Save Our Language!

Oni wat otto doik kamang sina Dayak to?

I found this article and I didn't know if I should feel glad or sad. From one perception, having UNESCO make the initiative to save the Bidayuh language is pretty depressing. It's implying that we ourselves are not really doing a good enough job to save it. On the bright side, with UNESCO identifying that our language needs to be saved, it does show that the Bidayuh language is at a level worth saving and that it is better to start preserving it now before we lose it altogether.

I know for sure that the DBNA has started an initiative to create a Bidayuh pre-school. Here, the kids are  provided Bidayuh reading material and teachers who educate children in Bidayuh, with Malay and English a secondary language. So at least, there's tangible efforts being made by our own community. But I think we need to the extra mile on this issue, otherwise..we may be the last generation that even speak the language. Quite frightening when you think about it. Death of our mother tongue.

Dunging Gunggu - the one who created the Iban alphabet

In terms of linguistic preservation, I'm quite impressed with the Ibans actually. Just recently they had several people graduated from an Iban alphabet course in UiTM Samarahan. So now, not only will they preserve the verbal language but they proudly say that they have their written language. What is indeed interesting is that the alphabets were created in the age where the Iban was still using the purist form of their language and was yet to be assimilated with words from other languages. So there is indeed a huge value in the alphabet that was created and it was even more unique due to the fact that the alphabet was created by an Iban residing in this part of Borneo, and not the Indonesian part. That's something worth being proud of.

Unlike Iban, the Bidayuh language has to many degrees of separation. There's too many dialects and even sub-dialects to deal with. But, in my opinion, just save them all. Coz the downfall of the Bidayuh language is the variety of dialects themselves. If you are form Bau and then you go to Serian, like it or not you'd most probably choose to either speak in Malay or English with your Sadong counterpart. So that, in a way, gradually bridges the ability of the two Bidayuh communities to understand each others language to the fullest. 

My idea is simply to just have each dialect preserving their own language. DBNA should develop a system on how the preservation should be done. I mean why not? We're trying to save the language right? So just save all of them. Right? The question is, how?

That my fellow Bidayuh readers, is the responsibility for all of us.