Answer the Q Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Answer the Q - Essay Example Due to the rise of the contemporary issues pertaining to the advancement, kinship, feminism, feminism gender and sexuality, political and legal, nature science and technology in the modern universe anthropology tend to go further beyond its historical set goals. Development of perception from critical perspective of anthropology mainly addresses issues of poverty, gaps in regard to the outlined strategy and results. This makes anthropologist to work in development thus disregard history and the lessons it might offer, reasons for driving development externally rather than having an internal basis, and reasons that make planned development fail. The prevailing distinction amidst anthropology of development and corresponding development anthropology is mainly the application of the anthropological perspectives in regard to numerous branches development studies (Haviland, Fedorak & Lee, 2008). This also takes into account the international development and the international aid as primary objects. Thus, advancement of anthropology encompasses social action in modification of the economic, technical, political and social life for particular locations in the universe. This greatly compromises the historical goals of anthropology. This is because they tend to concentrate on impoverished, formerly colonized regions. Development anthropologists have a commitment to simultaneously critique and contribute to projects and institutions that create and administer Western projects that seek to improve the economic well-being of the most marginalized, and to eliminate poverty. Kinship mainly deals with both the patterns of social relationships in numerous human cultures and corresponding patterns of social relationships in them. Thus, anthropology practically develops associated related concepts and terms entailing descent, descent groups, lineages, affines, cognates and fictive kinship. Nevertheless, kinship patterns developed by anthropology mainly

Personality Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Personality Development - Essay Example Rogers’ unconditional positive regard is a crucial part of his person centered approach. In this, the therapist accepts the client unconditionally, that is, without judgment, without disapproval and without approval of their condition. This raises the self regard of the client, and makes the client responsible for their own treatment. It also makes the client aware that he or she has their own feelings, and their own experiences that they themselves must be responsible for. Therefore there can be no blame, if there is a problem within you then you can help yourself to overcome it, with the gentle guidance of your therapist. This approach is different than those we have already studied this year in as much as it treats a person as an individual, not as a symptom or as a disorder that must be worked on. This theory believes that personality is developed individually, not using a set of pre-determined factors or believing that we are merely born with a personality already intact.

Features Of Connected Speech In English English Language Essay

Features Of Connected Speech In English English Language Essay Blurred boundaries, sounds and even words that are completely swallowed up, chewed and mangled words that force you to listen with all your acquired knowledge and a general sense of hopelessness that you are never going to manage this foreign tongue are but the most common frustrations expressed by the ESL learners I have taught. L2 users educated in a system that prides in teaching the most precise and appropriate pronunciation leaves them bewildered when they hear English (even snippets of conversation) as spoken by L1 users. They suffer a devastating diminution of phonetic information at the segmental level when they encounter normal speech (Brown, G.1990, p.60) Connected speech is not a familiar feature to even fluent speakers of English in India and so they tend to fully form the words even in informal situations, giving the impression to L1 speakers and other L2 speakers that, hes so arrogant about it all (Crystal and Davy 1975,p.8) In this essay I would analyse the features of connected speech in English, the problems they cause to L2 learners in India. In the first section I will examine the features of connected speech and move onto the challenges they cause to L2 