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Robert Barnett on Tibetan Language: Policy & Practice </h1>
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<p>At his Culturally Curious blog, <a href="https://culturallycuriousblog.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/interview-with-dr-robert-barnett-tibetan-language-policy-and-practice/"><strong>Matt Adler talks to Columbia University’s Robert Barnett about the complexities of Tibetan language and its situation in China</strong></a>. Both dialects and policies, Barnett points out, vary more than is often recognized.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Today, in the post-Mao era, the language of state mouthpieces like
the newspapers, television, radio and official texts (including history
texts) is still locked in the Leninist era from 35 years ago – to read
an official Tibetan newspaper day after day, with its wooden terminology
and endless praise of the state, is a mind-numbing experience. And
China’s education policies in Lhasa and the Tibet Autonomous Region are
very damaging for Tibetan language: all middle schools there (unlike
Qinghai) are required to use Chinese as the teaching medium. This is
starting to happen in kindergartens now too. So a lot depends on whether
the Qinghai or the Lhasa model of education is adopted in the future.</p>
<p>But, although there is much they are not allowed to write about,
other areas of culture and language in Tibet that are less important to
the state have flourished since the 1990s, making claims of cultural
genocide seem overstated. The huge increase in education, publishing and
distribution of commercial media has led to a surge in creative writing
and publishing in Tibetan, particularly in poetry, short story writing,
popular music, religious texts, and more recently in film, particularly
in Amdo. But the larger problem is that Tibetans who are fluent in
Tibetan find it hard to get good jobs, even in Qinghai, so in the longer
term this is likely to act as a general economic disincentive for the
future of Tibetan language, and the current renaissance faces serious
risks and challenges unless progressive policies are introduced. [<strong><a href="https://culturallycuriousblog.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/interview-with-dr-robert-barnett-tibetan-language-policy-and-practice/">Source</a></strong>]</p>
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<p>Earlier this month, Xinhua noted <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2015-01/08/c_133905875.htm"><strong>the publication of a new encyclopedic Tibetan dictionary</strong></a>, arguing that the introduction of terms for “WeChat,” “broadband,” and “robot,” as well as <a href="http://tibet.news.cn/english/2015-01/07/c_133903262.htm">“lightning marriage,” “new normal,” and “Silk Road economic belt,”</a> show that Tibetan language is flourishing:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The dictionary will have about 150,000 entries, three times that of
the Tibetan-Chinese dictionary published in 1985, the most comprehensive
Tibetan-language reference book until now.</p>
<p>[…] “Language is a mirror of the times,” said Qoizha, deputy head of the Tibet regional compilation and translation bureau.</p>
<p>“New words reflect the rapid development in Tibet in terms of
politics, economy, culture and education,” said Qoizha, adding that new
words also add vitality to the Tibetan language.</p>
<p>[…] “The dictionary is getting thicker, more professional and
encyclopedic, which is strong proof of Tibet’s cultural development,”
said Wangchug, 69, a Tibetan language translator. [<strong><a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2015-01/08/c_133905875.htm">Source</a></strong>]</p>
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<p>The state news agency also reported that <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2015-01/12/c_133913177.htm">Han officials in the Tibetan Autonomous Region will now be required to “master” Tibetan</a>,
following Xi Jinping’s declaration last September that “one cannot
serve the local people well if one cannot speak the local language.” </p>
<p>Read <a href="http://chinadigitaltimes.net/china/tibetan-language/">more on Tibetan language</a>, and <a href="http://chinadigitaltimes.net/china/robert-barnett/">more from Robert Barnett</a>, via CDT.</p>
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<div>January 21, 2015 5:57 PM</div>
<div class="">Posted By: <a href="http://chinadigitaltimes.net/author/samuelwade/" title="Posts by Samuel Wade" rel="author">Samuel Wade</a></div>
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<div class="">Tags: <a href="http://chinadigitaltimes.net/china/languages/" rel="tag">languages</a>, <a href="http://chinadigitaltimes.net/china/robert-barnett/" rel="tag">Robert Barnett</a>, <a href="http://chinadigitaltimes.net/china/tibet/" rel="tag">Tibet</a>, <a href="http://chinadigitaltimes.net/china/tibetan-language/" rel="tag">Tibetan language</a>, <a href="http://chinadigitaltimes.net/china/tibetans/" rel="tag">Tibetans</a><br><br><a href="http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/01/robert-barnett-tibetan-language-policy-practice/">http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/01/robert-barnett-tibetan-language-policy-practice/</a><br></div><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<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>
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