How is the ancient Indian language of Aka-BBC News in Serbian
When the Boa older deceased, she was the last one spoken by the language aka-bo, or Bo, in the Andaman Islands in India, which is believed to be thousands of years old.
It belonged to a large family of the Andamanian phlegms in this archipelago in the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, between the Bengal Bay and the Andaman Sea.
As a linguist, Professor Anvita Abi tried to learn this language for years before the Boa older deceased 2010 when she had about 85. years.
Speaking for the show of the World Service BBC Witness HistoryAbi remembered the day she heard the boa of the older deceased « she took some valuable ».
« This language was spoken in isolation, did not come into contact with other languages.
« He was a gold mine for me, because he may have been one of the oldest languages, » Abi says.
Professor Abi says it was the first and last person who recorded the voice of Boe Elder.
On her shots, Boa older in Hindi, says, « Don’t forget our language. »
A few years before her death, Abi traveled to the Andaman Islands to document some of the oldest languages in the world, including aka-bo.
Her work finally turned into a vocabulary that was published a year after the death of Boe Elder.
But work on the dictionary was not easy.
Initially, Boa older did not want to spend time with Professor Abi.
Since Tsunami, who followed the earthquake in the Indian Ocean 2004, destroyed the Community of Boe Elder, all members moved to a humanitarian camp.
Abi recalls that it was difficult to collect data because community members lost their homes.
« And in such a situation, to ask them, » Can you tell me this, what is it saying, and can you sing a song? ‘ – It would be a real paradox. «
Over time, the Boa older began gradually accepting a professor.
« I spent days, weeks and months with her in the jungles of the Straight island, where these communities are inhabited, » Abi remembers.
After the death of his parents and his wife, the Boa of the older was the only one who spoke the language aka-bo, the professor.
« She didn’t have a family, she had long lost her husband … and she didn’t have children.
« She was often very lonely and had to learn the Andamanian variant of Hindi language so she could communicate with people. »
In order to alleviate loneliness, the Boa older often sang and talked with himself and with birds.
« I asked her why he was talking to birds.
« She said, ‘Don’t you know that they are ours? They are the only creatures in this world that understands me' ».
The inhabitants of the Andaman islands are not hunting or eaten birds because they consider them their ancestors.
Over the years, they became friends.
Professor Abi was from the Indian capital of New Delhi, where she lived, often traveled to the Island of Straight, in the central part of the Andeman Islands.
« She realized I was serious, » he says.
« She was very happy when I was on the island straight.
« She would keep me hand and wouldn’t let me go.
« She believed that while I was on the island, everyone was trying to speak to Greatandomanian languages to make matter or proved to know it.
« And if as soon as I went, they would start using Hindi language again. »
In the last years of life, the older one felt bad.
Professor Abi knew she would lose a friend and the last man who speaks aka aka-bo.
« She was sick, I wanted to talk to her phone, but she couldn’t talk.
« She coughed a lot. »
And then the members of the community received the sad news of the death of Boe Elder.
« I was partly expected, but when it happened, I was shaken a lot, » she said.
Aby adds that she was « helpless » to revive the language he was extinct.
After six years of research, the first vocabulary was created four endangered tribal languages, including Aka-Bo, which are spoken in the Andaman Islands.
The dictionary was published in 2011. years.
« Nemo I watched the languages, the speech forms extinct one after my eyes.
« I couldn’t do anything, » Abi says.
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