Category: Global Change in Asia

INTRODUCTION

The Peranakan Chinese is an appellation referring to the descendants of intermarriage between Chinese immigrants and local Malay women during British colonization of Malaysia (Lonely Planet, 2020). They were able to keep their Chinese heritage but accepted many facets of Malay culture. They also used the terms Straits-born or Straits Chinese to differentiate themselves from later arrivals from China (Lonely Planet, 2020). This report explores the Peranakan acculturation and assimilation in Malaysia.

CHINESE MIGRATION TO MALAYSIA

Pre-colonial and during the British colonialism era

Multitude of Chinese migration to Malaysia took place between 1850 to 1930 with the opening of the British settlements in Malacca and Penang, although the existence of Chinese settlements in Malaysia was present before the time (Hirschman, 1986). The early interaction between the Chinese and Malays may not have been completely harmonious and free of suspicions, but racial division were not present as can be seen in intermarriage between the two races (Hirschman, 1986). In terms of economic relationship, the Chinese and Malays were also able to cooperate for mutual gain, despite wide linguistic and cultural divergence among the two ethnic groups (Hirschman, 1986).

During the age of Imperialism, there grew to be a large population of acculturated, rich, English-speaking Chinese in Malaysia. They have gained respect, status and wealth through higher education and mingling in “the right circles” (Hirschman, 1986). When these wealthy Chinese men married local Malay women, their genealogical descent became known as the Peranakan, which literately meant “half-caste” in Malay (Lonely Planet, 2020). The Peranakan men are addressed as Baba and the women as Nyonya (Lonely Planet, 2020).

Post-colonial Time

Malaysia became independent from the British in 1957 (Chin & Tanasaldy, 2019). Under the newly established Federal Constitution, Islam is the official religion. At the time, the Chinese population was 2.33 million, representing 38% of the total residents (Shah, 2016) (Wong, 2018). The growth in population size allowed the Chinese to build temples, schools and community and political associations (Minority Rights Group International, 2018). They resided in the urban areas while the Malays lived mainly in rural areas (Minority Rights Group International, 2018). They continue to dominate the business environment until the racial riot in 1969 as a consequence of resentment in the disproportionate of wealth held by the Chinese (Wong, 2018).

After the unrest, race relations remain a delicate matter in Malaysia. The new construct from the aftermath is set to favours the ethnic Malay majority over the other racial communities. The Malaysian government would push for economic and policy reform that are beneficial to Malays, marginalizing the rest of the population. The Peranakan had been the subject of persecution by the Japanese during the Japanese occupation of Malaysia during the second world war for supporting the Chinese resistance in mainland China (Hardwick, 2008). Already weakened, the political reforms made after 1969 resulted in the Peranakan became a vanishing culture, losing its prominences and in decline.

THE PERANAKAN RELIGION

Malaysia is a multiracial society. Freedom of religion is a theoretical guarantee that is written in the Malaysian constitution to maintain the cohesiveness of all the different ethnic communities. The Peranakans mainly subscribed to the Chinese religion, the beliefs of their Chinese ancestry heritage. They celebrate the Chinese New Year, which is a recognised national holiday event in Malaysia, marking the first and second day of the lunar calendar, as well as many other Chinese festivals (KENN i SOLUTIONS, 2020).

The Chinese religion is based on a combination of three religions: Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism (Guang, 2013). The three religions were able to amalgamate to influence the Chinese civilization alongside each other, changed each other, and at times intermingled together (National Geographic, 2019). It was able to incorporate the different teachings into multiple areas of the Chinese society.

Confucianism is based on the belief that people are essentially good, that individuals engage in immoral behaviour is due to a lack of a strong moral standard; and by adherence to an ethical code, anyone can live a fruitful and harmonious life of peace (Mark J. J., 2020).

Taoism or Daoism is primarily “concerned with the spiritual elements of life, including the nature of the universe” (National Geographic, 2019). It believes that “the Way” or Dao is a natural cosmic force which flows through all things and binds and releases them (Mark E. , 2016). Human beings are meant to accept and submit to the Dao by doing things that go with the flow in keeping with the Dao (Mark E. , 2016) (National Geographic, 2019).

Buddhism is a way to attain enlightenment through meditation, spiritual learning, and practice. It believes in reincarnation and that life is transitory and full of suffering and ambiguity; the way to find peace is through reaching nirvana, “a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth” (Oxford Dictionary, 2020) (National Geographic, 2019).

RELATIONSHIP OF THE RELIGION TO CULTURAL ELEMENTS OF THE SOCIETY

Sociologists have long debated if it is cultural practices that is becoming religionised or religious ideas are becoming part of culture. The Peranakan culture is a mixture of Chinese and Malay influenced.

The Peranakan Fashion

Perhaps there is nothing more iconic than the costume wore by the Singapore Airline air stewardess to reflect the historical and stylistic significance of Peranakan fashion in the Malay Peninsula during the 1800s to the 1950s (Lee, 2019). The Sarong Kebaya is a blouse wore over a sarong by the Nyonya women. The blouses are held together by beautiful brooches, usually of gold or silver call Kerasong. They also wore slippers splendidly embroidered with beads call Kasot Manek (Lonely Planet, 2020).

