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Language activism - Tibet | ||
Tags: Tibetan | Language Politics | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion | ( Topic Closed) |  |
| Spanky Senior Member Canada Joined 5957 days ago 1021 posts - 1714 votes  Studies: French | Message 1 of 21 23 October 2010 at 4:44pm | IP Logged | ||
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Many of us in this forum community (myself included) spend a certain amount of time
reading or thinking about (or even actively studying) issues relating to language loss, minority language rights, language politics, endangered/dying/extinct languages. I am posting here to bring to the attention of the community some active language issues currently taking place in relation to what appears to be the intentional and purposive marginalizing of the Tibetan language in what used to be considered Tibet. I write this in the hope that the thread does not become a political discussion, and in the interest of refraining from injecting my own political opinion on the subject, I will not summarize the issue further and instead provide some links to some reporting concerning some of the recent protests in this regard: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rebecca-novick/tibetan-student s-reveal-c_b_769514.html New York Times article ABC News article language-china">Guardian article If you have a concern about what is taking place specifically about Tibetan language use within the schools and wish to take a few minutes from your regular language study to become actively involved in the issue, I am attaching a link to the freetibet site which has a suggestion for letter or email campaigning. I myself think there is very very little (or less) effect this sort of campaign will have, but it is arguably better than nothing, you can pocket some free karma points and when your grandchildren are studying extinct languages in the same way we currently do, at least you can say that you spent a few minutes doing something: Freetibet letter/email campaign Many of us in this forum community (myself excluded) are smart and creative, and there may be other ways in which the Tibetan language can be supported at a distance? Edited by Spanky on 23 October 2010 at 5:40pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| clumsy Octoglot Senior Member Poland lang-8.com/6715Registered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5179 days ago 1116 posts - 1367 votes Speaks: Polish*, English, Japanese, Korean, French, Mandarin, Italian, Vietnamese Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written), Swedish Studies: Danish, Dari, Kirundi | Message 2 of 21 27 October 2010 at 6:57pm | IP Logged | ||
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well, actually there is Tibetan language textbook in Poland
http://www.ksiegarnie-jezykowe.pl/ksiegarnie,jezykowe,jezyki ,azji,i,afryki,76965.html 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Louis Triglot Groupie Italy Joined 5731 days ago 92 posts - 110 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish | Message 3 of 21 28 October 2010 at 7:07am | IP Logged | ||
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There are many Tibetan language resources available to order here (produced by the Tibetan Language Institute) and here (produced by other authors/groups). Even if you have no interest in Tibetan whatsoever, seeing all these textbooks for such an exotic language is very tempting! I advise against clicking if you're prone to wanderlust.
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| ilcommunication Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6693 days ago 115 posts - 162 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Russian, Portuguese, Mandarin | Message 4 of 21 28 October 2010 at 8:34pm | IP Logged | ||
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We might as well hear the other side of the story:
The Chinese government has made huge efforts to promote the learning, use and development of the Tibetan language. In Tibet, importance is given to both the Tibetan and Han Chinese languages, with priority given to Tibetan. At present, both languages are used in teaching in all schools of the farming and pastoral areas, as well as some urban areas, with the major courses being taught in Tibetan. Teaching is also conducted in the two languages in high schools. Moreover, the Tibetan language courses have been available at Tibetan high schools in the hinterland areas of China. http://www.gov.cn/english/official/2009-03/02/content_124835 5_4.htm The PRC's record has been pretty positive in this area. Also, from what I've read, the Indian education system is much less Tibetan-friendly than that of the PRC, so it's interesting to see China get blamed instead of India. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Liface Triglot Senior Member United States youtube.com/user/Lif Joined 5859 days ago 150 posts - 237 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish Studies: Dutch, French | Message 5 of 21 28 October 2010 at 8:44pm | IP Logged | ||
The government of China's website is not a reliable source about anything. Edited by Liface on 28 October 2010 at 8:44pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Ari Heptaglot Senior Member Norway Joined 6583 days ago 2314 posts - 5695 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese Studies: Czech, Latin, German | Message 6 of 21 29 October 2010 at 4:09am | IP Logged | ||
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The PRC is methodically working on eradicating all non-Mandarin languages in China. Tibetan is one of the more striking and alarming examples, but it's hardly the only one. All languages except Mandarin are banned from being used in education. Ethnic minority languages are exempt from this, but the exceptions are getting fewer and fewer, as can be seen in Tibet. In fact, ethnic minorities have a right according to the Chinese constitution to have education available in their own language. But then again, according to the Chinese constitution you also have the right to free speech …
Recently, protests in Canton were sparked by attempts to convert the only remaining Cantonese-speaking TV channel to Mandarin (broadcasting in non-Mandarin languages is illegal, with this exception). The PRC tactic is pretty straight forward and effective. Ban the use of local languages in public and move massive amounts of Mandarin-speaking Han people to the non-Mandarin areas. Make no efforts to help them learn the local language. This way, the original inhabitants soon find themselves in a minority and the language of the place becomes increasingly Mandarin. This is what is happening in Tibet, as well as in Xinjiang and Guangdong. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| ilcommunication Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6693 days ago 115 posts - 162 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Russian, Portuguese, Mandarin | Message 8 of 21 29 October 2010 at 6:03am | IP Logged | ||
Tibetan language and culture are a part of the school curriculum implemented in Tibetan schools, but the high school graduation requirements as standardized by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Emphasize knowledge of modern school subjects and proficiency in English language. --snip-- English being the language of instruction, it receives more emphasis for mastery than the Tibetan language. http://www.sherig.org/presentations/ca7.html That contrasts with the PRC system: By the end of 2006, a total of 880 primary schools and 1,351 teaching institutions offered bilingual courses in Chinese and Tibetan, with 310,000 students, accounting for 95.60% of the total number of students in Tibet's primary schools. Moreover, 117 secondary schools offered bilingual courses, with over 110,000 junior high school and 28,000 senior high school students, accounting for 94.62% and 85.96% of the total number of junior and senior high school students, respectively. In the local teaching force, 15,523 teachers are bilingual. --snip-- In elementary and secondary education, both the Tibetan and Chinese languages are compulsory courses for Tibetan students; such courses are offered from grade one in primary school to grade three in senior high school. In the college entrance exam, the two languages are also subjects of examination, whose scores are taken 50% respectively into the final score. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/30/content_1109877 0_8.htm So it looks as though the difference comes down to the fact that in the PRC, Tibetan is a language of instruction and examination all the way up to the college level. That, from the source above, does not seem to be the case for India. The point, though, is that the PRC is very much promoting Tibetan through bilingual education, so much so that 50% of the college entrance examinations is given in Tibetan. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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