The Most Endangered Language Has Just One Living Speaker, And She’s Trying to Save It (Page 4 ) | September 12, 2024
Annonce:
The Last N|uu Speaker
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Around the 1990s, about 20 people stepped forward, all N|uu speakers. But by December 2021, the last one died, leaving only Esau. But her mission was already well underway. For 20 years, she worked with Dr. Kerry Jones, a linguist and Director of African Tongue, and other members of her community to create a digital N|uu dictionary. Although she had never been able to read, Esau worked with Snyman to author a N|uu children’s book titled Qhoi n|a Tijho (Tortoise and Ostrich).
“Her granddaughter, Claudia can speak the language. Not fluently, but as an additional language. But she’s literate and Ouma Katrina isn’t literate, so between the two of them, it’s a good combination,” said Dr. Jones.
