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Heitor Novelini (11911RIT026)
Isaque Alves (11911RIT021)
João Pedro Bettin (11911RIT048)
Letícia Buzá (11911RIT002)

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As presented by Alastair Pennycook in their work named “English and the discourses of Colonialism”, the English language is followed by the adherence of colonialism in its core (PENNYCOOK, 2002). That said, it is important to highlight that during the colonization of Myanmar — which was due after Three Aglo-Burmese wars, simply to serve as a source of raw materials for the West and a client of their goods —, during the 19th century, England was eager to conquer the globe. It means that Myanmar (Burma, back then) was under the pressure of the British both material and spiritual power and control, and whose administrative models and administrators clearly didn’t show any knowledge of the Burmese language and culture, nor interest in learning them. Moreover, the few British conquerors whose tasks were to study Burmese religion, culture and language, only did so in service of the colonization, undermining Burmese people (and other ethnic and religious groups in the country) through a racist point of view. Besides that, higher education was also conducted in English under the control of England’s concern about what subjects should be taught, and since education plays a huge role on how culture spreads throughout a country, this should be noted as an important and notable example of the English language playing its colonial discourse (TARGOSZ, 2016).

Although the disposal of the British Empire’s administration in 1948 was followed by the unofficialization of the English language in the country in 1962, Burmese was Rangoon’s less important language during England’s presence in Myanmar. Not only did England conduct their military, technological and economic power over the nation, but they also legally structured Burmese law based on Britain’s, in order to segregate their ‘inferior subjects’, meanwhile favoring Europeans. This, of course, led to the increase of a nationalist Burmese response that later resulted in the Independence of the country. Lastly, jotted down in English words, the British regime imposed a system designed for the subjugation not only of the Burmese territory and state, but also of their people, language and religion using either militarily and culturally means (HARVARD, 2021; TARGOSZ, 2016).

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What other languages are spoken in the country?

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What other languages are spoken in the country?

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Myanmar is a country marked by its ethnic diversity, and within each ethnic group, they have their own language. The most spoken language in the country, and its official language, is Bamar, with more than 70 percent of myanmar population speaking it, followed by Mon (11%), at the eastern region of the Myanmar Delta; Shan (7%), mostly spoken by the people of Shan state, located at the Northeastern Myanmar. Even though the British colonized the country for years, and the language is still being learned by Burmese people, english is now a foreign language to Myanmar, not being an official language since 1962, as aforementioned. (AYE, SERCOMBE; 2014)

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The Sound of the Burmese language (Numbers, Greetings & The Parable)

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This playlist has burman songs in burmese and english.

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Myanmar Songs | မြန်မာသီချင်းများ

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Myanmar Songs | မြန်မာသီချင်းများ

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In Myanmar, Burmese is taught in schools and, in addition, classes are taught in Burmese as it is the country's official language.

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The Burmese alphabet consists of 33 letters and 12 vowels and is written from left to right. It requires no spaces between words, although modern writing usually contains spaces after each clause to enhance readability. Characterized by its circular letters and diacritics, the script is an abugida, with all letters having an inherent vowel. The consonants are arranged into six consonant groups based on articulation, like other Brahmi scripts. Tone markings and vowel modifications are written as diacritics placed to the left, right, top, and bottom of letters (HERBERT, MILNER; 1989).

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CEDAW Myanmar Sign Language Version - Part 1

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Myanmar Deaf Community Development Association (MDCDA) is independent Non-Government Organization, Non-profits organization, Non-religious and racial based organization which was formed by Persons with Hearing Loss.

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Myanmar Deaf Community Development Association (MDCDA) was formed by persons with disabilities (PWDs) under guidance of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement and was registered as a non-profit organization with the Ministry of Home Affairs. The organization aims to promote the rights of PWDs in line with the Rights of the Persons with Disabilities Law and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN-CRPD), and to enhance capacities of persons with hearing loss.

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Myanmar Deaf Community Development Association (MDCDA) | Disabilities, Hearing Loss, NGO, PWDs Rights

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Myanmar Deaf Community Development Association (MDCDA) is independent Non-Government Organization, Non-profits organization, Non-religious and racial based organization which was formed by Persons with Hearing Loss.

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 Do these speakers participate in the political life of the country? 

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 Do these speakers participate in the political life of the country? 

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Throughout almost all of its history, including the decades of independence, Myanmar and its population have struggled with military rule, civil war, isolation from global affairs and widespread and intense poverty. A very significant matter within the boundaries of Myanmar is the violence against the Rohingya muslims, an unfortunate, despite often problem in the country. Lots of military chiefs and leaders have faced international condemnation for abuses and violations against human rights, being the Rohingya's situation one of those cases. Nowadays, Myanmar’s population are facing another huge political and social crisis, seeing that a military coup took place in february of 2021, putting the military back in charge in the country (BBC, 2021).

