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| Kirya |
Kokrajhar, Dec. 28: A dying language in Nepal has brought a Japanese scholar to the Bodo heartland in Assam.
Kazuyuki Kirya, an associate professor at Mimasaka University in Tokyo, is seeking help from Bodo linguists and scholars to compile a grammar of Bodo spoken by a minuscule Bodo population in Nepal who are known as Mech or Meche.
Bodo is recognised by the Nepal government as one among the 10 indigenous languages of the country.
“The language is on the verge of extinction because of the small population there. Moreover, in many villages, the young generation now speaks only Nepali,” Kirya told The Telegraph.
The Bodos migrated to Nepal several centuries ago.
Kirya, who speaks Bodo fluently, said: “Now, even parents converse with their children in Nepali to make them conversant with the language, knowledge of which is essential to bag government jobs. They do not have any idea of what will happen if they stop speaking their mothertongue. This is sheer killing of the language spoken by a section of the minorities.”
Kirya picked up the language while doing research in a Bodo village in Nepal.
Asked what prompted him to work on Bodo, he said: “My interest in the language was the motivation. I wanted to preserve it and after having received a grant from the Japan government, I started my project three years back. I am trying to compile a grammar and vocabulary of Bodo, among other things. My research will, however, be the work of a professional and appeal to linguists.
“I will try to encourage the Bodos to set up schools to promote education through their mothertongue. I want to help them prepare a syllabus of sorts. You have to make them think that their language is very important and needs to be preserved. We have to inculcate in them love and a sense of pride in the language.
“I will continue to work on Bodo. It is a very satisfying experience to see Bodo as a medium of instruction in Assam. Language, culture and religion are the three main criteria for identifying a community. Of these, language is the most important.”
