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Rachellee
ProfessorSooheeKim
Honors397
9May2015
MidtermPaper:BurmeseLanguageMaintenanceinWashingtonState
Igrewupinahouseholdwithbothparentsspeakingvariouslanguages.Itwascommon
tobeexposedtodifferenttonalvariations,phrases,andtraditions.Although,Iwasntableto
reachaleveloffluentproficiency,Ihavealwayshadthisfascinationandinterestinthe
Burmeselanguage.Besidesbasicphrases,greetings,andkeyphrases,Iknewlittleofthe
Burmeselanguage.Therefore,IdecidedtochoosetheBurmeselanguageasmypointofinterest.
Iwillcoverthebasicsfromthehistory,speakers,accessibility,andsnippetsofmyfindingsfrom
myinterviewwithmyfather.
TheBurmeselanguageisthelanguageofMyanmar,anditisclassifiedastheSino
Tibetanlanguagefamily.Thislanguagefamilycontainsapproximately250languagesofSouth
Asia,EastAsia,andSoutheastAsia.InregardstotheBurmeselanguage,theMyanmar
LanguageCommissionregulatesit.SomealternatenamesforBurmeseincludeBama,Myanmar,
Myen,andBamachaka.ThelanguageiswidespreadincentralMyanmar.SinceBurmeseisthe
officiallanguageofMyanmar,themajorityofthepopulationtherespeaksit.Ultimately,
Burmeseisauniversallanguageasitisemphasizedasthelanguageofmedia,business,
education,andcommunication(Gady,234).Ideally,theBurmeselanguageishighlightedasa
necessityasitguaranteesawarmwelcomewhenvisiting(Khin,12).Thelanguagehasstayed
staticovertimeasithasstayedclosetoitscountryoforigin.Themainreasonwhyithasstayed

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uniformisbecauseofthetraditionalBurmeseBuddhistmonasticeducationsystem.This
educationsystemmadeitobligatoryforeveryonetolearnBurmeseintheUpperIrrawaddy
valley.
Oneofthemainreasonswhytheuseofminoritylanguagesisdiminishingovertimeis
becausetheselanguagesarebeingsuppressedbytheauthoritarianregime.Theselanguages
includethedialectsofBeik,MandalyBurmese,YangonBurmese,andYaw.Thishasresultedin
anestimatedtotalBurmesespeakingpopulationofabove32millionpeople,and10million
speakersadoptingBurmeseasasecondlanguage.AccordingtoEthnologue.com,thelanguage
statusisrated1(National)asastatutorynationallanguage.Thelanguageisusedamongmany
Mon,andsomeoftheShinandKaren.However,alargerdomainisusedbytheMon.TheMon
areconsideredasanethnicminorityoftheTheravadaBuddhists,andtheyliveinareassuchas
theIrrawaddyDelta,MonState,andtheBagoDivison.
TheBurmeselanguageisclassifiedastheBurmesescriptsinceitderivedfromamixof
theMonlanguageandtheIndianBrahmiscript.Thus,thelanguagefollowsatypicalsubject,
object,verbpattern.Besidestypicalpronouns,emphasisisplacedongenderandstatus
(Watkins,36).Asaresultofthis,thetonallanguageisclassifiedbetweenformalityand
conversation.ThetwomaindialectsincludeUpperBurmeseandLowerBurmese,andthemain
differencehastodowithvocabulary.Forexample,mranmaca(writtenBurmese)isthe
languageusedformallyinpublication,officialwork,andliterature.Incontrast,spokenBurmese
isusedforcolloquialconversations(nonformal)asregionordialectdoesnotcomeintoplay
here.

