ACROSS THE GOKTEIK VIADUCT
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
IN SHAN STATE
2 016m o n d a y
Independence Day
This day marks the
anniversary of Myanmar’s
declaration of independence.
It is celebrated with sports
activities and fairs in various
citiesJAN
4w e d n e s d a y
Peasants’ Day
During this day, plans to
improve Myanmar’s peasant
sector are discussed and
revealed. Peasants account
for 70% of the countr y’s
workforce; and are the ones
bearing most of the brunt
during political turmoilMAR
2t u e s d a y
Mar t yr’s Day
Commemorates General
Aung San and seven other
leaders of Myanmar’s pre-
interim government, who
were assassinated on this day
in 1947 by political rivalsJUL
19t h u r s d a y
National Day
This holiday is based on
the Burmese Calendar. It
remembers the day when
students staged their first
revolt against British rule
in 1920NOV
24t h u r s d a y
Kayin New Year Day
Although it celebrates the
heritage of the Kayin, also
known as the Karen people,
this holiday is celebrated
nationwideDEC
29SAVING THE SHAN LANGUAGE
REVIVING A LOST DIALECT IN MYANMAR
While Myanmar’s official and most widely
spoken language is Burmese, Shan is one
of the country’s seven recognised regional
languages. It is part of the Tai subfamily of
languages, along with Thai (Siamese) and
Laotian. The name “Shan” is also believed
to be a Burmese derivative of “Siam”. These
suggest that Shan shares more similarities
with these languages than it does with
Burmese, and that is indeed so.
A thousand years ago, the Shan people
migrated southwards from China’s
Yunnan and moved into Laos, Thailand
and Myanmar. Most settled in the Shan
state, where they continue to constitute its
majority today. Of an estimated six million
Shan people throughout Southeast Asia,
there are roughly 3.2 million who speak
the language in Myanmar. Many Shan
people are also well-versed in other local
dialects as well as Burmese, although few
are literate in their own language which
has a script derived from the Burmese
writing system.
Shan has three mutually intelligible
dialects which vary slightly in vocabulary
and pronunciation. The Eastern Shan
dialect bears greater resemblance to Lao
and Northern Thai languages, while the
Southern and northern “Chinese Shan”
are more influenced by Burmese and the
Yunnan-Chinese dialect respectively.
Even so, as a whole the language still has
more correspondence to Thai – the rising,
low, mid and high phonemic tones in both
languages are close matches. Some words
Sources: http://www.shanculture.blogspot.com,
http://www.everyculture.com,
http://www.alif-shinobi.blogspot.comv USEFUL PHR ASESHello – May sung khaa!
How are you? – Yu li khaa haa?
I am fine – Yu li yu khaa
Thank you very much – Yin lii
nam nam
No problem – Am pen tsang!
Where is the toilet? – Hong
phai mi tang laue kha?in Thai, Lao and Shan are also similar; for
example, “dog” is pronounced as ma in all
three languages. In Burmese, the same
animal is known as khway.
As are other minority ethnic languages,
Shan is now struggling to maintain its
presence. Myanmar’s education system is
dominated by Burmese, and many young
children forgo their native languages for
foreign languages like Thai and Chinese
because of better job opportunities
overseas. At a lower priority, the teaching
of Shan literature now only takes place
after school hours. However, all is not
lost. Resources on the language have been
compiled by various sites online, and as one
site puts it, “we are trying to save as much
as we can”.