The Peranakan Food Culture

Peranakan food or Nyonya cuisine is the result of cultural borrowing and cultural innovation by combining Chinese cooking techniques and ingredients to Malaysian spices and flavours (Ng & Karim, 2016). For instance, some of the signature ingredients used in cooking include coconut milk, laksa leaves, lemongrass and tamarind (Ghosh, 2018). One of the most famous Peranakan food creations is the Laksa, a spicy coconut cream base soup noodle.

Laksa

The food is not only for daily consumption but also to develop family relationship during festive celebrations, ceremonies and in religion and ancestral worship (Ng & Karim, 2016). The Chinese symbolism in the Nyonya cuisine can be found mainly in the colour symbolism of the food, the linguistic association in naming the food, and by physical association (Ng & Karim, 2016).

The Peranakan Family Life

The intermarriages between the Chinese immigrants and local Malay women were significant during the early development of the unique culture. The intermarriages were motivated by the need to integrate into the local communities and for the fact that these women were good housekeepers and saleswomen; to help to keep the business running when the men went on business trips to China (Ng & Karim, 2016).

At home, the Peranakan wealth and social status during the British colonial time are reflected in their expensive and lavish home furnishings of heavily carved and ornamented furniture (Lonely Planet, 2020) (Ng & Karim, 2016). Their enormous houses were brightly painted, with patterned tiles embedded in the walls for extra decoration (Lonely Planet, 2020).

A Typical Peranakan Home

The Peranakan follows a rigid Chinese patriarchal custom and therefore, the womenfolk were confined to the house. The kitchen is where they spent a great part of their time as they did not enjoy the privilege of getting an education (Ng & Karim, 2016). It is the place where all the fine Nyonya cuisines were created. The development of the labour-intensive Nyonya cuisine was encouraged by the fact that excellent cooking is the fundamental benchmark for a good marriage (Ng & Karim, 2016). They were taught from a very young age by the matriarch of the household to help around in the kitchen (Ng & Karim, 2016). The matriarch held enormous level of authority in the household, from organising and instructing the servants, to handling the household accounts and finances, to organising entertainment and social events for their husbands (Scheong, 2016).

IMPACT OF THE RELIGION ON ‘IDENTITY’ OF INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS AND NATION

Peranakan acculturation originates through the marital union between Chinese and local Malay women when they migrate to Malaysia. By the 19th century, the Chinese migrants had abandoned the strict use of their Chinese language and instead, spoke in a Malay-Chinese slang (Hardwick, 2008). The Peranakan women had adopted the Malay women fashion and culinary techniques (Hardwick, 2008). Yet, in their elaborated weddings, funerals, and ancestor ritual practices, can be identified as being heavily influenced by the Chinese religion from their Chinese heritage link (Hardwick, 2008). This combination of cultural interaction allowed the Peranakan to identify as neither Chinese nor Malay, but a unique sociocultural identity (Hardwick, 2008). This also sets them apart from later Chinese migrants.

The Peranakan identity began to form during the British colonial period when influxes of Chinese immigrants arrived in Malaysia. They live among the local inhabitants, they marry the local women, and they gradually assimilated into the local communities. Their need to cultivate a unique identity was simply to facilitate their survival in a hostile political environment (Hardwick, 2008). At the time, China was engulfed by socialism and communism movements. Malaysia was under the British rule. The Malays were sceptical about their motive.

The Peranakan identity blossomed under the British rule. They gained wealth and social status acting as middlemen for the British. The males are greeted as Baba and the female were addressed as Nyonya. These are honorific titles which in time to come, became synonymous with identifying the Peranakan masculine and feminine genders in the public (Hardwick, 2008). The term “Baba” is a gesture of respect, derived from northern India, most likely to have found its way to the Straits of Malacca when the British East India Company extended its trading influence to Malaysia (Hardwick, 2008). The expression “Nyonya” is a traditional Malay way of addressing non-Malay women of a high social status (Hardwick, 2008). Their wealth is flaunted in their expensive and lavish home furnishings, jewellery ornate costumes, and enormous houses (Hardwick, 2008).

With the decline of the British colonial power during the second world war, as well as Malaysia gaining its independence, the Peranakan identity is slowly eroding with time. An article in the Eastern Sun newspaper published on 21st May 1967 even commented that “The Babas have become a weak community, which may eventually be relegated to oblivion. Their leaders are self-centered persons who prefer to lead comfortable lives on the old pattern rather than adjust themselves to the new political order.” (Hardwick, 2008). The Peranakan and their identity have frozen in time, waiting to be assimilated into the Malay population.

PRESERVING THE PERANAKAN WAY – THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE RELIGION WITH NATIONAL POLITICS

Religion and ethnicity have always played an important role in politics and society. Since becoming independent, the Malaysia Federal constitution states Islam as the official religion but other religions may be practiced in peace (Husin & Ibrahim, 2016). Syariah law is also incorporated into the Federal and State Constitutions which had been largely based on the English law (Noordin & Supramaniam, 2016). Under the Freedom of Religion, Peranakans have the right to profess and practice the Chinese religion but is not allowed to propagate their religion to the Malays (Husin & Ibrahim, 2016).

