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Special
Interview
"
Dolkha
language is unique..............."
"Dolkha
language is a beautiful gift, inherited from
many generations of you’re ancestors................"
Dr.
Carol Genetti
She
is a professor of linguistics at the University of California, in Santa Barbara.
She has been studying about the structure of the Dolakha Newar language for many
years.
*
How are you?
I
am doing very well. I am happy that the rainy season is almost over here in
California and now it is the spring, with the sun shining, the air warm, and the
sweet scent of flowers. I am working very hard writing my book about the Dolakha
Newar language. I hope it will finish soon.
*
Please tells something about your family (your parent, husband & children)
and your current assignments as a linguistic expert?
My
grandparents immigrated to the United States from the north of Italy
in the 1920's. They settled in the state of Wyoming, which is the middle
of the U.S.A. My father moved to California in order to attend college. There he
met my mother, teacher and my mother raised their children. Then .after my
siblings and I were in the high school, my mother studied for a BA degree in
psychology and an M.A degree in counseling.
Watching her, I learned that education is a life – long enterprise and
there is always more to learn.
Now I am married. I need my husband in Nepal, but he is American not Nepalese.
He was working at the US in Embassy when I was conducting my dissertation
research on the dolakha language. We married in 1991and have to children. Our
daughter, olivia, is ten years old and our son, Marcus, is seven. They look
forward to coming to Nepal with me sometime. I am a professor in the department
of linguistics at the university a California in Santa Barbara. In this position
I am required both to do research on linguistics and to teach Linguistics to B.A,
M.A and P.H.D. Students. I enjoy both types of work. I have been able to take
what I have learned about the Dolakha Language and apply it to Linguistic
theory. I ask: "What can we learn about the nature of language in general
by studying the Dolakha language in particular? What can other linguists take
from this that will help them reach a fuller understanding of linguistics".
I also use a lot of Dolakha Newar examples in my classes. But I don't only study
Dolakha Newar I have also conducted studies on Nepali, Sunwar, and some Tibetan
dialects. Right now I am teaching a class where we are studying sinhala , the
national language of sri Lanka . I am also the chair of the chair of the
Department of linguistics, so I am distracted from all by administrative
matters.
*How
was your childhood?
My
childhood was very happy as I had a strong and loving family. I spent a lot of
time outdoors, hiking (day trekking) and camping .I also always loved to read
.Reading is still one of the great joys of my life.
*What did inspire you to study
linguistic?
I
grew up in a community that was very monolingual. Every one spoke English and we
heard know other languages. In high School I began to study French and found it
a wonderful experience. In college I thought to major in French but that would
have meant a lot of study of French literature. It was the language itself I
loved, not the literature! Then I heard about linguistics and I knew that was
the field for me. Linguistics is the science of language, basically we Study how
languages work. So I have learned so much by studying how the Dolakha language
works – What all the pieces are and how they are put together.
*How
did you know about Dolakha newari dialect?
I
first heard about the Newars about the time I finished my B.A. at the University
of Oregon. There were some Newars from Kathmandu who were studying there, and my
professor, Dr. Scott deLancy, about me to be his research assistant and to study
their Language. I wrote my B.A. Thesis about the dialect. But I knew that the
Kathmandu dialect had been the subject of most linguistic studies. I was
interested in learning about other Newar dialects. There was a German Professor
who had conducted a survey of languages in Eastern Nepal. I wrote to ask his
advice. He told me that he had spent one afternoon in Dolkha and had asked about
the language and found that it was very different from Kathmandu Newar. He
encouraged me to study it.
*How
did you begin to study Dolakha dialect?
I
came to Nepal in 1987 and that was when I first met people from dolkha and began
my study of the language. My first
consultant was Ms. kalpana shrestha. I used
standard techniques
of linguistic investigation
which I had
been taught
in my graduate studies .I began my
asking Kalpana to
pronounce simple
nouns , and carefully rote them down , nothing every
detail of
how they were pronounced .I
eventually expanded
my list to include
adjectives and verbs. Then I studied the details of the pronunciation and
figured out which sounds are important (differentiate meanings of words ) and
which sounds were not. From there I move on to simple sentence, nothing the
details of the grammar. After that, I asked Kalpana to tell me a story, which I
tape recorded than carefully wrote down. This gave me the ability to see the
language as it is actually use in connected speech, which meant that I had to
learn grateful to much much more about the language to understand everything
that was there. I have been grateful to many members of the Dolakha community.
Who told Stories for my tape recorder or agreed to be recorded having
conversations. Those materials, which I carefully transcribed with help from
Kalpana Shrestha, Rama Shrestha and Nawa Raj Shrestha, formed the basis of all
my studies of the language. I could have done nothing without the careful,
thoughtful, and patient help of those three Dolkhae people.
