Frequently Asked Questions

1) Is Galo a “language”?

This depends on definition. To most linguists and language experts in the world, having a script has nothing to do with the question of whether a form of speech is a “language” or a “dialect”. To most linguists, a “language” is anything that people use to communicate with one another, usually by speech, but sometimes also by writing. In this sense, of course Galo is a language! To deny it would be completely ridiculous. At the same time, not all Galo speakers speak in exactly the same way. They can understand one another very well, but there are some differences in pronunciation. In this way, we say that there are different “dialects” of the Galo “language”. For example, we have Lare, Puugo, Tai, Gensii, Karka, and also many subdialects like Jwrdoo and Baam. This is what is meant by the word “dialect”: “dialects” are different varieties of the same “language”.

So, according to linguists, Galo is a language in exactly the same way that English and Hindi are languages, and has an equal status and importance. The Galo Script has been developed for Galo people not so that it will “become” a language. The Script has been developed to help the Galo people communicate using their language in more ways than is currently possible. We should try to do this the best way we are able to by analyzing the way the Galo language actually works, and not according to some arbitrary decisions made by people who are not Galo speakers, are not linguists, and who have not actually studied Galo themselves.

2) Whether Galo Script is “English”?

Galo Script is not the same as “English” script. It is a variety of Modified Roman Script (MRS). English is also written in MRS, just like most other European languages, and many other languages of the world, such as Turkish, Swahili, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Khasi, as well as most tribal languages of the world. All forms of MRS are based on the Roman Script used to write Latin language of the Roman empire 2,000 years ago, although with modifications. These modifications help to allow the script to represent a language accurately. Nowadays, the Latin language is not spoken anymore, and Roman script has become an international script which is not owned by any individual language or culture. Since Roman script is so commonly used and understood especially as it was used previously (Adi/Padam), Galo writers are already familiar therefore, Galo script is based on Roman script also. So, using Roman script is certainly practical.

3) Why did you choose v and w to write the sounds in vbv ‘skirt’ and wlww ‘stone’?

As q, x and c, we are trying to uses symbols which are available in Roman script, but which would have no other use in Galo. Paadam script uses e and i to represent these sounds. This is not accurate enough for us, since it is impossible to represent the difference between ai ‘tooth’ and aw ‘body’, which are both written ai in Paadam - as well as hundreds of other words. Suppose your mother writes you a letter – in Paadam – saying “ngok ai e acidu.” What aches – her body or her teeth? There is no way to know. However, in Galo script, she will write “qok aw v `aciduu”, and it is clear that her body is aching – not her teeth.

4) Why did you choose q,x, and c to write ng, ny and ch?

There are several reasons. One reason is that we are trying to follow a rule of one symbol = one sound. This makes the writing system more logical and consistent. For example, if we use the simple n to represent the sound n and simple g for the sound g, why is it that when we put them together they don’t make the sequence n + g, but instead make a different, completely unrelated sound? Consider English: finger and sing – in the first, you have a sequence n + g, but in the second, you have a sound q. English spelling has many inconsistencies and imperfections, and it isn’t good model for Galo script.

Another reason is that languages like English which use combinations of letters to represent single sounds usually don’t have long and short vowel and consonant contrasts like Galo does. For example, consider the word uqqaa ‘baby’ , axxi ‘little’ and peccaa ‘fool’. Using most existing scripts, we would have to write ungnga, anynyi and pechcha, which looks foolish.

Finally, we are concerned about accuracy. Compare the words ingeeke ‘please go ahead’ and ingin ‘vine tapioca’ (written). The letter ng do not make the same sound each time. In the first case, we hear a sequence n + g, but in the second case, we hear a single sound q. Writing ng makes this difference unclear. But, if we write these words as iqeeke and iqin, the difference in the sounds is correct and clearly represented

5) Is Galo Script is only for one dialect?

Galo Script will be useful to all Galo writers, and which can be adapted to suit any Galo dialect. For example, although Lare will write vrvk ‘pig’, a Puugo speaker can use the same system to write eek or eyek ‘pig’ according to his or her pronunciation. Although we will write `ui ‘ghost’, a Tai speaker can use the same system to write `uyu ‘ghost’ according to his or her pronunciation. This script gives us the possibility to write all varieties of Galo accurately. In fact, this Script is found to be accurate for use in writing the entire Tani Languages of Tibeto-Burman branch.

