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Its people live but its language dies
by Guest Wed Apr 18, 2012 9:33 pm
http://blogs.rnw.nl/southasiawired/2010/04/16/its-people-live-its-language-dies/
After the extinction of the Bo language, another language finds itself on the verge of disappearance. Ahom - the oldest of the five Tai languages spoken in India’s North Eastern state of Assam.
Though born a Tai Ahom, Dipima Buragohain remembers speaking only Assamese with her family and in school as she grew up.
“As a community we are more than 8 million, but we do not speak
Ahom at home. We speak the Assamese language in our daily lives.”
There are just about 450 Ahom speakers left. They too belong to the
elderly priestly class or the ‘Tai Purohits’; who use the Ahom language
only to say their prayers, perform rituals, and conduct religious and
wedding ceremonies. That means according to Ethnologue census, the Ahom language is already considered extinct.
So how come a community numbering over 8 million has only a few hundred speakers left?
According to Dipma it’s because Assamese is the dominant language in
the state. She says that The Tai Ahoms ruled Assam for over 600 years.
In fact, Ahom was once the royal language and even the history of the
state of Assam was recorded in Ahom. But the birth of the Assamese
language in the 16th century, replaced Ahom in the royal court and over
the years Assamese became the majority language spoken in the state.
That led to a total language shift in Assam and to the disappearance of
Ahom. Today it is found only in ancient manuscripts and rituals.
When Dipima realised that in a few years time there may not be even a
single Ahom speaker left, she decided to try to revive it. She is now
doing her PhD in Linguistics from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New
Delhi and studying Ahom. And ironically, it was only while researching
Ahom that she learnt to say her first word in her mother tongue - ‘Khrup Tang’ which means hello.
“Along with researching its descriptive grammar, I am also learning my language now.”
Even though she belongs to the community, researching the Ahom Language hasn’t been easy for Dipima.
“I found a lot of information on the history of Ahoms and our
culture. But there is not much on our language. I managed the fieldwork
only because I personally knew most people from the priestly class due
to my father’s close association with them. I strongly feel that the
priestly class is the only significant source for making in-depth
research in Tai Ahom, both the community and its language.”
But Dipima is happy that finally there is an effort to revive her mother tongue.
“The Institute of Tai Studies and Research is now established in
Assam. It teaches the Ahom language, publishes academic journals and
preserves the old Ahom manuscripts.”
After completing her doctorate, Dipima plans to continue her research and learn more about her language.
“Being a member from the community, I believe it’s my
responsibility to conduct meaningful research on the language as well as
the cultural practices of the community. That’s my little contribution
to the revival of Ahom.”
After the extinction of the Bo language, another language finds itself on the verge of disappearance. Ahom - the oldest of the five Tai languages spoken in India’s North Eastern state of Assam.
Though born a Tai Ahom, Dipima Buragohain remembers speaking only Assamese with her family and in school as she grew up.
“As a community we are more than 8 million, but we do not speak
Ahom at home. We speak the Assamese language in our daily lives.”
There are just about 450 Ahom speakers left. They too belong to the
elderly priestly class or the ‘Tai Purohits’; who use the Ahom language
only to say their prayers, perform rituals, and conduct religious and
wedding ceremonies. That means according to Ethnologue census, the Ahom language is already considered extinct.
So how come a community numbering over 8 million has only a few hundred speakers left?According to Dipma it’s because Assamese is the dominant language in
the state. She says that The Tai Ahoms ruled Assam for over 600 years.
In fact, Ahom was once the royal language and even the history of the
state of Assam was recorded in Ahom. But the birth of the Assamese
language in the 16th century, replaced Ahom in the royal court and over
the years Assamese became the majority language spoken in the state.
That led to a total language shift in Assam and to the disappearance of
Ahom. Today it is found only in ancient manuscripts and rituals.
When Dipima realised that in a few years time there may not be even a
single Ahom speaker left, she decided to try to revive it. She is now
doing her PhD in Linguistics from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New
Delhi and studying Ahom. And ironically, it was only while researching
Ahom that she learnt to say her first word in her mother tongue - ‘Khrup Tang’ which means hello.
“Along with researching its descriptive grammar, I am also learning my language now.”
Even though she belongs to the community, researching the Ahom Language hasn’t been easy for Dipima.
“I found a lot of information on the history of Ahoms and our
culture. But there is not much on our language. I managed the fieldwork
only because I personally knew most people from the priestly class due
to my father’s close association with them. I strongly feel that the
priestly class is the only significant source for making in-depth
research in Tai Ahom, both the community and its language.”
But Dipima is happy that finally there is an effort to revive her mother tongue.
“The Institute of Tai Studies and Research is now established in
Assam. It teaches the Ahom language, publishes academic journals and
preserves the old Ahom manuscripts.”
After completing her doctorate, Dipima plans to continue her research and learn more about her language.
“Being a member from the community, I believe it’s my
responsibility to conduct meaningful research on the language as well as
the cultural practices of the community. That’s my little contribution
to the revival of Ahom.”
Guest- Guest
Re: Its people live but its language dies
by Guest Wed Apr 18, 2012 9:34 pm
Does it make sense to spend resources in reviving extinct or near extinct languages when most people in India don't have enough to eat?
Guest- Guest
Re: Its people live but its language dies
by MaxEntropy_Man Wed Apr 18, 2012 9:39 pm
Rashmun wrote:Does it make sense to spend resources in reviving extinct or near extinct languages when most people in India don't have enough to eat?
does it make sense to spend govt money teaching hindi to non-hindi speakers instead of teaching hindi speakers who are not literate to write their own language? (or feed these starving people you are referring to?).
MaxEntropy_Man- Posts : 14702
Join date : 2011-04-28
Re: Its people live but its language dies
by Guest Wed Apr 18, 2012 9:50 pm
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:Rashmun wrote:Does it make sense to spend resources in reviving extinct or near extinct languages when most people in India don't have enough to eat?
does it make sense to spend govt money teaching hindi to non-hindi speakers instead of teaching hindi speakers who are not literate to write their own language? (or feed these starving people you are referring to?).
the only justification that i can give is that India needs a link language if it is to progress and english is not nearly (not even close) as widely spread as hindi/hindustani as of today. eventually, english will be sufficiently well known across India but that is not the position as of today.
Guest- Guest
Re: Its people live but its language dies
by Kayalvizhi Wed Apr 18, 2012 10:10 pm
Rashmun wrote:Does it make sense to spend resources in reviving extinct or near extinct languages when most people in India don't have enough to eat?
Why is Hindia spending out tax for radio, tv broadcasts in dead Sanskrit?
Kayalvizhi- Posts : 3659
Join date : 2011-05-16
Re: Its people live but its language dies
by Guest Wed Apr 18, 2012 10:14 pm
Kayalvizhi wrote:Rashmun wrote:Does it make sense to spend resources in reviving extinct or near extinct languages when most people in India don't have enough to eat?
Why is Hindia spending out tax for radio, tv broadcasts in dead Sanskrit?
if you want me to answer your question you need to repeat it with the correct word for my country.
Guest- Guest
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