World’s languages traced back to single African mother tongue: scientists.
New Zealand researchers have traced every human language — from English to Mandarin — back to an ancestral language spoken in Africa 50,000 to 70,000 years ago.
Scientists say they have traced the world’s 6,000 modern languages — from English to Mandarin — back to a single “mother tongue,” an ancestral language spoken in Africa 50,000 to 70,000 years ago.
New research, published in the journal Science, suggests this single ancient language resulted in human civilization — a Diaspora — as well as advances in art and hunting tool technology, and laid the groundwork for all the world’s cultures.
The research, by Quentin Atkinson from the University of Auckland in New Zealand, also found that speech evolved far earlier than previously thought. And the findings implied, though did not prove, that modern language originated only once, an issue of controversy among linguists, according to the New York Times.
Before Atkinson came up with the evidence for a single African origin of language, some scientists had argued that language evolved independently in different parts of the world.
Atkinson found that the first populations migrating from Africa laid the groundwork for all the world’s cultures by taking their single language with them. “It was the catalyst that spurred the human expansion that we all are a product of,” Atkinson said, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Atkinson traced the number distinct sounds, or phonemes — consonants, vowels and tones — in 504 world languages, finding compelling evidence that they can be traced back to a long-forgotten dialect spoken by our Stone Age ancestors, according to the Daily Mail.
Atkinson also hypothesized that languages with the most sounds would be the oldest, while those spoken by smaller breakaway groups would utilize fewer sounds as variation and complexity diminished.
The study found that some of the click-using languages of Africa have more than 100 phonemes, or sounds, whereas Hawaiian, toward the far end of the human migration route out of Africa, has only 13, the Times reported. English has about 45 phonemes.
The phoneme pattern mirrors the pattern of human genetic diversity as humans spread across the globe from sub-Saharan Africa around 70,000 years ago.
Source: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/business-tech/science/110415/language-science-linguistics-mother-tongue-english-chinese-mandarin-africa
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Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.The names Lincoln and Kennedy each contain seven letters.
Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Both wives lost a son while living in the White House.Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both were shot behind the head.Here is an interesting one…
Lincoln’s secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy’s secretary was named Lincoln.Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners.Both successors were named Johnson.
Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy was born in 1939.Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are made of fifteen letters.Mr. Booth shot Lincoln in a Theatre called “Ford”.
Lee Harvey Oswald, shot Kennedy in a car called “Ford” Lincoln.Booth ran from a theater and was caught in a warehouse.
Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theater.Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.
And last but not least,
A month before Lincoln was shot he was in Monroe, Maryland.
A month before Kennedy was shot he was with Marilyn Monroe.
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Monkeys Use Money to GAMBLE and Buy PROSTITUTES!
Enricko Lukman | January 20, 2012
Ever wondered what life’s like in a tollbooth? Well, My Jakarta spoke to a 15-year veteran, Kurniawati, second left, who quit university to pursue her dream job working for Jasa Marga, the toll road operator.
She reveals the tricks to working inside a tiny booth, talks about making change on the fly and tells us why her uniform didn’t used to have pockets.
Besides taking money and making change, what else do you do inside that tiny booth?
I usually listen to music. We are allowed to bring our own music and radios into the booth, but that’s about it. We have to leave all our other belongings in a locker, including our phones and money. We also need to keep records of the money that we bring to work. Back in the old days, our uniforms didn’t even have any pockets.
We are also encouraged to contribute to the Practical Improvement and Quality Improvement Group programs by suggesting ideas that can improve our work and service. For example, one of the ideas was to install an extra camera at the tollgate, to help collectors categorize vehicles without having to look outside.
Have you always wanted to work as a tollgate officer?
Surprisingly, yes, it has always been my dream to work for Jasa Marga. I heard that the workers received a complete set of benefits, bonuses and a very good salary. And all of that turned out to be true. And the moderate workload makes it a very enjoyable job. Not once in 15 years have I regretted working here.
Back then I had just graduated from high school in Tegal [Central Java] and I decided to try my luck in Jakarta. I enrolled in Moestopo University, but not long after that I heard about a job vacancy at Jasa Marga and dropped out of college hoping to seize the opportunity. Having been at my dream job for 15 years now makes me really happy.
How does Jasa Marga decide what tollgate you will be placed at?
We get bonuses based on the number of vehicles that we serve. That’s one of the main reasons behind the scheduled rotations, making sure that everyone gets their fair share of transactions. But sometimes it comes down to your preference, like choosing a tollgate that is closer to home.
Have you ever ran out of change ?
Never. At the CTC tollgate we know the right amount of change needed every day. We have carried out surveys, make use of our own experience and cooperate with Bank BJB to figure out what the exact amounts are. We never run out of change here.
What about forgetting the toll rates?
Thank goodness no. We’ve all memorized them inside out. It’s part of the training, we have to memorize the rates, be able to calculate them in our heads and take note of tickets manually. We also need to be ready for customer complaints and be friendly to them at all times. Someone would only forget a rate right after a rate change, but even that would be rare. And most drivers are aware of what they have to pay, which helps keep the process on track.
What happens when nature calls when you’re in the booth?
We’ve also got that covered. There are two kinds of toll officers, the duty officer and the guard officer. Duty officers are the ones who deal with transactions while the guard officers stand by in a separate room. Guard officers will take over transactions when the need arises. We are all rostered as guard officers once a week.
How much do tollgate officers make a month?
A high school graduate will earn about Rp 3 million or Rp 4 million [$335 to $450] a month, with an annual 8 percent raise. This year, though, Jasa Marga will give us a 20 percent raise in July to keep up with inflation.
Jasa Marga also welcomes college and university graduates. They can take a test and if they are successful they will get a better salary and job title.
We have to work at least 14 years before we are eligible for a promotion, 10 years for exceptional candidates.
You’re here at the Tanjung Duren tollgate. How much does this gate collect daily?
The two booths at Tanjung Duren collect around Rp 45 million each day.
That seems like a lot of money, so why do tolls increase every two years?
Inflation makes the regular increases necessary. Sometimes there are cross-subsidies that increase rates for category-one vehicles and decrease them for other categories. So rate increases don’t always affect all categories at the same time.
Increases are enacted through ministerial decree, often to please investors. Thirty percent of the tollgates in Indonesia are privately owned by companies such as Bakrie. Jasa Marga mainly uses the money for road expansion, such as the toll road about to be built between Benoa and Nusa Dua in Bali.
Kurniawati was talking to Enricko Lukman.
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haha! cute
