Ladakhi language
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Ladakhi to Phal-skad
Why We Need to Standardize Ladakhi to Phal-skad
By Julia Paljor And Thupstan Chotak, Thursday, March 21, 2013
Leh: According to National Geographic, every 14 days a language dies. Linguists estimate that more than half of the more than 7,000 languages spoken around the globe—60%-80% of which are yet to be recorded—may disappear by the year 2100. Ladakhi is one of the languages “at risk” according to Google’s Endangered Languages Project, and it has been termed “vulnerable” by UNESCO. Ladakhis recognize this hard truth, but are yet to take any action toward preserving our language. The debate between those advocating for a standard written form of Ladakhi that would reflect the colloquial language (Phal-skad) and the proponents of Classical Tibetan (Chos-skad) has been long unresolved and it is time a decision is made.
The Ladakh 2025 Vision Document states, “Ladakhi should be recognized in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution and given place in the J&K Constitution.” We should certainly strive to achieve these goals, but before we make these demands of the central and state governments, we need to have a proper language in which we can write. Our demands could easily be dismissed based on the fact that we can’t even write in our language. It is time we get the experts in our language to create a standard grammar and build a dictionary with a rich vocabulary. Moreover, we need to standardize spelling. There must be a correct and incorrect way to spell any word in Ladakhi.
Ladakhis, especially those belonging to our parents’ generation, talk about preserving Ladakhi culture and our rich heritage, but will we succeed at that if we don’t do anything to preserve our language along with the various traditions we insist on preserving? Perhaps not. Language is an integral element of any culture. Our language is one of the defining characteristics of our identity as Ladakhis. However, we cannot preserve our culture or language without making changes to either. With the exception of monks and a handful of scholars, none of us understand Classical Tibetan even if many of us can read it. How are we to promote literacy in our own language when the difference between the language we speak and the one that is in our textbooks is almost as different as English and Dutch?
When we were at Moravian Mission School in Ladakh, for our Bodhi exams, we had to memorize Bodhi words and their meanings in English and vice versa, which was easy enough. However, studying for the rest of the exam was a nightmare. It was impossible to understand the text on our own so the teachers would translate the Bodhi in the textbook into Phal-skad. Bodhi was much more foreign to us than English or Hindi. Our friend who went to Lamdon School remembers how students would prefer participating in debate and essay writing competitions in English or Hindi rather than Bodhi because of their lack of command on the latter. All three of us recall scribbling down meanings in English and Hindi for words, fifteen to twenty a page, if not more, for every chapter of our Bodhi books. Shouldn’t learning our own language be, if not easier than, at least as easy or as difficult as learning a foreign language? And shouldn’t we at least have the option of being able to write in the language we speak regardless of the ease or difficulty of learning it?
Even though we had a tough time studying Bodhi, we did learn how to read and write the script. But our level of understanding the language that our textbooks were written in was poor and has worsened over time. That was not because we didn’t study enough. It was merely because of the fact that Chos-skad is very different from Phal-skad. Proficiency in Chos-skad, just like any other language, can only be acquired with a lot of dedication and practice. The only time we used Chos-skad in school was when we took turns to read out loud from our textbooks so our teacher could translate what was read in Chos-skad to Phal-skad, and since we were not obligated to speak in Chos-skad in class, there was no opportunity for us to learn how to speak in Chos-skad.
The irony that we don’t speak or fully understand the language we read and cannot write the language we speak is precisely why we need to standardize Ladakhi. Nevertheless, this does not mean we should quit teaching Chos-skad in schools. Studying Chos-skad should be optional for students who have an interest in learning the language. In fact, students of Phal-skad may develop an interest in learning Chos-skad. And since Chos-skad is more difficult to learn than Phal-skad, Phal-skad would be the ideal prerequisite to learning Chos-skad. Phal-skad is used on a regular basis, and learning how to write the language you already speak is much easier than learning a new language entirely. This way both Phal-skad and Chos-skad will survive. Other languages that fall under the Bodhi sub-category, such as Amdo Tibetan and Bhutanese have been standardized, and it is time we do the same.
Chos-skad, while it is sacred for many of us, doesn’t appeal to vast section of the society due to its extremely limited utility. Besides the Ladakhi Buddhists, there are many Muslims and Christians, as well as a few Hindus, and Sikhs who speak Ladakhi and who don’t necessarily want to put any effort in learning Chos-skad when they could easily get by without knowing the language. By forcing ourselves to learn Chos-skad, we are losing native Ladakhi speakers who don’t have any incentives to learn the language in this fast world where English and Hindi are the lingua franca.
It is essential that we standardize Ladakhi using Phal-skad because that is the only way Ladakhis will continue using the language in the decades to come. Otherwise, Ladakhi is going to be substituted by Hindi or English, the beginnings of which we can see already. The version of Ladakhi that people speak at present is a blend of Phal-skad with bits and pieces of Hindi and English. Much of our vocabulary is an amalgamation of Phal-skad with either Hindi or Urdu words. We do this because of our limited vocabulary in Ladakhi. We can also attribute this change to our extensive and regular consumption of modern products, ideas and education. The need for a standard language with an evolving vocabulary is evident from this mixed up language we are using daily. We should set up a central body that would be responsible for standardizing and maintaining our language by creating and updating vocabulary and such. According to the paper titled “Language and Society” by Humphrey Tonkin, “in general, people remain loyal to a language when they have the strength and resources to do so; they give it up when the advantages that accrue from the adoption of another language exceed those they enjoy by remaining with the one they have.” Most Ladakhis are bilingual or even trilingual. We speak Hindi or English in schools or at work because of their utility, prestige and power. But a majority of us still use Ladakhi at home. We switch between languages depending on the situation we are in and the speakers with whom we are interacting. So establishing a standard form of Ladakhi with a rich vocabulary would encourage people to continue communicating in Ladakhi with other Ladakhi speakers while using Hindi or English based on their situation and not abandon the use of Ladakhi altogether.
By standardizing Ladakhi, we will be democratizing it. If we want to preserve the history and culture of Ladakh, we need to write in Phal-skad so that people can read and write about Ladakh. We should even translate books from Chos-skad to Phal-skad, so that people who can’t read or understand Chos-skad can read them. Having a standard language will enable the sharing of knowledge and ideas, not just from our own culture, but also from others. We have an oral tradition consisting of history, stories and songs that need to be written down. We have idioms and sayings that may just disappear in a few decades if we do not put them into writing. There must be people out there beaming with ideas and stories they want to share, but not having a command over Hindi or English is preventing them from writing their stories. Being able to write in Phal-skad will allow people to write and read stories in Ladakhi, to share ideas and arguments in writing, all contributing to a more informed and interactive community.