speakers especially Indian ESL learners. I would also like to analyse my own and the prevailing attitude and practice towards learning and teaching connected speech. Finally I would like to identify the criteria that I would apply in deciding the different aspects of connected speech suitable to my learning/ teaching environment. Connected speech Underhill A (1994) defines connected speech as a flow of sounds which are modified by a system of simplifications through which phonemes are connected, grouped and modified This simplification is an unconscious process and most of the L1 speakers are often unaware of this as they practise it. (Collins B, and I. Mees 2008). The goal of connected speech is to reduce the articulatory effort required to send the message. Even though whole chunks of phonetic details are left out by the L1 speaker to maximise the ease of communication, native listener decodes these messages using the different types of support knowledge in his repertoire. This reduction often takes place within words or words in a stream of speech (Dalton C. and B. Seidlhofer, 1994), where word boundaries get blurred. Words flow seamlessly, allowing the L1 speaker to make use of the stress system to emphasise the content of the message. In this flow adjacent sounds are modified to resemble each other- Assimilation-; sounds are completely left out of words Elision-; and certain sounds maybe inserted between the words to fuse the words together at boundaries- Linking-. Features of connected speech Assimilation L1 speakers speak at a pace of 350 syllables per minute in formal speeches and 400- 450 words in informal speech. (Crystal.D 1992; 1999) When the tongue has to move from one articulating position to another at this pace, only an approximation of the phoneme can be produced. Thus all phonemes occurring within a word or in a stream of speech influence one another and adjust with the phonemes of their neighbours (Brown, G.1990). Underhill (1994) summarises assimilation as the natural result of the various speech organs cutting corners as they perform their complex sequence of movementsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Though any sound can influence any other sound theoretically assimilation is limited to a few phonemes (Dalton C. and B. Seidlhofer, 1994) Alveolar consonants /t/, /d/ and /n/ at the end of a word often assimilate to the place of articulation of the consonant at the beginning of the next word (Underhill, 2005, p.60) EÉ ¡Ãƒâ€¹Ã‚  Great Britain / greÉ ªtbritÉâ„ ¢n / / greÉ ªÃƒÅ Ã¢â‚¬ pbrÉ ªtÉâ„ ¢n / Wont come / wÉâ„ ¢ÃƒÅ Ã…  ntkÊŒm / / wÉâ„ ¢ÃƒÅ Ã…  nʆkÊŒm / Down by law / daÊÅ  nbaÉ ªlɆ: / / daÊÅ  mbaÉ ªlɆ: / Good girl / gÊÅ  dgÉœ:l / / gÊÅ  ggÉœ:l / Elision When the speech effort is reduced for maximum efficiency, the articulation of individual phonemes gets weakened. When these phonemes are minimised markedly they are dropped from connected speech. Elision is the process of dropping a sound (a vowel or a consonant), from a word when it is uttered as part of connected speech. RP sounds short and clipped to L2 speakers and speakers of other varieties of English due to elision of the schwa (/Éâ„ ¢/) sound. The most commonly elided sounds in English are /t/, /d/ and /Éâ„ ¢/. The consonants that are elided almost as frequently as these are /v/ and /ÃÆ' °/ /t/ First three fÉœstÃŽÂ ¸ri fÉœsÃŽÂ ¸ri Last year lÉ‘stjiÉâ„ ¢ lasjiÉâ„ ¢   /d/ ground pressure É ¡raÊÅ  ndpreʃÉâ„ ¢ É ¡raÊÅ  mpreʃÉâ„ ¢ Banned for life Bà ¦ndfÉâ„ ¢laÉ ªf Bà ¦mfÉâ„ ¢laÉ ªf /Éâ„ ¢/ Chocolate tʃɆ kÉâ„ ¢ lÉâ„ ¢t tʃɆk lÉâ„ ¢t Vegetable vɆºÃƒÅ Ã‚ ¤Ãƒâ€°Ã¢â€ž ¢ tÉâ„ ¢ blÃÅ' © vɆºÃƒÅ Ã‚ ¤ tÉâ„ ¢ blÃÅ' © /v/ Weve been considering WivbinkÉâ„ ¢nsideriņ¹ WÉ ªbÉ ªnkÉâ„ ¢nsideriņ¹ Needs of the NidzÉâ„ ¢vÃÆ' °Ãƒâ€°Ã¢â€ž ¢ NidzÉâ„ ¢ÃƒÆ' °Ãƒâ€°Ã¢â€ž ¢ /ÃÆ' °/ I think that was aÉ ªÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¸Ãƒâ€°Ã‚ ªÃƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¹kÃÆ' °Ãƒâ€°Ã¢â€ž ¢twÉâ„ ¢z ʌΠ¸Ãƒâ€°Ã‚ ªÃƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¹kÉâ„ ¢twÉâ„ ¢z Went the way of the WentÃÆ' °Ãƒâ€°Ã¢â€ž ¢weÉ ªÃƒâ€°Ã¢â€ž ¢vÃÆ' °Ãƒâ€°Ã¢â€ž ¢ WentÉâ„ ¢weÉ ªÃƒâ€¹Ã‚ ÃƒÆ' °Ãƒâ€°Ã¢â€ž ¢ Vowel reduction Unstressed vowels in the stream of speech are shortened and are often centralized to a schwa (/Éâ„ ¢/) sound. An unaccented diphthong in a similar setting can lose the length of the vowel glide or could even be reduced to a monophthong. Must mÊŒst mÉâ„ ¢s There ÃÆ' °eÉâ„ ¢ ÃÆ' °ÃƒÅ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒâ€¹Ã‚  Strong and weak forms Function class words in unaccented positions are reduced to their weak forms in connected speech. The degree of reduction depends on the rate of speech delivery; the faster the speech, the greater the reduction of vowel sounds. StronÉ ¡ Weak And à ¦nd Éâ„ ¢n Of É’v Éâ„ ¢v To tʆ¹ tÉâ„ ¢ Linking Dalton C. and B. Seidlhofer (1994) describe linking as the consequence of two vowel sounds meeting at a vowel boundary. In such situations an extra sound is inserted to mark the transition between the two vowels. Linking / r/ In RP /r/ is not realised in pronunciation except when it is followed by a vowel. In connected speech /r/ is articulated when the following word starts with a vowel. Sooner suË nÉâ„ ¢ sooner or later suË nÉâ„ ¢rɆÃƒâ€¹Ã‚ leÉ ªtÉâ„ ¢ Sure ʃɆÃƒâ€¹Ã‚  sure enough ʃɆÃƒâ€¹Ã‚ rÉ ªnÊŒf Intrusive /r/ Some speakers insert a /r/ even when there is no /r/ in the spelling. Intrusive /r/ carries a certain social stigma and educated L1 speakers often deny having an intrusive /r/ in their connected speech. The presence of intrusive in connected speech is quite frequent among non-rhotic L1 speakers. Idea aÉ ªdÉ ªÃƒâ€°Ã¢â€ž ¢ idea of it aÉ ªdÉ ªÃƒâ€°Ã¢â€ž ¢rÉ’vÉ ªt Intrusive /w/ and /j/ When a word ending in a vowel is followed by another vowel, L1 speakers insert a consonant sound that is nearer to the sound of the first vowel. É ¡o out É ¡Ãƒâ€°Ã¢â€ž ¢ÃƒÅ Ã¢â‚¬ ¹waʆ¹t I am aÉ ªjam She is ʃiË jis Catenation In connected speech, L1 speakers tend to connect the last consonant sound in a word with the first vowel sound of the next word. Keep out kiË p aʆ¹t Key pout kiË  paʆ¹t A name Éâ„ ¢ neÉ ªm An aim Éâ„ ¢n eÉ ªm Connected speech- Teach Reception and or Production? Challenges to L2 learners and teachers An awareness of connected speech features is essential to facilitate listening comprehension in an ESL learner. A lack of these features does not affect intelligibility drastically and the decision of how much (the degree) and when to convert the declarative knowledge to procedural knowledge should be left to the L2 learners. Jennifer Jenkins (2000) argues that the assimilatory process will be acquired naturally if learners progress in their knowledge and control of the language is sufficient to enable them to speed up the rate of their speech. Thus we understand that a learners acquisition of knowledge in one area would positively affect his performance in another area, and that even though most if not all of this is eminently learnable with exposure to an L1 atmosphere, it is not always teachable. The criteria for teaching connected speech would be arrived at by observing the teachability- learnability scale. What the L2 learners need at this point could be a simulation of the mate rnal speech to children à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ mothers alternate between clarified and distorted forms and this seems to enable the children to develop rules of correspondence between the model and distorted forms they will normally encounter (Ratner 1984). Exposing the L2 learners to both careful colloquial speech and rapid colloquial speech could help them to understand these varieties at a declarative level and thereby position them for a procedural development at their own pace. Indian learners of English (ILE) are unfamiliar with the connected speech feature assimilation. In my anecdotal experience I have noticed that the educated speakers in India (for that matter even the uneducated speakers) utter each word in a sentence almost as though they are articulated in isolation. This syllable timed articulation is carried forward even when they speak a stress timed language like English. This trait becomes problematic at the reception level as ILE listeners expect the same vocal and phonemic clarity even when they are listening to English. Gillian Browns (1990) observation that an L2 listener suffers a devastating diminution of phonetic information, in such situations aptly summarises the confusion and panic they feel. So I believe that L2 learners of English should be made familiar with the assimilation features, so that they can understand the content of the discussion/ interaction without having to decode language features each and every time. In my teaching practices I think I have been unconsciously following the suggestions that Gillian Brown (1990) proposes: I have already suggested that I do not approve