The Syariah law was supposed to only apply to Muslims but in fact, it is stifling out the rest of the other religions, as well as creating new social and cultural divergence between the Malay Muslim community and the other minority races. The law legally presumed the faith of all ethnic Malays are Muslims. Using marriage as an example, it is against the religious laws of Malaysia for an Infidel to marry a Muslim (Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada, 1996). Non-Muslim must convert to Islam in order to marry a Malay. The law produces a negative form of acculturation of other ethnic communities to the faith, creating conflicting relationships between Islam and other religion orientations (Lewis, 2005). As a result, this led to the Peranakan community maintaining ethnic boundaries with the Malay population in Malaysia in order to preserve their heritage and religious culture (Lewis, 2005). Future generations of Peranakans were discouraged to marry Malays to avoid becoming Malays and Muslims (Ng & Karim, 2016).

CONCLUSION

Today, what is left of the Peranakan culture is a reminiscence of its past glory. The culture is vanishing as the Malaysia law continues to marginalise minority communities to benefit the Malay majority. The Peranakans are slowly acculturated and assimilated into the Muslim communities by Syariah laws such as the marriage law. In order to preserve its existence, the Peranakans are forced to maintain ethnic boundaries with the Malay population, creating a divergence in the social interaction of the two communities.

Bibliography

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Customs practiced within organized and unorganized religion carry deep significance that can be traced back to the foundations of religious belief. The first evidence of religious belief and practice can be found within acts of veneration to the dead during the Paleolithic Period of earth[footnoteRef:1]. Through acts of burial and graveside offering, rituals such as this one has endured for thousands of years and are continually practiced to this day. Like habits performed in daily life, religious rituals enforce structure and guidance in one’s life, as well as to reinforce and establish faith and reinforce religious doctrine. The involvement of food within Asian religion is often linked to a set of rules, beliefs, or schools that are often interpreted as doctrine or practice. Food is closely tied with a religious way of life, and dietary choices are often practiced as a means to stay closely connected with one’s faith. The commonality between Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam are their widely known adherence to food in relation to religious belief and practice. Food and dietary customs carry heavy significance within Asian religions due to the historical and devotional importance within religious doctrine and sacred belief.

The importance of food and dietary customs are often linked to dogma within a religious scope. Many of the beliefs practiced around food stem from teachings and rules within religious text with the intention of practice in daily life. Oftentimes, the daily practices are linked to the intention of living a more holistic and harmonious life. The Hindu term ahimsa is a clear example of a holistic life through the non-consumption of animals. Historically, Hindu doctrine comes from four different types of text: the Vedas, Upanishads, Sutras, and the Samhitas[footnoteRef:2]. Ahimsa, deriving from the sacred Vedic texts, is often defined as the minimization of the intention to harm worldly beings. While this is practiced mostly in the context of war and violence, the importance of ahimsa in the intake of animal products plays a significant role in the context of the Hindu diet. It is widely known that deep devotion to Hinduism requires a shift towards a vegetarian diet, requiring one to change diet from animal to non-animal products. An example of this comes from an excerpt in the Vedas: “the last of the great Vedic Kings, Maharaja Pariksit, is quoted as saying that ‘only the animal killer cannot relish the message of the Absolute Truth’” (Turner, Hinduism and Vegetarianism). The historical significance of King Pariksit’s passage echoes the sentiments felt by practicing Hindus today: in order to find the absolute truth, or to be one with self and nature, one must abstain from the consumption of any and all meat products. Reflecting the foundations of ahimsa within Hindu text, the concept of halal and haram of Islam sprung from the laws and rules embedded within the Qur’an.[footnoteRef:3] As an organized religion, there are actions and rituals that are permissible (halal) and forbidden (haram). Food rituals of Islam are universally wide known examples of halal and haram within the Muslim population. According to the second section of the Qur’an: [2: Due to the varying perspectives and beliefs within Hinduism, there is no definitive doctrine that states what exactly Hindus should eat. Many beliefs are spread throughout all of the sacred texts, but with some doctrine clearer than others in combination with other forms of Hinduism. (Sarah Patience, Religion and Dietary Choices) ] [3: Halal and Haram do not necessarily apply to just food. Although it is the most widely known application of Islamic doctrine, it can be applied as a general set of rules that one must abide by that are mostly related to personal conduct. Examples include food, alcohol, sexual conduct, medicine, etc. (Discover Islam, Halal (Lawful) and Haram (Forbidden))]

“He has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been to other than Allah. But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit], there is no sin upon him. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (Qur’an, 2:173)

