Does William's language change throughout the book? If so, how? Does he speak to his friends and family differently? If so, how? Do you speak to your friends differently than you do your family or other adults? Why? Does the use of the Malawian dialect enhance the book? Does it provide more insight into the country's culture? Use examples, in the manner of quotes (always cited in MLA format), to support your findings. Be sure to post your response by Monday at midnight (you get some extra time this holiday weekend). See the course expectations for more information on the blog.
Williams use of language changes throughout the book. In the beginning of the book he talks simply, using basic language and also talks about magical things, like demons and the powers of the Gule Wamkulu. In the beginning of the book he is afraid of these things but as he grows up he stops talking about these things and he focuses on science and talks about stuff like alternating current.
ReplyDeleteWilliam speaks very differently to his parents than he does to his friends. He is extremely polite and respectful towards his parents, more so than any of my friends are to their parents. However, when William is with his friends he jokes and is extremely casual with them, like most boys of that age. He also had his own slang language with his friend Gilbert, and when he greeted him they would start right into it,
"'Gilbert, bo?'
'Bo!'
'Sharp?'
'Sharp!'
'Sure?'
'Sure!'
'Fit?'
Fit!' (18).
This shows how close he and his friend were, and how casual they could be with each other. I also speak very differently to my friends than I do to my family or other adults. I treat my parents and any pother adults with respect because it is custom, while I often give my friends a hard time. The only reason I give my friends a hard time is because I know they will do the same to me later.
The use of the Malawian dialect really helped to show and remind me that the story is taking place in a completely different place from what I know. Even though going into the story I knew it, sometimes when you just read a story you forget about the different setting. It allowed me to open my eyes and realize he was dealing with all of his problems in a completely foreign culture to mine.
In The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, William Kamkwamba's life is changed in an instant. His language in the first half of the book really is focused around struggling through the famine and only holding on to his dreams. The second half of the book is his life after creating the windmill and escaping the famine. He talks about becoming more and more successful rather than becoming hungrier and hungrier like in the first half of the book. It is in this way that his language in the two halves is so different. The only positive language in the first half of the book is when he talks about science and trying to follow his dreams. Still most of the time he is talking about hunger, food, and struggling. After the Malawian president refused to support the people even though they were dying of hunger in the famine, William describes his depressing situation, “Every man for himself. We were on our own” (139). The second half of the book is full of enthusiastic language, “That night, I was too excited to sleep. After everyone went to bed, I stayed awake and flipped through Explaining Physics, preparing for the next step” (209). The attitude and felling in each quote is very different.
ReplyDeleteWilliam sometimes talks very differently to his parents than he does with his friends, but he also talks very seriously to his friends when times call for it. For example he is playful and silly with his friends in the beginning of the book when they played “USA versus Vietnam” (16) and pretended to shoot each other. He is also serious with his friends like when he is talking with Geoffrey about having to quit school, “ ‘Me and You, we’re in he same hopeless situation’ ” (133). William also talks seriously to his parents most of the time, especially in the middle of the famine. His father feels awful in a conversation with William because he doesn’t have money to pay for his schooling, “You know our problems here, son…We have nothing” (132). I speak to my parents and friends in a similar way that William does. Most of the time I speak to my friends in a joking manner and my parents very seriously. Even so, there are times that call for serious conversations with friends and some times for joking around with my parents.
I think that the Malawian dialect does enhance the book. An example of this type of dialect is in their greetings.
“Gilbert, bo?”
“Bo!”
“Sure?”
“Sure!”
These types of conversations give the reader a better direct comparison from our culture to theirs. Reading or listening to foreign conversation can help us understand how another culture may be different or similar to us. The Malawian dialect also helps the reader to realize that this story is taking place in a foreign culture. If the language were plain English the reader would not experience this realization.
