Regulatory Committee of the National Language and Dialects
| Гукйин Фанйин Ганджи Веянхои | |
| File:Yinganhoi.png | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 16 May NMR 2294 |
| Headquarters | 44 Gelai Antelope Boulevard, Namo, Capital District |
| Motto | Чанчен Намора Минзувенха (Passing on the national culture of the Namorese nation) |
| Employees | 4,510 |
| Annual budget | P1.05 billion |
| Minister responsible |
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The Regulatory Committee of the National Language and Dialects (Namorese: Гукйин Фанйин Ганджи Веянхои), commonly known by its syllabic abbreviation Yinganhoi (Йинганхои), is an agency belonging to the Namorese Ministry of Education. It is responsible for regulating the Namorese language as spoken in Namor, as well as recognized languages of ethnic minority groups. In the past, it introduced the Tzishin script, which is presently the official script of Namorese in Namor, and started a "standardization" program that encouraged the use of Standard Namorese dialect among Namorese instead of regional dialects.
History
The Yinganhoi began in NMR 2294 as the Working Group on the Promotion of Literacy, which was given the task of designing a comprehensible new script for the Namorese language as a means of lowering the illiteracy rate. The agency created Tzishin and pushed for it to replace the old Tziroma script. After years of work, this campaign was successful and Tzishin became the official script. The Working Group on the Promotion of Literacy was renamed to the Regulatory Committee of the National Language and Dialects (Yinganhoi) in the Green Fever. Its primary purpose was to modify Namorese so that words that had "counter-revolutionary" roots were changed with words that had "revolutionary" roots. The agency stopped doing that when the Green Fever ended, but it kept its name.
Notable policies
Tzishinization
The first policy of the Yinganhoi in its initial form (the Working Group on the Promotion of Literacy) was to introduce and encourage use of the Tzishin script in mainland Namor. According to the Working Group, the "Tzishinization" program was to begin NMR 2294. Schools would fully teach Tzishin with no major problems by NMR 2299 and most Namorese would be comfortable with using Tzishin by NMR 2304, ten years from the start of the program.
Standardization of Namorese
In the NMR 2320s, the Yinganhoi began a program known as "Standardization (Боджунха)." It took into account that Namorese in different regions of the country spoke different variations of Namorese; some of the dialects are mutually unintelligible with each other. Therefore, it was difficult for the speaker of an "unintelligible" dialect to communicate with officials who spoke Standard (Nozama) Namorese. It set forth to promote Nozama Namorese as the standard dialect of the Namorese language.
Public schools across Namor were banned from teaching dialects of Namorese other than Standard Namorese. From NMR 2322 to NMR 2337, all public radio and television stations must broadcast in Standard Namorese - broadcasts in non-Standard Namorese dialects put the stations at risk of losing state funding. The policy was relaxed in NMR 2330s when studies conducted by the Yinganhoi showed that the younger generation of Namorese was comfortable of speaking Standard Namorese, and, not only that, preferred speaking Standard Namorese over other dialects.
Promotion of Namorese and preservation of minority languages
In regions dominated by non-Kannei ethnic minority groups, the Yinganhoi works to promote the use of Namorese language while preserving minority languages at the same time, striving to reach for the ultimate goal of bilingualism or, in some cases, multilingualism. The Yinganhoi does this by making sure public schools in autonomous republics teach most classes in a dominant ethnic minority language whereas classes considered pivotal for future contributions to national development are taught in Namorese. For example, in Antelopia most classes are taught in the Antelopian language except for science-related classes, which are taught in Standard Namorese.
This is part of the Yinganhoi's "Kannei-Minority Lingual Coexistence (Каннеисошу Йинмонконзан)" campaign. When the Yinganhoi first started the campaign in NMR 2340, its goal was to ensure that "over 90% of ethnic minorities in Namor are fluent in Standard Namorese, while at the same time maintaining their own language as their first language" by NMR 2380. As part of the campaign, the Yinganhoi introduced laws that require television stations broadcasting in a minority language to add Namorese subtitles in their programs. Conversely, Namorese-language television shows must be either subtitled or dubbed in a minority language in autonomous republics. The autonomous republic of Shanpei is an exception to these rules, since most people - including non-Kannei - speak Standard Namorese as their first language.
The Yinganhoi publishes dictionaries of minority languages including Antelopian, Khao, Chorean, Otekian Luziycan and others.
Criticism
Groups that support the preservation of non-Standard Namorese dialects have accused the Yinganhoi of curbing dialects towards the brink of destruction. Huo Beihang, chairman of the non-governmental organization S.O.D. (Save our Dialects), said "Local dialects are the roots to the culture of a region. We cannot afford to kill them. The price that we need to pay in order for us to do that is too high. I can see the benefits of speaking a standard dialect of Namorese, but that does not require a body [referring to the Yinganhoi] to suppress dialects and prevent the next generation from learning them."
Minority rights activists criticize the Yinganhoi for spearheading Namo's efforts at eroding the culture of ethnic minority groups. Yang Lichao of the Federation Party said "A growing number of minorities are speaking Standard Namorese as a first language as a result of the Yinganhoi's programs, even if the agency does not intend for things to be that way." Yang called the Yinganhoi "a major perpetrator of modern cultural genocide."
Similar remarks were made by members of the Otekian government-in-exile. President Valeriy Anisim said the committee is proof that "Namor is waging a war on not just Otekian lives, but the very way Otekians live."
In April NMR 2375, the Ministry of Education pushed forward a program known as "gradual immersion." The program's aim is to slowly introduce Tzishin to Peitoa, and was designed by the Yinganhoi. The program was met with significant opposition in Peitoa, culminating to protests which saw the occupation of the Peitoa District Assembly and Education Ministry office.
The Yingahoi is often associated with "Namorization" by its detractors. As such, it is sometimes called the "Namorization Committee" by critics.
In Luziyca, it has been met with similar criticism, with William Mishnev saying in 1998 that "one language may make things easier to communicate, but this (Yingahoi) is just a mask to suppress minority languages and make all of them speak Namorese." Kung Alicia said in 2003 while in the Vice-Presidency saying "this is pure unadulterated cultural genocide hiding under a facade of standardization." Many Luziycans have criticized the Yingahoi.