Muslims are required not to consume pork products due to their use in the veneration of Allah as offerings previously, but He will forgive if consumed unknowingly.[footnoteRef:4] Due to the historical depth of this verse, the importance of food rituals within Islam (including but not limited to the consumption of pork products, alcohol, etc.) stems from the need to practice absolute devotion within Islamic faith. Although less deep of a devotional path, Buddhist belief in the consumption of non-animal products can be closely tied to those of Hinduism. Although mostly personal choice, not consuming meat is widely practiced within Buddhism due to a set of rules established within training as a follower. The Five Moral Precepts are rules that dictate how one must live on the path to Enlightenment. When Brahmans were first training during the movement predating Buddhism, these sets of rules were established as guidelines for a more wholesome life. The First of Five Precepts mandates the prohibition of taking the life of a living, soulful being. Like Hinduism, beings within nature carry a soul and breathe life into the world; taking a life with intention, no matter how small, will lead to bad karma and the inability to achieve true enlightenment. According to Dr. Sunthorn Plamintr, [4: Islam Question and Answer interprets this verse with the most clarity: Allah decreed that anything slaughtered not in His name is forbidden. One must slaughter Allah’s creatures in his name: in slaughtering pigs or other animals in a haram manner, it is going against the weight of Allah’s power. ]

“Buddhist moral precepts are not commandments imposed by force; they are a course of training willingly undertaken in order to achieve a desired objective. We do not practice to please a supreme being, but for our own good and the good of society. As individuals, we need to train in morality to lead a good and noble life” (Urban Dharma.org, The Five Precepts).

The prominence of achieving enlightenment within Buddhism has carried historical significance not only into modern practices of Buddhism, but practices of attaining inner peace as well.

The notion of living a morally good life as enforced through religious ritual can often be associated with the veneration of deities and spiritual concept. In the case of dietary restrictions and culinary customs, these restrictions are applied as a means to live a more holistic life and to secure one’s profound faith. Hinduism reflects the notion of dietary restriction by veneration with the non-consumption of beef products. Cows are considered to be sacred animals as providers of supplementary food and modes of transportation; they are often seen as generous and associated with giving more than what they take. Although not directly correlated, the Hindu goddess Prithvi is often depicted in the form of a cow in mythology. Also known as Mother Earth, she is revered as generous and bountiful to the earth and its children. This portrayal, although not directly linked, provides spiritual significance to the bovine creature. As with Prithvi, the cow provides useful products that benefit Indian society. There are five main products produced by cows that are used in daily life: cheese, milk, ghee (clarified butter), dung, and urine. These products exemplify how resourceful dietary customs in Hinduism can be; these products are important not only in the cultural cuisine of India but exemplify the true reverential nature of animals in Hinduism. Those who practice Hinduism believe in the concept of Ātman, or “eternal self beyond ego” (BBC, Hindu Concepts): everything, no matter how inanimate, has a soul and breathes life.[footnoteRef:5] These same sentiments are reflected within Buddhist faith: it is required that animals are treated as sentient and living beings and respectful treatment enhances good karma for true enlightenment. As previously mentioned, all beings on this earth are sentient and living no matter how seemingly inanimate. The equal treatment of human and non-human animals plays a strong role in dietary customs within the Buddhist community. Sentience in the Buddhist context can also translate to reverence; while not explicitly worshipping animals as holy, they are revered as sacred and equal beings to humans. This same concept is reflected in the dietary customs of Islam. In relation to halal and haram, pork and other “dirty” animals have all been created in Allah’s image and must be treated the same way as other beings in Allah’s name. He loves all of His creatures, and if not consumed or slaughtered in a manner that is respectful to Allah it is considered haram. These rules equate to the respect and profound faith of Islam: if everything is respected and treated in His image, those who believe in Him are living out their truth. SENTENCE HERE. CONCLUDING SENTENCE. [5: The concept of Atman is closely related to the perception of self. According to the BBC, one must separate self as spiritual rather than as a material being. “Thus it could be said that in this world, a spiritual being, the atman, has a human experience rather than a human being having a spiritual experience.” (BBC, Hindu Concepts)]

Asian religion is often revered due to the respectful nature of others and self. Religious rituals reinforce deep faith and are ultimately beneficiaries to a more holistic life and are used as guides in one’s faithful upbringing. Food reflects the importance of faith in correlation to a better life: when specific rules and pathways are presented, it often eliminates the distractions of life and centers the individual with self and nature. While not all rules are applied to religious followers in Asia, they are guidelines that define religious experience in correlation with one’s place on earth.

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Multilingual nations exist in all parts of the world, and there are massive examples of it if one wants to study them. Toughness arises only when one attempts to locate a country that is genuinely monolingual.[footnoteRef:1] There appear to be no example of this type. The vast majority of the nation-states of the world have more than one language spoken indigenously within their frontiers. In some cases languages that’s spoken in a country may reach up to hundreds (well of course here is the point where problem occurs in defining what exactly language is). Central Asia is one of the linguistic areas of its kind where about 100 different nations live together[footnoteRef:2] and speak their own languages along with other languages fluently, in spite of the fact that the overwhelming dominant or major (standardized) state languages of the region. Even though there are many nationalities in Central Asia, there are not so many examples of linguistic conflict among them. Of course linguistic factors play an important role in any separatist movement where other characteristics are not significant. [1: (Trudgill, 2000)] [2: (Abazov, 2007)]

