micro blog: The future of Uyghur

Over the past few years, the oppression and detainment of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Province have culminated in myriad journals, articles, and essays which illuminate the issue for new viewers who previously may have been unfamiliar with the existence of the ethnic group, let alone its language. I believe that in broadcasting news surrounding the crisis in Xinjiang, and circulating information about the Uyghur language online and in print, the global linguistic community can galvanize an effort to rescue Uyghur from obscurity.

Currently, only a handful of universities in the United States provide students an opportunity to take courses in Uyghur. Perhaps this will change with continued interest and awareness of the language's plight, but of course, we must focus on the steps that we as linguists can take to help our sister tongue. 

Filip Noubel, the Managing Editor of Global Voices, a virtual co-op which unites linguists and activists of varying backgrounds to promote language learning, believes that the future of Uyghur may exist online. In his article, "Updating Uyghur: The power of online discussions for language preservation," he tells of a group of native Uyghur speakers who utilized the social networking platform WeChat to virtually connect Uyghur speakers and give them a refuse for conversation, where they could speak freely and with pride. Elise Anderson, who works with the Uyghur Human Rights Project, contends that the very existence of a space online for Uyghurs to converse is a big step; it has only been within the last few years that even Google Translate has recognized it. She says, "The way to keep anything alive, including a language, is to create a space for it to live and provide material support so it can thrive. The Uyghur language will survive if it is put on equal footing with other languages, if it 'counts'...should [current Chinese] policies continue, younger generations of Uyghurs might never know how the world looks and sounds in their mother tongue."

Here, Anderson and Noubel bring the issue of Uyghur revitalization firmly into the present, something we can work on in this digital age. We have seen social networks repurposed as launchpads for social movements, insurrections, crowdfunding, etc., and these writers argue that if we approach language revitalization with a similar verve, the future is a bit more optimistic for the Uyghurs. The internet is malleable; it is what we make of it. With so much to learn and know from the Uyghurs, why wouldn't we give them that space?

Noubel, Filip. "Updating Uyghur: The power of online discussions for language preservation," Global Vocies. February 20 2021. https://globalvoices.org/2021/02/20/updating-uyghur-the-power-of-online-discussions-for-language-preservation/.