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Show 4A The Mil Lake Tribune ednt sda Novtmberi I'M Many Words Used in English Are Legacies of the Jungle By Bryan Brumley e, mum-bo-jumb- o woman But linguist Gerard M Dalgish, in his A Dictionary of Africanism has traced biddy to ' bidibidi" which means a small yellow bird in Chiluba a W est African language Dalgish, now an assistant professor of English at New York s Baruch College, culled material for the dictionary's 3 000 entries in a 1976-7-8 stint teaching at fhe University of Tanzania in Dar es Salaam and from the archives of a dictionary publisher in the United States Asocicited Pre Katie Ritchey, whose family has fed hungry steel workers for over 50 years in Lo,enroo Johnstown, Pa., cafe, surveys business devastated by layoffs at local mill. - half-centur- day-to-da- y ' or-rie- d operations and faces a third later this month A daughter Lois, 23 tends the counter for room and board in the house behind the cafe I can t pay her," Ritchey says One of her four sons Paul. 37, has been out of work for months laid off from the nearby mill The other sons have left Johnstown This hard-lucmountain city of about 35,000, famous for the 1889 flood which killed more than 2 000 people, hit an unemployment peak of 25 9 percent the nation's worst in February 1983 It is now at 14 percent, according to the state Employment Service But near "Katie's Place. ' Bethlehem's Franklin Car Shop is down from about 2.500 workers in the early 1960s to only 350 workers now, according to company spokeswoman Betty Kovacs It has few orders for railroad coal hoppers It is part of Bethlehem s massive Johnstown works, which is down to less than a sixth of its 1960s peak of about 16,000 workers, Kovacs said After the Great Depression. Ritcheys parents, the late Joseph and Pauline Chessa. thrived in their mod est grocery store at the mill gate interrupted only by the flood of 1936 whtch lulled 17 local residents Ritchey, then 12 years old. helped reopen-hea- rt k 1 He included words that appeared build it and her husband Later, Ritchey opened a cafe on the same spot The tattered photo album shows the good times smiling, joking working men gathered around the counter and the Ritcheys and a rich stock of foodstuffs But the 1977 flood took 77 lives around Johnstown along with the Ritcheys' cafe, their home and two houses they owned and rented out for extra income Clarence had his first heart attack the day after the flood "and everything fell on my shoulders." Ritchey said Still expecting the mighty mill to support her family, Ritchey rowed $150,000 from the Small ness Administration to rebuild a red brick cafe and a home in the back borBusi- 40-se- two-stor- y orders faltered in 1981 and the layoffs began Ritchey soon replaced her fresh pies with less appetizing packaged cakes, stopped carrying work gloves for the men and pared down her breakfast and lunch menus The few regulars can still help themselves to coffee behind the counter, but the Ritcheys sold only a few cups on a recent weekday afterBut Words news and travel stories from Africa over the years and also expressions that are commonly used by exin Cafe Is Victim of Hard Times By Peter Mattiace Associated Press Writer JOHNSTOWN. Pa For more than a three generations of Katie Ritchey's familv have fed hungry steel workers swaggering op Maple Avenue to the cozy cafe at the steel mill gate The men. in turn, nourished the busifamily with their ness and encouragement, especially after Johnstown's disastrous floods Of 1936 and 1977 washed away the family's work and home But now Ritchey says she's beaten As steel jobs and steel workers have disappeared, her Maple Avenue Cafe ' Katie's Place ' to the men has grown about as quiet as Bethlehem Steel Corp s cold, rusting mill a few steps away "Sometimes we hate to take coffee money from these guys Some of them are barely making it themselves and two cups cost nearly a dollar But they give They know our situation, too, she said 'We can't live like this At ere w and we dont know what to do This place is a part of us Its my Mom and Dad," she said "W e used to pack them in here every shift We had them coming and going Now Were down to nothing " Ritchey, 60, herself disabled and her business about $150,000 in debt, said she is filing for bankruptcy Her husband. Clarence, 59. has had two Indudes railroad-ca- r noon I used to have all kinds of groceries. and drugs, and everything." she said ' but now I can t even afford to stock up I see myself as down and out That hurts ' perts on Africa and native living on the conti- English-speaker- s people who live along the coasts of South Carolina Georgia and part of Florida Dalgish said They include foods such as gx ber," a peanut and gumbo which means osra another West African emigrant along with the yam' Musical terminology fairly sings with West Africanisms including the black Associated Press Writer NEW YORK Biddies may not dance the boogie-woogitango or watusi or listen to jazz, banjos or bongos, but all th 3 words along with gumbo and even the word came into English from Africa south of the Sahara Webster s New World Dictionary not know acknowledges that it does the derivation of biddy, ' which it defines as an eccentric or gossipy old nent The entries include geographic, culinary and musical phrases, along with the names of African political parties and their slogans Countries listed range from Abyssinia now Ethiopia, to Zimbabwe formerly Rhodesia Foods stretch from aano geel, Somalian for camel's milk to zilzil" an Ethiopian beef dish Religious terms extend from abathakathi," evil wizards among the Zulu of South Africa and Swaziland to the more familiar walking corpses known as 'zombies," from a Bantu language word for a god or fetish Zombies populate "voodoo," Haiti s mysterious cult, which draws its name from the word for spirit in several West African languages Dalgish, interviewed