The human race and society had evolved, transformed and changed tremendously over the centuries. Our living, the food we eat, an immense number of inventions and innovations, how we live as a society. Through the test of time, we had seen, learn and gain many things, as well as, losing many things in the world. One part of the human race around the world that is in danger of losing it is the art of language.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognises this area of huge and grave concern. They have a website dedicated to endangered languages around the world. Inevitably, probably a lot of us around the world might not be too concerned with the loss of languages. This is something that we all need to stand up and take a look into as well.
In Singapore, do we have languages that are endangered of being lost forever? Yes, there are! I was introduced to this language by my friend Ida, she shared briefly with us, a group of fellow heritage enthusiast about this language. I will be the first to confess that I never heard of this language before. What is the name of this language?
This is Kristang, a 500 year old critically-endangered heritage language of the Portuguese-Eurasian community in Singapore and Malacca. While I do know about the Eurasian community in Singapore, I never know about their language Kristang.
Festa di Papia Kristang – 1st Kristang Language Festival will be held at the Asian Civilisations Museum from 20th to 21st May 2017. I would like to take this opportunity to help publicise Festa di Papia Kristang and to help raise awareness of endangered languages. This event is open to all, regardless of heritage, experience, and language, who appreciates history, heritage, culture, conservation and preservation.
What is the Kristang language all about?
The language was once widely spoken in the Portuguese-Eurasian community in Singapore and Malacca until the 1930s; however, in Singapore at present, the language is unrecognised nationally and institutionally, intergenerational transmission of the language has ceased, and few Singaporeans even know it exists. Kristang, like every community language, represents a crucial and intangible part of the heritage of the Portuguese-Eurasian community, and immediate preservation and revitalisation efforts are required if the language is to be saved from extinction. The Kodrah†Kristang (‘Awaken, Kristang’) long-term revitalisation initiative thus seeks to revitalise the language to a more healthy state by 2035.
* *Information courtesy of Kodrah Kristang**
What does the Kristang Language Festival hopes to address and achieve?
- promoting awareness of the critically endangered status of Kristang
- encouraging the preservation of Kristang among Singaporeans of Portuguese-Eurasian descent.
- developing in all Singaporeans an awareness of and respect for the value of the heritage of our different races and ethnic communities, including language and culture-specific knowledge.
- seeding awareness of Kristang’s existence into broader Singaporean public discourse such that the preservation of the language starts to accumulate both institutional support and support from the general public.
* *Information courtesy of Kodrah Kristang**
There are a number of different events and activities lined up for Kristang Language Festival 2017 on 20th to 21st May 2017. For more information, check out the URL links below
Website: http://festa.kristang.com/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/kodrahkristang/
Email: kodrah@kristang.com
Do help to Pay It Forward and Pass It On, share it with your family, relatives and friends on the Festa di Papia Kristang! Let’s help to keep our diverse history, heritage and culture of Singapore alive and strong, not just for the current generation, also for the future generations and beyond.
* Information and picture courtesy of Kodrash Kristang *