<div dir="ltr"><h1>Language policy in East Timor: The quest for cultural democracy</h1>
<div class="">
<ins style="display:inline-table;border:medium none;height:15px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:468px;background-color:transparent"><ins id="aswift_0_anchor" style="display:block;border:medium none;height:15px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:468px;background-color:transparent"></ins></ins> </div>
<div class="">Gerald W. Fry <span>October 21, 2013 1:00 am</span> </div>
<h2>The discussion of
language policy in East Timor begins with the statement of two key
related underlying principles: cultural democracy and the right to begin
basic studies in an individual's mother tongue.</h2>
Latino scholars Manuel Ramrez III and Alfredo Castaeda first introduced
the importance of cultural democracy to recognise an individual's
rights to remain identified with the culture and language of their
cultural group.<br><br>
With respect to education in the mother tongue, Unesco has established a
special website related to this approach. Unesco has encouraged
mother-tongue education in early childhood and primary education since
1953. Research evidence, from many settings around the world - including
northern Thailand - indicates that when children start school in their
mother tongue, they are more likely to like school and not to drop out -
and to learn much more effectively. Later they can transition to
standard Thai, for example, or in the case of East Timor, to Portuguese.<br><br>
In East Timor, there is definitely no universal agreement that students should start off in the official language of Tetum.<br><br>
What impresses me most about East Timor is its multilingual landscape
and the extent to which the Timorese are polyglots. Many Timorese speak
two or more languages. Signage is linguistically diverse and signs are
common in Tetum, Portuguese, English, and Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian).
Official signs are primarily in Portuguese and/or Tetum, the two
official languages of East Timor.<br><br>
Data from the 2010 national census clearly indicates the linguistic
diversity of East Timor. There are 32 local indigenous languages, six of
which are considered endangered. Based on this census, the most
commonly spoken mother tongues are Tetum Praca, 36.6 per cent and
Mambai, 12.5 per cent. It is estimated that 59 per cent know Indonesian,
31.4 per cent, English, and 23.5 percent, Portuguese. English and
Indonesian are considered working languages.<br><br>
It is important to note that there are two varieties of Tetum (from the
Austronesian language family): Tetum Praca or Tetum- Dili (which is
heavily influenced by Portuguese) and Tetum-Terik, a prestigious
regional variety primarily spoken in the south and southwestern regions
of East Timor.<br><br>
Danielle Boon did a fascinating study of East Timor's adult literacy
programme, based on the Cuban model, Yo Si Puedo. Though the formal
curriculum is in Tetum, she found that multiple languages were being
used in the classroom for diverse purposes.<br><br>
A new language of instruction policy has recently been drafted. A key
element is that the mother tongue will be the focus of the early years
of schooling. It is currently in a pilot stage.<br><br>
The goal is certainly culturally democratic, emphasising "preserving
cultural and linguistic diversity as a means to achieving national
unity, peace, and equitable development (National Education Commission,
2011).<br><br>
In a cultural democratic environment, Timorese parents and students
have had freedom to choose between different language tracks such as
their mother tongue, then Portuguese; Tetum, then Portuguese; Tetum,
then English … Many Timorese have chosen Portuguese and rejected
mother-tongue instruction. <br><br>
Many younger Timorese, especially those in Dili, see English as having
great social capital with respect to job opportunities. During the first
decade of this century, 15 UN agencies and 122 international NGOs were
active in East Timor. Many of these organisations use English as their
working language. Others, such as the large number who go to Indonesia,
see Indonesian as having valuable social capital. <br><br>
The Timorese freedom to choose the language of instruction (won through
their fight for independence) is consistent with Amartya Sen's (Nobel
laureate) concept of "development as freedom" and Robert Chamber's
(professor at Sussex University) emphasis on participatory development. <br><br>
Having curricular materials in multiple languages is, of course, more
costly, but East Timor probably can afford this, given an economy
turbo-charged with oil and gas revenues, and development funds from
diverse donors.<br><br>
Ken Westmoreland, a Portugusese and Tetum translator, has done a recent
book on East Timor entitled, "A Pretty Unfair Place: East Timor Ten
Years after Self-Determination (2009)". He has an in-depth understanding
of the cultural and linguistic landscape of East Timor. <br><br>
Critics of the policy of having Portuguese as an official language fail
to appreciate the value of learning Portuguese. First, Portuguese is a
link to the relatively large Lusophone community of Brazil, Portugal,
Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, and Sao Tome and
Principe. Also, Portuguese is used in Goa and Macau. Second, it is
relatively easy to transition from Portuguese to Spanish, a language
spoken in a large number of countries and clearly a world language.
Third, important abstract words in Portuguese, Spanish, and English are
often similar but with different pronunciations. Thus, Portuguese can be
a valuable window to English.<br><br>
Gerald W. Fry<br><br>
Distinguished International Professor<br><br>
Department of Organisational Leadership, Policy, and Development <br><br>
College of Education and Human Development <br><br>
University of Minnesota<br><br>
<a href="mailto:gwf@umn.edu">gwf@umn.edu</a><br><br><a href="http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Language-policy-in-East-Timor-The-quest-for-cultur-30217568.html">http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Language-policy-in-East-Timor-The-quest-for-cultur-30217568.html</a><br clear="all">
<br>-- <br>**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message. A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br>
<br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************
</div>