in his Manhattan office, said the first words to Africa into creep from English and other European languages might have come with explorers and traders in the 1700s, who rean African turned from safari word derived from Arabic using the African names for such wonders as chimpanzees bananas, giraffes gorillas, impalas. gnus and zebras sub-Sahar- New Wave of Words A new wave of African words entered English with the slaves taken from West Africa to the Western Hemisphere Many of these W est Africanisms.' probably the African words most familiar to Westerners, are preserved in a dialect spoken by the Gullah banjo," which comes from mbenri a stringed musical lstru-menand bongos from the Lokele language BoDgie-woogi- e music and dance comes from the Hausa word buga to beat drums the 'tango" comes from the Ibibo verb to dance and the t, watusi is the name of the tribe East Cenral Africa Waked Word The juke box on which such mu sic can be heard owes its name to the W est Afriw ord for w leked in sev eral the Gul used now by can languages lah to describe a cheap roadside inn dnd its attractions Dalgish sdid that his dictionarv which has sold about 1 000 cope mostly to university libraries and Af rican specialist had been criticized on the East Afri for can languages that he studied in Tan 7ama over-emphas- In Rugged JFebster County Women Rule the Roost By Strat Douthat Associated Press Writer If a WEBSTER SPRINGS. W Va courthouse can be likened to a chicken coop then it s safe to say that women rule the roost in the remote rugged hills, of Webster County In fact, there are so many female - county office holders here that some Webster wags are referring to their seat of government as "petticoat " junction Webster County Circuit Judge Albert Boome" Sommerv llle. one of the few roosters at the courthouse these days says he has heard the phrase used on more than one occa sion ' It has been referred to as petticoat junction but not by me adds the circumspect judge I only think those thoughts " Trend Began in 60s He says the trend began in the late 60s when Nancy Gillespie was appointed and then elected to serve as county clerk Now, in addition to Gillespie. females hold the county wide posts of assessor, circuit clerk, prosecuting attorney and magistrate And. Sommerville adds, a woman the Democratic nominee for county sheriff in the coming election The judge says he can think of no particular reason why Webster women have been so successful in pursuit of public office ' I hav e often w ondered w hy , w hen seven men and one women filed for sheriff last spring the women beat the pants off of the men. he says 'Frankly, I cant think of anything except that there is a lack of prejudice in these hills Nancy Gillespie, Prosecuting Attorney Linda Garrett and Circuit Clerk Karen Morris agree The people of Webster Countv vote for the most qualified person, Nichsdys Gdrrett a transplant from olas County who defeated a local at tornev in the last prosecutors rdcc But 1 11 kill you if you refer to this place as petticoat junction See Little Humor She and Morris concede that theyve heard the term used in jest Some people though see little humor in the situation at the courthouse ' I think its awful says Willard Hall an octogenarian who spends much of his time holding down a btnch in front of the courthouse An elderly cohort tottered away angrilv as Hall expounded on his per sonal philosophy The Good Book says never put a woman above you, ' Hall says 1 11 be 90 the third day of June and I ve never voted for one of them and I never will Why, I wouldnt even vote for my missus He turns his attention to his depart ed companion now scowling in the distance He s one of them politicians and he don t think I ought to be talking to ' you Hall says But shucks. I don t care I m not on any body s slate I m a fiee man is Independent Thinkers Many Webster County voters would disagree with Halls interpretation of the Bible but Sommerville says the some 12 500 residents of these steep hills and narrow valleys definitely are free independent thinkers I was amazed when our present prosecutor swamped the male in cumbent," Sommerville says These women have been supported by some strong-mindeindependent people in our community and, for the most part. I think they voted for the women because they re good people They re also all Democrats d Jury Analysis Becomes Big, Costly and Popular Business Venture Picking a lury may most Important pail ot o ti lol, and be tor that reoson lowyers In recent years hose been employing professional lury social and scientists analysts, to help screen the psychologists, other and services candidates provide The John De Lorean drug trafficking trial was a case In point EDITOR S NOTE By Jeff Barker Associated Press Writer .STATE COLLEGE. Pa When automaker John De Lorean went on trail on charges of trafficking in his lawyer hired a jury consultant to conduct a national survey When Pennslyvunia attorney Wil lianj Costopoulos was asked to defend a t state official charged with brib-erhe sought professional help in picking a jury For those who can afford it jurv - co-vai- public-opinio- v, - analysis can cost anywhere from consul $lvfiW to more than $10 000 ijijlts will conduct surveys to test PlJbtic opinion, offer advice on the qualifications of potential jurors and i Con form a surrogate jurv to gauge the impact of the defense arguitn nts during the trial ve been doing the work for IdC .ears' says jury umsiiltant tathv Bennett of Houston B.nk thin there were a handful of us TihI.iv get 25 to 30 calls a month from vople who want to know how to get into thi pro Bennett and Patterson are in demand ' because of "hidden prejudices that lurk in all of us, says attorney Stanley Preiser of Charleston, W A a Preiser who has been handling trials for 35 years, routinely uses social research ers to aid his defense The jury process mandates that judges disqualify candidates who