Title – Village Sing Sing
Date – September 2002
Location - Christmas Island - Kiribati
A ‘sing-sing’ is a Pidgin word for a dance show or party; and in the pacific they know all about putting on a party. Traditional singing and dancing is an important part of the culture and truly living art. If you have the opportunity to visit almost any of the pacific islands you may well find yourself invited to attend one of these performances and I have yet to come across anyone who has not found the experience fascinating, fun and a great honour.
Pidgin is a common language in many parts of the world, but specifically in the old British Colonies. It’s a combination of basic English and native languages that is often the only way for tribes from island nations previously isolated from each other to communicate. On the island of Papua for example over 820 languages are spoken by different tribes. The languages from this island alone account for almost 12% of all the languages spoken on the planet. Pidgin sometimes seems relatively easy to pick up, superficially it may seem simply to be English words being repeated to have a related meaning, as in the case of sing-sing; but get into a destination where nothing else is spoken and you will struggle to understand it.
Beyond The Blue run workshops to assist people planning to travel to any part of the world to prepare for their trip. Through our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop we advise you on appropriate destinations and inform you on what to expect when you get there. Effective preparation for your trip will allow you the luxury of feeling confident and relaxed when you are far away from home.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Date – September 2002
Location - Christmas Island - Kiribati
A ‘sing-sing’ is a Pidgin word for a dance show or party; and in the pacific they know all about putting on a party. Traditional singing and dancing is an important part of the culture and truly living art. If you have the opportunity to visit almost any of the pacific islands you may well find yourself invited to attend one of these performances and I have yet to come across anyone who has not found the experience fascinating, fun and a great honour.
Pidgin is a common language in many parts of the world, but specifically in the old British Colonies. It’s a combination of basic English and native languages that is often the only way for tribes from island nations previously isolated from each other to communicate. On the island of Papua for example over 820 languages are spoken by different tribes. The languages from this island alone account for almost 12% of all the languages spoken on the planet. Pidgin sometimes seems relatively easy to pick up, superficially it may seem simply to be English words being repeated to have a related meaning, as in the case of sing-sing; but get into a destination where nothing else is spoken and you will struggle to understand it.
Beyond The Blue run workshops to assist people planning to travel to any part of the world to prepare for their trip. Through our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop we advise you on appropriate destinations and inform you on what to expect when you get there. Effective preparation for your trip will allow you the luxury of feeling confident and relaxed when you are far away from home.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
No comments:
Post a Comment