[ Prem Chetry ]
SHERGAON, 24 Nov: In an effort to transform the Mey (Sherdukpen) language into a written script, the development of its orthography is underway in Shergaon, a project under the All Sherdukpen Blu (ASB) in West Kameng district.
Former minister and president of ASB, D.K Thongdok, said, “Our language is at stake. Our younger generation is not well acquainted with our mother tongue; the way they speak, they lack grammar.”
Dr. Bishakha Das, a linguist from Delhi, has been working on the project to develop the orthography (alphabet), dictionary and grammar in Roman script. “Once the project is completed, we will introduce Sherdukpen as the third language in all schools under Sherdukpen jurisdictions,” Thongdok added.
Field linguist Dr. Das, who has been here for the past month as an independent researcher, is focusing on the development of the alphabet. She said, “Once the alphabet, grammar and dictionary are developed, books for readers will be introduced, and the language will soon be implemented as the third language in schools.”
Meanwhile, Khandu Thungon, the local technical head of the project, informed that a workshop had already been organized last Friday in the presence of P.K Thungon, the general secretary of Sherdukpen Blu, and local villagers.