ad mit to a bias preventing them from fairly weighing the evidence Attor news also are permitted to reject a designated number of jury pool mem hers without stating the reason But would be jurors often have prejudices that most lawyers were never trained to detect Preiser says There is no way a judge or lawver tan make a person admit they re If a person docsn t know it prejudiced himself ' he says Just because a person says they have no prejudices docsn t mean they are going to be fair and impartial jurors De Lorean s attorney Howard Weitzman employed a jury consul tant to conduct a national public opinion survev to learn whether the defense would lie better off if the drug truffle king trial we re tie Id away from Los Angeles Public Attitude I fession Humanistic Psuhologv Trained in humanistic psuhulogy she said one of her main jobs is to get lawyers to ask better questions and teach them to talk less like a law ur and more like a person When Costopoulos and his client John Kerr took a seat at the defense table in a Harrisburg courtroom for 18 they were jury selection last June joined by Arthur Patterson a social psvehologist who specializes in ana iving juries The selection of d jury took two davs in the trial of Kerr, a top aide to Pennsylvania Auditor General Benedict charged with directing a scheme '2(ifl (XK) Before Patterson ever got to the he knew the ages and oe ( ourtroom uipatioiis of each of 200 prosjiective jurors Patterson w ho is preside nt of Jurv Analvsts Inc of State College il'o knew what their homes looked like wlu the r they were Dcmoe rat or lie publican and whether they were familiar w ith Kerr s case g . iclityii Prejudices" oplo like told The survey Weitzman siv us that the public attitude wa the same all around the count rv every body thought he did it and tl v we re wrong The attornev made no respie st to move the trial and IX lorean was e subsequentlv (loured of the eharges which grew out of an alleged $2 lion cocaine deal But Weitmun did nut use a analyst inside the courtrcHim I for to pie k a jurv based on mv c ho savs ence and baekgremnd jurv pro Hri political affiliations through voter registration reeerds and compiling a questionnaire ask among other things ing whether they had heard of the case The defense team also dispatched volunteers to look at potential jurors homes makes guesses aUnit a person by the kind of neighborhood Pattcisoii says Some they live in times (HOple mark their homes in wavs that convey c rtam attitude s foi example with big Aim lie an A ou call c flags I. .ie While e h ae li I use Diffc rent ase is diffc ri nt there in peisonalitv tvpcs tint uould-b- e juror often hate prejudue s t hut most Inu) er u ere n ei er x trained to detect. Preiser say x. sylvamu State Iniversity directs a staff of five at Jury Analysts He says he keeps no batting average on cases won and lost He also savs he was not optimistic about the Kerr jury His research had indicated that it would be difficult finding panelists capable of synipj thy for a politician accused of a w crime hite-coll- Kerr was convicted on June JO on counts of briberv and other charges but was acquitted on 77 ad dltional eounts th.it iNo me luded briberv 139 mil In the Kerr trial Pattersons groundwork included finding juror candidates tends to counsel a client against accepting for a jury For example people who are authoritarian in nature tend to be he says They are very high on obeying the rules and doing what they are told If you ask them if the fact that thp prosecution went through the trouble to bring someone to trial means they are probably guilty they will often answer Yeah, probably Patterson an associate professor of administration of justice at Penn that IatM rsiii 'Not That ( lc ur I firmly believe that if John Kerr were the officer of a companv j John LX Lorean doing something like this he would have been acquit led Patterson savs The evidence w is not that strong But proses, utor lawn nee Claus said the verdict spoke for itself The fact that the dt ft rise utilized those individuals (the consultants) didn t affect our part in the jury selection at all," he said Patterson concedes his company is perceived by some as unfairly stacking the legal process in favor of defendants who can afford such services Some of his corporate clients avoid public association with Jury Analysts because of any stigma that might be attached Nothing Bidden response is that first I m sitting right there in the courtroom so nothing is hidden." Patterson said 'And we dont select juries or pack juries, we only challenge jurors who would be biased, and I believe we are the trial process in doing serving that " Patterson uses the hypothetical example of a murder case in which the defense attorney fails to hire the best available chemist to prove that blood stains are not the victim's 'In the same way, when an attorney gets a consultant to help him understand the jury, hes leaving no stone un turned " But jury consultants can result in attorneys becoming lazy." says Mi chad Bender, a Denver attorney who is on the board of directors of the Na tional Association of Criminal LX fense Lawyers ' My hile he will call on a psychologist help in framing questions to would-b- e jurors Bender says he sees no need to collect large amounts of data on potential jurors By and large, people are con vinced by emotion and our task is to understand the emotional dynamics in the courtroom," Bender says If I know everything about a par Bcular person I might rely on the in formation without being open to the feedback the person might give me So it has the potential to cause you to be a little lazy " W m pres ueahotu Woman raises her hand to indicate her presence for service in ciil court while others wait for their names to be called. for Charge Your Christmas Gifts at No Payment Until February 20th, 1985 On Purchases Made Non thru Dec. 24th Open Your Account Today at Wolfes l. a |
