Latest Korean Export : Hangeul Alphabet, To Indonesia

According to The HunminJeongeum Society (HunminJeongeum Research Institute), representatives from Bau-Bau decided to use the Korean alphabet in order to preserve their own language, a dialect that lacked a writing system.

Created in 1443, Hangeul is often praised by linguists as the most efficient alphabet ever invented and indeed, it takes only a few minutes to understand how it works. Still, Hangeul needed some help to reach Bau-Bau, the most populated town (120,000 inhabitants) of Buton island, at the Southwesternmost point of Sulawesi, Indonesia.

The HunminJeongeum institute has been trying to export Hangeul for years. The easiest and most obvious entry points are non written languages with a limited reach and on the verge of extinction : a writing system means an easier conservation, transmission, and of course a global reach via the internet.

Last year, the vice president of the association (headed by Seoul National University Professor Kim Ju-won), Chun Tai-hyun, Professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, announced in a Korean Times interview* that representatives from Bau-Bau would visit Korea to learn Hangeul and find out how to implement it. "In Indonesia, ethnic minority communities are losing their own spoken languages. We realized that the Korean alphabet could actually help preserve these endangered local languages."

The said trip bore interesting fruits : a comprehensive textbook in Hangeul created by the Institute and titled "bahasa jjia-jjia 1", and a Korean center soon to be opened (see Yonhap article*).

I found this information both exciting and surprising : If it were say in Thailand, where the national language uses a specific writing system, I would understand the trial... but Bahasa Indonesia itself, the Indonesian language, has adopted the Latin alphabet about one century ago. Indonesian is spoken everywhere, even if many dialects survive, and Latin alphabet already offers a potentially global reach. Choosing an alphabet is a founding moment, and picking a different alphabet almost has to have a political meaning...

I did some quick research :

- on the island's official website (baubau.go.id), there's nothing about the issue yet : all pages seem written in perfect Bahasa Indonesia... as much as I can tell (I haven't practiced the very little I know for 20 years !).

- on the always fascinating UNESCO Atlas of endangered languages, I found only Busoa ("vulnerable") and Taloki ("definitely endangered") in the area. If Indonesia boasts about 130 endangered languages, this very one is not on the list.

- on the "Ethnologue report for Sulawesi, Indonesia", I found the language mentioned on the manual : in 2005, 79,000 people spoke Cia-cia language (or simply cia, which means "no") across this part of Sulawesi, but with many variant dialects. The language is said to be "vigorous" and spoken at "all ages", along with Indonesian and the dominant Austranesian language of Buton island, wlo (or wolio).

- I couldn't dig any clue in the political / social context that may cast a particular light on such a bold move from local representatives.

So my guess is that in this more "push" than "pull" operation, the survival of cia-cia language was not as essential as the opportunity to see how Hangeul performs in a completely new context. Professor Kim Ju-won is even more specific : "In the long run, the spread of Hangeul will also help enhance Korea's economy as it will activate exchanges with societies that use the language."*

I understand that this kind of arguments help raise funds for research, but I sincerely hope that linguistics remain the main topic, and that someone is planning to closely monitor the impacts. For example, I'm anxious to see if there is any impact on pronunciation.

If this thrilling (in all senses of the expression) experiment turns out to be a success, other local languages may be tempted to adopt Hangeul... if they simply don't catch the virus by contagion.

To be followed up...


* "Linguistics Scholar Seeks to Globalize Korean Alphabet" (Korea Times)
** featuring "writing, speaking and reading sections", "the tribe's history, language and culture" (definitely a must), and as a bonus "a Korean fairy tale" - see "Indonesian tribe picks Korean alphabet as official writing system" (Yonhap 20090806)

---
initially published on Seoul Village : "Hangeul lands in Bau-Bau, Indonesia... to save the Cia !".

France heart Obama

In Germany the giga rock concert given to the people of the World, in "Sarkozie" the somber threat addressed to the rulers of Iran. Hope for the doves on one hand, dope for the hawks on the other... in the process Barack Obama even manages to claim the Reagan Democrats heritage.

France's love story with Obama is first the end of a hate story with Bush. We like his balanced views and sound approach of international politics. We like the way he sets people in motion in a positive way. And yes, we wish we had such a charismatic politician making it to the top job from our own minorities.

France is a melting pot. Both a former colonial superpower and the victim of countless invasions, a crossroads where 60 million people live and 75 million people pass by every year, the place where Europe's biggest Muslim minority and Europe's biggest Jewish minority used to live peacefully together until George W. Bush decided to give fundamentalism a worldwide boost.

