Lexicons To Help Preserve Native Tongues

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam - The Language and Literature Bureau (DBP) is in the process of compiling dusun-Malay and Belait-Malay language dictionaries as a way to keep alive the seven native languages of Brunei, said its acting director yesterday.

The bureau has strived to keep the indigenous languages alive by using dictionaries as a platform to sustain Brunei's culture and heritage, Hjh Aminah Hj Momin said at an acoustic phonetics workshop in Berakas.

Plans for Bisaya and Murut language dictonaries are also on the way, she told staff at the Lexicography Unit which does the compilation and writing of dictionaries.

"This plan will take some time because the unit faces challenges such as lack of manpower and knowledgeable experts," Hjh Aminah said, noting that experts in linguistics, semantics and phonetics were sorely needed in order to generate a written system for each of Brunei's seven native languages.

The three-day workshop by dr Sato Hirobumi, senior lecturer in Malay language and linguistics at Universiti Brunei darussalam, is aimed at familiarising staff of the Lexicography Unit with using acoustic phonetics to document Bruneian languages.

Since its establishment in 1961, the bureau has produced dktionaries documenting Brunei- Malay, Kedayan, Tutong and regional Malay languages. The publication of the dictionaries is intended to enrich the Malay language by documenting its various Brunei dialects and to prevent their extinction, due to the decreasing number of speakers in the current generation.

The workshop will tackle one of the main challenges facing the survival of the seven indigenous languages - the lack of a written system.

Phonetic analysis of language has proven to be more effective, said Hjh Aminah, and the main task that must be addressed is to generate graphemes (written characters) and phonemes (units of sound) based on experimental phonology.

"The task undertaken by staff is heavy and challenging; but it is crucial for the construction, development and standardisation (of the Malay language) in line with the principles of dBP," she added.

The four governing principles of the dBP are to improve the prestige of the Malay language; integrate spelling and pronounciation as well as provide technical words for Malay; adopt the use of the Malay as the official language of the country; and to encourage the learning of Malay.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times (Quratul-Ain Bandial)

Source: http://borneobackpakers.blogspot.com
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