Here is a pic of Uncle Esau and his wife in their mini-moke.  Uncle Esau is from Fyrish and is well-known for his bread, cakes, and pastries he used to sell in the Albion and Hampshire markets.  This pic was taken today Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at about lunch time.

We have all experienced it. We refer in conversations to an uncle or aunt and then the listener would invariably ask: Which uncle or aunt are you referring to? Is it your father’s brother or mother’s brother or your father’s sister’s husband or your mother’s sister’s husband? The speaker then has to explain which relative he or she is referring to and will only do a good job of it if she or he knows the antecedent to which the common pronoun refers. This is a phenomenon which illustrates one of several limitations that exists in the English language for definitive functional relationships. It is a source of great learning pain and confusion for ESL students and even for students whose mother language is English.

The imprecise nature of the English language and the potential “leak” factor in its ability to transmit meanings are only noticed when its usage is compared, for example to Latin and the Indo-Aryan family of languages. In some studies, English is described as a “lazy” language because: it uses the same word form to mean different things; seems to have more exceptions in its grammatical applications than rules; a word may have a different meaning depending on the pronunciation; the same word would function as a verb and then as a noun in another context! And then it can also be argued that it is an efficient language! Confusion reigns for the learner of this language!

Below is a small sample illustration of pronouns as used in Guyana for a selection of relatives. Note for example that the pronouns grandfather or grandmother in English do not distinguish between a father’s father or a mother’s father. In Hindi or Urdu, the differentiation is unmistakably clear and specific with Ajaah or Dada and Ajee or Nanee. The inadequacy in English to distinguish between uncles and aunts becomes more pronounced. The names “uncle” and “aunty” are used for four different kinds of uncles and aunts with no indication of which particular relationship that person has to the speaker. In Hindi and Urdu, no such ambivalence exists. Precision is the name of the game. We know immediately who the person is when one mentions his Mamoo or Chachee. How fortunate we are to have such a language tool to work with for our reference when we write or speak of our loved ones!

Readers are encouraged to add to this small selection of names listed here, give their opinions, make suggested corrections and share their knowledge with us.

  Ahad Ishoop

September 16, 2010

The capital city of Georgetown will celebrate two hundred years this year. The city of Stabroek was renamed Georgetown on 29 April 1812 in honor of England’s King George III. On 5 May 1812 an ordinance was passed to the effect that the town formerly called Stabroek, with districts extending from La Penitence to the bridges in Kingston and entering upon the road to the military camps, shall be called Georgetown.

The city of Georgetown began as a small town in the 18th century. Originally, the capital of the Demerara-Essequibo colony was located on Borselen Island in the Demerara River under the administration of the Dutch. When the colony was captured by the British in 1781, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Kingston chose the mouth of the Demerara River for the establishment of a town which was situated between Plantations Werk-en-rust and Vlissingen.

It was the French who developed this town and made it their capital city when they captured the colony in 1782. The French called the capital La Nouvelle Ville. When the town was restored to the Dutch in 1784, it was renamed Stabroek after Nicolaas Geelvinck, Lord of Stabroek, and President of the Dutch West India Company. Eventually the town expanded and covered the estates of Vlissingen, La Bourgade and Eve Leary to the North, and Werk-en-rust and La Repentir. Read the rest of this entry »

I have just returned from Toronto. Walter's funeral was a very impressive affair. Hundreds came to pay their respects. He was euologized by many. I wanted to go up and say a few words on behalf of our Alumni Association but there was just no room.

The service today was also attended by hundreds and the burial was accompanied by "showers of blessing." The "lunch" afterwards at the Convention Centre was as lavish as Walter would have wanted. The entire ambience of the funeral and its aftermath was in Walter's own inimitable style – a celebration of life with family and friends. It was a grand reunion as Celina and I reconnected with relatives and friends we had not seen for several decades. Of the old teachers Ramchand Janack and the two Gunraj brothers were there. I spent a lot of time with Walter's family. Walter's wife is taking it hard but the family is strong: brothers, sisters, children, grandchildren and even in-laws are rallying around her.

It was good to be there.

Julius B. Nathoo

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On Friday April 27 @ 11.00AM a cricket match between Corentyne Comprehensive Secondary School and JC Chandisingh Secondary will be played at the Port Mourant Cricket Ground in Guyana.  The memory of Mr. Walter Ramdeholl, who taught at JCCSS and was Principal of Compre, will be honored by the contending teams and spectators.  The match was arranged by Ray Sundar and Julip Singh, who will both be in Guyana and present at the match.

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