Race is not an issue in France since raising the issue is almost forbidden : all databases have to be declared to an independent council (the CNIL), and keeping data related to race is illegal. So there are no official statistics regarding minorities, and everyday discrimination cannot be easily exposed. Even the HALDE (a post-2005 authority against discriminations) doesn't mention "race" in its website's keywords : "physical appearance", "genetic characteristics" and "origin" (circumnavigation if I ever saw one).

Everybody knows there is a problem. The only institution reflecting France's diversity remains the national soccer team, and the media and politics are still 99.999% white. Following the 2005 riots, Chirac urged the media to change this and there has been some improvement (anyway from scratch there wasn't any other way than upwards). Sarkozy's Ministry of Justice happens to be a woman with a dual French-Moroccan nationality (Rachida Dati), but there again, a tree doesn't make a forest. Political parties are guilty too : if minority talents are not given any opportunity, France is already dramatically lagging behind most countries when it comes to giving women electable spots.

France has been waiting for a "French Kennedy" for 40 years - to no avail. But a President Obama could certainly help the self proclaimed "country of Human Rights" to be at last true to its values of "liberte, egalite, fraternite".

White blogule to Barack Obama's run for Presidency

What do we know about Senator Barack Hussein Obama of Illinois ?
Unlike Hillary, he wasn't born in Chicago from a Welsh lineage but in Hawaii, from a Kansas - Kenya combo.
Unlike Hillary, he still needs to gain the favors of the Afro-American minority.
Unlike Hillary, he wasn't raised a Methodist but decided to become a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ.
Unlike Hillary, he seems happily married. Anyway, Michelle Obama would be as great a First Lady as Bill Clinton a First Male First Lady.
Unlike Hillary, he said "no" to the war in Iraq, but so did Joe Biden.
Unlike Hillary, he looks cool, but so does Bill Clinton.
Unlike Hillary, he looks kind and good, but so did John Edwards.
He has already won (some hearts in) New Hampshire, but so did Wesley Clark.
Barack Obama looks too good to be true.
Up to now, he was overprotected. A candidate at the Federal level, he must face the ugliest side of politics and media. If he survives the attacks, a nice spot on the Democratic ticket seems guaranteed. The top spot won't be easy : Hillary Rodham Clinton has been claiming for eight years the role of Commander in Chief for the two terms to come.

Red blogule to New New Orleans - the bleach blitz

The Federal authorities are in no hurry to allow Louisiana citizens back to what's left of their homes : the area is enjoying a 2/3 white supremacy very much different from the 3/4 pre-Kathrina black rule. As in neighboring Texas, pro-Bush Hispanics may get their share of the cake, were this situation to last till next elections.
They'd be right to stick around : according to many wheather forecasts, greenbacks are supposed to start pouring soon over the region. I'm not sure they will land in the pockets that most deserved them.
One could recycle the tactful words the Queen of Diplomacy Condi Rice once uttered about another massive disaster, "I do agree that the tsunami was a wonderful opportunity to show not just the US government, but the heart of the American people, and I think it has paid great dividends for us".
Praise Lord Dubya and his clerical clique ; always fighting against Evil and defending the Haves and the Haves More. Let their followers enter the kingdom of whealth. O when the Saints go marchin in...

White blogule to France's wake up call

You keep asking me what's going wrong with France these days, especially after my critics on Amerika's social collapse (ie "This is America" or "Quagmires and bayous").
My answer is : "about everything". The poor are getting poorer, the masses are getting poor and the wealthy have already left the country. The IMF can praise the government's ability to perform reforms through consensus, the country needs to go further and quicklier.
First, "social" investments are often diverted / perverted and France is paying for the so called "social peace" : I give favors to social activists in order to buy stability, but I transform them into new elites disconnected from their bases and only devoted to the protection of their own interests. The counterproductivity of this tradition of compromises becomes all the more evident than growth times are over.
Second, ethnical / racial "égalité" is a myth. The French national soccer team became the "black blanc beur" alibi for a nation of tele-spectators / non-actors. Decision makers and opinion leaders must reflect the country's diversity.
Third, the Republic kept clinging to an ideal image of itself without actually taking care of itself. It must revive its own dynamics and instead of protecting yesterday's, we must unleash the locomotives of tomorrow. Education remains to be truly reformed (beyond the content, the mindframes and inerties).
The solutions lie in both a "bottom up" and "top down" approach. Bottom up : voting, getting involved in the community beyond one's own existing circles, marketing a positive peer-pressure at the individual as well as the entrepreneurial level (I'm doing something, how about you ?). Top down : transfering investments in the socially productive hands and giving back the ability to spend to the doers and makers : saving the budget by replacing only half of the new pensionners in the civil sector, luring back the wealthy - even if unethically at the start, ie through amnisty (but with a reform of heritage in favor of productive investments and socially efficient foundations).
This crisis could prove to be the opportunity to wake the country up and to focus the energies on the right priorities.
The only positive output of this "annus horribilis" (no to Europe, no to Paris 2012, no to social exclusion...) is the existence of a genuine debate. At very last, the key issues are outspoken. To the point one could talk about a 1968 revival, with still the same idealists at one extreme and cynists at the other one, but a stronger and more mature mainstream in-between.
Let's hope France will go for the structural change instead of Sarkozy's radical reformism. One year from now, I hope we can measure the evolution in the good (if not right) direction.

