BY SMITA MAGAR
KATHMANDU, Jan 9 - Soma Devi Dura is 82. Given the life expectancy of an average Nepali, she is nearing her last days. Soma Devi's death won't merely be the death of an individual. The only source of a language of Nepal's western hills will die with her.
Researchers and university professors say the octogenarian lady is the only native speaker of the Dura language, which used to be spoken in parts of Lamjung and Tanahun districts in western Nepal.
"My finding is that the only living person who can speak Dura is Soma Devi," says Kedar Bilash Nagila, a PhD scholar who is writing a thesis on the critically endangered Dura language.
Nagila says Soma Devi is the only authentic source of information for the thesis which he is preparing as a sequel to his MA thesis.
Professor Madhav Prasad Pokharel, a senior linguist at the Central Department of Linguistics at Tribhuvan University says, "In case anything happens to Soma Devi, the entire effort to preserve the endangered language will receive a jolt."
Soma Devi lives in Handikhola of Dura Danda, Lamjung. Her husband, son and five daughters cannot speak Dura.
Nagila said lack of transmission of the Dura language between generations is the major reason behind its becoming endangered, while the dominance of Nepali speakers in surrounding areas is another reason.
Modnath Prashrit, a culture expert, said a language becomes endangered when the community to which it belongs decides that it is an impediment. "Children may discard their native tongue after realizing that other more-widely spoken languages are more useful," he explained.
Kishore Dura, president of Dura Seva Samaj, added, "Government policy promoting only the Khas (Nepali) language also led to the endangering of indigenous languages like Dura".
Dura Seva Samaj and researcher Nagila have been planning to bring Soma Devi to Kathmandu with the support of the National Foundation for Development of Indigenous Nationalities so that the language of which only 1,500 words and 250 sentences have been documented so far can be documented.
"We are very corncerned about the threat faced by the Dura language,"said Lok Bahadur Thapa, member secretary of the Foundation. He said the Foundation is holding discussions with both the researcher and the Dura Seva Samaj to bring Soma Devi to Kathmandu.
To add to the threat faced by Dura, Soma Devi is blind and deaf and would need special hearing equipment to facilitate documentation of the language. "We hope we will be able to overcome the problems soon," said Thapa.
Kishore said there is a ray of hope for the language as it is now being taught to children of the Dura community with the help of the 1,500 words and 250 sentences that have been documented. Two books have already been prepared on the language. "We are trying to publish an edited version of the books," he said.
Prof Yogendra Prasad Yadav, chief of the Central Department of Linguistics at TU, said, "The key to getting a language revitalized is getting a new generation of speakers."
(Source: The Kathmandu Post)
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well, i personally don't believe in these stuff ..culture, tradition and languages ..which have pushed asian back ages . what i belive is one language and a liberal society . however, i am quite sadden by the news of only dura speaker ..
dura is a critically endangered language of nepal.and the ethnic group that has historically spoken it.It has been classified in the west bodish branch of Tibetan languages,though more recent work separates it out as an independent branch of tibeto_burman.many of dura hav switch to speaking nepali,and the dura languages has sometimes been thought to be extinct.Some of the people who have switched to nepali for their daily speech still use Dura only for saying papers.
the ethnic Dura people mostly live in the lamjung District.with some in the Tanahun district of Gandaki zones of central nepal.
The mostly live on farms in hilly country.Different recent census counts have reported the number of Dura people anywhere from 3,397 to5,676.
soma devi dura is only the authantic source of information of dura languages.she is ALMOST 85 years old.she lives in hadikhola dada gau in neta V.D.C.of Lamjung district.She is my neighbour grandmother.My house is next to her.she used to tell us stories events that has happened in the past times of her when i was child about 9/10 years old.usually in the evening i used to go to her house with my grand mother they used to discuss ,shares their discussion on thing i listen that the dura language is stopped to speak in 1990B.S.
