ELL: Re: ELL Re: Akha Scripts

[Matthew McDaniel]

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Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 00:05:01 +0700
From: Matthew McDaniel <akha at loxinfo.co.th>
Organization: The Akha Heritage Foundation
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Subject: Re: ELL: Re: ELL Re: Akha Scripts
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What would be an example of these endings in the Akha language?

Matthew

David Bradley wrote:

> Re Akha scripts
>
> My information is that the first Akha script was the Protestant one,
> developed in 1949 and first printed in 1950. The Catholic script was
> derived from this, and was first developed in the mid-1950s; but hardly
> used until the mid-1960s. The Chinese Hani script was developed in 1957 and
> used in a very limited way in the late 1950s; then mainly in abeyance until
> the early 1980s when it was revised and reintroduced. An Akha version of
> the Hani script was also developed in the mid-1980s in China, and is now in
> use in Xishuangbanna, the main Akha area in China, though again in a fairly
> limited way. Akha are classified as part of the Hani nationality in China.
>
> Given that every orthography ever used for Akha has been alphabetic, and
> that the Akha are a transnational group living in four countries, it would
> further unnecessarily divide the group to ask them to use an orthography
> based on Thai in Thailand, Lao in Laos and Burmese in Burma.
>
> As to the status of the Akha in Burma, there are of course a few Akha who
> have moved up within the system, which is a good thing; it was the vast
> majority that I was talking about, the ones who still live in villages, are
> now largely Catholic and so no longer follow the full range of traditional
> activities, and are so disadvantaged that the Akha population of Thailand
> has more than tripled in the last thirty years due to migration from Burma.

> All kinds of Akha and Hani, like most closely related languages, have a
> basic contrast between creaky and non-creaky syllables; this contrast is
> also the basis for extensive differences in initial consonants and vowels,
> more so in Akha and Hani than in most other languages. Speakers who think
> about language use terms meaning 'narrow' or 'tight' to refer to
> creakiness, and anyone listening well to any speaker of Akha will easily
> hear it.
>
> To use an English analogy: suppose we did not distinguish 'p' and 'b', 't'
> and 'd' or 'k' and 'g' at the end of a syllable; so 'cap' and 'cab' would
> be written the same, for example 'cap', also 'cat' and 'cad' as 'cat', and
> 'back' and 'bag' as 'back'. In context, speakers trying to read this
> inadequate orthography would still be able to understand; especially if we
> instead chose to distinguish the longer short 'a' sound before 'b' 'd' 'g'
> from the shorter short 'a' sound before 'p' 't' 'k', such as 'caap' for
> 'cab' and 'cap' for 'cap'. But then we would need to distinguish twice as
> many vowels! An Akha orthography without a way to write creakiness would
> similarly need twice as many consonants or nearly twice as many vowels
> (since a couple of vowels only occur non-creaky) to correctly represent the
> language.
>
> Of course speech communities can cope with orthographies that are
> incomplete or more complicated than necessary; but surely our goal as
> linguists should be to help them develop the best possible orthography,
> discuss and agree on its use, and get on with it themselves; then help them
> where possible!
>
> David Bradley
> Chair, Linguistics
> La Trobe University
> Bundoora VIC 3083
> Australia
>
> tel     +61 3 9479 2362
> fax     +61 3 9479 1520
>
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Matthew McDaniel
The Akha Heritage Foundation
386/3 Sailom Joi Rd
Maesai, Chiangrai, 57130
Thailand
Mobile Phone Number:  Sometimes hard to reach while in Mountains.
01-881-9288  when in Thailand
66-1-881-9288  when out  Thailand

Web Site:
http://www.akha.com
mailto:akha at loxinfo.co.th

US Address:

Donations by check or money order may be sent to:

The Akha Heritage Foundation
1586 Ewald Ave SE
Salem OR 97302
USA

Donations by direct banking:

In the US can be transfered to:

Wells Fargo Bank
Akha Heritage Foundation
Acc. # 0081-889693
Keizer Branch
Keizer, Oregon, USA

Outside the US:

Matthew Duncan McDaniel
Bangkok Bank Ltd
Acc.# 3980240778
Maesai Branch
Thailand


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