… renewed focus to preserve the indigenous languages of Guyana

By Ravena Gildharie
“HALE-Ko-ba,” he says in a fluent Arawak tone, thereafter explaining, “it means ‘how do you do’.”

“If you want to say ‘good morning,’ it is ‘stapho moroko’,” adds Leeland Klenkian, an

Arawak-language tutor of Pakuri Village (St Cuthbert’s Mission), and a man who is dedicated to preserving the tribal language of his native ancestors. As a child, his grandparents taught him the traditional Arawak language, and to him and his community, native language is of vital importance to maintaining culture and identity of Guyana’s first people.

“’Dai-dakuda-dai-be’ [means] I greet you, I welcome you,” Klenkian conveys.
His teaching of the Arawak language took him on travels to several countries including Antigua, Bahamas, Canada, Suriname and Belize to showcase and promote his indigenous culture, beliefs, practices and traditions.

Over the past decade, up until last year, Pakuri was the only village in which native language training was conducted. It was sponsored by the non-profit Robinson Trust Fund and included language classes on Saturdays at Klenkian’s home. Students were offered a monetary incentive of $1,000 at the end of each class. Through the initiative, scores of young indigenous men and women of Pakuri became versed in their native language, and according to their teacher, they were able to converse at a good level with older Arawaks in the village.

However, sadly, he observed that as many of them got married and relocated or left in search of better economic opportunities in the city and along the coastland, they stopped using the language.
“Language is something if you don’t use it, you lose it, and that is what has been happening. The language is not functional at home either. Everyone is using ‘Creolese’ English and they don’t even take time to converse in Arawak to the elders so there is no channel for the language to pass on to younger children even in the home,” Klenkian related.

Most of his students, especially females, migrated or got married and went to the coast where they became resistant to using their native language.
But he is not giving up. These days, Klenkian imparts the language to youth and young children through songs, poems and skits. He recently worked with three young children who delivered the Lokono welcome and recited two poems in both indigenous and English languages at the Pakuri Heritage Celebrations earlier this month.

He also offers private tutoring sessions as he observed increasingly that when the children got older, there is a reawakening of their interest to learn the language and they often seek his help. Some families have also been utilising Klenkian’s tutoring skills to teach their young children the language.

AMERINDIAN LANGUAGES PROJECT
Across Guyana, the indigenous languages are vanishing owing to social, cultural and modern influences. Recognising this trend, the Guyana Government has launched an Amerindian Languages Project, a revival of an earlier Indigenous Language Project at the University of Guyana which was inaugurated in 1977. The University’s Amerindian Research Unit was birthed from this project.

One of the founding members of the previous initiative was the late Dr Desrey Caesar-Fox, who originated from the Akawaio-village of Waramadong. She spoke fluent Akawaio and Arecuna, as well as English, and was Guyana’s first Amerindian research assistant recruited to work on the initial languages project. She died in a vehicular accident in December 2009. At the time of her death, Dr. Fox was leading a process to translate the National Anthem into the nine indigenous languages.

Now, eight years after her death, the languages project is re-established.
Two weeks ago, a memorial lecture was held in Brooklyn, New York, during the Guyana Folk Festival, and it discussed the current project that would examine the structure of the Akawaio/Arecuna languages; phonological, grammatical, economic activities of the people and roots of the languages.

Professor Edwards said he will use “the linguistics information garnered from these descriptions to reveal to teachers of Amerindian children and to educational policymakers, the major linguistic and cultural differences between English and these languages.”
Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister, Sydney Allicock announced at the lecture that languages of the Indigenous peoples would be taught in Guyana schools.

“If our Indigenous people do not know their language, they are not complete. Language is the identity; language helps us to understand the laws of nature which allow us to have an environment; that has a healthy ecosystem,” Allicock stated.

FACTORS FOR VANISHING LANGUAGES
This is obviously welcoming news for Indigenous people such as Guy Fredericks of Nappi, Central Rupununi, who recalls being beaten in school for speaking his native Makushi language during the 1970s. He grew up hearing the language and quickly learned it as most residents then spoke Makushi. Over the years, since, he has witnessed the community moving away from the language even though there are few householdS that still maintain fluent Makushi. He still teaches his children the language at home.

Fredericks feels mixed marriages is one of the main reasons the native languages are disappearing. It is believed that when young Indigenous women get married, especially to males from the coastland, the union and family tends to gravitate more towards the husband’s culture. Fredericks feels too that some of the youth are ashamed to use their language because they fear being mocked by their friends and therefore they stick to the Creole dialect, most prevalent in society.

It is observed also that modern influences on Indigenous culture, including their music, are responsible as English lyrics and contemporary rhythms are replacing traditional indigenous culture and traditions. Music is a known channel in keeping languages alive.
In the North Rupununi, the Surama Culture Group is using music to teach the younger generation, the indigenous Makushi culture, including language. Led by Glendon Allicock and his wife, Jean, the group writes and records Indigenous songs in the Makushi dialect, featuring traditional stories.

During the period 1999 to 2007, Makushi language was taught in the community’s schools through storytelling, but it was later dropped to give way to more focus on Mathematics and English. It was found too that the young children were more inclined to learn the language when it was taught verbally and thus efforts are being made to teach them through songs.

In some remote hinterland communities such as those surrounding the Carib-populated Baramita, the Wai-Wai village of Konashen and the Patamonas-inhabited Paramakatoi, the Indigenous languages are very much alive and maintained by the youngest of children. There have been instances where public meetings led by officials from the coastland required translators for locals to better understand the message being shared with them.