there is a secret things that may be known by me becoz i searched through most of the articles news internet but i could not find the satisfaction answer, she told me that dura language is stopped from 1990 due to some reason of being lopst of the 1 person of village.some people took him away in trimes of rana's rule she told that her father were quit afraid due to not returning of that person and the other peoples are also slowely stopped to speak the dura languages thinking that they may be also taken like that and another fact of bieng less population of duras peoples is that due to changing thir cast as gurung and magar.
in that period of time most of duras were not taken in army foce .only joining the brfitish force or indian army force they can feed their family and there will be different respect to those in the villages.
my grand father dhampey also has changed his cast from dura to gurung whiole joining the indian arm force.not only my grand father many peoples of dura changed it.
most of the old grand peoples are passed away even my grand mother and grandfather and the husband of soma devi dura husbaand too.Non of my village uncles aunt brother sister speaks dura language even i dont i feel so sod.
my neighbouring aunt EKA DURA used to teach dura languages in primary schools of village for the students By getting concept that dura languages is about to extinc.After some month she told me that she left to teach dura languages.because of some problems of her house.she told that by going to primary schools and teaching the students as teacher is good but i got nothing .just only the way of time pass.she told that she has to handle the work of her house.her mother in law stopped her to teach the languages shesaid that if shee had to teach over there then she has to get some amount of money.in free of cost no one is rfeady to do soo shse thinks that thats only the way to time passs.i feel very sad when i heard it.
dura is a critically endangered language of nepal.and the ethnic group that has historically spoken it.It has been classified in the west bodish branch of Tibetan languages,though more recent work separates it out as an independent branch of tibeto_burman.many of dura hav switch to speaking nepali,and the dura languages has sometimes been thought to be extinct.Some of the people who have switched to nepali for their daily speech still use Dura only for saying papers.
the ethnic Dura people mostly live in the lamjung District.with some in the Tanahun district of Gandaki zones of central nepal.
The mostly live on farms in hilly country.Different recent census counts have reported the number of Dura people anywhere from 3,397 to5,676.
soma devi dura is only the authantic source of information of dura languages.she is ALMOST 85 years old.she lives in hadikhola dada gau in neta V.D.C.of Lamjung district.She is my neighbour grandmother.My house is next to her.she used to tell us stories events that has happened in the past times of her when i was child about 9/10 years old.usually in the evening i used to go to her house with my grand mother they used to discuss ,shares their discussion on thing i listen that the dura language is stopped to speak in 1990B.S.
there is a secret things that may be known by me becoz i searched through most of the articles news internet but i could not find the satisfaction answer, she told me that dura language is stopped from 1990 due to some reason of being lopst of the 1 person of village.some people took him away in trimes of rana's rule she told that her father were quit afraid due to not returning of that person and the other peoples are also slowely stopped to speak the dura languages thinking that they may be also taken like that and another fact of bieng less population of duras peoples is that due to changing thir cast as gurung and magar.
in that period of time most of duras were not taken in army foce .only joining the brfitish force or indian army force they can feed their family and there will be different respect to those in the villages.
my grand father dhampey also has changed his cast from dura to gurung whiole joining the indian arm force.not only my grand father many peoples of dura changed it.
most of the old grand peoples are passed away even my grand mother and grandfather and the husband of soma devi dura husbaand too.Non of my village uncles aunt brother sister speaks dura language even i dont i feel so sod.
my neighbouring aunt EKA DURA used to teach dura languages in primary schools of village for the students By getting concept that dura languages is about to extinc.After some month she told me that she left to teach dura languages.because of some problems of her house.she told that by going to primary schools and teaching the students as teacher is good but i got nothing .just only the way of time pass.she told that she has to handle the work of her house.her mother in law stopped her to teach the languages shesaid that if shee had to teach over there then she has to get some amount of money.in free of cost no one is rfeady to do soo shse thinks that thats only the way to time passs.i feel very sad when i heard it.
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