Ekin Cotuk has been a member of the Visualising Peace team since Spring 2023. Her research is on language, linguistics, and peacebuilding.
She has written a total of 5 blogs on the subject of peace linguistics, using a variety of case studies and providing bibliographies for each. The second of these appears below, and links to the others are included at the end of this post.
UNESCO declared 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages, to shed light on the importance of preserving indigenous and endangered languages. The motivations behind this initiative as outlined by UNESCO’s flagship report draw strong links between language and the transmission of cultural traditions and knowledge, which in turn play an important role to indigenous communities’ survival and continuity.15 Equating the disappearance of indigenous languages with the vanishing of entire cultural and knowledge systems, the report sets out indigenous peoples as the focal point of the year’s action plan to promote the preservation of indigenous languages, making sure that the languages transmitted to future generations reflect the beliefs and culture of indigenous peoples.16 Stating that indigenous communities continually confront forced assimilation to dominant cultures and suffer from unequal access to education, the report also argues that maintaining linguistic diversity and preserving indigenous languages is a pillar for sustainable development.17
Thinking about language as a key pillar for the survival of different identities and cultures as outlined by the International Year of Indigenous Languages raises awareness of the close links between language and its potential for creating conflict when language freedoms, integration and education are curtailed by different states. While linguistic and ethnic diversity is met with the need to unify, assimilation of indigenous peoples under a dominant identity only contributes to further rifts between groups. The inclusion of marginalised linguistic groups and identities can be an act of peacebuilding by advocating for social justice.
Myanmar is an especially informative case study to investigate the areas in which language-based conflict manifests. Myanmar is especially rich in ethnic and linguistic diversity: Myanmar is said to comprise 135 ethnic groups, eight of which are officially recognised by the government, and contains over 100 languages, although these figures have been problematised on the grounds that identity is fluid, and on the lack of an objective set of parameters to count and define ethnicities and languages.18 Myanmar’s independence from British colonial rule in 1947 saw the construction of a national identity based on the majority Bamar ethnic identity, and Burmese gained the status of official language.19 Although this same constitution enshrines equal cultural rights and access to education for all citizens regardless of ethnicity and linguistic group, the legacy of British-imposed language policy which called for the use of English in majority Bamar areas but allowed other ethnic groups to speak their own languages in their regions suggests that Burmese gaining official language status was closely related with its status as a symbol of resistance.20 The construction of a national identity around the Bamar majority intensified during military rule between 1962 and 2011, and Burmese soon became the only language of instruction in schools.21 ‘Burmanisation’, the process of assimilating non-Bamar ethnic groups, was seen as an effective tool for unification given the diversity of the linguistic and ethnic identity in Myanmar, but attempting to construct a national identity around the Bamar majority proved to be unsuccessful as resentment among ethnic groups grew, and armed conflict eventually ensued.22
Within the various demands made by ethnic minorities, the right to mother-tongue based education remains key.23 Education is a critical actor in the conflict in Myanmar, as the education system is the foundation for the generational safeguarding of culture and languages that allow ethnic communities to survive: their place in the education system shapes the conditions for their continuity.24 Burmese as the only language of instruction also hinders equal access to education: children living in more remote areas, further from Bamar and Burmese-speaking regions, cannot keep up with an education delivered solely in Burmese, which leads to greater drop-out rates, and puts the young people of these communities at a disadvantage.25 A counteractive measure to this has been adopted by some ethnic minority groups, which involve the creation of schools with their own curriculums, wherein the government curriculum is either translated (the case of the Mon and Kachin states) or discarded altogether to form a completely independent national education system (which applies to the Karen state).26 Although the latter measure allows for a stronger manifestation of the Karen ethnic identity, the members of this ethnic minority then find themselves completely removed from Myanmar—they do not speak much Burmese and receive an entirely different qualification that is not recognised outside of the Karen state, which arguably contributes to further division in Myanmar.27 On the other end of this spectrum, there are some ethnic states, such as the Shan and Rakhine, which accord special importance to Burmese as they associate the language with upward social mobility, and the acquisition of well-paying jobs by way of obtaining higher education.28 While there have been efforts to include ethnic minority languages in schools, the comprehensiveness or the extent of this integration remains at the discretion of the state.29 The education system remains highly controlled by the state—and in areas where greater autonomy has been accorded to ethnic groups regarding the use of local languages (such as the teaching of ethnic languages in schools for years 1-3 in primary school for a period a day), lack of resources and support from the state makes implementation difficult.30 Political discourse around the issue of language and education has not progressed since 2015, and all ongoing discussions with ethnic groups have been interrupted with the military coup in 2021.31