of teaching students to produce assimilated forms and elided forms. Sophisticated students who have been taught to be aware of these forms will introduce them into their own speech in a natural context when they feel able to control them Assimilation becomes a problem at the production level only when the L2 speakers interact with the L1 listeners, but then L1 listeners are mostly aware of this difficulty of the L2 speakers and make necessary adjustments to their linguistic and emotional responses. As an L2 user and as a teacher I believe that a few words uttered painfully slow to achieve connected speech would create more confusion to the L1 speaker than a total absence of assimilatory/ connected speech features. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ slower speech made to incorporate features of connected speech is reduced to gibberish (Crystal D. 1992;1999). One of the major arguments that exist against this stand is that an absence of assimilatory features would prevent the L2 speakers from using intonation patterns and rhythm and would lead to loss of fluency. (Underhill A. 1994) and he suggests exposing ESL learners to rapid colloquial speech as a useful activity for improving listening comprehension. Even though elision is a feature that is present in most Indian languages, the Indian ESL learner may struggle to understand and participate in a conversation with an L1 speaker employing rapid colloquial speech. This is because elision is not a feature that is taught in Indian classrooms. Moreover, elision carries a certain social stigma among educated Indians and so they might actively resist adopting elision in their speech practices as well. Dropping sounds is equated with a lower social class and could also be interpreted as a sign of poor education. As with assimilation, elision can cause confusion at the reception level for the L2 listener, if he has always been exposed to correct and fully articulated speech. An L2 speaker trying to include elision in a slow speech would confuse the L1 listener. As demonstrated by Crystal in his experiment the sentence I wouldnt have been able to in fluent speech may become /Éâ„ ¢ wÊÅ  bmpÉ ªneÉ ªblÉâ„ ¢/. Spoken more slowly by a learner who is being encouraged to use the various features of connected speech, it could come across like this: /Éâ„ ¢ wÊÅ  bÉâ„ ¢m pÉ ª neÉ ª blÉâ„ ¢/,with each syllable being carefully articulated. In this case it would at best sound ridiculous and at worst would be rendered completely incomprehensible. (Jennifer Jenkins, 2000) Another contentious area is the teaching of weak forms. As pointed out by David Brazil (1994) the contradiction of focusing in the classroom on a feature whose quality is precisely the result of speakers not focusing on it. This pedagogic focus may then, paradoxically, impede the later acquisition of weak forms in learning outside the classroomà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Jennifer Jenkins, 2000). Jennifer Jenkins challenges the notion of the need to weaken an unimportant sound to highlight an important one and points out that if the important sounds are stressed then the meaning would become clear to the listener. Reading about this approach and thinking further on it has convinced me that this is the way to go forward. The hours of drilling that I have been forcing on my students might have been counterproductive. I feel that this is another area where declarative knowledge should be allowed to mature to a procedural knowledge at the students own pace. Listening comprehension and thereby communication is enhanced by dissimilatory practices rather than assimilatory processes, as they give primary importance to the hearers needs by subordinating the speech strategies of a speaker. I would still like to believe that the assimilatory features are what give the English language its identity. But for learners at a transactional level with L1 speakers or with other L2 speakers conquering these features could be daunting and unnecessary for everyday communication. As David Crystal (1999) suggests The possibility of L2 learners becoming competent in both syllable and stress based speech and being able to shift effortlessly from one to other, depending on the need of the circumstance, either to proclaim a national identity or to improve international intelligibility, is not an improbability and that is what I would like to strive for and encourage my learners to aim for.

