ACTIVITY 278:
Reporter Dave Mass is interviewing African
citizen Meg Burkina. First of all,
listen just for a gist and choose
the most appropriate title for this interview from the menu. Then
check the correct answer.
Don't worry if there are some words you don't
understand: you should be able to get the general idea without
needing to use your dictionary.
Now listen again to Meg Burkina explaining how
a traditional familiy in her country works. Check the
transcription of the interview while you listen. You will have
to do an activity afterward.
MEG:
As far as a traditional family is concerned,
er, the man may, can have many wives. So if he has many wives,
the children call them, all of them are their mothers, you say 'my
mother', you don't specify if it is your real mother or the wife
of your father. And, er, the first wife, I mean the one who is
the first in the house is the mother of every child. And even
the youngest wives, those who arrive later, call her their
mother. Yes. And everybody in the family knows that she is the
eldest and she is respected. If there is something, a problem to
be settled, you go to see that lady, and she is the one, who is
going to tell her
husband that there is such-and-such problem
in the family and now the, the husband can call the others to
settle the problem, to solve it. And, er, if a child is sick for
example, for example it is this woman, the first one, who takes
care of the child. And the other women don't know, they
interfere but they are not responsible for them as such.
DAVE:
How many people live in one ...
MEG:
In one house?
DAVE:
... house?
MEG:
You, you can have 10, 20, 30, more than
that, it depends. If he has many wives you have the wife ...
the wives, their children, they may have their sisters and
brothers, I mean the sister and brother-in-laws of the
husband. They come to live in the family and you may have,
er, the father and the mother of the husband. You see. So
the grandfather and the grandmother also live in the same
compound. And, er, very often those two people, those two
old people don't do anything. They, they are there to look
after the children when their mothers are out in the fields
or when they go to the market to sell little things to get
some money. And, um, they just take care of the, the
children, they look after them and they just stay in the
house, they don't do anything. And when the, the first wife
is old, she doesn't do anything. It is the younger women who
do it for her, everything for her. And she's, er, respected
as well as the grandmother and the grandfather.
DAVE:
In the traditional African family who is
the most important ...
MEG:
The most important ...
DAVE:
... person?
MEG:
... person is the, the father. If you
don't have a grandmother or a grandfather in the family, it
is the father. And then comes the first wife.
DAVE:
But if you have a grandfather and a
grandmother, they are the most important?
MEG:
The most important persons in the family.
And everybody who comes has to see them first, tell them
what they have to say. And then they call their child, I
mean the husband, to tell him what is going on.
ACTIVITY 279: Listen once again and
choose from the menu the best alternative (TRUE
or FALSE) for statements
1-to-6. Finally, check your answers.
TRUE
FALSE
1.
The children can call more than one woman "mother".
2.
The first wife can be called "mother" by some
of the other wives.
3.
If there is a family problem, the first wife
sorts it out.
4.
The sisters and brothers of the husband's
wives can also live in the family compound.
5.
If a grandparent lives with the family, he or
she is expected to help with the work.
6.
The most important members of the family are
the children.
Aunque Meg Burkina tiene fuerte
acento africano no es difícil entenderla, verdad?
En la próxima página tienes una interesante práctica de lecto-comprensión
...
