Events

Approximately 80% of living languages in Malaysia are indigenous languages, with many of them in danger of disappearing soon. In conjunction with the International Year of Indigenous Languages 2019 (IYIL2019), an exhibition, Voices of the People: An Exhibition of Indigenous Languages in Malaysia, will be held at the Centre for Malaysian Indigenous Studies (CMIS). The exhibition is being jointly organised by CMIS and the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics University of Malaya (UM). The exhibition aims to create awareness of the linguistic and cultural diversity of the indigenous people in Malaysia through curated audio and video recordings featuring stories from different indigenous communities. A range of activities will be carried out during the three and a half week long exhibition. These include performances, talks and workshops by indigenous communities. The exhibition, which is open to the public, also aims to share research and community engagement projects carried out by researchers at UM.

In Northern Sámi language, ‘Árran’ means hearth/fireplace, and we take it as an analogy to how languages allow people to come together and share their different experiences. On the Year of Indigenous Languages declared by Unesco, the main objective of our Symposium is to allow both indigenous and non-indigenous scholars, activists, and artists to discuss indigenous languages in light of the current socio-political, economic, and environmental changes. Our aim is to to exchange knowledge on best practices for the promotion of Indigenous languages, which are often listed as endangered, and to advance knowledge on the relations between Indigenous languages, ontologies, and epistemologies. The Symposium allows us to match the goals risen by Unesco by celebrating the Year of Indigenous Languages, and to effectively contribute to scholarship in developing the concept of language ecology further. Metaphorically, sharing stories and narratives, verbal art, ways of speaking, and their symbolism fuels the warmth and guarantees the continuation of the Árran.

Beyond Words: Dictionaries and Indigenous Languages highlights the complex relationship between Indigenous languages and dictionaries over several centuries, from word lists and dictionaries developed for exploration, colonization, conversion and assimilation purposes, to online language materials being developed by Indigenous communities to transmit the elders’ language knowledge to today’s youth. On display at the Canadian Language Museum Thursday, […]