Red blogule to pro-life / pro-death pro-teges

How many black people among how many dead people down in the South ? Thousands ? Yet a fraction of the country cries over the death of one single individual in Arlington, VA. White supremacists and Christian fundamentalist expect a "good" successor to William Hubbs Rehnquist, praised by his November 2000 Protégé (and pro-life+pro-death-penalty pal*) King Dubya for "improving the delivery of justice for the American people".
John Roberts was not supposed to take the helm that soon but the US should be very careful who will replace Sandra Day O'Connor. Edith "Joy" Brown Clement, a woman from 'bama with a New Orleans pedigree, would be the perfect post-Katrina nominee but for his potential last shot and one year before key elections, W needs to send a much stronger message to his "base"**.
Besides, since she's still sitting in Louisiana, Brown may have a not so Clement word to say during the inquiry about Katrina's aftermath.

* "pro-life" people tend to be "pro-death", but there's nothing funny about it
** Speaking of which... Newsweek just published in their 20050901 edition the mild extract of my 20050708 blogule on London bombings I sent them : "President Bush keeps talking about good vs evil (...) - Tony Blair keeps talking about attacks against civilization... but such speeches are music to the ears of fundamentalists. What these leaders need to protect is not their own "way of life" but the basic rights of moderate majorities under the spell of extremist minorities."

White blogule to "this is America"

My last visit to New Orleans was a business trip in the gloomy days before the invasion of Iraq. In the early hours of the morning, I would stroll the decaying streets of the city, empty but for the occasional hobo, wild cat or mad dog, thinking to myself no one is awake in this country. Each individual is living his own life and in an illusion of unity, the masses are blindly following a warmonger faking compassion and cynically heralding moral virtues. No one realizes the country is falling apart.
After that, I would come back for breakfast and then walk to the Ernst N. Morial Convention Center before the opening of the gates, crossing Tchoupitoulas under freeways obviously knitted by giant spiders on crack, wondering how such an urbanistic nonsense could deserve sounding like a memorial.
The other day, at the same angle, the TV would show people passing by corpses without even noticing. Up the 90, in the Superdome, women and kids would be raped in public. In other parts of the state cameras couldn't reach : chaos, anarchy, cannibalism, the collapse of the idea of society itself. And these words echoing on and on : "this is America, can you believe it ?".
Such things can happen anywhere anytime, but never at this scale. The saddest point is I'm not even surprised. Sad, yes. Because I love the US and have this special feeling for Louisiana and New Orleans. Not puke smelling Bourbon Street New Orleans but abandoned New Orleans, where long before Katrina came, ghost cities would pretend to exist in the present time.
Beyond the humanitarian tragedy, the realization of America's social collapse may leave even bitter marks.

White blogule to cultural diversity - China is already on top

The US don't even realize it yet but they've already been overtaken by China. Forget the traditional measuring tools supposed to tell you what a superpower is (GDP, RBI... you name it). We're talking about the way a country's culture attracts people from all over the world. The US model is already dead and the Chinese one just finishing its warm up period.
This time, China won't try to overwhelm the region with its mandarin style rococco but peacefully let the world enjoy and spread the word about a second to none variety of cultures and ethnies... provided they get rid of their tradition of coating everything in a disneylike display of radical colors or in a tasteless MSG saturated sauce.
In the meanwhile, come enjoy beautiful Yunnan before mass tourism takes too much flavor out of it. Back from Kunming, Lijiang, Dali and Zhongdian.