GUWAHATI: Curtains came down on the three-day North East Festival at the national capital with a pledge to save over 220 indigenous languages of the region in the years to come, in sync with the declaration of 2019 by United Nations as the year of World’s Ethnic Language.
The seventh edition of the festival was aimed at raising awareness about the tribal languages of the eight states of North East, a statement issued here, said.
A symposium was organised on Sunday to discuss the challenges for indigenous people of the region and the importance of preserving and promoting the languages.
The session began with a special session on documentation of Sumi Naga language of Nagaland by Hchishi Chishi, director, Indigenous Cultural Society, who observed that the endangered community of Sumi Naga was facing a lot of challenges in documenting their language in the Roman script because their dialogue is from Tibeto-Burman language family.
He felt that the loss of language meant loss of culture as language is the first expression of one’s own community.
“We don’t have a script of our own. To fit into the pattern of Roman script, we find it very difficult. Lots of values formed in oral narrative have been lost as the generation passes. Language is the first expression of a community. We have to preserve our own languages,” Chishi said.
“The Sumi tribe has more than 1000 folk songs and folklores, which are the narrative of our own traditions. We are finding it difficult to get the right letter or word when it comes to Roman script,” he said while listing out some ways through which such indigenous languages should be preserved.
“Children should be made to interact in their native language at least in their elementary years. We also need planning to witness a paradigm shift from mono-lingualism to multi-lingualism. Schools and colleges should also be taught community languages so that children should know about their culture,” Chishi said.
Walunir, associate professor, Amity University, pointed out that westernisation was one of main reasons behind the downfall of the community languages.
“Indigenous language represents the variety and depth of a culture. Too much focus on western education has changed the scenario of the local language in our country. Traditionally connoted words have become irrelevant. Initiatives should be taken to preserve the language by organising cultural festivals and encouraging traditional attire in schools and colleges as part of their uniform,” he said.
