Two unique languages disappear with death of last speakers
When Boro died on Strait Island last November, Boa lost a friend. The world lost a language.
Last week, Boa also died. Another language died with her.
The death of these last surviving speakers of two Great Andamanese languages, Khora and Bo, has resulted in the extermination of their unique tribes on the islands.
“There are just 50 Great Andamanese left,” says Anvita Abbi, a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University who has undertaken a project to document the languages of these tribes. “Now we only have Jeru and Sare speakers in the group.”
Originally, the Great Andamanese were a group of ten tribes with a total population of 5,000 when the British colonised the Andaman Islands. Over the years, most were killed or died of the diseases brought by settlers.
When the tsunami hit the islands in 2004, 80-year-old Boa was still strong enough to climb a tree. But she was shaken by the death of her friend Boro, a frail introvert with curling white hair, last year.
“When Boro died, Boa told me she felt very lonely,” says Dr. Abbi. “Already, Boa used to lament that no one else shared her mother’s language. She would sing her songs in Bo, but no one else could understand her…No one else could help her translate them for me,” she added.
Dr. Abbi was unable to get a full grasp of the Bo and Khora languages with the inputs of just one speaker. However, she and her team have compiled a dictionary of 2,500 words in Great Andamanese, a mixture of all four languages — Bo, Khora, Sare and Jeru. The tri-lingual, tri-scriptal book could help not just linguists but ecologists as well, as many of the words are the names of plants, birds and fishes.
“For example, one of the words is ain. Boa told me of these small bushes, which grow by the seashore…She said that when ain leaves are crushed and put in water, it intoxicates the fish which float up, making them easier to catch,” says Dr. Abbi.
Subsequent experiments on the west coast of the Andamans showed that Boa’s recollections were correct, although the bushes were later destroyed by the tsunami.
“It’s a storehouse of indigenous languages for environmentalists,” Dr. Abbi adds.
Survival International director Stephen Curry says that the death of Boa and the extinction of the Bo language should spur action to save the remaining tribes.
“A unique part of human society is now just a memory. Boa’s loss is a bleak reminder that we must not allow this to happen to the other tribes of the Andaman Islands,” he says.
If outsiders helped wipe out the Great Andamanese, they are also helping to record their voices. Dr. Abbi’s dictionary project includes an audio CD. “If you click on a word or phrase, you can hear Boa’s voice saying it…You can hear her songs.”
There are songs of celebration and of mourning, of the rain and the sea, of hunting and dancing — all in a language now dead. Is anyone listening?
Comments:
It is very sad to know that such rich heritage is lost by us and we could not preserve it. We have not just lost a person in Boro and Boa, but also lost so many unknown things and hidden secrets of environment which we will never know. Imagine how many years would have taken to form first words and languages to express. It is a great loss that fellow humans who lived with us for so many years are no longer with us, probably due to something wrong done by us. Peace.
Nehru had the vision to keep the tribes intact by not letting Govt as well as missionaries interfere with the local tribes. But lately missionaries in the guise of helping have been pushing religion to these tribes ( as they have done in S.America) and to some extent are responsible for wiping these cultures forever. We hope that India realizes this and leave these tribal people alone and appreciate their heritage and life styles
Indigenous people world over have received a raw deal at the hands of colonisers.The death of languages in the Andamans is a setback for the common human heritage.Languages do not just help one to communicate but are also are a repositry of knowledge.A lot can be learnt from fast vanishing languages.Preservation of languages is not a priority in governmental policies.It is unfortunate that we are failing in our efforts to conserve these unique languages.
It is indeed a sad day when a language dies because with that a unique culture, society and value systems also die. The danger is very real and will happen to languages here in the mainland. All our languages are in danger of dying out if the onslaught of English is not reversed. Already in the cities all over India, amongst the English educated families the Indian languages are dying. Most of these families speak a very pidgin variety of the language with English words predominating. The younger generation is getting further out of touch with the 'mother tongue'. When the mother herself cannot speak that language what happens to the 'Mother Tongue'. The generations to come will get further removed from their mother tongue. If you look around the entire public space is dominated by English. Indian languages are restricted now to just being 'spoken'. None of the so called elite write or read their mother tongue. Since they are the role model for the others lower down the ladder this trend will only spread. Even in rural areas and mofussil towns this is spreading. My guess is that in 50 years all Indian Languages will be near extinction unless something drastic is done to reverse this trend
Indian languages may face the same problem if we do not respect and use our langauge in our daily use.
This is realy sad.I met these tribes when I was on trip to Andman & Nicobar island. Meeting with them was truly a thrilling experience. Govt. must do something to save them.
Wittgenstein said the limits of our language are the limits of the world. The less languages we have, and the less we preserve them, the smaller our world becomes.
It is the general tradition that whenever anyone dies we do mourn for sometime and later on everything goes as usual.similar is the case with the death of this language also. The way we are treating our language and culture very soon India will become the land of people having no language, no culture, no tradition and of course no self-identity.
Really sad to hear about the death of Boa - and the loss of her language - it has generated much thought for me - strange how these things touch ancient areas of resonance and warmth -- and are perhaps able to pass on their magic - despite being an earthly loss.
This is no doubt a very shameful episode for the Indian government which has failed to protect Indian culture. It is sad beyond measure. How can the government explain this?
It is a real pity that Indian liguists have practically ignored this
great archeological treasure. Thanks Hindu, you are one of the very few papers in India that have taken note of this event, although there was good reporting in the international press.
This is very sad. I wish I could have known about the Bo language before Boa Sr. passed away. I am presently learning the Scottish Gaelic language which is in and of itself is in danger of dying out. Scottish Gaelic has 58,0000 speakers. From what I am told, a language is considered extinct if less than 50,000 people speak the language.
Am Really worry about that. We lost our humanity.
Malai...