Keeping the Burmese Language Alive
Insight Myanmar30 Syys 2022

Keeping the Burmese Language Alive

Episode #125: Given the deteriorating and destabilizing situation in Myanmar, one might assume that experts in the fields of Burma Studies, along with Burmese language teachers, would be more important now than ever. Yet nonetheless, the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) has elected to terminate the post of Professor of Burmese.

Burmese language instruction at SOAS dates back to 1917, when civil servants associated with Britain’s colonial administration studied Burmese. Yet the institution is now experiencing financial problems that can be traced back to Brexit, and Covid has only exacerbated the situation. As a result, Justin Watkins, who currently holds the position, was informed in the summer in 2020 that his position was at risk of being cut, and he was given two years to seek out funding to build an endowment. However, the military coup happened only months later, it became very difficult to ask for funding for his program that otherwise would probably go to supporting a country in such dire circumstances. Watkins has requested a two-year extension, but the post is set to expire this month.


Watkins fears that at a time when it has been so difficult for the crisis in Myanmar to break into the international community’s consciousness, cutting his program would only serve to further relegate the country and its people to the background. Plus, SOAS is one of the few institutions in the world that still offers Burmese language study.


Watkins points to the negative effect that decreased opportunities for Burmese language study will have on aid workers, diplomats, human rights activists, and others who can do far better work when they are able to speak in the local language.

Jaksot(506)

Trajectories in Flux

Trajectories in Flux

Episode #428: This panel gathers five voices from Myanmar’s unraveling present—specialists in food, economy, energy, education, and digital life—who together trace the anatomy of a country still fight...

10 Marras 20252h 41min

Meditating on History

Meditating on History

Episode #427: Daniel M. Stuart describes his newest work, Insight in Perspective, as the product of decades of scholarship and meditative practice, aimed at practitioners and academics alike. The book...

7 Marras 20251h 36min

Reclaiming Ground

Reclaiming Ground

Episode #426: The Karenni Interim Executive Council was formed in 2023 to provide services to people in dire need, with an estimated 80% of the civilian population displaced by the conflict. As people...

6 Marras 20251h 51min

A Borderline Personality

A Borderline Personality

Episode #425: Dr. Lalita Hanwong, a Thai historian and analyst, has dedicated her career to understanding Myanmar and its ties to Thailand. “I’m morally attached to the peoples of Myanmar,” she says, ...

4 Marras 20251h 47min

Through Other Eyes

Through Other Eyes

Episode #424: This episode opens the first of a three-part Insight Myanmar Podcast series recorded at the Decolonizing Southeast Asian Studies Conference at Chiang Mai University. The gathering brough...

3 Marras 20251h 11min

Snap Judgments

Snap Judgments

Episode #423: Ian Taylor is a Canadian photographer whose life shifted from the film industry to decades of work and travel across Southeast Asia. His first experience was with a government-sponsored ...

31 Loka 20251h 54min

At The Edge of Self

At The Edge of Self

Episode #422: “There is beauty in owning one's racial identity. There's beauty in owning, valuing, and respecting one's heritage, ancestors, sexual identity, and gender identity. But on the other side...

30 Loka 20252h 14min

You’ve Got Harm

You’ve Got Harm

Episode #421: Saijai Liangpunsakul, whose first name means “the link between two hearts,” speaks of her journey through the turbulent conflict of Myanmar, and how the kindness and resilience of the My...

28 Loka 20251h 44min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

aikalisa
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
politiikan-puskaradio
tervo-halme
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
viisupodi
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-podme-livebox
rss-asiastudio
otetaan-yhdet
the-ulkopolitist
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
linda-maria
rikosmyytit
rss-kiina-ilmiot
rss-polikulaari-pitka-kiekko-ja-muut-ts-podcastit
rss-vain-talouselamaa