Field Work on Oirat language in Xinjiang province (China)

Summer, 2005

Linguistics field work issues (20 mins) a. Introduction to the project b. Problems and suggestions c. Photos and video materials Level of endangerment of Oirat language in Xinjiang (10 mins) Samples of comparative analyses of the data (20 - 25 mins) a. /-ke/-xe/ alternation in Xinjiang Oirat b. Erosion of vowel harmony in Xinjiang Oirat

Past tense markers: /-la/-l/, /-de/-te/, and /-va/-v/ video (if time permits)

Field Trip Grant Foundation for Endangered Languages at School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, UK.

Title of the ProjectDevelopment of teaching materials for Kalmyk

language classes; Comparative studies of Kalmyk and Oirat

Duration of the project: 1 year (June 2005 – June 2006)

Stage 1: Field work on Oirat language in Xinjiang province (China) June 2005 - August 2005

Stage 2: Field work on Kalmyk dialect in Kalmyk Republic (Russia) March 2006 – June 2006

Xoug Sr

Bain BulgUrumqi

Xd n

Korla

Collected material

• Audio recordings (mostly done directly in Praat )

Transcriptions in IPA

Phonology: 200 word Swadesh list (2), loan words (1), items on vowel harmony (3) Intonation: 71 read stories (7), 2 the same read stories (6), questions (3), ceremonial texts (4) Dangr (2), dialogues, free conversations. Syntax: picture descriptions, questions, self-introductions

• Notes verbal forms (morphemes), relative clauses, passive voice

• Photos and video recordings

Cultural exchange: songs, customs (wedding, ceremonial narratives), dances, interviews of Oirat shepherds, teachers, Mongolian school authorities; everyday life activities (cooking national dishes, etc.)

Before the trip

Grant application - plan in advance!

Suggestions

Contact the language community (if possible) Check the weather conditions (it can snow in summer) Check location (Oirats migrate every season) Learn about the situation with the power supplies Equipment and software (Olympus DS 2200, Edirol R1, Praat) Try your recording equipment and software before the trip (my Shoebox problem, voltage converter) Medication

Budget (grant application) Don’t forget to include all the costly items a. Solar battery: ICP Solar 04340 PowerFlex 40 Solar Panel (around $ 550) b. International warranty for the laptop (up to $500)

In the field

Language consultants

• Dialects (distribution, geography, and population)• L1 or L2 (multi-lingualism)• Power of the written form (xar keln vs. prescriptive grammar) language teachers vs. ranchers • Payment (no monetary rewards to elderly people)

Work place

Immersion into the language vs. independence Customs

• Being a guest (What to bring?)• Who sits where? (age discrimination)• Local time (punctuality; 10pm appointments)

Be aware of the requirements for the foreigners Avoid getting your hosts in trouble

Data analysis

Analyze data while in the field

• Learn the language (Oirat yes/no, Yrymch(d))

• Collect data for a specific reason

• Linguistic literature (digitized) Contact your colleagues for advise (if possible)

2 -3 months might be too short for a broad documentation

Level of Endangerment of Oirat language

• Ethnolinguistic situation in Xinjiang

• Multilingualism among Oirats (based on 2.5 month experience)

• Recent language policy

• Self-esteem

• Statistics on Mongolian schools

• Perspectives for the future

Ethnolinguistic situation in Xinjiang

• Great Diversity 47 ethnic groups, 13 of which have lived in Xinjiang for many generations Surrounded by eight countries: Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Tadzhikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

• Population in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Province

Uyghur nationality - more than 6 million ( 45% of the entire population) Han nationality (Mandarin Chinese) - 5 million Kazax - 900,000 Hui nationality - 600,000 Mongol nationality (Oirat) - 170,000 Kirgiz nationality - 120,000 Xibe nationality - 30,000

Mandarin Chinese is used by the representatives of all the nationalities

Multilingualism among Oirats (based on 2.5 month experience)

0-20 Chinese (L1) >> Oirat (L2) 20-40 Chinese/Oirat = Oirat/Chinese >> Uighur>>Kazax Fully bi/multilingual

40-70 Oirat/Chinese >> Chinese/Oirat >> Uighur >> Kazax bi/multilingual with Oirat as L1 70 + Oirat >> Chinese >> Uighur>>Kazax Monolingual Oirats

Let’s watch video!

Recent language policies a. 1982 reform (Hudum Bichig) b. Welcome to Chinese schools c. Unemployment among Oirat teachers

Self-esteem a. Low level of education in Mongolian schools (200 scores lower) b. Advantages of fluent Chinese

Children of rancher spend only 4 months with their parents

Statistics

Beginning of 1990s - 167 Mongolian schoolsBy 2005 out of 167 schools: 82 % have been closed (137)10 % have been reorganized (16-17)8% have remained (13-14)Note: in reorganized schools the language of instruction for all subjects is Chinese; Mongolian language is taught to Mongolian children 2-4 hours per week.

By 2002 in Xinjiang: Total number of students in Mongolian schools is 17270 (10%), including 7-11 years old – elementary school – 10507 12-14 years old - middle school - 4897 15-18 years old - high school - 1876

Summer 2005 – only two monolingual Mongolian schools

In my estimation less than 2000 Oirat children study in monolingual Mongolian schools

Perspectives for the future

Bleak Less than 2% of the population study Oirat in monolingual

Mongolian school

Thank you for the helpKen Rehg, Laura Robinson, Lisa Ebeling, Alexandr Vovin, Victoria Anderson, Maria Faehndrich