#common languages

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New Post has been published on http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2015/04/18/fearing-language-extinction-unimas-documents-languages-used-in-sarawak/

Fearing language extinction, Unimas documents languages used in Sarawak

KUCHING, April 18, 2015:

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) estimates 43% of the estimated 6,000 languages spoken in the world are endangered and four of them are found in Malaysia Borneo.

Due to this threat, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) Computer Science and Information Technology Associate Professor Dr Ranaivo Malancon and her team are working towards documenting common languages used in the state, such as those spoken by the Sarawak Malay, Melanau, Iban and Bidayuh.

“Most of these language have its similarities, but sadly, these languages have never been documented before. What we fear is the extinction of these languages,” said Malancon to The Rakyat Post after presenting a public talk on “Preserving Sarawak Languages and History through Language Processing” at the Sarawak Development Institute here.

Currently, the Unimas Sarawak Language Technology team has documented 10 hours of common languages spoken in the state.

“Like the Malay language, the only thing that puts them apart is the dialects, and these goes the same with the rest of the main ethnic language,” Malancon added.

Though most Sarawakians can speak more than one language and would likely mix the languages they speak when conversing with others, Malancon said this was not a threat but an evolution of language.

“This happens when there is diversity, and it also happens in France, where Parisienne have their own way of speaking French compared to where I am from,” said Malancon, who is from Madagascar.

Malancon describes language mix by the new generation as part of human evolution and something that could not be detered.

“Language evolution also brings continuity in the language as it is spoken daily. But if the language becomes exclusive just to one particular group, that is how languages becomes extinct as it is not passed down to the next generation,” said Malancon.

The team have identified ethnic languages found only in Sarawak, Punan Batu, with only 30 known speakers, Sian (50), Kanowit (100) and Abai Sungai in Sabah with only 400 known speakers, classified between critically endangered and definitely endangered.

While love is arguably the universal language, it is unfortunately rarely spoken. But there are, however, other languages that are regularly spoken and understood by by the vast majority of people in the world. Since the art of language too is on the verge of extinction, we decided to compile a list of top ten most common languages in the world.