Understanding which language your English Language Learning (ELL) parents and students speak is a crucial piece in the road to providing effective, culturally sensitive language translation services. Although a person may hail from another country, they may not speak the dominant language of that country as their first language or even speak it at all.
For instance, the United States has recently seen a dramatic climb in displaced persons from Burma. Although the majority of these folks speak Burmese as their native tongue, the ethnic Chin people from Burma speak 20-25 different languages that are divided into four groups based on linguistic similarity.
Of these languages, the majority of Chin refugees that have resettled in the United States speak Hakha-Chin; there are approximately 1,000 Hakha-Chin speakers in the United States. However, this number is expected to increase because the U.S. government has signed a waiver to exempt Chin refugees from the provisions of the U.S. Patriot Act that restrict resettlement in the U.S.
For administrators, teachers and staff, in order to provide meaningful education language translation services, they will need to discern whether their community reads and speaks Burmese or Hakha-Chin. Obviously, you don’t want to send a Burmese translation to a Hakha-Chin reader or you run the risk of wasting precious budget on translations that no one understands! Ultimately, knowing who your audience is will save you money and prevent miscommunication.
Keep Learning!
Maggie
K12Translate
References:
http://www.khonumthung.com/kng-news/07-news/more-recognition-to-chin-refugees-after-us-waiver/
Tags: Burmese, Hakha-Chin
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We can’t say that Hakha dialect is the majority among Chin people. Chin State has nine cities. Only 3 cities and its nearby villages speak the Hakha dialect. Tedim dialect is spoken in 3 cities too. Falam dialect is in 2 cities. So far, Chin people do not have common language. Under the Burmese military government, Burmese is being used as the common language.
Dear Joseph,
Thanks so much for your comment. It is wonderful to receive your feedback.
I want to take this opportunity to clarify about my blog post. You are absolutely correct that Hakha-Chin is not necessarily the dialect for the majority of Chin people worldwide. However, for the majority of Chin people currently living in the United States, Hakha-Chin is the dominant language. That said, I really appreciate that you have brought our attention to the other two Chin dialects, Falam and Tedim. It is important for those of us in the United States working on language access issues to keep in mind that there are several Chin dialects. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Best wishes,
Maggie