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Kham Aid Foundation
Minyak Language Preservation Program

Minyak textbooks being used in Gonggashan Central Primary School (left) and Pusarong Central Primary School (right).

Abstract

Kham Aid Foundation (KAF) and our partner the Minyak Cultural and Environmental Service Group (MCESG) launched the program to preserve and perpetuate the Minyak language in December 2007, thanks to a grant from the Genographic Legacy Fund. The Minyak language is spoken by about 12,000 ethnic Tibetans living on the eastern Tibetan plateau and has been waning in usage because of the strong influence of two other languages: Tibetan and Chinese.  The Minyak language lacked a written form and was not taught in schools.  Our project collected Minyak words, phrases, and stories, developed a writing system, and reconciled differences in dialects to standardize the language.

Two years later Minyak Language Reading Materials for Minyak Rural Schools, a Minyak primer developed by our project team, is now being used in four rural districts of central Minyak in Kangding County on the southeastern Tibetan plateau.  The book has also attracted the interest of scholars, government officials, and ordinary Minyak people who have praised it and the project. The project has increased ethnic pride among the Minyak people and improved the chances that future generations of Minyak people will cherish and carry on their language and other unique cultural traditions.

Project Leadership

The director of MCESG, Tuden Gele, is the project leader; he directed imple­mentation activities. Layitao Denba, assisted by Zhaba Sojia and Pubu Zhaxi, led the working group that conducted field research, recorded audio files, developed text files of the vocabulary and expressions by means of the Tibetan phonetic system1, and interpreted the files in Tibetan, Chinese and English. Professor Chongni from Kangding Normal University led the expert group to resolve problems relating to writing and language standardization.  Other members of MCESG – Gyaltso and Wangjie – and noted Tibetan language experts Jiega, Gesang Zeren and Sonam Jiacuo advised the project.  Kham Aid Foundation vice president Wu Bangfu provided administrative support, served as field comptroller and prepared English language reports which were edited by Pamela Logan, Kham Aid Foundation president.  Kham Aid Foundation’s U.S. office handled project accounting and funds transfer to the field.

Top: draft version of the book ready for pilot testing in March, 2009.  Bottom: Classroom testing in Gonggashan Township.

Summary of Work Performed in 2008

As described in last year’s report, in 2008 we completed all of the scheduled work, in­cluding field interviews in Minyak villages to collect vocabulary, everyday expressions, and traditional stories. In 2008 the team edited audio and text files that we had collected, set up a writing system using the Tibetan alphabet, standardized Minyak Language pronunciation, analyzed the grammar, and interpreted of Minyak vocabulary and everyday expressions in Tibetan, Chinese and English to document the exact meaning.  We recorded and edited some Minyak dances and dancing rhythms.  We began the work of selecting and compiling material for the primer.  (more info about 2008 activities).

Outcomes Achieved in 2009

Textbook development

Building on the achievements of the previous year, in 2009 we focused our work on the developing the reading materials that are most of interest to children. After further refinement of the text and book design, followed by typesetting, in March 2009 we had a draft of Minyak Language Reading Materials for Minyak Rural Schools ready for pilot testing.

With the combined efforts of KAF and MCESG we obtained permission from the Kangding County Education Bureau to pilot test the in four Minyak township central primary schools. This was a very important hurdle for the project.

We printed 20 copies of the book and distributed them to four township central primary schools of Pengbuxi, Shade, Pusarong and Gonggashan.  The number of books was small because it was expected that changes would be made based on the results of classroom testing, and because funds were tight. The testing activities lasted for four months from March to June, 2009. The testing was very successful. 

From the pilot testing we received a lot of feedback which helped us improve the book.  Also, as soon as we put the books into classrooms, a demand was sparked among towns­people and teachers.  Before the testing was finished we were inundated with requests from villagers, scholars, and officials for more copies.    

In July we began the work of revising the book in accordance with suggestions from the schools and the scholars.  The revised book was finalized in August.  Meanwhile, we did lots of outreach in Minyak area in the hope that the local people could realize the importance of preserving their language and other Minyak traditions.

The final version of the book includes a collection of 1347 items of Minyak vocabulary and 102 everyday Minyak expressions, with Chinese, English and Tibetan Interpretation. There are also five traditional Minyak stories in the book which are interpreted in Tibetan

Book printing and distribution

We had planned to print 500 copies of the book so that we can meet the demand of the many influential individuals who wanted copies; however because the printing cost was higher than expected, and because we failed to secure matching funds from other donors to cover this cost, we could only print 400 copies.

We made schools and students our top priority and, ignoring the requests of many others, we distributed most of the books to schools for classroom use and for school libraries. Book distribution details are given in Table 1.  Since we distributed the books, we’ve heard that students are taking the books home to share with their families, thus expanding the book’s impact to even more people.

 Table 1.  Distribution of books.

Left: books at the Shade Central Primary School Library.  Right: Pengbuxi Teacher Tashi Dorjee teaching Minyak language using our book. Below: Professor Chongni leading Minyak Language Teaching Workshop.

 Teacher Training

To ensure that the book will be used most effectively, we held a training course in Kangding at the Sichuan College for Nation­alities.  Linguistics expert Professor Chongni, who is on the faculty of this college, led training for eight native Minyak primary school teachers for 3 days from December 26 to 28. In addition, five students at the college who are Minyak natives also attended the training course.

Professor Chongni emphasized the promotion of Minyak language and other Minyak traditions as he analyzed the linguistic relationships between Minyak and Tibetan.  He exhorted the teachers to encourage children to cherish their own culture even while they learn modern science and technology.  During the training, in addition to discussing use of the book, the trainees also discussed how to promote Minyak culture, and the benefits of doing so. Through the training, the teachers realized the greater importance of language preservation and the promotion of the Minyak culture, and they committed themselves to making time for Minyak language in their classes despite the pressure imposed by the standard curriculum and exams children must take in other subjects.

 Details on the trainees are presented in Table 2.

Table 2. Participants in a Minyak language teaching workshop. 

Summary and Conclusion
 
The project has successfully achieved the following objectives:  

1. Basic documentation of Minyak words, phrases, and stories.
2. Development of a writing system for Minyak, a language that was previously unwritten.
3. Reconciliation of pronunciation and dialects to develop a standard version of the language.
4. Publishing and distribution of 400 copies of an elementary Minyak language textbook to four schools, both for classroom use in grades 5 and 6 and for reference in the school libraries.
5. Training of eight teachers and five potential future teachers in classroom use of the book.
6. Expanding the capacity of our indigenous partner organization, the Minyak Culture and Environment Service Group, to implement projects and report the results.
7. Raising awareness in the Minyak community about the importance of preserving language and other Minyak cultural traditions.

Now these Minyak children can read their own cultural traditions and stories in their own language – stories that formerly could only be passed down orally or through translation into other languages.  They can also write down simple sentences regarding their everyday experiences in their mother tongue.  Perhaps more importantly, awareness has been raised among Minyak communities of the value of their language.  We hope and believe that our work will in future be identified as a watershed marking the end of the language’s decline and the start of a true Minyak renaissance.

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