In William Kamkwamba’s autobiography, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind, William’s narrative language and voice change drastically as William recounts his life in Africa. In the latter majority of the story, William focuses on two major features of his life: the Malawian crop failure and consequential famine, and William’s interest and eventual success in science. When describing the famine and the suffering it caused for him, his family, and his friends, William uses desperate language and a hopeless tone to convey the reality of the difficult circumstances to the empathetic reader. “As soon as the birds stepped into the kill zone, they realized the bait was only ash and quickly flew away in a burst of wings. I exhaled in defeat and dropped the vine, too exhausted to move. I may have even cried” (143). William’s language is full of pain and despaire, however as the book progresses, the famine passes, and William begins to describe in detail is passion and curiosity for science, his language changes. He becomes excited, animated, and hopeful. “It was glorious light and it was absolutely mine! I threw my hands in the air and screamed with joy. I began to laugh… ‘I did it and I’m going to go bigger now. Just wait and see’” (204). With a grasp of science and a thirst for knowledge, William has a ticket out of his world of despair, and a permanent source of happiness. William’s language changes less on a day-to-day basis. Between school and home William speaks to his friends and family in similar ways. His parents are affectionate, and William has no reservations when telling both his family (young and old) and his friends about his scientific plans or daily activities. This in addition to the examples of Malawian dialect throughout the book demonstrate much about Malawian culture, including that it is a very social, unreserved society. This is quite different than American society. I have found, (and so it turns out have my friends) that I speak to my friends very differently than I do to my family. In the U.S., teens are much more reserved when speaking to their parents than they are when speaking to other teens. I think this is because we are a less open society than Malawi. I agree with Brendan when he says that the use of Malawian dialect in the book illustrates and highlights the differences between varying cultures. This is an important lesson for the reader, as Brendan says.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Kamkwamba’s use of language in the book, the boy who harnessed the wind changed throughout the book. In the first half of the book William focuses on his insecurities, how he is afraid of magical powers and the Gule Wamkulu How he is coping through the hunger throughout his village, having a hard time holding on to what seems to be far fetched dreams. In the second half of the book he is busy following his dreams and creating a windmill instead of focusing on the famine in his village. There were hints of positive language in the beginning of the book where he was talking about school and learning, but most of the time he was struggling to live, for instance William would give in to his self-conscious saying “ I have to eat”(141). Where as in the second half of the book the language has hope and determination, “ I could see the windmill…my stomach did a flip every time I saw it (207). Each of these quotes have every different feelings when read.
ReplyDeleteWilliam speaks differently to his parents then he does to his friends. William is almost careful of what he says around his parents, he is refined and respectful more so then to his friends. When William is with his friends he is more casual then with his parents for instance when William and Geoffery were talking about improvement for his lights Geoffery said “ I warned you about the roof “(216). William replying, “ Sure, sure, but I didn’t listen”(216). This showed how he could be casual without having to make sure he wasn’t paying constant attention as he would is he was talking with his parents. I Speak to my parents In a similar way as William does, it is natural to me to treat my parents with respect, where as I banter or joke around with my friends a bit more.
I agree with Brendan when he says that the Malawian dialect does enhance the book, it gives us a perspective of the Malawian culture and how they address each other from day to day. Reminding us that we are from two very different countries.
Throughout “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” William's language does change as his knowledge of science increases, from the beginning when his world is filled with magic to the moment he begins to read the science texts. Early on in the story when William is reading about magnetic fields he says, “The earth [has] natural magnetic fields... [they] appear like the wings of a butterfly” (164). And later, after installing light switches in his home William says “Finally I could touch the wall and get lights” (212). William, attempting to learn about the natural world, describes the magnetic fields using familiar objects like butterflies. He communicates the description of his light switches in the way he knows how, with the sense of magic he first felt when he had seen someone touch the walls to turn the lights on. Later in his life, however, William would be able to describe things with much more intelligence. At the World Economic Forum on Africa in 2008 William spoke about technology in emerging countries, a major step up from his culture of magic in Malawi. I think that Brendan put it best when he mentioned how William's life changed in an instant: He went through an extremely rapid transformation from the poor farmer's son to the successful high achieving student at one of America's best schools. It is no surprise that his language changed just as rapidly.
