4 tribal languages in Sarawak go extinct

 

Sarawak Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka director Abang Haliman Abang Julai says languages spoken by Kejaman and Lakiput tribes are also under threat. (Wikipedia pic)

KUCHING: Four native languages spoken by tribes in Sarawak are now extinct, according to the national literary and cultural agency Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Its Sarawak director, Abang Haliman Abang Julai, said that according to researchers the Seru, Pegu, Bliun and Lelak languages were now no longer in use.

“Maybe the speakers migrated or entered into mixed marriages,” he said after a workshop on Sarawak tribal languages held here today.

He also attributed the demise of the native tongues to the diminishing numbers of tribal communities.

Abang Haliman said Sarawak DBP would work with ethnic associations in Sarawak to record and document tribal languages which are nearing extinction.

While he did not have specific details about the languages under threat, he believed those spoken by the Kejaman and Lakiput tribes are on the list.

He said Sarawak DBP has managed to record between 5,000 and 6,000 words from Sarawak tribal languages in the agency’s database this year.

A dictionary of tribal words would be published, while Dewan Bahasa officials in Kuala Lumpur would discuss their adoption into the national lexicon.

“Our hope is that words from every ethnic and tribal group, especially in Sarawak, will be included in our national language,” he said. - FMT