Language is the root that binds people to their culture. Therefore, the loss of a language leads to the extinction of the culture as well. We all know that fetishism for English acts as the main impediment to practicing our native language. It is not always our choice, but sometimes a compulsion to adopt a foreign language for better job opportunities and to expand our network. But imbibing a new language should not come at the cost of forsaking our mother language.
English being a lingua franca, gets on the top priority list of learning and acquiring it. But people forget that amidst all these, originality is at stake or becoming part of a hybridity. It is a debatable issue how much hybridity retains both languages equally. Indigenous languages stand at the threat of becoming oblivion as there are a few speakers who continue to speak them.
The older generations must pass on the language to the younger ones and also make them understand that it is a feeling of great pride to preserve one’s native language. Let us know, the story of how Ouma Katrina Esau, a veteran lady is acting as a vanguard to protect their endangered language N|uu.
Mission of the Revival of an Endangered Language
N|uu is the language spoken by the first hunter-gatherers of Southern Africa, that is, the San people. Like the fate of other Indigenous languages of Africa, the N|uu language also had to be part of oblivion because there was a dark history associated with it. According to Ouma Katrina Esau, the Dutch settlers who settled there in the 17th century made it evident that if anyone spoke the N|uu language, they would be severely beaten.
Ms. Esau was part of a group of twenty speakers who knew and spoke the N|uu language. However, when she remained among the last survivors of the language, she took the battalion to prevent it from becoming oblivion. She has been running her school for ten years in a small wooden hut, she teaches 112 sounds with 45 distinct clicks of the N|uu language.
Apart from this oral method of transmission, N|uu language is now safe in the records of Qhoi n|a Tijho (Tortoise and Ostrich), a children’s book about their known folktale. The book was authored by Ms. Esau and her granddaughter, Claudia Synman. Apart from this novel effort of preserving the language and expanding the scope of research, N|uu language is also part of a talking book dictionary. The Digital Dictionaries Project of N|uu language preserves other African languages as well, but it is in a stage of development.
The method of digital archiving of language is relatively new but an efficient project, which preserves the endangered languages. Let us know about the project in detail.
Digital Archive Acts as the only Ray of Hope
Many languages stand the threat of extinction. Moreover, languages that limit their periphery to be orally spoken and have no script get stampeded by prominently written languages. Moreover, globalization and digitization have structured and acknowledged a few languages as the official languages.
This was the viewpoint of some people as they believed in the oft-quoted words, “If it’s not on the web, it does not exist”. But it has been proved wrong, as digital archives act as the only shield or haven to protect the indigenous or oral languages from becoming oblivion. By creating audio-visual documentation, certain socio-cultural aspects of the language remain intact, such as story-telling, folk literature, oral culture, and history.
In another situation, developing an online thesaurus can help to spread the indigenous language and make it available among many other non-speakers. In this case, the native speakers need to do the annotations of the indigenous language, in a language that is understood by the majority of the speakers such as English. Endangered languages can only survive through the proactive and collective initiative of the speakers who know them.
In this way, the Indigenous languages can even contribute to literature and make it more multi-faceted. Knowing a different language also opens the gate pass to explore a different culture. But will these diversified languages and cultures retain their individuality? Or will it become a part of a unified global language and a hybrid culture? Let’s explore.
Retaining Individuality in the Face of Globalisation
Globalization arrived with its pros and cons. It made people easily accessible to other languages and they started learning it. It made an interchanging of culture very prominent and the concept of fusion in clothes and food began to gain prominence. Insidious changes in behaviour patterns, work culture, and daily lifestyle also started to happen slowly and steadily.
Thus, a form of hybridity emerged, where it became difficult to retain any particular culture or language. However, it ensured that no particular culture was prioritized over the other. This can be seen as an attempt to blur the gap of ‘Otherization’. This interchange of cultures and languages can be seen as an optimistic sign. But there arises a problem.
The individuality of the languages and cultures remains only reserved for specific days, on specific occasions. However, this compulsion cannot make one understand the essence of the language. Therefore, the field of comparative literature stands here as important.
If we consider the diversified languages of India, it is impossible to strike at a particular Indian language. Therefore, Amiya Dev in his work ‘Comparative Literature in India’ argues in the line of considering Indian literature as a “systematic whole” comprising other literatures. He even considers that an Indian archive should preserve all the Indian languages, instead of an English archive.
Comparative literature gives the scope as well as the quest to learn and know new languages. Through the work of translations, one can know the literature of other languages, but nothing can be better than knowing the language in its essence and then being able to relate it with languages and literature.
ALSO READ: From Generation to Generation: The Need to Preserve Indigenous Cultures
Conclusion
Preserving one’s native language is the key to saving it from the threat of becoming oblivion. Adopting digital methods or contributing to the literature, that is by writing blog posts, short stories, or even by making podcasts and films, can be some innovative methods of spreading and making everyone aware of the existence of language. And, it is also important to sow the seed of the importance of native language in the building blocks of society.
However, the process is tedious and time-consuming. In a fast-paced world, it is indeed very difficult to implement these processes in reality. When the entire community remains demotivated, it is very difficult to become like Ouma Katrina Esau and fight alone to preserve the native language.
Is it always possible to record languages that lack any script? Can the Internet truly serve as the means to protect these endangered languages from the threat of oblivion? Will the languages get merged into a singular language or will die a slow death?
What is your opinion about the same? Let us know what you feel in the comments section below. If you have an opinion to share, feel free to reach out to us at larra@globalindiannetwork.com.