ReplyDeleteWhen talking, William always speaks respectfully no matter who he is addressing. However, the language William uses with his friends includes more slang, one of the parallels between our society and his. Kids in America will usually speak more respectfully to their parents, teachers, coaches, and other adults than to their friends, who they treat more casually. When talking with Geoffrey, William says, “'Eh, bambo, it's a good thing I’m too poor to buy proper wire...'” (216). By using slang, William is more casual with his friends. He would never call his parents or another adult “bambo” out of respect, but using the word with his friends is not necessarily disrespectful. The same goes for our culture. Most American kids wouldn’t speak the same way to their parents as to their friends. This commonality between American and Malawian cultures is caused, I think, by essentially the same thing. Though the two cultures are isolated from each other, teenagers in both cultures treat their parents differently simply because of the difference in generations. New generations unavoidably have more technological prowess than the older generations, something everybody has experienced with their parents. William is no exception, as his mom and dad did not understand William's motive for building the windmill let alone how the windmill works. Yet William's friends, who did not have as much of a drive as William to learn, certainly believed the windmill was possible as they gave William much help and money.
Although the Malawi dialect is used frequently in the book, I don't think it improves the story that much or relates more about their culture to the reader. When Gilbert buys the dynamo for William, William says, “'Zikomo kwambiri, Gilbert... Thank you very much'” (193). The implied meaning of the Malawian words is “Thank you very much.” If the author had not included the Malawi, nothing would be lost in the meaning for me because I do not speak Malawian, and if the author had not included the English translation I would have no idea what it means. However, including the Malawian dialect does one thing: it helps remind the reader where the characters are. By reading a book in English about a foreign country where people speak another language, it's easy for the reader to forget that the characters are not in America with the resources of an industrialized world. Almost everything about William's life is foreign to us, including the language, and by using the language in the book the author is reminding the reader of William's situation.
William’s language does indeed change throughout the story. One obvious example is the way that he speaks with his close friends, Geoffrey and Gilbert. Whenever they meet, they always start off with a casual, “Bo!” William would never start off a conversation like this with his parents. Since the story the book tells is about William's life, his language changes from when he starts off as a child, to when he grows into a young adult. It starts with him almost being fearful of the world and what there is to see. He explains his childhood involving a lot of magic, a primary reason why he was so afraid. This is shown when he ate the bubble gum. The man who had lost the gum then came to him and his father and said, “’I’ve gone to see the sing’anga, and whoever ate the gum will soon be sorry” (4). William was terrified, but he later discovers that the witch doctor (the sing’anga) is not all powerful as he claims to be for his father then “saves his life” by a simple apology to the man. From this point on, William starts seeing things differently as he starts to develop an interest to discover why things happen. Fear is not only an aspect with his life, but with all of our lives. When we are young, don’t we tend to be a bit timid around most things, especially things that we haven’t seen before? I believe most adults show some fear at things that they had not seen before. As William gets older, he starts talking a lot about electricity, circuits, and dynamos. He develops a natural interest for building and engineering. One day, he asked for Gilbert’s radio. He said, “I want to extract its motor and use it to generate electricity… from a windmill” (172). I think this change in language helps us understand the book better because it shows that he as a person has changed. He’s changed from a timid little kid into an adult that is pursuing his dreams or interests.
ReplyDeleteI personally know that my language changes around different people. I tend to treat my friends quite casually. Similar to how William treats his friends. I tend to treat adults in a formal fashion. I, however, do treat my parents quite casually but that’s mostly because I’ve known them for quite a long time. I do find it helpful when William includes some of his Malawian dialect in his speech. It helped us see what kind of a person he was. He explained many of the words that he used to use like Vappassi Pot. I smiled when William said, “Leftovers were so cherished that we kids had even given them a name: VP after ‘vapasi pot,’ meaning the bottom of the pot” (102). Those kinds of explanations help us understand the book better because we can relate to those examples. I know many of us used to lick the spoon after our parents were finished making a cake batter.
I hadn’t noticed before, but after reading Parker’s comment, I agree that the Malawian culture is quite social and unreserved. This could be a manner of Malawian culture that differs from American culture. However, I feel like it could be because that William’s village is small. Oftentimes when one lives in a small village, they get to know the people around them better than if they live in a large community or a city. That could be a reason why everyone’s so open with each other. Maybe in Malawi’s larger cities, that may not be the case. People may be more reserved in the more developed parts of the country. Adding on to Parker’s comment about how American’s are more reserved in their speech with others, I’d like to point out that a possible reason for that could be our large cities. Perhaps we train ourselves to be more reserved because everyone around us is just going by us and trying to get on with their lives instead of stopping by and giving a nice greeting.
