MIRI, April 27 (Bernama) -- The Kenyah language, which is the spoken language of about 100,000 Orang Ulu in Sarawak, can become extinct if no efforts are made to preserve it.
Baram member of parliament Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan said the language was increasingly being threatened by assimilation and the wide use of more dominant languages like Malay and English, especially among young Kenyahs, one of the ethnic groups of Sarawak's Orang Ulu community.
Speaking to reporters after launching the Kenyah radio broadcast at the RTM station here, he said there were already signs of declining use of the language among the younger generation of Kenyahs.
He said this had also resulted in Kenyah folk stories and songs being narrated less and less within the commnunity.
He, however, commended RTM for initiating the Kenyah radio broadcast as he saw it as the right move to ensure the survival of the language.
Sagan, who is also International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister, said the radio broadcast would enable the Kenyahs, especially those in the remote areas and not proficient in Bahasa Malaysia, to understand current national and global issues better.
Meanwhile, deputy director-general of Broadcasting (Strategic Broadcasting), Datuk Norhayati Ismail, said RTM started the Kenyah broadcast on April 1 using the 7270KHz shortwave frequency and 98.0MHz on the FM frequency.
She said by using the shortwave frequency, the broadcast could be heard almost throughout the country including areas across Sarawak's difficult topography which could not receive the FM frequency.
"The Kenyah radio broadcast is part of the Broadcasting Department's approach for fast dissemination of the latest information to the community," she said.
Sarawak acting director of Broadcasting, Monshi Abdullah, said for a start, the Kenyah broadcast would be for one hour of news bulletin and radio massaging service but it could be extended to include other programmes in future.
-- BERNAMA
Baram member of parliament Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan said the language was increasingly being threatened by assimilation and the wide use of more dominant languages like Malay and English, especially among young Kenyahs, one of the ethnic groups of Sarawak's Orang Ulu community.
Speaking to reporters after launching the Kenyah radio broadcast at the RTM station here, he said there were already signs of declining use of the language among the younger generation of Kenyahs.
He said this had also resulted in Kenyah folk stories and songs being narrated less and less within the commnunity.
He, however, commended RTM for initiating the Kenyah radio broadcast as he saw it as the right move to ensure the survival of the language.
Sagan, who is also International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister, said the radio broadcast would enable the Kenyahs, especially those in the remote areas and not proficient in Bahasa Malaysia, to understand current national and global issues better.
Meanwhile, deputy director-general of Broadcasting (Strategic Broadcasting), Datuk Norhayati Ismail, said RTM started the Kenyah broadcast on April 1 using the 7270KHz shortwave frequency and 98.0MHz on the FM frequency.
She said by using the shortwave frequency, the broadcast could be heard almost throughout the country including areas across Sarawak's difficult topography which could not receive the FM frequency.
"The Kenyah radio broadcast is part of the Broadcasting Department's approach for fast dissemination of the latest information to the community," she said.
Sarawak acting director of Broadcasting, Monshi Abdullah, said for a start, the Kenyah broadcast would be for one hour of news bulletin and radio massaging service but it could be extended to include other programmes in future.
-- BERNAMA
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