⥫ Gurdjieff Oskiano ⥭

Session 2: November 30th (@2.30pm CST)

Language: The Languages of The Tales

Michelle Fink

Language is a complex and intricate system of communication with its origin lost in history, or perhaps in the evolutionary map. While it is a fundamental aspect of human existence, its use is generally administered by the Formatory Appataus.

One of the primary challenges in understanding languages lies in the inherent differences between them. Languages vary in their grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and writing systems. Some languages have a strict grammatical structure with numerous rules, while others are more flexible and allow for greater freedom of expression. Additionally, the sounds used in languages can be quite diverse, making it difficult for learners to distinguish between similar-sounding words.

Ideally, readers of The Tales would be conversant in all the four languages in which Gurdjieff supervised its writing: English, German, French and Russian. However, few of us have the language capability to attempt to read it in all four languages. Michelle Fink is a linguist who is fluent in three of those four languages and has recently begun to learn Russian, using the Russian version of The Tales.

She is gathering useful knowledge by looking at The Tales from four directions.