I believe that William Kamkwamba’s language in “The Boy who Harnessed the Wind” does change throughout the book. In the beginning William seems to just state things. The story about the gumballs is told not shown. Even when he is crying there is no actual emotional feel to the words. “I began crying so hard I couldn’t move my legs” (4). He tells us about his village, its history, and the magic everyone believed in, rather than showing it to us as he does later. He seems to be spewing things out that come to mind in the beginning while towards the end he is more intent on conveying his emotions and thoughts. “From the top, I looked out onto the country I loved-across the vast green fields and craggy slopes of the highlands, which sent a familiar breeze through the valley and whipped the blades behind me”(279). William talks to his friends somewhat differently than he does to his family. He doesn’t always speak what is on his mind to his family. He shows more respect and deference to his parents when talking to them. With his friends he speaks freely and uses slang. He is able to do experiments with them and discuss things his parents wouldn’t necessarily understand. “’What’s wrong with you?’ she said. ‘Your friends don’t behave this way. When you go to Gilbert’s house, you don’t see this kind of thing. I man, look at this room! It looks like a madman’s room. Only madmen collect garbage’” (189). I talk to my friends and family in just about the same way. Sometimes there are things which I prefer to talk about with my friends or brothers than with my parents, but that seldom happens. The use of the Malawian dialect adds to the story in my opinion. I think the language enhances the reader’s understanding of the barriers William had to overcome. I feel that it does provide insight into the culture. The fact that English was not in everyday use testifies to the community and culture the village has. The dialect, the prejudice, the superstition, the poverty and lack of education come together and give the reader the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of a third world country.
ReplyDeleteI agree somewhat with what parker and brendan said about william's language changing throughout the book based on the subject he was talking about. Then again the subject he was talking about was mostly what changed. the style didn't change that much but he words he used did because they were on a different topic. i also agree with matt on the intelligent description part. he was able to express himself well with better descriptions once he had gone back to school and learned more. and finally i agree with ziqi that the change in language expresses change in his character and person in the book. i believe that as he got more commforable with writting his story down is another reason his language changed a bit.
ReplyDeleteWilliam's language alters significantly while telling his life story in the book The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. It changes not only because of the different emotions that different times in his life bring out, but also because he grows older and there are things in his life that have changed dramatically. The language used in the beginning is less complex because its more focused on magic and fears of his. Near the ending of the book, it seems to the reader that he is determined and that he can overcome the suffering his country has felt during the famine. Not only this, but that he can conquer it himself. Both his family and friends happen to struggle in those hard times with him, so obviously they can share the same feelings. When talking to his friends, he comes off to the reader as eager to see them and it seems that he enjoys being with them. With his family on the other hand, it's every day that he sees them and it's a usual thing to him. Therefore, his attitude is a little less energetic when he speaks to them. He is respectful to his parents just as I am to mine and he follows orders and completes his chores. The way I speak to my friends is kind of like the way William speaks to his friends. It's energetic and filled with excitement, but I see my friends often so there isn't much of a long time no see attitude. Family is different because I live with them everyday and I love each and every one of my family members.
ReplyDeleteThe Malawian dialect that is used in the book enhances it because for most of us, we haven't heard it before and it is unique and special. It provides insight to their culture because of how differently they interact with one another. For instance, during the famine people were looking for jobs to make ends meet.
“But with the famine still fresh on my mind, I expected them to ask the same question I’d been hearing from every stranger for months: Ganyu? I’m looking for ganyu...
Instead, it was our normal happy greeting.
“Muli bwanji!” How are you?
“Ndiri bwino, kaya inu?” Fine, and you?
“Ndiri bwino!” Fine.
“Zikomo!” Thanks for asking.
“Zikomo!” No, thank you (158).
I also think that because they don’t use technology as often, then socializing is the way they cope other than farming and education and so on. I think that this shows that even though people were struggling, that being friendly and kind to one another can also help. The dialect is very strong because there is more of a connection between these villagers. It makes the story more interesting and makes it have even more of an impact on the readers.
William Kamkwamba's language varies throughout his book, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. When addressing his friends, William tended to use a type of slang. The young boys picked up this type of language, and only used it between each other. They used words such as "bo" and "sharp".