The key issue remains that while there have been efforts to meet ethnic minority demands, the education system is still centralised, and inadequate support is given to maintain the initiatives that are implemented. The endeavours to include ethnic minority languages in Myanmar’s education policy are characterised by an ongoing marginalisation of these languages, in the shape of limiting the teaching of ethnic languages for after-school hours, making sure that textbooks used for instruction meet the standards of the state, and not giving enough support to poorer and more rural areas to implement new curriculum changes that accommodate their requests.32
Despite the lack of agency accorded to ethnic minority groups in Myanmar, these groups have sought alternative methods keeping their language and culture alive outside of the education system. Lifted media restrictions in Myanmar after the collapse of the previous military regime in 2012 has led to greater access to information across different media.33 Radio is a popular form of media particularly in rural areas, as it is the most extensive form of electronic communication in Myanmar.34 The development of community radio in Myanmar is a particularly fruitful avenue for ethnic minorities to pursue goals of linguistic visibility and voice matters that pertain to their communities. In addition to being inexpensive, community radio allows marginalised ethnic groups to disseminate information in their languages, making information accessible and fostering inclusion of groups otherwise excluded from mainstream media.35 Furthermore, giving ethnic minorities a platform allows for meaningful intergroup contact, by granting the majority Bamar a greater understanding of ethnic minority culture, history, and issues.36 Khayae FM is currently the only community radio station operating in Myanmar, and an additional five community media projects are running, mostly involved in content production and online dissemination.37
Community radio in Myanmar is thus a powerful act of peacebuilding, as it ensures the continuity of ethnic minority languages and culture. Furthermore, it ensures ethnic minority groups are given a meaningful platform on which they are able to discuss local issues and have access to information in their native language, something that they have not always been able to do in the school setting. While the integration of ethnic minority languages in Myanmar education policy is slow, community radio initiatives grant these communities a level of agency and self-determination that is accorded to them at a minimal level in the education system. The issues of linguistic exclusion in education policy, and linguistic inclusion in community radio, helps us visualise peace as a linguistically and culturally comprehensive initiative that works towards building a more sustainable future for marginalised groups in Myanmar, ensuring the longevity of their language and culture.
Read Ekin’s other blogs…
‘Lost in Translation’: Language, identity, and inner peace (next blog)
How do we visualise peace in English?
Visualising peace across different languages: the Turkish language in protest
Why is language important when we talk about peace?
Bibliography
Aye, Khin Khin, and Peter Sercombe. “Language, Education and Nation-Building in Myanmar.” In Language, Education and Nation-Building, edited by Peter Sercombe and Ruanni Tupas, 148–64. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137455536_8.
Bertrand, Jacques. “Education, Language, and Conflict in Myanmar’s Ethnic Minority States.” Asian Politics & Policy 14, no. 1 (January 12, 2022): 25–42. https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.12621.
Dolan, Theo, and Stephen Gray. “Media and Conflict in Myanmar.” Usip.org. United States Institute of Peace, 2014.
International Crisis Group. “Identity Crisis: Ethnicity and Conflict in Myanmar.” Crisisgroup.org, August 28, 2020. https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-east-asia/myanmar/312-identity-crisis-ethnicity-and-conflict-myanmar.
Lall, Marie. “Ethnic Education: Language and Local Curriculum Issues.” JSTOR. UCL Press, 2021. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv13xprwx.12.
South, Ashley, and Marie Lall. “Language, Education and the Peace Process in Myanmar.” Contemporary Southeast Asia 38, no. 1 (2016): 128–53. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24916598.
UNESCO. The International Year of Indigenous Languages. UNESCO Publishing, 2021.
UNESCO Yangon Project Office, and Suman Basnet. “Situation Analysis of Community Media Sustainability in Myanmar.” UNESCO, 2020. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374008.