Tibetan language to get more legal protection

Authorities in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region are enacting a new legally-binding regulation to safeguard the heritage and development of the Tibetan language, local authorities said Monday. The Tibetan Language Work Committee and other authorities in the plateau region have finished drawing up a draft regulation on the ethnic language, said Chodrak, the committee's deputy director. The regulation, which has gone through four amendments, is expected to come out in September. Chodrak said that the regulation enshrines the study, usage and development of the Tibetan language in law and clearly shows the attention being paid to the issue by the central and local governments. "Such a rumor as 'the Tibetan language is dying' is totally groundless," Chodrak said. According to the committee, the new regulation will provide a legal protection for the rights and freedom of the people of Tibetan ethnic group to study, use and develop their language. It is also hoped that it will play a role in boosting the region's overall development in the economy, politics and culture. The Chinese government encourages bilingual education at schools in Tibet and other ethnic regions. In Tibetan areas, most classes are taught in Tibetan, though Mandarin and English classes are also on the curriculum. Teachers in Tibetan areas are given on-the-job training to help with their bilingual teaching, in Tibetan and Mandarin. The region promulgated the Several Provisions of the Tibet Autonomous Region on the Learning, Use and Development of Tibetan Language in 1987. To promote this work, in 1988, the Tibetan Language Work Steering Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Region was set up, later renamed the Tibetan Language Work Committee. In 2002, the region issued the Provisions of the Tibet Autonomous Region on the Learning, Use and Development of Tibetan Language after amending the 1987 version. It is believed that the 2014 regulation will have a broader application than those existing provisions