ReplyDelete"This was our slang, strictly observed at every meeting. The word "bo" was short for bonjour, started by some chaps learning French in secondary school and wanting to show off. I don't know where "sharp" came from, but it was like saying, "Are you cool?"" (18).
Despite his use of slang with his friends, when speaking to his elders, William always spoke with great respect. "Papa, please, some kwacha notes for my walls" (14). I know that I too usually speak differently when I am with my friends than when I'm addressing my parents. The respect shown to elders in the Malawi culture is greatly emphasized through William's writing about his father and his father's life.
I agree with Bethany when she said that his language changes throughout the book, starting with William stating things then leading into him really explaining things. As he starts to become interested in physics and build his creation, he goes from stating facts to explaining in depth what was happening. When William explains the drought he really lets the reader feel the pain of the victims, unlike how he began the book, where he just told how his life was and what his father's history was. "Even as these people starved, their bellies, feet, and faces swelled with fluid like ticks filling with blood" (135). His language is filled with emotion and the reader can feel every part of it.
In the "Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" by William Kamkwamba, Williams voice evolves as he matures into adulthood. As a young boy William does not talk at all about batteries and technology but more about magic and imagination. He had not yet read books, so he was not the best story teller in the beginning. He would start a story out of the blue and let it trail off, making it confusing. When he is younger he also did not know the bits and pieces behind inventions, but rather, accepts things for what they appear on the outside. When he gets older and begins to read, he starts discussing the nitty gritty details about things. He begins to take into account that "magic" is not the explanation behind all things, so his dialect quickly matured into sounding more scientific. He begins to believe that there is creator of inventions who put parts together to make it look like magic, and he soon finds him self wanting to be that man. He quickly became more intelligent through his readings like when he says, "I was able to grasp principles like magnetism and induction and the differences between AC and DC"(166). Because he was so curious he was able to inform his friends of his new discoveries, which he probably would not have done years before when he still only believed in magic. I noticed that William does speak differently to his parents rather than his friends. Towards his parents (and other adults) he is very respectful and doesn't want them to be concerned with his projects. When speaking towards his teacher he says "Yes Madame" (166). With his friends, he is still very respectful of them but slacks off with his attitude and talks to his friends using slang. His mother thinks he is a little crazy for what he is building, but William's friends are more understanding so he is able to talk more freely about himself to them. With my family, I try to be as respectful as possible and polite like William, but with my friends I tend to loosen up more and joke around. I think the use of Malawian dialect does enhance the book because it is William telling his story so he it is great that he was able to use his own words and thoughts. With the Malawian dialect being portrayed in the book, it makes it easier to feel apart of story as well as the culture. From the little clips of videos we have watched so far, it's really cool to hear Williams "accent" with American terms. It was much easier to the read english, than when it was to hear William saying it out loud.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Lillian and Bethany said above, with that his language varies completely throughout the book. From childhood to adulthood, and from friends to parents his use of words are quite different. Also I agree and noticed that as he matures his language has much more depth to it, carrying more emotion in it than he did in the beginning of the story.
William’s use of language changes throughout the book. Early in the story, William’s language refers to magic and superstitions. For example, after watching Phiri and James in a fight, William observes that, “Phiri’s magic had been so strong it had simply rubbed off like poison” (41). William instantly accepts magic as the explanation for who won the fight. He doesn’t consider whether or not magical powers are possible, or how such powers would work. Instead, he assumes that magic is real. Towards the second half of the story, William begins to realize that his assumption was wrong; He turns more towards science, at which point his language becomes more science oriented. For example, when working with the radio, William realizes that, “its motor produced DC power” (164). William understands that this different from the dynamo, “which produced AC power and only worked when connected to the radio’s AC plug” (164). By reading in the library, William’s language had become more scientific.
ReplyDeleteWilliam’s language when communicating with friends is different from the language he uses with family. When communicating with his friend Gilbert, he greeted him by saying, “Gilbert, bo?” (168). However, when William addresses family members, he is more formal; He doesn’t use slang. I, like William, speak to friends differently than with family. I am also less formal when I talk to friends, and more formal when speaking with family. I speak this way to respect my family members, especially my parents.
