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NEWS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26. 2005
6A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Kechwa
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"It's so unique to itself," he said. "It's a so not- English, non-Romance language."
Nina Kinti-Moss, lecturer in Latin American studies, taught Kechwa to Frasier. She has taught at the University since 1997, and estimated that five to seven students enrolled in the class each semester.
"Kechwa's pretty much a home-spoken language," she said. Kechwa speakers use another language like Spanish outside and reserve Kechwa for their homes, she said. Through this oral tradition, it survived after the Spanish conquered the Incan empire in the sixteenth century.
"It's preserved by women because women are pretty much the culture of being at home," Kinti-Moss said. "Women are the ones who impart language and culture to their children."
Although the language has survived, economic changes have caused some linguists to predict its disappearance as more indigenous people move toward urbanized areas.
Kinti-Moss said bilingual education programs in Ecuadorian elementary schools provided hope that Kechwa would continue in speech and writing.
NEWYORK — Crude-oil futures leapt $2 past $62.50 a barrel amid a cold snap in the U.S.
Northeast and a report that ConocoPhillips Inc. lost power at a New Jersey refinery. Natural gas prices set a record.
NATION
Armando Solares/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
While the power outage lasted less than an hour, ConocoPhillips said it didn't know when its 238,000-barrel-a-day Bayway refinery in Linden, N.J., could restart.
Natural gas prices set record
The refinery news sent refined-product futures higher, with heating oil leading the gains.
"I think that added to the momentum, but we were already going up when that came out," said Phil Flynn, a broker for Chicago-based AlaronTrading Corp. "It shows that the supply-and-demand balance is still so tightly wound that any disruption" can send prices higher.
Gasoline for the same month rose more than 9 cents to post a high of $1.6750 a gallon, closing up 7.22 cents at $1.6538 a gallon.
Heating oil for November rose more than 10 cents on the day to touch a high $1.90 a gallon. It settled at $1.8899 a gallon, up 9.26 cents.
Florida National Guard members Sgt. George Hartman and 2nd Lt. Chris Poppalardo, right, hand out ice and water to Mary Cadet and others in need in Immokalee, Fla., on Tuesday in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma.
November natural gas rose $1.346 to close at $14.338 per million British thermal units, an all-time settlement high.
- The Associated Press
Florida in recovery
HURRICANE WILMA
Storm causes five deaths, $10 billion in damage
BY ALLEN BREED THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.
— Repair crews across Florida struggled Tuesday to restore electricity to up to 6 million people, reopen the region's airports and replace countless windows blown out of downtown high-rises during Hurricane Wilma's ruinous dash across the state.
Officials said it could take weeks for Florida's most heavily populated region — the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach — to return to normal.
Water and gas became precious commodities, and people waited for hours for free water, ice and food.
motorists tried to cut in line. More than 500 people waited outside one store for cleanup sunplies.
Lines stretched for blocks at the few gas stations with the electricity needed to pump fuel, and arguments broke out when
The quantity of debris was daunting; pieces of roofs, trees, signs, awnings, fences, billboards and pool screens were scattered across several counties. Damage estimates ranged up to $10 billion.
"Tomorrow's going to be better than today," Florida Governor Jeb Bush said.
"We have power! We have power!" several residents of Miami Lakes chanted as they ran out their back doors when the lights came on.
strongest hurricane to strike since 1950.
But barely 24 hours after the Category 3 storm struck, there were signs of recovery.
Winds of more than 100 mph blew out windows in high-rises, many built before Florida enacted tougher construction codes following Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
The school district's 14-story headquarters — known as the "Crystal Palace" — was stripped of nearly its entire glass facade on one side.
Some of the worst damage was in downtown Fort Lauderdale, where Wilma was the
"We're going to have to fix it in a way that is stronger," schools superintendent Frank Till said.
The 21st storm in the worst Atlantic hurricane season on record. Wilma was blamed for at least five deaths statewide.
"It will be days or weeks before we are back to normal." Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez said.
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Lhunpo and Winfrey agree the language doesn't come easily for non-native speakers.
Tibetan grammar places the verb at the end of a sentence in a subject-object-verb or object-subject-verb pattern, such as "the mouse the cat chased."
"Until somebody finishes his or her sentences, you can't understand what he's asking or saying," Lhunno said.
For Lhunpo, each student learning Tibetan contributes to the survival of a threatened culture. He said 1.5 million of his fellow Tibetans died under Chinese rule.
Winfrey said he hoped more students interested in the language or the culture would take the class.
"I think there are some things Tibetans can share to the world, like thinking from different perspectives," he said. "For example, I think how fortunate I am. If the Chinese didn't rule Tibet, I wouldn't be here."
"It's a really interesting window into the Tibetan culture," he said. "Even though Tibetan language might not be suited for international business, the personal experience of learning it, I think, would be a larger reward than the monetary gain."
Kiswahili
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"It's one of the best languages in terms of peace," he said. "We have 125-plus tribes, and each tribe has its own first language. But we have one language which is uniting us, which is Kiswahili."
Rushubirwa, who has taught at the University since March, said students take the class for cultural, academic or recreational reasons.
"You can't learn a culture unless you know the language," he said.
He estimated 18 students had enrolled in his elementary Kiswahili class.
One student, Dominique Franklin, Wichita sophomore, said she hoped she would speak it fluently one day.
"Everybody is taking Spanish," she said. "I wanted to try something cool and different."
Franklin, who is considering a minor in African-American studies, said she planned to travel to Africa during the summer. She finds her greatest challenge in pronouncing and memorizing the different words and meanings.
She said the language reflected the Swahili people's goodwill and hospitality.
"They meet and greet everyone they see," she said. "If you say, 'Knock, knock,' they say, 'Welcome.' It's a very friendly language."
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