Two To Three Native Languages In Papua Annually Become Extinct

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Two to three native languages in the Indonesian province of Papua become extinct every year, according to Professor Arief Rachman, chairman of the Indonesian National Commission for UNESCO at the Ministry of National Education.

"Every year, we lose two or three native languages in Papua as they are no longer used for communication," Rachman stated during the commemoration of International Mother Language Day at the Embassy of Bangladesh here on Sunday.

He pointed out that there are at least 783 ethnic languages across Indonesia, and some 400 of them are spoken in the land of Papua.

The ethnic languages in Indonesia belong to both the Austronesian or Malay language families, and non-Austronesian or Trans New Guinean language families.

Particularly, the languages in the eastern part of Indonesia are classified as minority languages due to the constant decline in the number of their speakers.

According to Arief, language is the most potent tool for maintaining and developing the cultural wealth of a nation.

"When a language is lost, a culture or tradition is also lost," he emphasized.

Therefore, Arief has encouraged parents to insist that their children speak in their native language.

Nevertheless, he acknowledged that currently, social insistence to converse in national and foreign languages was very high.

"But, at least, within the scope of the family, the mother tongue should still be used as often as as possible," he affirmed. (WDY)