GMA and Another EDSA threat :: essays research papers

I’m not a supporter of GMA (and I will never be), but I do not agree that she should step down from her post. GMA resigning would mean that the no-brainer Noli de Castro will be the 15th President of the pitiful Philippine Republic – and that’s the last thing I would dream of. But if the Filipinos would prefer to add another episode to the never-ending EDSA Revolution series, then Mrs. Susan Roces-Poe would take over her post. What’s wrong with Noli and Susan? Noli de Castro is a well-known Lopez crony, and if he will become a president our Meralco bills will be as high as the Lotto Jackpot prize. And besides, he doesn’t have any leadership qualities nor the mind to rule a country. He being a vice-president and senator is even unacceptable. And Mrs. Poe is just the same. Let’s face it: a president should be someone with at least a college degree. Mere sales clerks are required to have such educational attainment, why not require it to the highest post on the land? The problem in this country is the fact that the electorate can easily be charmed with a ridiculous circus performance during the campaign period. Charisma will never fill our empty stomachs. So if GMA stepping down would result to Kabayan or Inday being our next president, then I think it would be a bit better to stay with GMA – unless Ping Lacson is one of the options. It’s like choosing the lesser between two (or three?) evils as they say. Yet, Mrs. Arroyo should still be responsible for the alleged cheating she did last 2004 Elections. Sorry would never do it this time (maybe because we are not as holy as God?) because anyone who committed crimes did not get away with what they did just because they apologized. I don’t know if she will ever turn into a

Portrayal of Women in Fiction Essay

Girl by Jamaica Kincaid is one of the world’s most popular feminist pieces of literature despite its unorthodox style of narration. The Storm by Kate Chopin, on the other hand, is also a prominent feminist work about women independence in marriage. Girl seems to be a story about a mother preaching to her daughter about how to do things â€Å"properly. † The Storm, meanwhile, is a slice-of-life story about women independence in light of married life. Girl is rather pessimistic in its portrayal of women, as the entire short story draws a picture of an overworked woman that has to be conscious in everything she does, while The Storm portrays women’s seemingly inferior role in marriage and at the same time, their desire and capability to be independent. The Housewife Even to this day, there are still cultures in the world that only see women as a housewives whose only purpose in life is to tend to their husband’s needs and bear him children. This negative portrayal of women is evident in both The Storm and Girl. In The Storm, Calixta, the main protagonist of the story, is left alone by her husband Bobinot and son Bibi. The opening scene of the short story mentions only the presence of one man and his son. This suggests that Calixta was left home to tend to the house, to do whatever it was that wives do during the setting of the story. Even Bibi, described as wise, (presumably wiser than her mother) as young as he is, somewhat belittles her own mother. â€Å"Bibi was four years old and looked very wise. â€Å"Mama’ll be ‘fraid, yes,† he suggested with blinking eyes (Chopin I). Back at their home, the extent of the role attributed to women through Calixta is described. Calixta is introduced to us immediately as a working housewife just when the storm is approaching. â€Å"She sat at the side window sewing furiously on a sewing machine† (Chopin II). As the storm approaches, more work that she does is revealed. â€Å"Out on the small front gallery, she had hung Bobinot’s Sunday clothes to dry† (Chopin II). Calixta is a princess compared to what â€Å"the girl† in the Girl have to do. The entire story in fact is a list of either chores for the girl to do, or restrictions on her actions so she would do things properly. There is not even an introduction to the narration, it starts immediately with the â€Å"commandments† of the mother: â€Å"Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap† (Kincaid). This straight and non-stop work approach of Kincaid is the author’s way of expressing her message — that women are being treated merely as the house workforce. As mentioned before, almost the whole short story is composed of the dictations of the mother to her daughter on what to do, so it is not hard to find another example that highlights the negative portrayal of women. Just to show another example that shows women as laborers, the mother demonstrates, as it were, how to set the table during different circumstances: â€Å"This is how you set a table for tea; this is how you set a table for dinner; this is how you set a table for dinner with an important guest†¦ † (Kincaid). Everything from washing clothes to acting in public, and even how to love a man, is taught to the girl . This suggests that women have to do a bit of everything even if they are not treated as equals. Independent Women  In a more positive side of the short stories, they show women as independent individuals, strong enough to stand on their own without the aid of their spouses and do whatever they please when given the chance. In The Storm, women are left alone. First is Calixta when her husband and son