The death of several languages and dialects has been documented by the United Nations. The extinction of languages has several reasons, chief among which is the dominance of majority languages on the minority. As globalization increases, indigenous languages stand the risk of extinction unless the speakers of such languages take an active part in the preservation of their tongue.

The politics of hegemony and the migration of the rural folks to the urban centers present other risks to languages that are unwritten. As the economic activities in what was a once rural community change, the young people leave the villages and have less opportunity to speak their once beloved language in the cities. Studies have also found that individuals are more likely to speak a language used as a medium of instruction in schools since the speaking of such tongue shows them as educated.

Conversely, those languages not used as a medium of instruction become the language of the uneducated and unsophisticated. It is the main reason the youth refuse to speak the language of their parents that they deem rural. For these reasons, we have undertaken the Annang language project as a labor of love in order to protect our beloved tongue. This is an enormous responsibility, but we feel honored and humbled at the opportunity and invite others to join us.

Please visit www.annangheritage.org and see how to become a member of our organization. We welcome your feedback and comments.

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