Bengali alphabet with burmese8/5/2023 ![]() The idea of hierarchy is also useful for understanding how entire languages and their societies stand in relation to each other. Much scholarship has focused on the hierarchical interpersonal relations that are prominent features of lowland, court-based Southeast Asian societies. ![]() Looking at the larger overall picture, in whatever way Burmese dialect speakers think of themselves, their communities occupy a position near the top of local sociolinguistic hierarchies. ![]() Such identifications come out of complex, incompletely understood historical and political contingencies. Speakers of Rakhaing, which varies comparatively less from Standard Burmese than Tavoyan does, have a separate sense of identity, while many speakers of Tavoyan generally consider themselves to be ‘Burman’. I explore this intersection between language, identity, and the equation between language and ethnicity by looking at three examples of variation within the Burmese language itself: among the Rakhaing/Marma, Tavoyan and Intha dialects. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |