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In a small village known as Bunyakiri within the japanese Congo’s rain forest, a group of Central African foragers be taught to jot down their indigenous language with 가, 나, 다.
The Chitembo Jeongeum Writing system, devised by 4 Korean linguists, is an adaptation of the Korean alphabet, Hangeul, to transcribe the sounds of the language spoken by this specific tribe of Twa hunter-gatherers, one among a number of teams of individuals often called Pygmies for his or her quick stature. Chitembo is the language this group speaks and Jeongeum comes from “Hunmin jeongeum,” the Fifteenth-century doc first describing the Korean language, and one other identify for Hangeul.
“Academics from a Hangeul college in Los Angeles first taught (the brand new writing system to) 15 native major college lecturers in January 2020, after which folks from the Hunmin jeongeum Society (in Seoul) went to show the next month. Then I started educating them,” mentioned Rev. Choi Koan-shin, who has been doing missionary work among the many Pygmies since 2013.
“About 40 Twa adults and practically 300 youngsters have discovered the Chitembo Jeongeum alphabet up to now, however they don’t seem to be proficient but,” he mentioned in an interview with The Korea Herald.
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Rev. Choi Koan-shin explains the Chitembo Jeongeum script, which was particularly created by Korean linguists to transcribe the language of the Twa folks, an indigenous tribe residing in japanese Congo. |
It’s unknown how many individuals converse Chitembo, however it’s estimated that between 500,000 and 700,000 folks perceive the language, Choi defined.
They by no means had a writing system to report their historical past or tradition with, and have adopted the identical methods of residing for hundreds of years. The Democratic Republic of Congo makes use of the Roman alphabet, however over 95 p.c of the Pygmies there are illiterate.
The concept to create a writing system for them was conceived in 2015 when the sister of a Pygmy tribal chief visited Korea for a cultural alternate occasion organized by the missionaries, and heard a couple of modified model of Hangeul invented for an Indonesian ethnic minority known as Cia-Cia, and requested the identical for her folks.
Choi requested So Kang-chun, then a professor of Korean language training at Jeonju College, who served as chief of the Nationwide Institute of Korean Language from 2018 by 2021, for assist, and So pulled it off with three different professors: Kim Ju-won of Seoul Nationwide College, Ko Dong-ho of Jeonbuk Nationwide College and Park Han-sang of Hongik College.
Regardless of the Pygmies’ battle for survival, a lot of them have no idea why they should be taught the alphabet. However there are some who need their youngsters to be taught it for a greater life.
“To show them something, we first have to feed them to make them come to highschool,” Choi mentioned.
“What’s fascinating is, for those who educate (the Chitembo Jeongeum Writing system to) youngsters, they’ll write their names in half an hour. But it surely takes months to show adults the right way to write their names.”
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Rev. Choi with a Twa household |
Reaching Bunyakiri from South Korea requires a flight to Rwanda and a drive to the border of Congo, earlier than taking a jeep from the border after which switching to a bike as a result of floor situations.
The Pygmies in Bunyakiri have been evicted from an space they used to stay in, because the Congo authorities determined to construct a nationwide park to guard endangered gorillas, which the Pygmies typically ate up.
The tribe then needed to transfer round in the hunt for meals, and have been typically pushed out from wherever they settled by “Bantu,” which Pygmies use to consult with locals exterior of their group.
The combating continued, and when Choi requested them what may cease it, the Pygmies replied, “Please educate us.”
Palms for the Little (HFL), the missionary group that Choi is a part of, can be translating the Bible into the Chitembo language through the use of the Chitembo Jeongeum Writing system.
A mean Pygmy girl on this area provides start to 10 to fifteen youngsters, and a few 70 p.c of the infants die of malnutrition or sickness earlier than they attain the age of 5, based on Choi.
Most of them eat as soon as a day if they’re fortunate, and the typical life expectancy of Pygmies that survive infancy is about 46.
Just a few have discovered to make charcoal, which they promote to different tribes for a month-to-month family revenue of about $10, and a few develop potatoes and different greens. However there is no such thing as a solution to defend the Pygmies when they’re evicted by different tribes, as they don’t legally personal the land.
“These folks’s want is to have the ability to stay like different folks in Africa, to have a spot to stay, as a substitute of residing beneath the eaves of different folks’s roofs,” the reverend mentioned.
Along with different missionary teams, HFL constructed a nursing faculty, which was set to open in early January, along with a church and first college in Bunyakiri.
To assist the tribe discover methods to help themselves, HFL has taught them the right way to sew, increase livestock, make cleaning soap and palm oil.
(sophie@heraldcorp.com)
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