In face of this threat, the majority of Myanmar’s population engaged in protests throughout the country. Hundreds of thousands of people of the most different ethnicities and religions joined the movement, fighting for the return of democracy and the end of military rules. Since April the opposition has become more politically organized. It is also seeking a stronger internal unification, in particular through the National Unity Government (NUG), which largely operates in exile. Simultaneously, the resistance has grown more violent, resulting in country-wide armed conflict with the military forces (BBC, 2021)

Despite this resistance and the international condemnation of the coup, the military didn't give up on the power they just retook. Day by day, it's possible to see on the streets the security forces acting with violence, arresting and scaring the campaigns and the protests against the coup and the military rule. By October at least 7,000 people had been arrested and over 1,200 civilians killed. The opposition´s hope is that an increasingly united resistance, made up of the various groups in Myanmar, can pressure the military to withdraw and that they can introduce a new form of federal democracy (DIIS, 2021).

This proves that the speakers from Myanmar are deeply aware of the country’s situation and fully engaged in its political life.

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AYE, Khin Khin; SERCOMBE, Peter. (2014) Language, Education and Nation-building in Myanmar. In: SERCOMBE, Peter; TUPAS, R. (eds) Language, Education and Nation-building. Palgrave Studies in Minority Languages and Communities. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137455536_8

BBC. In: Myanmar coup: What is happening and why?. [S. l.], 2021. Disponível em: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55902070. Acesso em: 18 jan. 2022.

BRITANNICA. In: Myanmar. [S. l.], 2022. Disponível em: https://www.britannica.com/place/Myanmar. Acesso em: 17 jan. 2022.

DIIS. In: Military coup in Myanmar . [S. l.], 2021. Disponível em: https://www.diis.dk/en/trending-topic/military-coup-in-myanmar. Acesso em: 18 jan. 2022.

HARVARD, Divinity School. 2021. Myanmar. Accessed in: https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/religion-context/country-profiles/myanmar.

Herbert, Patricia M.; Milner, Anthony Crothers, eds. (1989). South-East Asia Languages and Literatures: A Select Guide. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1267-6.

Michael A. Peters & Carl T. Mika (2017) Aborigine, Indian, indigenous or first nations?, Educational Philosophy and Theory, 49:13, 1229-1234, DOI: 10.1080/00131857.2017.1279879

PENNYCOOK, Alastair. English and the Discourses of Colonialism, Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002, New York.

TARGOSZ, Tobiasz. 2016. Burmese Culture During the Colonial Period in the Years 1885-1931, Politeja.

WORLDOMETER. In: Myanmar. [S. l.], 2022. Disponível em: https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/myanmar-population/. Acesso em: 17 jan. 2022.

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Who are the speakers and how do they refer to themselves? How big are the communities of these speakers?

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Who are the speakers and how do they refer to themselves? How big are the communities of these speakers?

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According to Peters and Mika (2017), it’s possible to notice some differences when it comes to the exact terms to refer to the speakers of a language. Words like “indigenous” and “aborigine” are well-known, but it’s difficult to point out when the use of this words is really convenient, since there are some differences in their meanings that may jeopardize the context if used wrong. Furthermore, this range may be different due to factors like the history, culture, language and nation on occasion. Knowing that, it’s a possibility to say that the speakers of Myanmar may be closer to native peoples, since they were concentrated and came from the particular regions of the country (PETERS; MIKA, 2017).

According to the Worldometers, one of the most accurate websites when it comes to demographics, Myanmar’s population represents nowadays the number of 54,981,107 citizens (WORLDOMETER, 2022). In this realm, it’s necessary to point out that this country has a large ethnic diversity, being the Burmans it’s largest group, accounting for more than half of the graphic of ethnic composition. Following, there is the Karen group, the only hill people who have settled in significant numbers in the plains of Myanmar, representing about 1/10 of the population and joining the position of second largest group in the country. After them, the third most significant group in Myanmar is the Shan, a people from the Shan Plateau that have little ethnolinguistic affinity with the Burmans. Moreover, there are the Han Chinese, the Mon, the Yangbye, the Kachin and other smaller groups, as the image shows (BRITANNICA, 2022).

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 Are these languages national or official languages, or languages of minority groups?

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 Are these languages national or official languages, or languages of minority groups?

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There are many “indigenous” (terms used by the source) languages in Myanmar, not mentioning the different types of dialects. The official language of the country is the Burmese, spoken by the people of the plains and, as a second language, by most people of the hills. During the colonial era of Myanmar, English became the official language, but Burmese continued as the primary language in all other settings. However, the disposal of the British Empire’s administration in 1948 implicated in the unofficialization of the English language in the country in 1962, putting the Burmese back into its previous position, where it lies until the present days (BRITANNICA, 2022;  (HARVARD, 2021; TARGOSZ, 2016).