THINAI, 31 Oct: The Centre for Endangered Languages (CFEL) of Doimukh (Papum Pare)-based Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) organised an outreach programme themed ‘Awareness of mother tongue’ at Thinai village in Anjaw district on Sunday, during the Sung-Ngu festival of the Meyor tribe.
During the programme, the CFEL released and distributed a dictionary on the Meyor language and screened a documentary titled ‘Fading Tongue of the East?’ on the language and culture of the Meyor community.
The outreach programme was conducted by CFEL coordinator Prof S Simon John, senior research fellow Kaling Dabi, and Documentation Officer Kombong Darang.
Addressing the gathering, Prof John spoke on “the importance of speaking in one’s mother tongue at the family and village level to preserve the rich language and cultural heritage of the Meyor community.”
He urged the panchayat members and CBOs of the Meyor community to put effort into safeguarding and promoting their language and culture.
As per the 2009 UNESCO Report, Meyor is one of the critically endangered languages of Arunachal Pradesh. The dictionary and the film are an outcome of two extensive fieldworks and a weeklong workshop on the Meyor language carried out by the CFEL research team between August 2017 and February 2020.
The programme was attended also by Meyor Welfare Association president Chung Meyor and its general secretary Sonam Meyor, besides the headmaster of the government middle school in Walong, TT Meyor, GBs, and people of the Meyor villages in the Walong-Kibithu administrative circle.