During Gorbachev’s time, he initiated a policy of “acceleration” (uskorenie) in order to speed up the reforms he brought to USSR as the Empire was already collapsing; but in reality it created chaos. New waves of reforms, adjustments, and legal changes were introduced in a rush, without creating proper implementation mechanisms, at times without completing the previous reforms, and often driven by conflicting interest groups. Altogether this produced an environment of uncertainty and anxiety.[footnoteRef:3] Languages in USSR were one of the centers of attention that could create chaos with the new reform. Although the people cheered positive changes, inconsistencies in implementing reforms and growing political and economic uncertainty and lawlessness alienated many sectors of society, which became increasingly critical of Gorbachev’s reform agenda and his ineffectiveness.[footnoteRef:4] Local communities in native republics began demanding that schools be opened that taught in their native languages; that teaching in major colleges and universities be switched from Russian to native languages; that the number of publications and television and radio broadcasts in their languages be increased; and that the native languages become the state language in their republics. [3: (Abazov, 2007, p. 50)] [4: (Abazov, 2007, pp. 50-51)]

These newly emerged states actually appear to be homogeneous nations on their own. But there are many minorities whose members are multilingual. These minorities use either Russian or the other standard state languages as a lingua franca in interacting with the other ethnic groups.

The languages of the majority of the citizens of the post Soviet Central Asian Countries come from the Turkic language group. Turkmen is largely spoken in a country what current is Turkmenistan, and by a minority group in Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. Kazakh and Kyrgyz are related languages of the Kypchak group of Turkic languages and are spoken throughout Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and as a minority language in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Xinjiang (China). Uzbek and Uyghur are spoken in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Xinjiang (China).

HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL OVERVIEW OF THE LANGUAGES OF CENTRAL ASIA

The Turkic languages ( Johanson and Csató 1998) are spoken, with interruptions, in a broad belt stretching from the Balkans in the west through the Caucasus and Central Asia and into Siberia. Classification of the Turkic languages has always been problematic, in part because most of the languages are very close to one another linguistically, in part because population movements and even, in recent times, language politics have tended to overlay new distinctions on old ones.[footnoteRef:5] [5: (Mark Aronoff, Janie Rees Miller)]

LANGUAGES IN TAJIKISTAN:

Iranian languages were once spoken throughout Central Asia, such as the once prominent Sogdian, Khwarezmian (Horezm), Bactrian and Scythian languages are now extinct. Locally known as Dari (in Afghanistan), Tajik (by Tajiks in Tajikistan), Farsi (in Iran), and Bukhori (by the Bukharan Jews all over Central Asia).6

Persian spread to Central Asia from its home on the Iranian plateau during the 8th century C.E ., as the language of Iranian converts attached to the arrival of Arab Muslims. At the autonomous Samanid court of Bukhara (9th–10th centuries), Persian was patronized as the literary language and displaced the indigenous Iranian language, Sogdian (a descendent of which, Yaghnobi, survives in the mountains of western Tajikistan). As a written language, Persian of Central Asia was hardly distinguishable from Classical Persian of Iran, Afghanistan, and India up until the early 20th century. However, invasions and settlement by Turkic peoples (most recently, the Uzbeks) in the Oxus basin and its foothills interrupted the dialect continuum; spoken Persian of Central Asia evolved independently of Persian of Iran, and northern dialects in particular were strongly influenced by Turkish speech. Persian speakers of the region came to be called Tajiks (from a Middle Persian word meaning ‘Arab’), in contradistinction to Turks.[footnoteRef:6] [6: (Keith Brown, Sarah Ogilvie, 2008)]

After the Russian revolution, in accordance with Soviet nationalities policy, an ethnic Tajik republic was established and a literary language called ‘Tajik’ was engineered on a vernacular base close to the Uzbekized/Uzbekisized spoken Persian of Bukhara and Samarkand (these Tajik cultural centers, ironically, were incorporated in the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic).[footnoteRef:7] [7: (Keith Brown, Sarah Ogilvie, 2008)]

During the period 1948–1988, Tajik lost much of its prestige, vocabulary, and domain of use, to Russian.

Tajiki is the overwhelmingly dominant language spoken in Tajikistan. Other Central Asian languages spoken in this country include Uzbek and Kyrgyz. There are also a number of small communities in the mountains of the Pamirs, Badakhshan, and Takharistan that speak languages belonging to the Eastern branch of Iranian languages, such as Wakhi, Shughnani, Rushan, Yazghulemi, and Ishkashemi; these languages differ significantly from Tajiki. Tajiki is a member of the Southwest Iranian family of languages, and more specifically is one of the three varieties of Persian, the others being Farsi (Iran) and Dari (Afghanistan).[footnoteRef:8] [8: (Map of Central Asia, 2012)]

a. Script and Dialect Issues:

Before 1929, Tajiki was written in an Arabic script. Latin script was introduced and adopted in the late 1920s, and was subsequently replaced by Cyrillic script in the early 1940s. Currently the Cyrillic alphabet is in use. The main dialect division in Tajiki is between the northwestern and southwestern group of dialects. The northwestern dialects, which are the basis of Standard Tajiki, are spoken in northern and western Tajikistan and southern Uzbekistan.

b. International languages:

Russian is widely used, especially in large urban centers. English has been gaining popularity among the youth since the collapse of the USSR.

