•• Include courses on Afghan languages in teacher training institutions;
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Use radio and television to raise awareness and gather information about languages and cultures;
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Encourage speakers of Afghan languages to collect traditional literature and write poetry, stories and dramas in their mother tongue.
Alphabet development. Most ethnic minority languages have been used for oral communication for hundreds, even thousands of years. Some have had their own writing systems for centuries but others have never been put into written form. Linguists who analyze unwritten languages are often impressed with the beauty of their grammars and sound systems. But until a language is put into writing, it will be difficult to use it as one of the languages of instruction in the formal education system.
In some places, a language may already have an alphabet but if the alphabet is unacceptable to MT speakers and / or to the government it will be difficult to use it as a school language. A basic statement about this issue is that minority language communities need an acceptable alphabet if their language is to be acceptable for use in the formal education system.
Alphabet development has two goals: The first is that MT speakers will accept the new( or revised) alphabet and use it consistently. The second and equally important goal for MTB MLE is that the alphabet will be acceptable to the relevant government officials.
The process of developing a new or revised alphabet usually includes the following activities in this general order:
1. Language survey: Collect information about the language— number of speakers, number of dialects, attitudes of MT speakers towards the language; locations in which it is used and the social, economic, political, religious and cultural domains in which it is used.
2. Language analysis: Identify the parts of the language that need to be represented by letters or symbols.
3. Trial alphabet: Conduct an alphabet workshop in which mother tongue speakers of the language, with help from linguists, as necessary, identify the letters or symbols that will represent their language. Produce a tentative or trial alphabet.
4. Testing: Test the trial alphabet both formally( through observing people’ s use of the written language and noting problems) and informally( by encouraging as many people as possible to use it as much as possible and then provide their feedback.)
5. Revision: Identify alternative letters or symbols that can be used if problems are discovered with earlier selections.
Booklet for Programme Implementers
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