I believe that the Malwain dialect enhances the book. At one point in the story, William was hunting with Charity and Geoffry when William caught a bird and yelled, “Tonga! I’ve got it!” (54). The Malwain word “Tonga” was effective because it strengthened my connection with William. In my mind, I was able to vividly picture not only what William was doing, but also what he was saying.
Despite enhancing the story, I do not believe that the dialect provides insight into Malwain culture. As stated earlier, the Malwain word “Tonga” enhanced my mental image of the scene taking place. It did not, however, teach me anything about Malwain culture. This is because learning a foreign language does not teach you their culture. If I learn to speak French, for example, I haven’t learned anything about how French people live, what they eat, or how they amuse themselves. Therefore, while the Malwain dialect is enticing, it does not aid my understanding of their culture.
I agree with Ziqi Wang’s statement about how our large cities cause us to be more reserved in our speech. In a small town like the one William lived in, people are very rarely in a hurry. They always have time to stop and talk with each other. In a large city however, people are rushed and feel no need to stop and talk.
I agree with Dan in how his language changes from magic to science. I really like how we have been able to identify multiple changes in language from the first half of the book to the second such as magic to science and poverty to fame. I disagree with what Dan says about his friends. I think everyone at some point or another also is very respectful to friends (this is ironic because I'm giving Dan a hard time which suggests we are less respectful to our friends). I also disagree with Dan in a way with that we can't learn a country's culture from their language. I think that hearing ho people talk to eachother like the french suggests how they treat eachother and what sort of feelings they have. language lets us know the culture of the people.
ReplyDeleteIn The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, William’s perceptions of the world and how it works change drastically. In the beginning of the book he talks about the Gule Wamkulu and mangolomera. He doesn’t understand the world around him and looks to magic for solace. At first William relies on magic to explain the mysteries in the world but as he begins to learn about science his language changes drastically. His life revolves around science and he focuses about alternating current and circuits.
ReplyDeleteWilliam speaks to his parents in a very different way than how he speaks to his peers. When he is around boys of his own age William uses slang like the call and response of,
“’Gilbert, bo?’
‘Bo!’
‘Sharp?’
‘Sharp!’
‘Fit?’
‘Fit’” (179)
William and his friends are very nonchalant and treat each other like equals. William speaks very differently around his parents. He treats them with respect and never openly disobeys them. This shows that he felt as if his parents were powerful. The way William speaks to his parents is different from how I speak to my parents. I often joke with my family and there is more discourse than in William’s family. Also I do not hesitate to tell my father if I disagree with him while William is always careful to be respectful and not offend his father.
The use of Malawian dialect was very interesting as it gave me an idea of how the people in William’s village spoke to each other. By preserving the book the way that the people in William’s village spoke we get a better idea of how they interacted with each other. I think the Malawian culture is very social and friendly. Many villagers share their belongings and passers by are always willing to let William play with their Dynamos. The dialects of the villagers really showed how they socialized with each other.
I agree with Dan that throughout the book William’s language refers to magic but that it changes to science later. I also agree that William treats his family more formally than he treats his friends. I don’t agree that the Malawian dialect was ineffective in showing the culture. I think that by showing how the people spoke we were able to understand how they speak to each other and how they interacted with people in the village. This showed me a lot about how Malawian culture is very relaxed and social.
I agree with Matt about how the language changes as his knowledge changes in a positive way. I feel that as he is opened up to the world and the many “magical” things in it such as technology, he starts becoming more bright and then uses that to his advantage to create more windmills and technology for his own country. Along with Brendan, I too agree with Dan that it changes from “magic to science and poverty to fame”.
ReplyDeleteHe speaks to us truthfully, whereas he tends to lie for the better to his family. For instance: William puts on a proud face as his father tells him he won't be attending school due to money issues. Then to us, the reader, he explains how depressed this makes him. "I could see that my father felt terrible, but I was certain it was nothing compared to how sad I felt" (133). I feel that I do the same with my family versus my friends. I usually tell my parents enough so that I a. won't get in trouble or b. they believe I'm fine. Whereas with my friends I tend to explain the whole story, with all emotions involved. The use of malawian dialect enhances the book because it mixes in his culture with the story. Similar to how he intertwines his family life with the story of the windmill to make us understand his desire and need for wind energy. Usually the malawian words he taught us had to do with his culture and past, like the magic witches. For instance when he is teaching us about "mangolomera, a form of magic that delivered superhuman strength" (41). This was a past memory where he had a boy from his town cut his knuckles and rub powder in them in order to obtain this ultimate strength. Of course the magic never set in and just left him with infected, cut knuckles.
