“Indigenous languages are repositories of traditional ecological knowledge, which encompasses a holistic understanding of the environment, including spiritual connections, conservation ethics, and cultural values. – Through their languages, indigenous communities articulate and express their worldviews, cosmologies, and relationships with the natural world. This knowledge is embedded in narratives, myths, songs, and oral traditions, reflecting the intimate bond between indigenous cultures and the environment. – Preserving indigenous languages safeguards this traditional ecological knowledge, enabling future generations to learn from their ancestors’ wisdom and adapt it to contemporary sustainability challenges.” Isaac Christopher, L. (2023). A Right to Protect Indigenous Languages: A Threat Against Extinction.
The documentation of indigenous languages and knowledge forms the basis for further developments in all sectors, such as education, health, social and natural sciences, art and culture, among others. Of outmost significance remains the participation of indigenous communities in the process of documentation ensuring authenticity and overwriting previous biases. Thus a priority is the building of partnerships between indigenous communities and institutions to support documentation and research actions.
Challenges
Strategies
Language standardization and development
Actions |
Actors |
|---|---|
| Create Phonetics and Phonology resources | Linguists, Community language experts |
| Compile and publish Lexicons (Dictionaries) | Linguists, Community language experts |
| Create Semantic, syntax and spelling standards | Linguists, Community language experts |
Document so far omitted history and cultural heritage
Actions |
Actors |
|---|---|
| Record oral testimonies and write up (such as history of Chief Fritz Arebeb) | Historians, Cultural org, Community leaders, |
Document indigenous knowledge
Actions |
Actors |
|---|---|
| Establish partnerships between communities and knowledge and information institutions to conduct joint valid and relevant documentation of Indigenous knowledge |
Digitalise documentation for further dissemination and access
Actions |
Actors |
|---|---|
| Encourage the digitalisation of traditional language artefacts (poems, songs, stories,..) | Language community |
| Develop Indigenous language tools |
Conduct and document Indigenous language and Indigenous knowledge research
Actions |
Actors |
|---|---|
| Conduct psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic studies to understand language processing in local contexts | Language community |
| Support publication of scholarly work on research findings on Indigenous language and Indigenous knowledge |
Initiatives
Hunting with the Ju/’hoansi in the Kalahari: A co-created VR gesture application
The Donkerbos Ju/’hoansi community in Namibia collaborated with researchers from Namibia University of Science and Technology & Aalborg University to create a VR application aimed at preserving their indigenous language and knowledge. The application told a traditional hunting story, narrated by an elder and demonstrated by both an elder and youth, capturing the community’s rich oral traditions. The VR experience served as a crucial tool for preserving the Ju/’hoan language, with all instructions and storytelling delivered in the community’s native tongue.