Tajiki is the official language of Tajikistan.

LANGUAGES IN TURKMENISTAN

In case of Turkmen language, almost its entire literature was in Persian till 18th century. Persian played a role of intellectual medium of communication among scholars, scientists and poets, etc. Actually it was only book language rather than being a communication mean in the Turkmen society. It was like the Sanskrit of India comparatively. After independence with the initiatives of first president of Turkmenistan Saparmurat Niyazov, “purification”/turmenization/standardization process were conducted in the country. Many literary works written by Turkmens before 18th century were translated into Turkmen to meet the necessity of Constitution with regard to the State Language and as a result of necessity of Education medium in public schools. The 1992 constitution defines it as the ‘‘official language of inter-ethnic communication.’’ Geographic names and administrative terms have been changed from Russian to Turkmen. In practice, however, Russian has maintained its importance in most spheres of public communication.[footnoteRef:9] [9: (Keith Brown, Sarah Ogilvie, 2008, p. 1117)]

The sole official language of Turkmenistan is Turkmen, a Turkic language. Turkmen in its nature is very close to Uzbek, Crimean Tatar, and other Turkic languages. And also very close to Azerbeyjani and Turkish in its structure and grammar. Its lexifiers are mostly Arabic, Persian, and Russian.

Written Turkmen has gone through a vast number of different alphabets. Prior to 1929, Turkmen was written in the Arabic script. Between 1929 and 1938, a Latin alphabet was used. Then, from 1938 through 1991, the Cyrillic alphabet became the official writing system. In 1991, a new Latinate alphabet was introduced, but it has been slow to catch on.[footnoteRef:10] [10: (Abazov, 2007, p. 56)]

Turkmen is the overwhelmingly dominant language spoken in Turkmenistan. Other Central Asian languages spoken by the minority representatives include Uzbek (9%) and Kazakh. Turkmen belongs to the East Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages.[footnoteRef:11] [11: (Map of Central Asia, 2012)]

a. Script and Dialect Issues:

Prior to 1929, Turkmen was written in a adjusted Arabic letters. Latin script was introduced and adopted in late 1920s, and was subsequently replaced by Cyrillic script in early 1940s. In 1991, the current Latin alphabet was introduced. And then it underwent some editing in 1995, and a new version of Turkmen alphabet was introduced. Elder people who were taught with Cyrillic alphabet experienced difficulty in learning new alphabet. So government organized free courses to teach people how to write and read in new alphabet. Those who do not work in government did not even bother going and taking these courses, so they were going to face some problems in reading newspapers, bank cheques, and filling form in an office, etc. The Cyrillic was no longer valid in the country, everybody who needs to read and write in Turkmen would have to learn the alphabet. Elderly people immediate learned the alphabet because this new alphabet was already the alphabet of Turkmen language during USSR in 1920s.

There is no consensus among scholars on the exact number of Turkmen dialects. Major dialects include Teke, Yomut, Salir, Sarik, Goklen, Arsari, and Chowdur. Most linguists believe that modern written Turkmen is based on the Teke and Yomut dialects. Unlike European and other Asian countries there are very less number of protest against the dominant languages in this country. It is because the governments are Authoritarian and people have experienced the freedom of speaking their own language during USSR. Additionally, Turkmenistan is the most homogeneous nation country in Central Asia. Take the case in Kazakistan, Russians are almost consisting half of the entire nation. And there has been some examples of protests against Kazakh language as a National Language.

Even though the country is homogeneous nation, dialects are very crucial in social life. A person from a rural area coming to Ashgabat (capital city in Turkmenistan) has to adjust his/her accent/dialect according to the people living in Ashgabat as a matter of what is acceptable there. Speaking a different dialect in Ashgabat may end up with social suppression, so people never mind being bilingual sometimes (Russian is preferred as a communication mean). And also, other nationalities do the same when they interact with Turkmens in the country they use Russian as lingua franca.

b. International languages:

Russian (12%) is widely used, especially in large urban centers. Other popular foreign languages are Turkish and Persian, due to their linguistic (Turkish) and geographic (Iran) proximity. Additionally, languages spoken in Turkmenistan include Uzbek (9%), Dari (Persian), Baluchi (minority group.[footnoteRef:12] [12: (Map of Central Asia, 2012)]

c. Magtymguly (Pen Name Pyragy or Fragi) (1733?–1782?)

Magtymguly is one of the best examples of the trend toward an increasing usage of the Turkic language in literature and poetry. Turkmen authors often compare Magtymguly to Shakespeare; in contemporary Turkmenistan, he is considered to be the founder of modern Turkmen poetry, literature, and language. He probably began writing his first poems at the age of 20. Many of them are devoted to his people and to humanistic ideals. He also describes the devastating effects of tragic social and political events, such as wars and tribal clashes, on the lives of ordinary people. He courageously experimented with new forms of poetry and made wide use of the simple language of ordinary Turkmens. Magtymguly’s writing significantly affected the development of the Turkmen language and the literature of his time. Many of his poems became popular songs and were widely known among Turkmens and other Turkic speaking people. Much of his work was written in the best Sufi tradition and is devoted to Love: love of woman, of the Creator, and of his country. [footnoteRef:13] [13: (Abazov, p. 89)]

A war would never catch a Turkmen unaware;

Its past hardship the country would put behind;

The roses would never wither here—among them none

Would whine about being parted with gleemen of Turkmenistan.

