Language is inextricably linked to land. In this episode, we explore how the shifts in the landscape have impacted language across generations and cultures.
Featuring:
“Translation (a prayer)” by John Isaiah Edward Hill
“During the drought the road is dry” by Bartosz Panek
John Isaiah Edward Hill is writing a poem to the generations passed and the generations to come in the Oneida language that’s been threatened by settler colonial violence. In their piece “Translation (a prayer)”, we hear two voices: the English voice which is static and unmoving, and the Oneida voice, which moves in a counter-clockwise motion, representative of traditional Haudenosaunee dance practices.
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In Poland, drought has wrecked havoc on the landscape. 2019 was the hottest year on record in Poland, and it’s affecting their entire way of life from water, the soil, food and energy prices. These shifts have meant a shift in the language used to describe water, heat and dryness. In Bartosz Panek’s piece “During the drought the road is dry” he explores how old words are being given a new context alongside the changing climate.
Transcript for “During the drought the road is dry” is below.
[8:49 - 9:00]
During the drought the road is dry.
[9:10 - 9:15]
During the drought the road is dry.
[9:20 - 9:25]
During the drought the road is dry.
[9:34 - 9:34]
Can you see the drought?
[9:34 - 9:54]
So you know... in a place like this it will be seen there... Take a look there, where's upper: dryness has just been appeared. So it’s visible.
If the whole area, the grass here, is burned by the sky, it’s obvious there’s the drought.
[10:03 - 10:33]
Nope! It's not so bad now.
In my backyard I have a garden with some vegetables and it was visible You just need to dig your finger into the soil and you know if it’s dry or humid.
So when the vegetation started in May and June, there was a kind of crisis. But not now.
[11:50 - 11:59]
Damn deckchair. The drought exhorted great havoc. Raspberry season is almost over…
[14:20 - 14:39]
Sasha is treading down a dry road,
He can hardly walk, that’s a forebode.
The heat is pouring out of the sky,
During the drought the road is dry.
[24:09 - 24:17]
Dry across, dry out, dry over, dry totally…
