By Gibron Rahim

WE often speak of culture in abstract terms. In truth, a society’s culture, or cultures as is the case of a multicultural society like Guyana, is a very real and concrete part of the lives of its people. This is especially the case with language. As we celebrate Indigenous Heritage Month, it is essential that we realise the value of our languages and take steps to preserve them.

On Friday, September 7, 2018, Professor Ian Robertson gave a lecture entitled “Indigenous Languages and Guyanese Identity” at the Indigenous Village at Sophia. This lecture was a part of the series of ongoing educational lectures to mark Indigenous Heritage Month. Speaking to the Pepperpot Magazine, Professor Robertson was sure to note that he has a slightly different take on what he considers to be Indigenous languages.

The languages are grouped into three broad categories. The first group comprises the languages of Guyana’s First Peoples who were here throughout our recorded history.

The professor explained that their languages can be categorised into three further language groups. The Warrau language is the only member of its group. The Cariban language group includes Akawaio, Arecuna, Macushi, Patamona and Wai-Wai while the Arawakan language group comprises Lokono (Arawak) and Wapishana.

Professor Robertson also included languages that developed in Guyana in more recent history in his categorisation of Indigenous languages. One category includes the Creole languages that developed during the Dutch period of colonisation. “These are languages that developed here in Guyana,” said Professor Robertson, “They were developed by the slave experience in Guyana and became what we could call the vernacular language of the people of the colony.” He noted that there were at least two of these languages – Skepi Dutch in Essequibo and Berbice Dutch in Berbice. He related that Skepi Dutch has gone extinct while Berbice Dutch may still have a few speakers. Guyanese ‘Creolese’ is grouped into the third category.

Caution must be exercised, according to Professor Robertson, in language classification of Creole languages. “Since many of the words come from European languages there’s a tendency to see them as being forms of the European language,” he related. “But no language is judged on the basis of where the words come from.” Rather, “Languages are assigned on the basis of their meanings, their semantics and their structures, especially their structures,” he said. He pointed out that all Creoles have structures and sets of rules that are very different from the rules of European languages but very similar across the various Creoles.

The professor related too that groups of St. Lucians have been coming to Guyana since the turn of the last century, bringing their own Creole. This Creole, he said, is used in Mahdia and Kurupung and was used in Linden in the recent past.

Tracing the history of the languages of Guyana’s Indigenous peoples is a complex matter. “They come from a long tradition that dates back hundreds, maybe thousands of years,” explained Professor Robertson. “And we have no study specific to those [Indigenous Peoples] in Guyana which tells us exactly how far back they go,” he said. “But certainly they were here when the Europeans came.”

In Guyana, English is not the first language of the majority of students. Young children most often first learn Guyanese Creole or the Indigenous language spoken in their community. Professor Robertson noted that the issue of whether students should be taught in their first language or not and the challenges of not doing so is a complex one and requires careful analysis and discussion. “It is a fact established by education research that people learn best through their first language,” he stated. He explained that the problem is that some of these first languages are assigned a low social status and low social visibility and are thus very often discriminated against.

The dismissal of these languages has consequences, as Professor Robertson noted. Doing so leads people to believe that they are less valid as languages than the ones that are the official languages. “That does not mean that they are not capable of dealing with very complex ideas,” he noted. “But that requires conviction, people have got to know that and be able to accept that all languages have the capacity for conveying information and for helping people to understand what is going on.”

LEARNING THE SECOND LANGUAGE
While it is true that it is more difficult to learn in a second language, Professor Robertson was sure to note that it is not impossible. He pointed out that there are two downsides to doing so, however. The first is, that it may cause the learner to lose confidence in themselves and in people like them who also speak their first language. The other relates to the loss of culture as there are certain uses that are specific to an individual language, as well as activities that may be associated with that language. Professor Robertson related that the case may be that people will abandon their language and gravitate towards one that does not come naturally and easily to them. “It is not impossible to train somebody to learn through a second language, history is full of cases like that, but it is much more difficult than if they learned in the first language.”

Transitioning to learning in a second language becomes easier when education systems recognise the first language of learners. “And that really is where most educators miss out – they don’t recognise that if you start in one language or if you use one language, it is easier to learn a second one,” pointed out Professor Robertson, “because you have already stimulated the language centres in your brain.”

PRESERVING THE LANGUAGES
The preservation of the Indigenous languages is essential. “You have to because languages contain what I would call the memory of the people, the history of the people,” explained Professor Robertson. “So much of [their history] is experienced and expressed through language that, if you downplay those languages, you will lose the impact and importance of some of them.” He emphasised that these languages contain much knowledge and information and dismissing them leaves that knowledge unshared. “That kind of knowledge is lost and that kind of knowledge is important for society and it’s also important for self-respect.” Our languages identify us as belonging to a particular group and also distinguish us as different he said.

There are already languages in danger of extinction in Guyana. Professor Robertson noted that two languages – Lokono and Carib – currently have very few speakers on the coast. He said that there are a few places, such as in Wakapoa, where there are more speakers. “There are very few in places like Mashabo and they’re old,” he said. He related that, in general, the numbers are small and the language attitudes of the younger people are biased towards English.

The process of preserving a language is complex. “First of all, you have to have a positive attitude toward the language,” said Professor Robertson. People must recognise that the language is important and has worth. “It helps if there is a regular practice, especially if older people attempt to pass it onto younger people and to give it some value,” he added. A writing system might help in some cases, though modern recording technology can and does play a role in preservation. “And then, of course, education – teaching people the language and looking to ensure that it is used over a wide range of activities,” he said.