Language Rights in Tibet

Transcription

1 Language Rights in Tibet "The land which managed itself well for 1,300 years, from the seventh century, lost its language after it was liberated. Whether we remained backward or made mistakes, we managed our life on the world's highest plateau by using only Tibetan. We had everything written in our own language, be it Buddhism, crafts, astronomy, astrology, poems, logic. All administrative works were also done in Tibetan. Late Panchen Lama

2 Introduction

3 Introduction

4 Introduction 1950: China s People s Liberation Army invades and occupies Tibet after defeating the Tibetan army

5 1959: National Uprising in Lhasa Dalai Lama flees to India More than 86,000 Tibetans killed

6 Today 2008: Olympics in Beijing protests throughout Tibet Tibet remains occupied today Tibetans as a minority within the PRC

7 Today Widespread violations of human rights: Language Freedom of Religion Assembly and association Freedom of Expression Torture, Cruel and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment Arbitrary Detentions Protests for Language Rights by Tibetans Students in Tibet

8 Languages

9 Differences and Similarities Originally belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family though recently some linguists have categorised this language family as a branch of Sino-Tibetan. Tibetan: Written in alphabet Polysyllabic Not semantically tonal Inflected with case, declension, and gender structures adapted from Sanskrit. Chinese: Written in ideograms Monosyllabic Tonal Non-inflected

10 Language for Propaganda Creating a Communist Lexicon in Tibetan: During (The liberation period) The CCP were trying to promote the use of Tibetan, to translate communist ideas and terminology into Tibetan so that Tibetans would assimilate with Chinese political culture : there was a suppression of Tibetan culture and language as the use of Tibetan limited to propaganda for the CCP and translation of Chinese newspapers. At this point the CCP had stopped promoting the use of Tibetan in official context and as a living, developing language. 1978: Programs to reinstate CCP support for Tibetan was introduced. Policy statements from Chinese authorities recognised the importance of using minority languages in local government documents and providing public information in minority languages. because 1982 revision of the PRC constitution & 1984 law on Regional Autonomy for Ethnic Minorities (LRAEM) declared the right for ethnic minorities to develop their own languages! 1991: Values placed on improving language policies in minority autonomous regions however at the same time the CCP are still pushing the use of Mandarin in schools which has many disadvantages for the Tibetans. Chinese is quickly becoming the lingua-franca in Tibet.

11 A Dying Language? Tibetans fear their mother tongue will become extinct if the current situation continues. Consequently, Tibetan culture and identity will be endangered and Tibetans will be assimilated into the Han Chinese. Most Tibetan intellectuals believe Han Chinese government officials in Tibet want the Tibetan language to disappear forever. Lobsang, 37, Amdo [Ch prov: Qinghai] Forked tongue: Tibetan language under attack A Free Tibet Campaign briefing for International Mother Language Day 21 February

12 Roles in society In contemporary Tibetan society, Chinese and Tibetan play different roles: Education: Mandarin has replaced Tibetan as the medium of instruction in schools. To study at a higher level (university), Tibetans must also be proficient in Mandarin. The only way to study in Tibetan, is to study Tibetan as a language subject. Tibetan is relegated to an inferior position whilst Mandarin becomes the language which determines academic and professional success. Workforce: Priority is given to those who speak Mandarin. This benefits the Chinese settlers living in Tibet and reduces chances for the Tibetans. There is currently a high amount of unemployment of Tibetans in Tibet. Safety: Particularly road signs, are primarily in Chinese script, if at all Tibetan is often written in small print which is useless as the script needs as much space as Chinese in order to be legible. Tourism: Introduced as a means of economic development in minority areas the use of Tibetan was promoted to show that the Tibetans supported the occupation. Shops would be labelled in Tibetan, though inside it s a different story.

13 Panam Middle School, near Shigatse,Tibetan Autonomous Region. "It may not be the deliberate goal of the Party to let Tibetan culture die, but I wonder whether the Tibetan language will survive or be eradicated." Late Panchen Lama

14 A Chibetan Future? Chinese language billboards dominates main Lhasa thoroughfare.