My greatest regret about my
study of the Dolkha language is that I have never learned to speak it .I
never had the opportunity to
live in Dolkha or to spend enough time in a Dolkha or to spend enough time in a
Dolakha speaking community to learn how to converse. I am sure that there are
many insights into the language that I would gain if I had the on opportunity to
become a speaker. Instead, I have based my studies on recordings of Dolakhae
people speaking, and I have learned as much as possible from that.
*Did you face any difficulties
during your stay in Dolakha / Nepal?
My
first trip to Kathmandu was the
most difficult . I became very sick with typhoid fever and had to
shorten my stay in Nepal. It also meant that I had to cancel my trip to
Dolkha , which I had been planning
to make with Kalpana Shrestha. It was a great disappointment and I was
so sad when I left , I cried on the
airplane as it flew out of Nepal.
*What
should be done to develop this dialect?
This
is a crucial question for the Dolkhae people and it is one that only the people
themselves can decide . If you want to preserve your language for coming
generations, them you must speak it to your children. If the children do not
speak it, then the language will
not survive. Some people worry that
if they do not teach Nepali to their children from birth, the children will not
do well in modern Nepal. One thing you should know is that many children the
world over are raised bilingual from birth – you can teach them both Dolkhae
and Nepali (have one parent speak to the child in one language and other parent
speak in another). They may confuse a few words for a time but they will get be
bilingual.
The
trick will be to find a place for the Dolkha language in complex changing word
of the 21st century. Using the language in as many ways as possible
is an excellent start. I was so happy to see the publication of Bapi
Jhyala and other materials written in the Dolkhae language.
Translations of stories will preserve both the stories and the language
together. I was also thrilled to hear of the dolkhae dictionary that is being
put together, and of the MA studies on the Dolakhae language. This type of work
is crucial in showing the young people the importance of this. Find ways to
prize use of the language among Dolkhae youth. Get them involved in activities
where the language is at center but that are fun, interesting, and modern.
*Any
Dolakhali word which you use frequently whenever you try to speak Dolakha
Language? Further which Dolkhali
word you find very difficult to pronounce?
It
will probably seem funny to you, but I have a hard time pronounce words that
begin with wa/o, such as ona'went'
and oho 'silver'. Similar I have a hard time with words starting with ya/ye/e,
such as elpanung 'always' and years 'came'. I am
never sure when to put in a /w/ or /y/ sound and
when not to. It never seems to come out right. As my dolakhae consultants can
confirm, I have a very hard time hearing the difference between /t/ and /d/
sounds which are dental (pronounced with the tongue against the teeth) or
retroflex (pronounced with the tongue father back).An example of a pair of words
that have these is taargi' I heard something' and taargi'
I fixed something', where the capital indicates the retroflex sound.
Luckily, the Devanagari alphabet distinguishes these beautifully, so I have
always checked these sounds by asking which Devanagari letter is correct.
*What are
the characteristics of Dolakha language?
This is a very big topic, one that would take me
many pages to answer properly. There are many ways in which in the Dolakha
language is unique. In my opinion, the
most fascinating aspect of the language is the way in which speaker
construct long and intricate sentence. From the viewpoint an English speaker, it
is very complex, exotic and beautiful.
*Which
place do you like in Dolakha?
I
like the whole village, with
the views of the Himalayas on one side and the beautiful hills and valleys on
other. I love the old houses with the beautiful wood carvings and how the new
buildings are still harmonious. But I think the most special part is the Bhimsen
Temple , which is beautiful
and revered by so many over hundreds of years.
*Do
you feel we can get any international help\ support for the development of
Dolakha linguistic? if yes, how?
When
I was last in Nepal, I spoke to the head of the UNESCO- Nepal, and told her of
your language. She was quite intrigued, but my impression was that while she
would like to provide support for indigenous language, she has other priorities
as well, such as the establishment of schools in rural areas. My guess is that
if the government can make it a priority, then international agencies will
provides support. Given the current political situation in Nepal, large agencies
like UNESCO will probably not provide support. There may be support available
from other, smaller, groups. I would be very happy to provide whatever help I
can in contacting them .
*Do
you have any plan to visit Nepal in near future?
I
hope to return to Nepal sometime within the next year, but I am not sure exactly
when. If I bring my family, I will not be able to come until summer of 2006.
*Your
message for Dolakhali people?
When
last I was among you, I was so happy to see that Dolakhali people have taken a
strong interest in preserving and studying their language. My message is that if
you keep your community strong for your children,
your language will survive. you are a small ,special, and unique
group ,a jewel in the complex mosaic of the modern
world , and I hope that you are able
to preserve that uniqueness in
the face of the sweeping
societal changes that this new century is bringing .Your language is a beautiful
gift, inherited from many
generations of you’re ancestors. It is yours to cherish and to choose to pass
down to generations to come.
Thank
You ,Very much.
copyright © DolakhaNepal 2004
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