ReplyDeleteIn respons to carolyn's post:
ReplyDeleteI agree that through the beginning of the book William speaks mostly about his insecurities. Really the first half of the book is about magic and his focus on the famine. The second half of the book is focused on his work and building the windmill. It doesn't drag on like the famine section did, he had more things to do and more work to explain. I also agree that the beginning of the book was more searching for life, like all his hunting trips for food. Then towards the end he seemed to care less and less about food and more about the big picture: finishing the windmill and forever having energy and water which meant forever having food and crops.
In the book The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind, William's language greatly changes throughout the book. At the start of the book he thinks and talks very simply. He believes in such things as magic and many times speaks in fear that magic will cause his death. For example, "That night, the witches would come for me in my bed. They'd take me aboard their planes and force me to fight, leaving me for dead along the magic battlefields" (4). But as the book goes on the way he thinks and talks becomes more sophisticated and confident. At the beginning, science is but a mystery to William and magic is the only way to explain why things happen. But as the book progresses, and as he learns about science, he puts aside thoughts of magic and is confident in the power of science. For example, when he is talking to some officials from the Malawi Teacher Training Activity he says, "In order to have many lights, I have to charge, which is DC. These tiny car lights are the only DC bulbs I could find.
ReplyDeleteWilliam speaks to his friends much differently than he does his family. He uses slang with Gilbert that, as he explains in restricted for their every meeting. He'll say,
"Gilbert, bo?" (18).
"Bo!" (18).
"Sharp?" (18).
"Sharp!" (18).
While this may seem meaningless to others they have sort of their own language with each other, but is only for them. He will speak more properly to his parents and show more respect they he might to his friends. It is the same kind of thing as when it comes to my friends and family. There I things I would only say to my friends and not my parents. I can joke around with my friends a lot more than I can with my parents. I have to show them and all other adults the respect they deserve as my elders.
The way that William and everybody else communicates gives me a better idea of what Malawi is like and the kind of hardship they went through and still go through. It makes the book feel a little more real for me. I also enjoyed the authentic words from William's native that he put in even though we have no idea of what they mean.
I agree with what Carl said about treating friends differently than adults. We as teenagers need to and are supposed to respect them as our elders. It is different with our friends because we are all around the same age and have more of a relationship where we are all on the same level. But when it comes to adults, they are older than us and have lived longer and have earned the write to have our respect.
ReplyDeleteIn his novel “The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind”, William Kamkwamba doesn’t change the general style of the language while telling his story. His general style of relating his story to his readers does not undergo very many during the story, although the topics change drastically. A very good example for this, is when he explains things like physics, or how he built certain objects: “Using a nail and a heavy wrench…” (60), and then at the end: “Using a flathead screwdriver…” (173). For the first example, he is talking about one of his knives, and for the second one, he is talking about his model windmill. Although in between these two explanations he starved, was laughed at and lost his sister and his dog, he still uses the same phrase. It is apparent that he wrote his novel with one train of thought, and never put it down until he was done, thus his language did not change very much. Another reason for this, is that in the prologue he already has completed his windmill and is describing people’s reactions. The whole novel is a flashback so the language will stay the same throughout. The one thing about his language that does change though, is the fact that he, as has been mentioned before, changes the way he speaks for addressing different people. Due to the culture, he is open with strangers, but also polite. He looks up greatly to his father and has the utmost respect for his parents. His friends he treats the way friends should be treated: in a colloquial manner. In his novel the only language undergoing changes is his own speech, but not his language as far as the actual storytelling is concerned.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Carl, that the different dialect kept reminding me of how Kamkwamba is in a different country, and it kept reminding me that whenever he spoke in the novel, it was actually a different language. It was not so much the dialect, though, that gave me insight into the culture. Kamkwanba took the time to explain the differences, for instance “If a foreigner invites a Malawian to supper and serves him plates of steak and pasta and chocolate cake for dessert, but no nsima, he’ll go home and tell his brothers and sisters, “There was no food there…”” (72-73). It is these explanations that give insight into the Malawian culture, and not so much the dialect.