go out before the storm strands in a store, while Clarisse, the wife of Alcee, is asked by her husband to take more time in enjoying her and their children’s vacation. It is during these times when they are away with their families that the women feel more independent. Thus, they exploit the absence of their husbands to do whatever they please. While Calixta is all alone in their house during the storm, Alcee, who appears to be a former lover of hers, gets caught in the storm and seeks shelter in her household. The combination of the rainy weather and an inherent desire to rekindle an old affair causes the old lovers to take a stroll down memory lane and do things that are not supposed to be done by people when they are already married to another person. Thus, Calixta is independent in a sense that she has chosen what to do and that she is able to take care of the house and do all those chores. Clarisse meanwhile also becomes independent but at the cost of her husband cheating. Alcee asks her to extend her vacation which she gladly accepts, and as the narration itself shows, it gives her a sense of independence that she used to have when she was single: â€Å"the first free breath since her marriage seems to restore the pleasant liberty of her maiden days† (Chopin V). Finally, the girl in Kincaid’s story, in spite of all her work, gains some independence ironically through her work — she is able to do all those things by herself, making her independent. This portrayal of women by Kincaid is very feminist, as Kincaid is able to find the positive side of the hard labor done by women. Conclusion In classic literature, women are portrayed as inferior to men, doing only what men want them to do or what is expected of them even in the works of Chopin and Kincaid, though shown as a form of protest, women are portrayed as housewives who work at home. However, despite this sad notion in literature and even in reality, women are sometimes portrayed positively as well, just like the independence shown by the women in the short stories of Kincaid and Chopin.

Personal Plan: Reflection Essay

I was shocked at how closely my career interests and my results were matched. Previous to these career building plans we have been doing, I was almost entirely sure I had chosen the right degree to pursue. Now after doing these activities, they have helped solidify that my career choice is definitely appropriate for me, and it aligns with my skills and strengths as well. For instance; researching, is my second largest strength. I already knew that I loved to investigate and dig deeper into things, particularly human behaviors. Therefore, Psychology is the perfect major for me because it is aligned directly with my skills, strengths, and interests. I had never really put much thought into my strengths before, per-say. When I would consider strengths and competencies I would mostly think about general skills, like reading or math. I never considered such things as; adaptability or innovation, to be a skill. Now that this activity has put my certain strength into perspective, I think my results match up really well with my competency skills. I knew already that I was good at taking initiative and investigating situations but, it did surprise me however, to find out I did fairly well at adapting to change. I do not personally think I am fabulous at this particular skill, so having a visual aid to help add depth and meaning to each of my own personal strengths and competencies is wonderful. SMART goals are a very efficient way for me to break down my long-term goals into shorter, more specific and measurable ones. Using SMART goals as a part of my personal plan helps me set milestones to see what needs to be achieved; by what time, and in which order, so I can reach my ultimate goal. They have taught me how to use a rewards system for achieving my goals. This way, I am training myself to; work now and play later, so to speak. Exploring in depth what each of my competencies truly means, trying to recognize, and practice them to the best of my ability will help build on the skills I already have. For example: organization is one of my personal strengths, so when I catch myself in a situation where I am applying this skill, I will now try and recognize and build on it. Asking friends and family to point out certain strengths and weaknesses will also help me build on each skill because I will have, at that point, be made conscious to the fact that I am utilizing a certain strength. From there I can apply different strategies as to build on each skill, or lack thereof, and improve each one. I think it is important to focus on both your strengths and weaknesses. If you solely focus on your strengths, then you are not building on, or learning any new competencies. If you focus only on your weaknesses, it might start to have a negative effect on you and any progress you might be trying to make. I will personally be putting more effort into building up the competencies that I am currently weaker in than others. I clearly know now, what my ultimate strengths are and I can see where I have the ability to do some things more efficiently than others. So I feel it is important for me to work on both my strengths and weaknesses, just to pay extra attention to the things I am not fabulous at, and build on them. As well as recognize my strengths and how to exercise them to my fullest potential or ability.