The brotherhood here—tradition; and friendship—the law

Of the glorious clans and powerful tribes,

And if a battle called the people to take arms,

The enemies would tremble before sons of Turkmenistan.[footnoteRef:14] [14: (Pyragy, 1989)]

—Makhtumkuli, Goshgulary (Verses),

(Ashkhabad: Turkmenistan, 1989), p. 15.

LANGUAGES IN KAZAKHSTAN:

Kazakh is the mother tongue of the majority (65%) of the population of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Until recently, Kazakh was rarely used in administration and government. However, in recent years the general attitude toward Kazakh has been changing, and government bodies have been switching to Kazakh. Other Central Asian languages spoken by minority peoples include Tatar, Uyghur and Uzbek. Kazakh belongs to the Kipchak subdivision of the Turkic languages. The distinctive characteristics of this language are vowel harmony and extensive agglutination.

1. Script and Dialect Issues:

Kazakh was written in the Arabic alphabet until the twentieth century. Latin script was introduced and adopted in late 1920s, and was subsequently replaced by Cyrillic script in early 1940s. The key dialects generally recognized within Kazakh are Northeastern Kazakh, Southern Kazakh, and Western Kazakh. According to some scholars, the dialect differences are minor.

Kazakh belongs to the northwestern or Kipchak branch of the Turkic language family, more specifically to its southern or Aralo-Caspian group. Until the early 20th century, it was called Kazak-Kirghiz, whereas Kirghiz was referred to as Kara-Kirghiz. Kazakh is primarily spoken in the Republic of Kazakhstan, a vast country situated at the center of the West Eurasian steppe zone. It borders on Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and China in the south, and on the Russian Federation in the north andwest. Kazakh is also spoken by minorities in Xinjiang (China), Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, etc. The number of speakers is at least 10 million. There are more than seven million in Kazakhstan, more than one million in Xinjiang, and almost one million in Uzbekistan.

Kazakh is, along with Russian, the official language of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Kazakh–Russian bilingualism is widespread. Though Kazakhs constitute half of the population of the republic, many have a low proficiency in their mother tongue. Russians make up 37% of the population. The declaration of Kazakh as the state language in 1989 was met by protests from the non-Kazakh population. In 1995, Russian was proclaimed the language of interethnic communication. Russian has a dominant status in public life as the main language of instruction, science, business, and communication in professional domains.

Karakalpak, an independent language in the political sense, is a slightly Uzbekicized variety of Kazakh. It is spoken by c. 450 000 persons, mainly in the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan in Uzbekistan, on the lower course and in the delta of the Amudarya River. Small groups of speakers live in other regions, e.g., in the Khorezm and Fergana regions of Uzbekistan and in the Dashkhowuz region of Turkmenistan.

2. International languages:

Russian is widely spoken by the majority of the country’s population. Russian’s ethnic Germans and Koreans were also deported to Kazakhstan around the time of World War II; most have either emigrated back to their homelands or adopted Russian as their main language. English has been gaining popularity among the youth since the collapse of USSR; another more or less popular spoken foreign language is Turkish.

While the current 1995 constitution defines Kazakh as the sole state language, there are two official languages – Russian and Kazakh.

LANGUAGES IN KIRGIZISTAN

Kirghiz belongs to the Northwestern or Kipchak branch of the Turkic language family, more specifically, to its Southern or Aralo-Caspian group. Until the early 20th century, it was called Kara-Kirghiz, whereas Kazakh was referred to as Kirghiz or Kazak-Kirghiz. Kirghiz is spoken in the Kyrgyz Republic or Kyrgyzstan and in parts of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China (Xinjiang), the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, etc. Its main area is the mountainous part of Western Turkistan, the plateaus of the western Tienshan south of Kazakhstan, and the Alay Mountain south of Fergana. The number of speakers amounts to about 3 million, in Kyrgyzstan over 2.5 million. In spite of the existence of a modern Kirghiz standard language, Russian has remained the dominant language of higher education, administration, and so forth in the Republic. Since Kirghiz was proclaimed the official language of Kyrgyzstan in 1989, it has consolidated its position, acquiring more social functions.

In 1996, Russian was made an official language, along with Kirghiz, in territories and workplaces in which Russian-speaking citizens predominate.

Origin and History

It is still unclear to what extent the Kirghiz of today are successors of the Old Kirghiz, the first Turkic people mentioned in Chinese sources and described there as blond and blue-eyed. This group settled on Upper Yenisey. Runiform inscriptions found on the territory of today’s Tuva indicate that the first Kirghiz state was, at the beginning of the 8th century A.D., located north of the Sayan Mountains. In 840 the Kirghiz ended the old steppe Uyghur empire and established

their own empire, which lasted until 920. Most old Turkic groups left this region at the turn of the millennium. A few groups remained in Siberia, (e.g., the ancestors of the Kirghiz and the Altay Turks).