6) Why do we use Galo Script and not other scripts invented/developed in Arunachal Pradesh.

Scripts have been invented for Galo and Tani group of languages which are ambitious and impressive achievements. We certainly understand the desire to have a unique script which no other language in the world has. However, the need of the hour is immediate preservation of Galo language for the future generations which might not be possible if a lot of time is lost in learning a new script.

If we look at history, scripts have only been successfully invented perhaps three or four times in the history of the world, in China, Egypt, Babylon and the Mayan Empire. Every other existing script has been adapted from one of these. From Egyptian script, Semitic scripts were developed; from these Brahmic script was developed, and from there eventually Devanagari (Sanskrit) and then Hindi, Bengali, Assamese, Telugu, Tamil, Sinhalese, and every other major South Asian script. From Sinhalese developed Khmer (Cambodian), and from there Thai, Lao, and Burmese. From Chinese script came Japanese and Korean script, as well as early Vietnamese. The Roman script which we now use to write English, Spanish, Indonesian, Turkish, and so on, was itself derived from Greek script and, ultimately, Egyptian script.

Why did so many people throughout history adapt existing scripts instead of creating new ones? Simply because: scripts are very difficult for most people to learn, and it is much easier to learn something which is based on something already familiar than to learn something which is completely new – no matter how perfect, unique or beautiful it may be.

Furthermore, there is an additional danger in creating novel scripts for languages spoken by relatively small populations. This is that it will be very difficult for most people to adapt them for use with computers and handheld devices such as mobile phones (in the case of mobile phones, it is and probably always will be impossible). This is a serious concern, because in the future almost all writing will take place on these media. We believe that it is too much of a risk to create a writing system which will not be widely used; rather, we should create a more practical writing system which people will be able to learn and use almost immediately.

The other Roman-based scripts are improvement over earlier script. However, using the mathematical symbols which were apparently chosen at random – is not a very practical solution. It is difficult to write using a pen and all of them are difficult to use on a computer – and impossible to use on a handheld device.

Furthermore, tones are not represented, and so the difference between words like aci ‘elder brother’ and `aci ‘pain’ cannot be shown. Additionally, word-final vowel length is not represented.

We should be thinking about how to develop something which will be accurate and flexible enough to use effectively for two, three, four or five hundred years into the future, by Galo people who have not yet been born and will never know our names. Whatever we do today should be done not for ourselves but for them.

Every language needs a writing system which is both accurate and practical. So far, there is no writing system for the Galo language which succeeds on both of these points.

To be accurate, a script must represent all of the sounds which a language uses to make contrasts in meaning. There is no script currently available which is accurate enough to represent Galo correctly in every detail. For example, no existing script represents Galo tones, and many existing scripts do not represent the sounds v and w, as well as the difference between long and short sounds. The script described here represents all of these differences accurately.

To be practical, a script must not be too difficult to learn, or too difficult to use. Some existing scripts use unfamiliar symbols which are not usually found on typewriters or computers and which are difficult for many people to write. We have tried to use only familiar symbols which are commonly found on most writing media, since this will make it easier for Galo people to begin using it immediately to necessitate the need for immediate preservation of the Galo language.

7) Whether the Galo Script is for both preservation and invigoration of Galo language?

Tribal and minority languages all over the world are dying at an incredible rate. Some American tribal languages only have ten or fifteen good speakers left. What will happen when they die? The language will die with them, along with most of the knowledge and culture of a people who had existed in some form for hundreds or thousands of years. Languages like Hindi, English and Chinese are spreading across the globe, and speakers of languages like Galo will be under increasing pressure and find it more and more difficult to maintain links with their past. We cannot predict the future, and we cannot guarantee that Galo people of the future will choose to maintain their unique language and cultural identity. But we have to give them the chance. We must give them the chance! The heritage of the Galo people may go back a thousand years, and it is our duty to enable its survival for another thousand years or more.

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(C) Galo Language Development Committee