For half a century a single precious copy of a textbook keptthe language of Myanmar's Shan people alive for students, forced to learn inthe shadows under a repressive junta. Now with a reformist government reachingout to armed rebel groups after decades of civil war, calls are growing toreinstate ethnic language teaching in minority area state schools as part ofreconciliation efforts.
"Shan is the lifeblood of the Shan people. If thelanguage disappears, the whole race could disappear too," said Sai KhamSint, chairman of the Shan Literature and Cultural Association (SLCA) in thestate capital Taunggyi. Photocopies of the cherished Shan book have been usedin private lessons for years in the eastern Myanmar state, after the originalwas banished from the curriculum by a regime intent on stamping out culturaldiversity.
Shan activists this year finally felt able to print a newedition as the country formerly known as Burma emerges from decades of militaryrule. The SLCA runs its own summer schools, giving students basic training inwritten and spoken Shan and familiarising them with such classics of localliterature as "Khun San Law and Nan Oo Pyin" -- a tale of lovers whoturn into stars after their deaths. But Sai Kham Sint said allowing teachers tohold Shan classes in state schools "without fear" would help sustainthe language.
Shan, akin to Thai spoken just across the border, is one ofaround 100 languages and dialects in Myanmar, also known as Burma. Several ofthe country's more than 130 ethnic groups, including the Mon, Chin and Karen,are also seeking to persuade the government to add their mother tongues to theofficial curriculum.
In September, Myanmar's Vice President Sai Mauk Kham,himself a Shan, said provisions had been made for teaching ethnic languagesduring holidays, but added it would be too difficult to have these lessonswithin school time. Observers say teaching all languages could prove impossiblein this polyglot nation, where many areas have several overlapping dialects andthe education system is in tatters after chronic underfunding by the junta. Theability to speak foreign languages -- particularly Chinese and English -- isalso seen as crucial as the country opens up to the world.
In Taunggyi, the author of the original Shan text book TangKel is still respected for his linguistic efforts. Photographs have replaceddrawings in the new edition, but no one has yet taken up the challenge ofupdating the text. "In this age we have computers but there are no suchShan words for them in the textbook. Even radio -- we do not have the word forradio," said SLCA member Sai Saw Hlaing. "We need to invent words foremail and the Internet."
