Belarusian language can disappear from universities

Administration of the Belarusian Language Society (TBM) speaks against the planning removal of course of Belarusian professional vocabulary form university curriculum and is going to resist it.

This problem was discussed on the session of the TBM Council in Minsk on 16 December. As Lyudmila Dzitsevich, deputy head of the TBM, noted, due to the efforts of the organisation teaching of Belarusian professional vocabulary in universities hasn’t been stopped this year. At the same time, according to her, in the connection of introduction new educational standards on social and humanitarian disciplines and possible 4-year period of education the course of professional Belarusian vocabulary can be excluded from education programmes.

TBM head Aleg Trusau emphasised that the removal of this course from university curriculum would lead to drastic reduction of range of use of Belarusian language, as its vocabulary of many professions is offered only in universities.

“So, future specialists can learn Belarusian terminology in archaeology, architecture and Further Mathematics only on special courses,” A. Trusau said. According to him, students have keen interest in this discipline, special dictionaries, guide-books and programmes were created for teaching it.

The TBM Council decided to put on a corresponding statement.

The TBM leaders has also supported the last will of Guy De Picarda, famous English-French researcher of old Belarusian church music, works of Belarusian composers, translations of the Bible into Belarusian and problems of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania history, companion of the Frantsysk Skaryna Medal, member of the international association of Belarusists – on his burial in the Minsk Church of Symon and Alena (the Red Church).