Many Aboriginal tongues may soon face extinction

Languages * According to Paul Li, over 1,000 of the more than 5,000 languages spoken around the world belong to the Austronesian family. * The Formosan group originally encompassed 20 to 30 languages, but over half of them are already extinct, including Siraya, Basay, and Qauqaut, with few, if any, surviving examples of their written scripts. * The situation is no better for other languages like Thao, Kavalan, Kanakanavu and Saaroa, because in most cases there are only around 10 native speakers, most of whom are elderly.

Despite rich linguistic diversity, the Formosan group of languages -- the native tongues of Taiwan's Aborigines -- face extinction within the next 50 years, according to the results of an ongoing government-commissioned study released yesterday.

"Although the Formosan group of languages holds a key position among the languages of Austronesia because of its unique features, I am afraid that it is doomed to eventual extinction," said Paul Li (李壬癸), of the Institute of Linguistics at the Academia Sinica, who is conducting the research.

Li the remarks at a routine weekly press conference of the National Science Council (NSC, 國科會), where he discussed his project, "Saving Formosan from Extinction," which is partly funded by the council.

The Formosan languages are part of a widespread family called the Austronesian languages, which are spoken throughout the islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

According to Li, over 1,000 of the more than 5,000 languages spoken around the world belong to the Austronesian family.

The Formosan group originally encompassed 20 to 30 languages, but over half of them are already extinct, including Siraya, Basay, and Qauqaut, with few, if any, surviving examples of their written scripts.

Those languages still in use are on the verge of extinction. Only one old lady, from Puli (埔里) in Nantou County, for example,speaks Pazih.

"Pazih is destined to die out because the only person who can speak it is already 89-years old," Li said.

The situation is no better for other languages like Thao, Kavalan, Kanakanavu and Saaroa, because in most cases there are only around 10 native speakers, most of whom are elderly.

The Formosan languages were once described as a "gift from God" by Nature magazine because of their variety and complexity.

"From a linguistic perspective, the Formosan group is the most important of the Austronesian family because its languages have the highest levels of retention [of the linguistic forms of ancient languages]," said Ho Da-ang (何大安), director of the Institute of Linguistics.

Li attempted to preserve Aboriginal languages by recording books, folklore and songs in digital format and editing dictionaries of the individual Aboriginal languages.

The government has made efforts in recent years to revive Aboriginal languages. In addition to funding the production of dictionaries of the major languages, it has also established programs to train and certify teachers of these tongues.

The teaching of Aboriginal languages in elementary schools has become widespread, with over 2,000 teachers trained to teach them.

Li, however, questioned the value of such efforts, saying that the best way to ensure the survival of the languages was to encourage Aboriginal parents, including those married to non-Aboriginals, to speak their language to their children.

"The only way for these languages to survive is for the Aborigines to start treasuring their legacy and using the languages to their daily lives," said Li, adding that language is the essence of a culture.

"We cannot sit back and watch these languages die," he said.