Language Rights
The Chinese government is trying to wipe out the Tibetan language. Language forms the foundation of Tibet's unique and vibrant culture; to deny Tibetans their language is an attack on their fundamental human rights.
Help Defend the Tibetan Language
In October 2010, when the Chinese government revealed plans to replace Tibetan with Chinese language as the medium of instruction in schools in Amdo, eastern Tibet, thousands of Tibetan students took to the streets of Rebkong, Chabcha, Mangra, Machen, Tsigorthang, Chentsa, Trika, and Themchen to defend their fundamental right to study in their mother tongue. These were the largest protests that Tibet had seen since the 2008 Uprising. Language has become a flashpoint of resistance against China’s marginalization of Tibetan culture and sparked a solidarity movement in exile as Tibetans and their supporters everywhere take action to promote Tibetan language on the global stage.
[Video: compilation of the historic protests in Amdo, courtesy of Radio Free Asia]
WAYS TO TAKE ACTION IN SUPPORT FOR LANGUAGE RIGHTS
- Read, print, and distribute SFT’s Ten Ways to Promote the Tibetan Language
- Sign a Petition for the release of Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen
- Download and distribute SFT’s Freedom of Language petition
Read more about the 2010 language protests and education in Tibet:
Free Tibet: Students protest for language rights (includes a detailed timeline of events)
Free Tibet: Education in Tibet
High Peaks Pure Earth: Tibetans Students in Beijing Protest for Tibetan Language
BBC News: Tibetan students in China protest over language policy
Ten Ways to Promote Tibetan Language
Tibetans in Tibet are taking great risks to fight for their right to study in their mother tongue while China tries to marginalize the Tibetan language. To support the conservation of Tibetan language, we can all contribute by taking some simple actions:
1. Listen to Tibetan news at RFA (http://rfa.org/), VOA (http://voanews.com/), and VOT (http://vot.org/) weekly. Watch VOA’s incredibly popular Kunleng TV twice a week: http://www.voanews.com/tibetan-english/news/.
2. Read Tibetan news at least once a week at Bodkyi Dusbab (http://tibettimes.net/), Bodkyi Bangchen (http://tibetexpress.net/), http://Khabdha.org/. Read poems and essays by persecuted writers: Tashi Rapten, Kunga Tsangyang (http://freekunga.com/), Shogdung, Kalsang Tsultrim, Dolma Kyab, and Jamyang Kyi at http://wokar.net/.
3. Install Tibetan unicode on your computer so that you can type in Tibetan. Download the software at http://lobsangmonlam.org/. It’s as easy as ཀ་ ཁ་ ག་ ང་། and it’s compatible with Mac as well as Windows.
4. Write Facebook status updates in Tibetan on Wednesdays. “བོད་ ནང་ སློབ་ཕྲུག་ མང་པོས་ སྐད་ཡིག་ རང་དབང་ ཆེད་ སྐད་འབོད་ བྱེད་འདུག” If you don’t have Tibetan installed in your computer, you can use the Tibetan Virtual Keyboard http://apps.facebook.com/tibetankeyboard/?ref=mf
5. Send an occasional email in Tibetan – it will surprise your parents, delight your friends, and confound the hackers!
6. Stop worrying about spelling. One day soon, there will be Tibetan spell-check on your computer. For now, bad spelling is better than no spelling. Besides, you can download Monlam’s online Tibetan dictionary at http://www.4shared.com/get/0o_FOTWt/Monlam_Dictionary.html.
7. Give a Tibetan comic book or picture book to a kid as their holiday gift. If you have a kid, read a Tibetan story to put them to bed. གཟིམས་འཇག་གནང་ངོ་།
8. Listen to contemporary Tibetan music (this is too easy not to). No matter what your taste you will love Rangzen Shonu (http://rangzenshonu.net/), JJI Exile Brothers, Yadong, Kunga, Sherten, Techung, Phurbu T Namgyal, etc.
9. Buy Tibetan books, magazines, CDs (http://semshae.org/) and DVDs. Tibetan writers and artists are churning out works of art and literature, and we must build a global market to consume their products. Let’s vote for Tibetan language with our wallets.
10. Speak in Tibetan whenever possible, not just when sharing secrets on the subway.
This guide is brought to you by the Tibetan staff members of Students for a Free Tibet.
བོད་རང་བཙན་ སློབ་ཕྲུག་ཚོགས་པའི་ བོད་པའི་ ལས་བྱེད་པ་ རྣམས་ ནས་ ཕུལ།།
October 19:
Timeline of Student Protests:
October 19:
Protests in Rebkong (ch:Tongren)- students from 6 different schools (First Tibetan Middle School/ Teachers’ Training School/ Yifu National Middle School are among the 6)
Demands/Slogans: “Equality of People, Freedom of Language”
Participation: More than 6,000 people
October 20:
Chabcha
Over 2,000 students protested from 6-10am
Demands/Slogans:
1. Return the authority of the Tibetan language
2. Equality Among Nationalities
3. Expand the use of Tibetan language
Protests in Chenza; Tsigorthang Khrigha; Drakar also occur.
October 21: Golok (ch: Goluo)
Three schools, 3,000 students (Teachers Training College, Town Middle School, County Middle School)
Demands/Slogans: “Equality of People, Freedom of Language”
Rebkong (ch: Tongren). Gedun Choephel Middle School- around 700 students-
October 22:
Beijing, Minzu Nationalities University. 400 students
Demands/Slogans: “Preserve Nationality Language and Expand National Education”
Participation: around 400 students.
October 23:
Chabcha (Chinese: Gonghe Dzong) – 20 students of the Tibetan Middle School were arrested
October 24:
Several hundred students and teachers from high schools in Chentsa in Malho County (Chinese: Jianzha County, Huangnan, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture) took to the streets in support of the continued use of Tibetan in local schools.
October 26:
Voice of Tibet reports that over 300 students protest in Themchen Tsongon, in Amdo Tibet.
Voice of Tibet also reports students from a Tibetan school in Tsayi in Sangchu County in Labrang Amdo, voiced their support to the movement against introduction of Chinese language as medium of instruction in Tibetan schools in Amdo.
October 27:
Tibetan teachers and experts appeal to the government.
A letter written on 15 October by over 300 teachers and students was submitted to authorities. It calls for Tibetan to remain the main language of instruction in schools. The letter points out that students in Qinghai come overwhelmingly from nomadic and farmer communities who are unfamiliar with the Chinese language and therefore would not be able to study in the Chinese language.
