Obudu New Yam Festival, Bette Vernacular And The Threat Of Extinction
Bette is the major language of the Obudu people (of Cross River State). But today in my sojourn, I have met children born in Obudu villages, who went to primary, secondary and tertiary schools in the State and even did their National Youth Service in the State or neighboring States, who can’t speak our Bette language fluently. Some understand but cannot communicate.
Everyone of us who wrote primary School leaving certificate examination knows UNESCO.
They have warned that of the existing 7,151 certified languages, about 40 percent are endangered, with neglible number of speakers.
UNESCO predicts that about 1,500 languages may no longer be spoken by the end of the 21st century and the world will lose not just the languages but a huge wealth of transmitting so many secrets.
23 of the so called major 7,151 major languages are promoted because of political dominance, economic benefits and cultural hegemony, and the 23 have approximately more than 4 billion speakers globally.
According to UNESCO records, languages like, Ter Sami, is now spoken by only two elderly people in the Kola peninsula in the north-west of Russia. It had about 450 speakers at the end of the 19th century until it was prohibited in schools in the 1930s.
The Kayardild language is now only spoken fluently by 4 people, all elderly aboriginals in the Bentinck and Mornington Islands in Queensland, Australia.
The Lengilu language from the north-eastern area of Kalimantan, Indonesia is now spoken by only 4 elderly people.
While the Mabire language in the Oulek village in Chad is now spoken only by the Chief of Mabire, so people doubt whether he are still fluent.
The Tehuelche language, originally the language of nomadic hunters in Chile has only the last four speakers alive.
There are just two people left who can speak the language of Ayapaneco in Mexico, fluently.
Manuel Segovia, 75, and Isidro Velazquez, 69, live 500 metres apart in the village of Ayapa in the tropical lowlands of the southern state of Tabasco, but they refuse to talk to each other because of personal differences.
So on this occasion of our New Yam Festival and our cultural amalgamation, I wish to solicit that we join the efforts of UNESCO to be part of the work to see how the world will not lose any of it’s operational orifice.
Bette language must be, and remain one of the many instruments of transmission of wisdom through the annals of history.
We must encourage and deliberately train and teach our offsprings that treasure as a diadem of eternity. If we fail, history will also fail to vindicate us.
Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.
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