Williams speech thew out the story has an odd back words “digression”. In the book you notice this because the story has dialog which is direct quotation from speeches and conversations he had in real life, as apposed to the first half of the story where William is speaking in English translated Malawian. William attends the TED international conference at the end of the story. While he was there he gave a speech where he said “I want to made a windmill”. (91) Where as earlier in the book William speaks threw his writer and his English is better. Earlier in the story William is speaking to his friend and he says in perfect English, “How can you even enjoy it?” (24). I believe that the addition of Malawian to his translated English allows the William to keep its sense of youth fullness and make him seem like he is still a little boy. William speaks with more Malawian when he is speaking with his friends because when he is talking with his friends he uses more colloquial terminology. A large amount of local terms in Malawi are impossible to translate because they are of things we don’t have in our society. However when William is talking with his parents he speaks with much better English showing that he is speaking to them properly in stead of speaking in local slang.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Parker in the sense that allot of the feeling that the story gives you is because of way he speaks with his family and friends. Also that his language changes with his interests.
In the Boy Who Harnessed the Win, William’s language does seem to change as the book progresses. In the beginning of the story, much of his dialogue is interspersed with Malawian slang term that he uses among his friends. Once he gets to America, he doesn’t use it anymore, as he doesn’t really have anyone to use it to. Also, in many of the chapters in the earlier parts of the book, William will say a term in Malawi, then provide the English translation, which helps give a glimpse into his culture and customs. These also tend to pop up less frequently later in the book, which could mean that he was adopting more western customs-or, more likely, just didn’t feel the need to use them anymore.
ReplyDeleteThe use of Malawi slang also enhances the general feel, and character of the village, showing the difference between his casual conversations, with heavy slang and banter between him and his friends, and the more formal, sometimes silted conversations between him and the adults of the village. I found interesting the difference in feel between the Malawi dialect used between friends, and between him and adults. For example, we have the difference between
“Gilbert , bo?”
“Bo!”
“Sharp?”
“Sharp!”
“Fit?”
“Fit!” (Loc 2918)
And
“Going to the trading center, as usual,” said Charity, “Looking for some Ganyu, but not hopeful.” (Loc 2333)
which show the different types of Malawi dialect used.
In addition to the shifts between Malawi and English, his prose also changed as the book goes on, and what he tends to focus on. At the beginning of the book, we are treated to long descriptions of the everyday life of his village, with paragraphs devoted to farming at the beginning of nearly each chapter. For example, chapter six starts on a many-paragraph description of the agrarian life of his village. A somewhat related subject is the prominence of food, with the starvation diet his family subsided on making it and important part of their lives. Once again, both of these fade as the book progresses, as food become less of an issue, and more time is devoted to elaborate descriptions of his work on the windmill.
Throughout the book "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" William Kamkwamba's language changed from formally speaking to his fellow town members to a relaxed slang around his friends. When I am with my friends I talk and feel more relaxed rather than when I am with my dad and I have to constantly be grammar perfect. The use of the Malawian dialect enhanced the book by making it so we could connect more to the book and the Malawian culture.
ReplyDelete"Gilbert, bo?"
"Bo!" (18)
I agree with Brendan how he says the use of conversations in the book really link us better in the book and better interest us to continue throughout the remainder of the book.
In the book "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" by William Kamkwamba, Kamkwamba's use of language changes throughout the book. He uses different emotions of his language to different people. When William is around his family or the people in his village, his emotion is more serious and he is more uptight. Then when he is around his friends his use of language changes to being more casual. In some ways I am like William. When I'm around my family and teachers I am more polite and respectful. When I'm around my friends I am more comfortable and don't have that good of manners.
ReplyDelete"Gilbert, bo?"
"Bo!"
"Sharp?"
"Sharp!"
"Fit?"
"Fit!"
(p.179)
William Kamkwamba's use of the Malawian dialect strengthens the power of the book and helps the reader understand him and the book better. Even though many people don't know the Malawian language, Kamwamba helps them to understand where he is coming from and helps them to imagine themselves in his shoes.
I also agree with Brendan with how the use of William's language gives us comparisons from his culture to ours. It lets us connect us to his world and see the major similarities and differences between the two cultures.