Wednesday 10 June 2015

Another language set to die out?

The San language Nluu is spoken only by 2 sisters and their 95 yr old mother, linguists are working with them to transcript and translate it before it is too late.
It is a language with 112 unique sounds and has been passed on in spoken word through the ages but never written down.
Brilliant quote from guardian article 9/6/15
"N|uu has one of the biggest speech sound inventories in the world, he added, including more than 45 click phonemes, 30 non-click consonants and 37 vowels. “Language is the most important cultural asset, so if you lose your language, you lose your culture. In Canada, there is a clear link between those indigenous people who lose their language and suicide rates. In this globalised world, local identity is essential,” Brezinger"
A second section of the article-
"Koper’s sister Katrina Esau, 82, who has received an award from President Jacob Zuma for her work to preserve San language and culture, added: “Other people have their own languages. Why must my language be allowed to die? It must go on. As long as there are people, the language must go on.”

No comments:

Post a Comment