Languages are a fascinating part of our lives, without languages our lives are like a garden without flowers, and nobody likes that kind of garden, right? Scientists believe that languages evolved out of hand gestures and grunts. Languages have been born and died over time for several reasons.
Over 7000 languages are spoken today; one dies every 14 days. Languages have fate; just like Latin, it had a worse fate. The Latin language has been used for centuries, but today, it is a native speaker left on the planet. This happens when people stop learning a language, so it becomes extinct.
People are shifting their languages to common ones, which is not wrong. It’s good when you can express yourself across borders. However, when a language dies, it takes its philosophies. Apart from that, the cultural aspect of that language also vanished. So, don’t you think losing a language is a big deal for humanity?
Well, in this article, we will discuss one of the endangered languages, the Kairiru language, and all the essential facts that might become the reason to save the language from becoming extinct. Let’s have a look at it!
FACTS ABOUT THE ENDANGERED LANGUAGE KAIRIRU
Language Kairiru is one of the highly endangered languages of Papua New Guinea. It belongs to the Austronesian language family series. According to research carried out in 2000, there were 3,200 native speakers of the language left on the planet.
The language is mainly spoken on Mushu and Kairiru islands. Moreover, people near the coastal village on the mainland between Cape Karawop and Cape Samein near Wewak in the East Sepik province of Papua New Guinea.
Papua New Guinea is the most linguistically diverse country in the world. There are over 800 languages in the country, many of which are indigenous. These indigenous languages are further divided into two radical language groups; one is the Austronesian language group, while the other is the non-Austronesian group.
The Kairiru language is a part of Austronesian languages. There are over 200 Austronesian languages in the country. Austronesian language speakers generally belong to the country’s coastal region and offshore islands. So, you can say that some of the Kairiru speakers are from the coastal area and shore islands.
WHAT DO WE LOSE WHEN A LANGUAGE DIES?
According to a prediction, 90% of the world’s languages will die out but the end of the century. This might not be as important as it should be in our day-to-day lives, but we lose a culture that is an incomparable loss for all of us. Let’s have a look at what we lose when a language dies.
THE EXPRESSION OF A UNIQUE VISION
Every time a world loses a language, the expression of a unique vision of being human also disappears. A country with a large language count of at least six-seven primary language families yearly. Language loss can lead the world to cultural devastation.
Every language hides a lot of doors to wisdom. We can’t unlock these doors until we practice the considerations of that language. We can lose the knowledge of medical secrets, ecological wisdom, spiritual traditions, and more.
Languages have always risen and fallen naturally throughout history as youth swift to the domain of languages to survive better. According to studies, the world is losing individual and family languages.
DESCENDANT CULTURES
Losing a language is not about losing the structural sentences, language descriptions, grammar, or vocabulary. It’s way more than that. The world is losing the memory of our planet’s cultures and histories with every dying language.
Language tells a lot about one’s culture, but when their language dies, their distinct cultures also lose their worth. That’s how cultural devastation occurs and destroys traditions and customs.
This happens because people shift their living style of how to live and where to live, and adopt a new language according to their surroundings. When people switch to a new language, their generation stops practicing their native tongues, and once people have gone, there is no going back, which declares a language extinct. Everything culture, knowledge, or history, along with language, disappears.
BEST LOCAL RESOURCES
Human history has been dying in the last 500 years, and the world’s dominant languages are expanding rapidly, overlapping the indigenous languages. According to previous studies, indigenous languages and their speakers are rich sources of wisdom and knowledge. The coalescent time of mass extinction they have made their knowledge more precious.
Ancient languages unlock the knowledge of many genetic studies, medical wisdom, and artistic and mythological histories. These traditional larger-scale studies of our ancestors left a lot of knowledge to survive in the world. But when we lose the language, the knowledge also disappears. We lose the best local resources to tackle environmental threats. In addition, the world of medical sciences also loses the potential for cures. In short, we lose the resources to survive the fragile ecosystem.
MOTHER TONGUE
The actual loss for some people is losing their mother tongue, their first language, the language they learned to describe themselves to the world. This is an unbearable loss. Some speakers of indigenous languages are at the edge of being the only speaker of their mother tongue. Can you imagine the trauma? Actually, no, we can’t. The loss of the mother tongue is beyond all other losses.
WHAT TO DO TO PRESERVE AN ENDANGERED LANGUAGE KAIRIRU?
Today, language preservation is not an easy task. The intergenerational gap makes language extinction very common. People are switching towards the dominant languages such as English, Spanish, or Mandarin to better interact with the world.
But in all these scenarios of making their lives better, people forgot about their native languages. They stop practicing those minority languages and shift their interest to the common languages.
Not every endangered language become extinct in the future; the country can take precautionary measures to preserve the language. There are several ways to maintain a language. The government of Papua New Guinea needs to take some steps, such as including language courses and hiring linguists to teach the students a basic understanding of Kairiru languages.
So many languages in Papua New Guinea are in danger of disappearing, so linguists and translators must learn as much as possible about the language. They need to reach the people of Karesau Island or else Austronesian village, to spend quality time with the Kairiru speakers and make videotapes, audiotapes, and written records of the language along with its translation. They can reach out to indigenous resources as well to have a better understanding of the language.
In addition, the government of PNG can also build a school in Austronesian-speaking villages and Kairiru Island to educate the children about the importance of the first language.
Wrap Up
Language extinction is at an alarming stage in New Guinea; the government must take all reliable measures immediately to prevent endangered languages.