Aztlan, The Mythical Homeland of the Aztec-Mexica

Aztlan, The Mythical Homeland of the Aztec-Mexica Aztln (also spelled Aztlan or sometimes Aztalan) is the name of the mythical homeland of the Aztecs, the ancient Mesoamerican civilization also known as the Mexica. According to their origin myth, the Mexica left Aztlan at the behest of their god/ruler Huitzilopochtli, to find a new home in the Valley of Mexico. In the Nahua language, Aztlan means â€Å"the Place of Whiteness† or â€Å"the Place of the Heron.† Whether it was a real place or not is open to question. What Aztlan Was Like According to the various Mexica versions of the stories, their homeland Aztlan was a luxurious and delightful place located on a large lake, where everyone was immortal and lived happily among abundant resources. There was a steep hill called Colhuacan in the middle of the lake, and in the hill were caves and caverns known collectively as Chicomoztoc, where the ancestors of the Aztec lived. The land was filled with vast quantities of ducks, herons, and other waterfowl; red and yellow birds sang incessantly; great and beautiful fish swam in the waters and shade trees lined the banks. At Aztlan, the people fished from canoes and tended their floating gardens of maize, peppers, beans, amaranth, and tomatoes. But when they left their homeland, everything turned against them, the weeds bit them, the rocks wounded them, the fields were filled with thistles and spines. They wandered in a land filled with vipers, poisonous lizards, and dangerous wild animals before reaching their home to build their place of destiny, Tenochtitlan. Who Were the Chichimecas? In Aztln, the myth goes, the Mexica ancestors dwelled in place with seven caves called Chicomoztoc (Chee-co-moz-toch). Each cave corresponded to one of the Nahuatl tribes which would later leave that place to reach, in successive waves, the Basin of Mexico. These tribes, listed with slight differences from source to source, were the Xochimilca, Chalca, Tepaneca, Colhua, Tlahuica, Tlaxcala and the group who were to become the Mexica. Oral and written accounts also mention that the Mexica and the other Nahuatl groups were preceded in their migration by another group, collectively known as Chichimecas, who migrated from the north to Central Mexico sometime earlier and were considered by the Nahua people less civilized. The Chichimeca do not apparently refer to a particular ethnic group, but rather were hunters or northern farmers in contrast to the Tolteca, the city dwellers, the urban agricultural populations already in the Basin of Mexico. The Migration Stories of the battles and interventions of the gods along the journey abound. Like all origin myths, the earliest events blend natural and supernatural events, but the stories of the migrants arrival at the Basin of Mexico are less mystical. Several versions of the migration myth include the story of the moon goddess Coyolxauhqui and her 400 Star Brothers, who attempted to kill Huitzilopochtli (the sun) at the sacred mountain of Coatepec. Many archaeologists and historical linguists support the theory of an occurrence of multiple in-migrations to the basin of Mexico from northern Mexico and/or the southeastern United States between 1100 and 1300 CE. Evidence for this theory includes the introduction of new ceramic types in central Mexico  and the fact that the Nahuatl language, the language spoken by the Aztec/Mexica, is not indigenous to Central Mexico. Moctezumas Search Aztlan was a source of fascination for the Aztecs themselves. The Spanish chroniclers and codexes report that the Mexica king Moctezuma Ilhuicamina (or Montezuma I, ruled 1440–1469) sent an expedition to search for the mythical homeland. Sixty elderly sorcerers and magicians were assembled by Moctezuma for the trip, and given gold, precious stones, mantles, feathers, cacao, vanilla and cotton from the royal storehouses to be used as gifts