ELL: Requesting your assistance

[Randy LaPolla]

Dear Akira,
In Taiwan, the person to contact is Elizabeth Zeitoun of the Linguistics
Institute of the Academia Sinica (hsez at ccvax.sinica.edu.tw) (assuming
she is not on this list). She has been involved with several
Austronesian communities trying to not only preserve the culture, but
resuscitate it be creating teaching materials for the languages.

In China there are many communities (actually mainly the government)
that have tried to develop writing systems or other means of preserving
their languages, but not many have been successful (I have been working
with the Qiang and the Dulong communities, and in both cases writing
systems were created but the community was not interested in learning
them, partly because they felt it more important to spend their time
learning Chinese).  The government pushes "bilingualism", which
generally means people learn Chinese and eventually switch completely to
Chinese, and the economic preassure to learn Chinese and get out of the
mountain areas is very strong.  The Lahu in Yunnan Province might be one
example of people who have been trying to maintain their language, even
to the extent of trying to create native words for foreign imports and
to make a dictionary.  The best place to start looking would be the
Yunnan Nationalities Institute in Kunming. Jim Matisoff
(matisoff at socrates.berkeley.edu) might know how to get in touch with the
Lahu involved in the dictionary project (He is the world's No. 1 expert
on Lahu).

It is unfortunate that  UNESCO/Discovery Channel aren't interested in
Burma, as there are so many endangered minority languages there, and
several of the groups have been making efforts to preserve their
languages and cultures, e.g. the Rawang Literature and Culture Commitee
(in Putao) and the Mon Culture and Literature Survival Project (short
discription given below; it may also be of interest to members of this
list in general).

All the best,
Randy LaPolla

"The Mon Culture and Literature Survival Project (MCL) is a group of
people both Mon
and foreigners who are concerned with the preservation of the cultural
identity of the Mon
people. The MCL is a non-denominational and non-political organization
with the sole
interest of preserving Mon culture. The MCL currently consists of 12
members of different
nationalities (Mon, Thai, Swiss, and American) and is currently being
registered as a
non-profit organization in Switzerland with the official registration
number due in
March-May 2001. MCL's Southeast Asian hub is in the town of
Sangkhlaburi, Thailand.
The MCL works closely with other organizations and people who are
involved in the
study, promotion, and preservation of Mon culture. The MCL supports the
Mon people,
situated in Burma and Thailand, in their endeavors to preserve, promote,
and pass on their
cultural identity in all its aspects to future generations. The
principal activities of the MCL
include the education of children and adults, the preparation of
necessary teachingmaterials, as well as the support of their daily
cultural practices.  Currently the Mon
population is under 2 million people." Monland: Who Are The Mon People;
Latest News.
Language: Mon Phonetic Code; Mon Bilingualism. Literature: Proverbs of
the Mon;
Legends of the Mon; Daily Life and Traditions: A Monk's Funeral; Mon
Food; Mon
Medicine; Mon Holidays and Calendar; Mon Faces; Traditional Dress.
Music: The
Crocodile Harp. History: National Symbols and Anthem: The MCL: History
and
Achievements; Goals; Statutes of the MCL. Help the MCL. Activities of
the MCL: MCL School; MCL Christmas; Youth International.
http://www.monland.org/

------
Randy J. LaPolla, PhD
Associate Professor of Linguistics
Dept. of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics
City University of Hong Kong
Tat Chee Ave., Kowloon
HONG KONG

ctrandy at cityu.edu.hk or Randy.LaPolla at cityu.edu.hk
Tel:    (852) 2788-8075 (O)
FAX:  (852) 2788-8706
http://personal.cityu.edu.hk/~ctrandy/index.htm


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