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InWashingtonState,specificallyintheKingCountyregion,thereare260Burmese
speakers,and290totalspeakersinWashington.Thissurveywasconductedby
usefoundation.com,thus,totalingto19,700totalspeakersintheUnitedStates.Thisnumberis
relativelylowinWashington,asthemajorityofBurmesespeakersarelocatedinCalifornia.
Thereare10,555BurmesespeakersinCalifornia.Ultimately,1ofevery13,319peopleagesfive
andolderspeaksBurmeseathome.ThisisanindicatorthattheBurmeselanguageisntprimarily
spokenintheUnitedStates,butratherinBurma.Thislinkstothelackofaccessibilityand
languageschoolsinSeattle.
IfanindividualwhowasinterestedinlearningtheBurmeselanguagecametotheSeattle
area,therewouldbeveryfewresourcesavailablebesidescommunitygroups.Thereisnoofficial
schoolorformaleducationalsystemthatteachesthelanguage.Rather,thelanguageismostly
taughtbyfamilymembers,orlearnedinBurma.Whenlookingupresources,theUniversityof
WashingtonJacksonSchoolofInternationalStudiesoffersopportunitiesforlanguagestudyand
coursesindisciplinesfocusedonSoutheastAsia.Asitisstated,languagesofferedonaregular
basisattheUniversityofWashingtonincludeKhmer,Tagalog,Thai,Indonesian,Vietnamese,as
wellastheselfstudyofBurmese.ThisgoestoshowhowtheBurmeselanguageisrarely
offeredandcanonlybelearnedonanindividualbasisortaughtbyaheritagespeaker.Asfor
communitygroups,therearemanyprograms,churches,andorganizationsavailableforBurmese
citizensaswellasrefugees.TheCoalitionforRefugeesfromBurmapromotesselfsufficiencyof
allresettledrefugeesfromBurma.Theirmissionandvisionincludeopportunities,access
services,educationalopportunities,andthepreservationoftraditionalcustoms.Notonlydoes
thecoalitionprovidesocialsupport,butalsotheyprovideculturallyandlinguistically

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appropriateenvironmentsfortheserefugeestomaintaintheirheritagelanguageandculture.
TheseprogramsincludefamilyliteracyprogramsthatserveESLinstructionandyouthprograms
thatfocusonhighschoolgraduationrequirementsandreading/writingskills.
InordertogainapersonalperspectiveandopinionabouttheBurmeselanguageand
maintenanceprospects,IdecidedtointerviewmyfatherwhowasborninBurma,andgrewup
learningandspeakingthelanguage.IdecidedtointerviewmyfatherbecauseIpersonallyhave
neveraskedabouthisexperiencelearningtheBurmeselanguageandtransitioningtoanew
environmentlearningEnglish.MyfathersnameisChuck,andhecametotheUnitedStatesin
theyear1978.HewasborninRangoon,Burma,andlivedtherefor23years.Theveryfirst
questionsIaskedhadtodowithlanguageacquisitionandmaintenancesincemovingtothe
UnitedStates.Inhisresponse,theBurmeselanguagewasarequirementatschoolsasthiswas
howhelearnedthelanguage.AlthoughhewasborninBurma,hismotherandfathertaughthim
Cantonesefirst,butBurmesebecametheprimarylanguageusedasthiswasbasicallyforced
amongschools.Inordertomaintainthelanguage,heusuallyspeaksBurmesewitholdfriends
fromBurmaaswellashissiblings.However,Englishhasbecomethelanguageofchoicefor
manypresently.Whenaskingabouthistransitionheexpressedhisreluctancebutalsolackof
timetofindaBurmesecommunity.Hismainmotivationmovingherewasfindingajob,and
basicallysurviving.Hewasbusyandmanyofhissiblingslackedthetimetogettogetherand
thatresultedinalackofusingtheBurmeselanguageoverall.Healsoexpressedhowitissadand
howhefearsthelanguagewilldieout.Hetalkedaboutresourceslikeusingonlineresources,
books,andlisteningtomusictoreconnecttotheculture.

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Overall,theBurmeselanguageispredominantlyspokeninBurma,butthereisarelative
largerpopulationinCaliforniabecauseoftheweather,opportunities,andcommunitygroups.
TheresourcesforlearningthelanguagearentasreadilyavailableinSeattle,howeverthereare
manysupportandcommunitygroupsforBurmeseindividualstofindresourcesandhelp.
Therefore,IanticipatevisitingtheCoalitionforRefugeesandinterviewingmembersthere.
Works Cited
"Burmese." Ethnologue. Web. 07 May 2015.
Cady, John F. A History of Modern Burma. Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1958. Print.
"Enabling Opportunity Through English." US English Foundation, Inc. Web. 07 May 2015.
Khin, U. Spoken Burmese. Washington: Dept. of State, Foreign Service Institute, 1976. Print.
Watkins, Justin. Studies in Burmese Linguistics. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, Research School of
Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National U, 2005. Print.