to the ancestors. The sorcerers left Tenochtitlan and within ten days arrived at Coatepec, where they transformed themselves into birds and animals to take the final leg of the journey to Aztlan, where they re-assumed their human form. At Aztlan, the sorcerers found a hill in the middle of a lake, where the inhabitants spoke Nahuatl. The sorcerers were taken to the hill where they met an old man who was the priest and guardian of the goddess Coatlicue. The old man took them to the sanctuary of Coatlicue, where they met an ancient woman who said she was the mother of Huitzilopochtli and had suffered greatly since he left. He had promised to return, she said, but he never had. People in Aztlan could choose their age, said Coatlicue: they were immortal. The reason the people in Tenochtitlan were not immortal was that they consumed cacao and other luxury items. The old man refused the gold and precious goods brought by the returnees, saying these things have ruined you, and gave the sorcerers waterfowl and plants native to Aztlan and maguey fiber cloaks and breechcloths to take back with them. The sorcerers transformed themselves back into animals and returned to Tenochtitlan. What Evidence Supports the Reality of Aztlan and the Migration? Modern scholars have long debated whether Aztln was a real place or simply a myth. Several of the remaining books left by the Aztecs, called codexes, tell the story of the migration from Aztlan- in particular, the codex Boturini o Tira de la Peregrinacion. The tale was also reported as oral history told by Aztecs to several Spanish chroniclers including Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Diego Duran, and Bernardino de Sahagun. The Mexica told the Spanish that their ancestors had reached the Valley of Mexico about 300 years before, after having left their homeland, traditionally located far north of Tenochtitlan. Historical and archaeological evidence shows that the migration myth of the Aztecs has a solid basis in reality. In a comprehensive study of the available histories, archaeologist Michael E. Smith found that these sources cite the movement of not just the Mexica, but several different ethnic groups. Smiths 1984 investigations concluded that people arrived in the Basin of Mexico from the north in four waves. The earliest wave (1) was non-Nahuatl Chichimecs sometime after the fall of Tollan in 1175; followed by three Nahuatl-speaking groups who settled (2) in the Basin of Mexico about 1195, (3) in the surrounding highland valleys about 1220, and (4) the Mexica, who settled among the earlier Aztlan populations about 1248. No possible candidate for Aztlan has yet been identified.   Modern Aztlan In modern Chicano culture, Aztln represents an important symbol of spiritual and national unity, and the term has also been used to mean the territories ceded to the United States by Mexico with the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848, New Mexico and Arizona. There is an archaeological site in Wisconsin called Aztalan, but it is not the Aztec homeland.   Sources Edited and updated by K. Kris Hirst Berdan, Frances F. Aztec Archaeology and Ethnohistory. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. Print.Elzey, Wayne. A Hill on a Land Surrounded by Water: An Aztec Story of Origin and Destiny. History of Religions 31.2 (1991): 105-49. Print.Mundy, Barbara E. Place-Names in Mexico-Tenochtitlan. Ethnohistory 61.2 (2014): 329-55. Print.Navarrete, Federico. The Path from Aztlan to Mexico: On Visual Narration in Mesoamerican Codices. RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics.37 (2000): 31-48. Print.Smith, Michael E. The Aztecs. 3rd ed. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013. Print.-. The Aztlan Migrations of the Nahuatl Chronicles: Myth or History? Ethnohistory 31.3 (1984): 153-86. Print.Spitler, Susan. Mythic Homelands: Aztlan and Aztlan. Human Mosaic 31.2 (1997): 34-45. Print.