A U.S. faculty pupil and a bunch of Uyghur researchers have created a Uyghur model of the Braille alphabet, at a time when the Chinese language authorities is working to eradicate the language in its western Xinjiang area.
Harris Mowbray, 22, an undergraduate worldwide relations pupil on the American College in Washington, D.C., has developed dozens of Braille alphabets, which permit visually impaired individuals to learn and write via contact, for endangered and minority languages all through the world.
A number of of the alphabets have been formally adopted by their respective nations, Mowbray says on his web site.
The language fanatic and programmer has paved the way in which for visually impaired Uyghurs to learn and write within the Uyghur language. Mowbray created the Braille script of the Uyghur language with the assistance of Uyghur students and linguists from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, america, Germany, and Turkey.
“I hope this Ugyhur Braille script is used extensively,” Mowbray instructed RFA on Jan. 25.
“By this script, visually impaired individuals will have the ability to learn, write, examine and even write emails.”
The Braille system was first invented in 1825 by French educator Louis Braille, who misplaced his sight in each eyes at an early age.
The brand new Braille script relies on the Uyghur Arabic alphabet — the official writing system utilized by Uyghurs dwelling in Xinjiang — wherein every sound is written independently, which isn’t the case with Arabic or different languages that use Arabic script.
Mowbray used the Uyghur Arabic alphabet on the suggestion of the Uyghurs he consulted, as a result of it’s extra generally used than Latin- or Cyrillic-based variations primarily are used exterior China.
However Mowbray mentioned a software program program can routinely change textual content from the Arabic-based Uyghur alphabet to the Latin- or Cyrillic-based Uyghur alphabets.
“You should utilize this program to transform the Braille scripts from one to a different,” he mentioned.
Mowbray additionally has created Braille alphabets for minority teams in Romania, Azerbaijan and Poland. He started engaged on a Braille alphabet for Uyghurs in January 2021.
“I noticed many languages of the world, together with Uyghur, didn’t have a Braille script, and so I began looking out the web and contacting Uyghurs [about it],” he mentioned. “Making a Braille script for a language is vital as a result of not solely does it empower the blind, but in addition it strengthens the usage of their very own language, even when minorities are in a really troublesome scenario.”
Safeguarding the Uyghur language
The variety of visually impaired individuals among the many 12 million Uyghurs dwelling in northwestern China’s Xinjiang area has by no means been disclosed by the Chinese language authorities, which has stymied the event of a Uyghur Braille script.
A Chinese language model of Braille was launched in 1952 in China, which at the moment has greater than 6.7 million blind individuals and one other 9 million who’re visually impaired, based on a report written by researcher Anwar Ahmad in December 2021 that paperwork the Uyghur Braille script venture.
However efforts to develop a Braille script for the Uyghur language had been by no means accomplished, based on the report.
In 2000, China banned the usage of the Uyghur language in authorities communications, which additionally blocked the creation of Uyghur Braille in Xinjiang. However unbiased linguists from a variety of universities nonetheless researched the subject, mentioned Enver Ehmet, director of the Germany-based World Uyghur Congress (WUC) Analysis Heart and a member of the Uyghur Braille script analysis group.
“Regardless that they made a whole lot of constructive ideas and analysis findings, the related schooling departments all the time ignored them,” he instructed RFA.
Starting in 2015, the Uyghur language was banned from college curriculums in numerous areas of Xinjiang.
As Chinese language Communist Social gathering insurance policies in Xinjiang threatened the existence of the Uyghur language, members of the Muslim group who’re dwelling overseas have stepped up efforts to safeguard it.
The brand new Uyghur Braille alphabet can be launched to the visually impaired in Xinjiang provided that situations allowed, Enver mentioned.
“Whether it is mentioned that our nation turns into unbiased or if the precise situations are in place, then this article is going to be launched to our blind brothers and sisters in our nation,” he mentioned. The Uyghurs name Xinjiang East Turkestan and aspire to achieve independence from China and set up their very own nation.
“The creation of the Uyghur Braille script is a crucial step in our makes an attempt to safeguard the Uyghur language,” mentioned WUC president Dolkun Isa. “The Uyghur Braille script may also make sure that these within the Uyghur diaspora who’re visually impaired are in a position entry this a part of our cultural heritage, and transmit it to future generations.”
Translated by RFA’s Uyghur Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.