LANGUAGES IN UZBEKISTAN

The official language of Uzbekistan is Uzbek, a Turkic language. Uzbek is closely related to other Central Asian languages, including Turkmen, Kazakh, and Uigher (which is spoken in western China). Prior to 1922, Uzbek was written in the Latin script, but Joseph Stalin required that all the Central Asian languages switch to the Cyrillic script. Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Uzbek is officially written in Latin again. However, many people still use Cyrillic, and the deadline for a complete change-over continues to be pushed back.[footnoteRef:15] [15: (Szczepanski)]

Uzbekistan is home to 26.8 million people, the largest population in Central Asia. Eighty percent of the people are ethnic Uzbeks. The Uzbeks are a Turkic people, closely related to the neighboring Turkmen and Kazakhs.[footnoteRef:16] [16: (Szczepanski)]

Other ethnic groups represented in Uzbekistan include Russians (5.5%), Tajiks (5%), Kazakhs (3%), Karakalpaks (2.5%), and Tatars (1.5%).

Uzbek is the overwhelmingly dominant Central Asian language spoken in Uzbekistan. Other Central Asian languages spoken here include Tajiki, Kazakh and Karakalpak, spoken by Uzbekistan’s Tajik, Kazakh and Karakalpak minorities (5.5%, 3% and 2,5% respectively). Uzbek is an agglutinative language and belongs to the Qarluq branch of the Turkic languages. The vocabulary of Uzbek is influenced by Persian and Arabic, with many international words borrowed through Russian. Since late 1985, however, Uzbek vocabulary has undergone de-russification, in which the majority of Russian loanwords were replaced by native words.

Script and Dialect Issues:

A number of alphabets have been used to write the Uzbek language. Before 1928, the language was written in Arabic script. In 1929, the Arabic script was replaced by the new Latin alphabet, then in 1940 the Latin script was abolished and Uzbek switched to the Cyrillic alphabet. In 1993, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Latin script was re-introduced. Standard Uzbek is comprised of dialect varieties spoken in urban centres, such as Tashkent and Ferghana.

International languages:

As the lingua franca of the Soviet Union, Russian was overwhelmingly used in many important domains of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, particularly administration and higher education. Although Russian did not receive any official status after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it is an important language for interethnic communication and still widely spoken, particularly in large urban areas. English has been gaining popularity among the youth since the collapse of USSR; another more or less popular foreign language is Turkish.

Uzbek has been the sole official language of the Republic of Uzbekistan since 1989.

RUSSIAN LANGUAGE

Russian is widely spoken in Central Asia, though since 1991 its use has been in continuous decline. Literary Russian is based on the Moscow (central) dialect and is written in Cyrillic. Of the many Russian dialects that can be found in Russia proper, the Russian spoken in Central Asia is mostly the southern dialect of the language. But, also, Central Asian Russian speakers tend to use classical Russian, which has fewer borrowings from foreign languages, while in present-day Russia proper, the language of the streets and the mass media tends to contain more borrowed words, especially from English. The Russian language is still widely used in educational institutions across the Central Asian republics, especially at university level (with the exception of Turkmenistan).[footnoteRef:17] [17: ]

OTHER LANGUAGES

Ethnic minorities in Central Asian republics often use their own languages at home and in everyday life; for example, Germans speak various dialects of German languages, Tatars use Tatar language, and so on. Foreign languages such as English, German, and French were always popular among young people and were taught at schools and universities. In a recent trend,

there has been a sharp increase in the use of the Turkish language, as many students have received their education in the Turkish Republic and Turkey opened or supported many schools, colleges, and universities. Several private and semiprivate organizations launched newspapers in Turkish to target the Central Asian audience, with mixed results. Turkey also agreed to transmit its television and radio programs to the region, and their audience has been slowly but steadily growing. The Arabic language is also steadily gaining popularity as it is taught at all madrasas (religious Islamic schools), and many universities introduced Arabic studies in the 1990s.

Bibliography

1. Abazov, R. (2007). Culture_and_Customs_of_the_Central_Asian_Republics. Westport, Connecticut • London: GREENWOOD PRESS.
2. Keith Brown, Sarah Ogilvie. (2008). Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World. London: Elsevier Ltd.
3. Map of Central Asia. (2012, November ). Retrieved from http://iub.edu/~celcar/central_asia_general_info.php.
4. Mark Aronoff, Janie Rees Miller. The hand book of linguistics. Blackwell Publishers.
5. Pyragy, M. (1989). Goshgulary (Verses). Ashgabat: Magaryf.
6. Szczepanski, K. (n.d.). http://asianhistory.about.com/od/uzbekistan/p/UzbekistanProf.htm. Retrieved from www.asianhistory.about.com.
7. Trudgill, P. (2000). SOCIOLINGUISTICS. London: Penguin Books.

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