Venezuelan indigenous group begins to revive its lost language (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

VENEZUELAN INDIGENOUS GROUP BEGINS TO REVIVE ITS LOST LANGUAGE

	 © UNICEF Venezuela/2006/Markisz		 
	 Juan Andres Conrado, 5, and his mother Zaida Benifa Guerra are members of the
Añu indigenous group in Venezuela.		 

  BY KUN LI
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/venezuela_37969.html

  LAGOON SINAMAICA, Venezuela, 8 January 2007 – This corner of northwestern
Venezuela is home to the Añu, one of the country’s many indigenous groups.
Añu means ‘people of water’, but today their water is polluted and their
culture and language are under threat.  

  Among the 3,500 Añu men, women and children, knowledge of their indigenous
language has been all but lost. 

  But UNICEF, working with its partners in Venezuela, has made revitalizing
indigenous cultures – including that of the Añu – a top priority.    

	 © UNICEF Venezuela/2006/Markisz		 
	 Children from the Añu indigenous group attend a class to learn their native
language.		 

  Cultural movement takes hold 

  Like all the other children in his community, Juan Andres Conrado, 5, is
unable to speak or understand the language of his ancestors. Instead, he and
his friends only speak Spanish. This deeply saddens Juan’s mother, Zaida
Benifa Guerra.  

  “We are losing our culture, especially our language,” she says. 

  With support from PROANDES (the Andean Programme of Basic Services against
Poverty – a joint project of UNICEF and Venezuela’s Ministry of Education), a
cultural movement involving many members of the community has taken hold. As a
result, Juan and his mother are now learning Añu for the first time. 

  Learning word-by-word  

  Ms. Guerra meets with a group regularly to develop strategies for reviving
the language.  

  “We hold workshops every afternoon,” she explains. “A few grandmothers and
a scholar from the state university help us recover our practically dead
language word-by-word. Gradually, we have compiled 360 words and made them into
a small dictionary.” 

  At home, Ms. Guerra teaches her newly acquired Añu vocabulary to her son.
“Everything that I have learned from my teachers, I will pass on to my
children,” she says, “so that they don’t feel ashamed of their ethnicity and
know how to speak their own language.” 

	 © UNICEF Venezuela/2006/Markisz		 
	 Felix Marcial Guerrero is one of the teachers trained to help restore the
native tongue among some 500 Añu children.		 

  Bilingual education 

  Today, Juan joins a group of children for a lesson. Felix Marcial Guerrero is
one of the teachers who have been trained to help restore the native tongue
among some 500 Añu children. Classes like this are held in both schools and
homes to make sure all children, especially the most excluded and
disadvantaged, have a chance to learn.  

  As the cultural movement progresses, textbooks and other teaching materials
have now become available with UNICEF’s help. These tools, along with the
children’s enthusiasm, have motivated the teachers. 

  “At first, the schools were very shocked,” says Mr. Guerrero, recalling his
first experience with teaching Añu in the classroom. “Today you can see a
difference. The school is accepting us, and most important, the children are
accepting us. They say, ‘come tomorrow, come tomorrow.’ Every day, they tell
us to return.” 

  Knowledge and pride 

  Preserving their language has become an urgent task for the Añu community.
They have come to the realization that success depends on everyone’s
participation, especially the young. 

  Despite his tender age, Juan understands what is at stake and how he can
help. “When I grow up I want to teach children how to speak Añu,” he says.  

  Juan’s ambition is fully supported by his mother, who wants her children to
know and be proud of their heritage. “I want them to carry it in their blood,
to go on to defend their culture everywhere they go, all over the world,” she
says.   
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