ThoughtGallery.org > Screening and Q&A: The Miracle of the Little Prince | Director/Writer Marjoleine Boonstra in Person

Screening and Q&A: The Miracle of the Little Prince | Director/Writer Marjoleine Boonstra in Person

WRITER AND DIRECTOR MARJOLEINE BOONSTRA IN PERSON IN DISCUSSION WITH DANIEL KAUFMAN (ENDANGERED LANGUAGE ALLIANCE)

“What is essential is invisible to the eye.” – The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Translated into more than 375 languages (more than any book but the Bible), The Little Prince has been embraced across a vast swath of cultures – including those who speak endangered languages: the Berbers of Morocco, the indigenous Pipil of El Salvador, the Sami of Norway/Finland, and the people of Tibet. Originally published in 1943, the book’s enigmatic story of an angelic child who befriends a stranded pilot in the North African desert, has been debated for years. As understood by people who are themselves outcasts and exiles, it is a tale of friendship, alienation, loneliness, and eternal life. Appropriately, the film opens in the Sahara desert and moves across the globe to gather insights into what this literary masterpiece has meant to those who struggle to preserve a language and culture on the cusp of extinction.

Daniel Kaufman is an assistant professor of linguistics at Queens College at the City University of New York and a founder and co-director of the Endangered Language Alliance. In this latter capacity, he works with various communities from around the world on questions of grammar, language use, language transmission, linguistic rights and discrimination in urban diasporas. As a linguist, his research focuses primarily on the Austronesian languages of the Philippines and Indonesia and in this connection he also serves as co-editor of the journal Oceanic Linguistics.










When: Fri., Aug. 30, 2019 at 6:15 pm - 8:00 pm
Where: Film Forum
209 W. Houston St.
212-727-8110
Price: $9 member, $15 regular
Buy tickets/get more info now
See other events in these categories:

WRITER AND DIRECTOR MARJOLEINE BOONSTRA IN PERSON IN DISCUSSION WITH DANIEL KAUFMAN (ENDANGERED LANGUAGE ALLIANCE)

“What is essential is invisible to the eye.” – The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Translated into more than 375 languages (more than any book but the Bible), The Little Prince has been embraced across a vast swath of cultures – including those who speak endangered languages: the Berbers of Morocco, the indigenous Pipil of El Salvador, the Sami of Norway/Finland, and the people of Tibet. Originally published in 1943, the book’s enigmatic story of an angelic child who befriends a stranded pilot in the North African desert, has been debated for years. As understood by people who are themselves outcasts and exiles, it is a tale of friendship, alienation, loneliness, and eternal life. Appropriately, the film opens in the Sahara desert and moves across the globe to gather insights into what this literary masterpiece has meant to those who struggle to preserve a language and culture on the cusp of extinction.

Daniel Kaufman is an assistant professor of linguistics at Queens College at the City University of New York and a founder and co-director of the Endangered Language Alliance. In this latter capacity, he works with various communities from around the world on questions of grammar, language use, language transmission, linguistic rights and discrimination in urban diasporas. As a linguist, his research focuses primarily on the Austronesian languages of the Philippines and Indonesia and in this connection he also serves as co-editor of the journal Oceanic Linguistics.
Buy tickets/get more info now