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Stamp of "Millie," the bilingual parrot
My stamp collection comprises a broad swath of images and stories.
It has been a hobby of mine for many years.
In 1967, Guyana, in year 2 as an independent nation, participated in
an exposition of its wares in Montreal. During the construction of
the exhibition pavilion, one of the contributors, Millie the Parrot,
overheard the crude discourse of the diverse workers. Millie soon
learned to swear in the English and French languages. Victoria Fromkin,
in “An Introduction to Language”, 2002, page 23, teaches us that
“Talking birds such as parrots and mynah birds are capable of
faithfully reproducing words and phrases of human language
that they have heard, but their utterances carry no meaning”.
The moralistic burgeois Guyanese embassy officials were “embarrassed”
and returned Millie to Georgetown before the exhibition started.
These officials could have learned from Fromkin. Millie had become
a celebrity and her image was captured on a postage stamp with a
caption that read, “Millie the Bilingual Parrot”
.To see a stamp of Carifest72, click here.