Gurung: A language in retreat in Hong Kong

ISBN-13: 9783639130782 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 92 str.

Vikram Gurung

Opis

The Gurungs are an ethnic group of Nepal who dwelledin the laps of the Himalayas for centuries. About 150years ago they began to serve foreign armies and thatbrought them into contact with the outside world.Since then, the Gurungs have begun to settle in urbanareas, countries of their employment and developednations which offer better future prospects. Likemany other emigrant communities, the Gurungs havealso become vulnerable to losing some of their verypersonal and most important asset; language and culture. The present research study investigates if theemigrant Gurung community of Hong Kong will continueto speak their ancestral language in the future or ifthey will succumb to more dominant languagessurrounding this community. The findings of thisstudy conclude that the Gurungs may not speak theirlanguage in Hong Kong much further into the future..This work is an effort to draw the attention oflinguists to a receding language before it is toolate. And, it is also an effort to explain the futureof the Gurung language to its own speakers, so thatthey can see for themselves where their language isheaded for.

O autorze

MA TESOL, Diploma of Education, RSA TEFL cert.:
Studied in Nepal and abroad. He is interested in receding
languages, especially of Nepal. He has been an ESL teacher in
Nepal, Hong Kong and Brunei for more than two decades. At
present he is teaching at the Japanese International
School, Hong Kong.