Democracy For Nepal: Language Policy And University Of Pennsylvania

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Language Policy And University Of Pennsylvania

Dear Paramendra,

I'm interested in maintaining a conversation on this issue, but not sure how often I can do so. I erred in thinking that English could be a/the lingua franca in Nepal, because I didn't know that it wasn't taught until so much later. Switzerland is probably not a good model for Nepal, also for the reason that Nepal has so many languages (like INdia) and it would seem to me that a 2 or 3 language formula might not make speakers of some of the languages spoken way up in the mountains happy. I'm also wondering whether "Hindi" is the right language for the Terai; I seem to remember that Maithili is more widely spoken, and in INdia, at least, Maithili speakers don't want to have anything to do with Hindi, or at least they didn't use to. Do you know the American linguist Selma Sonntag who has done some work on the Terai? She's at Humboldt State U. in California, and a member of this list. Her email is sks1@humboldt.edu

I also would hope that you would join this listserv, so you could get the benefit of the thoughts of many other people who think about these issues a lot.

Best,
HS

Two things to add:

(1) My tri-lingual policy for Nepal is not Swiss inspired. I first wrote it down in 1993 while working to launch a political party in Nepal. It is internal, as in imagined. I recently studied the Swiss situation, though, after someone pointed it out to me. I don't think Switzerland has a good model for Nepal to follow though. There is too much balkanization. There has to be standardization in education, with the emphasis on Maths and Science. You want to take cultural pride only so far. The primary task of the education is to prepare the kids for their economic futures.

(2) My "Language Policy" was written months ago. If Google Alerts only now sent it to you, I must say their crawlers are rather slow, especially when it was posted on Google property, Blogger.

Hi Harold. Thanks for your elaborate feedback. Allow me to blog it.

http://demrepubnepal.blogspot.com/2006/08/language-policy.html

I will have to disagree about English becoming the lingua franca in Nepal. My language policy only applies to the 10th year in school. Beyond that it should be for the market forces to decide. And if English spreads, so be it. I think the people should be making their own best decisions.

I think Hindi will also stand strong as will Nepali.

How about we engage in a back and forth, to be displayed at my blog?

And thanks for sending out my Language Policy blog entry to your listserv. I would be curious to know what kind of discussion that arouses.

Language is going to be the trickiest issue as Nepal works to write itself a new constitution. Religion is easy. You declare the country a secular state, as all democracies by definition have to. But language?

Maybe you will help me shape up the policy proposals I have been espousing. Your academic background will be a lot of help.

I also request you help me generate some discussion on this in your academic community:
http://demrepubnepal.blogspot.com/2006/01/proposed-republican-constitution.html

Thanks. And look forward to talking more.

PS. I lived near U Penn during the summer of 1999, near the movie theater, when I was with Chaitime.com, my dip in the dot com mania. I think you have a beautiful campus. I especially remember liking this enclosed, green space. When you are there, it is like you are not in the city no more.

(In reply to)

Your blog...
Harold F. Schiffman haroldfs@ccat.sas.upenn.edu
Saturday, November 4, 2006 11:58:20 AM
To:paramendra@yahoo.com

Dear Paramendra,

I discovered your blog on Nepal and language policy since I have a google alert on "language policy" sent to me daily, and I operate a listserv on language policy (lgpolicy-list@ccat.sas.upenn.edu) for the Consortium for Language Policy and Planning http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/plc/clpp/

I'm interested in your proposals for a democratic lg. policy for Nepal, based on the model of Switzerland. I would like to point out a couple of things, however. I once worked in a hotel in the French canton of Valais (way back almost 50 years ago) and my purpose was to improve my French. I had just spent a year in Germany learning German.

When I arrived in the area, and started working, I discovered that there were (1) almost no French speaking people working at the hotel--almost all were either German Swiss, other German-speakers (Austria), Italian guest-workers, an English woman married to the German-Swiss manager of the hotel, and one Romanche-speaking woman who spoke good French.

Though as you point out all Swiss are required to study another Swiss language in school, the lingua franca in the country tends to be ENGLISH, and that's because the French Swiss learn standard German, which the Swiss Germans don't like to speak. In the hotel situation with the guest workers, a lot of Italian was spoken, also. My goal of learning French there was not exactly enhanced. OUtside the hotel, in the town, people did speak French, but I didn't have much contact with them.

So I think the Swiss model as applied to Nepal might end up with the same thing--English would become the lingua franca, just as it is to a large extent in India. South Indian don't speak much Hindi, so English has to serve.

Anyway, it's nice to see your proposals. I have forwarded your blog to our listserv today.

Yours,

H. Schiffman

Harold F. Schiffman

Professor of Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
805 Williams Hall Box 6305

University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone: (215) 898-5825
Fax: (215) 573-2138

Email: haroldfs@ccat.sas.upenn.edu
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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