) is a coeducational residence that supports students’ study of Russian language. Students can enhance their knowledge of Russian language and culture through programming with faculty, and regular interaction with two native speakers, a faculty in residence and a Fulbright teaching assistant, who support programming for the 15 students who live here.
Photo by Tanya Rosen-Jones '97
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2016 (Māori Language Week) takes place between Monday 4 July and Friday 8 July. This special week provides an opportunity to celebrate and learn te reo Māori, helping to secure its future as a living, dynamic, and rich language.
The kaupapa for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2016 is ‘ākina to reo’ – behind you all the way, which is about using te reo Māori to support people, to inspire and to cheer on. To celebrate te wiki we are featuring Te Reo Māori learning resources held within in our archives.
A staple of children's literacy in New Zealand since 1963 are children’s books published by the Ministry of Education. A large number have been produced in te reo Māori for students (and their parents), and feature iconic New Zealand writers and artists. Archives New Zealand holds a number of these books, as well as their original artwork.
The images above are material either commissioned, created or used in the production of Te Tautoko 11, an issue from the Junior Journals series Te Tautoko, aimed at fluent readers. The photograph was taken by the National Publicity Studios, and the artwork created by Steve Green.
Title: Te Tautoko 11 - Steven Green, National Publicity Studios (photos)
Archives New Zealand Reference: ADCT 699 W5428 Box 25 25/1
collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search#/?q=R18810048
For further enquiries please email Research.Archives@dia.govt.nz
For updates on our On This Day series and news from Archives New Zealand, follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/ArchivesNZ
Material from Archives New Zealand
This test shot was made to test my new Sigma 70-300 APO.
The girl is using sign language to talk with a fellow student on the RIT campus.
De synagoge van Enschede is een ontwerp van de architecten Anthonie Pieter Smits en Cornelis van de Linde uit Aerdenhout. Zij ontwierpen het gebouw aan de Prinsestraat, gebaseerd op het ontwerp van Karel de Bazel uit 1918-1920 voor een synagoge aan de Visserijstraat, omdat de oude synagoge aan de Achterstraat, thans Stadsgravenstraat, te klein was geworden. Het gebouw is gebouwd in 1927-1928 in opdracht van de Nederlands-Israëlitische Gemeente van Enschede. De synagoge wordt geprezen als "een van de mooiste van de mediene" om zijn eigentijdse vormentaal.
De eerste razzia in Enschede, de eerste buiten Amsterdam, vond plaats op 14 september 1941. 144 mannen werden weggevoerd naar Mauthausen.[5] In totaal kwamen 700 van de 1200 leden van de Joodse gemeenschap om het leven, aan wie herinnerd wordt door een plaquette boven de ingang van de gebedsruimte. Het gebouw zelf was in die tijd in gebruik door de Sicherheitsdienst, en het mag als een wrede ironie van de geschiedenis gelden dat het gebouw daarom intact gebleven is. Na de Tweede Wereldoorlog werd het gebouw weer als synagoge in gebruik genomen.
In 1987 werd de synagoge opgeschrikt door de diefstal van sacraal zilverwerk. De dief bood de gestolen stukken aan bij een bekende verzamelaar van judaïstiek, die ze herkende en de politie informeerde. Het gestolen zilverwerk kwam op die manier terug.
In 1996 werden de volledige 100²-glas-in-loodramen uit 1927-1928 gereconstrueerd en gerestaureerd door kunstenares Annemiek Punt.
Tussen 2001 en 2004 is een belangrijke restauratie van het totale gebouw verricht, waarbij de originele stijl is behouden en waar nodig teruggebracht.
Het gebouw wordt beheerd en onderhouden door de eigenaar, de Nederlands Israëlitische Gemeente Twente[6]. De Stichting Vrienden van de Synagoge Enschede[7] verzorgt sinds 2014 de openstelling, rondleidingen voor belangstellenden en culturele manifestaties.
The Enschede synagogue was designed by the architects Anthonie Pieter Smits and Cornelis van de Linde from Aerdenhout. They designed the building on the Prinsestraat, based on the design by Karel de Bazel from 1918-1920 for a synagogue on the Visserijstraat, because the old synagogue on the Achterstraat, now Stadsgravenstraat, had become too small. The building was built in 1927-1928 by order of the Dutch-Israelite Municipality of Enschede. The synagogue is hailed as "one of the most beautiful of the mediene" for its contemporary design language.
The first raid in Enschede, the first outside Amsterdam, took place on September 14, 1941. 144 men were deported to Mauthausen. [5] In total, 700 of the 1,200 members of the Jewish community died, remembered by a plaque above the entrance to the prayer room. The building itself was used by the Sicherheitsdienst at the time, and it may be considered a cruel irony of history that the building has therefore remained intact. After the Second World War, the building was returned to use as a synagogue.
In 1987 the synagogue was startled by the theft of sacred silverware. The thief presented the stolen items to a known collector of Judaism, who recognized them and informed the police. The stolen silverware came back that way.
In 1996, the entire 100² stained-glass windows from 1927-1928 were reconstructed and restored by artist Annemiek Punt.
A major restoration of the entire building was carried out between 2001 and 2004, preserving the original style and bringing it back where necessary.
The building is managed and maintained by its owner, the Dutch Jewish Community of Twente [6]. Since 2014, the Friends of the Synagogue Enschede [7] has been responsible for opening hours, guided tours for interested parties and cultural events.
in French language : (idiomatic) To take an extra day off work in addition to a public holiday that falls on a Thursday or Tuesday, thereby making a four-day weekend. If the public holiday falls on Wednesday, the individual has the option of taking either Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday off.
Voilà !
HAPPY BASTILLE DAY !
Nouméa
Nouvelle-Calédonie
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