THE KUNAMA LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL HERITAGE .RKPHA 5th August 1999
The first
written form and use of the Kunama language by the Europeans goes as far back as
to the times of the arrival of the first missionaries in Kunma land.
This, as well
documented, took place at the same time as the then Italian government was
colonising Eritrea.
The
missionaries, both catholics and protestants, used their own Latin or European
alphabets to decode Kunama words and learn the language.
They also
wrote prayer books and hymns in Kunama language.
The
missionaries found it easy to write the Kunama language, using their own Latin
alphabets, because Kunama has no gutteral sounds like, e.g. the Tigrigna
language.
Kunama, like
the Italian language, has doubling of letters and sounds as one reads like one
writes.
The Kunama
themselves had little difficulties in learning the Italian language because of
these similarities.
The Kunama
people of the colonial times learnt and spoke Italian long before they were
exposed to, both spoken and written Tigrigna language.
Based on this
back-ground language exposure, the Kunama intellectuals of the colonial and our
times were and are able to expand their knowledge of other European languages
like: English, French, German, Swedish and so on.
One of the
very lengthly discussed upon topics, by the Kunama representatives during their
meeting, was the concern reached the Kunama abroad by those at home that, the
present Eritrean governmet had decided and imposed on young Kunama generation,
the use of the Tigrigna alphabets to read and write Kunama language.
This move is
seen by all Kunama as a deliberate and well-planned attempt by the present
Eritrean government to disrupt, distort and totally destroy not only the Kunama
language, but the whole of the Kunama cultural heritage.
The Tigrigna
alphabets and the language are localised and strictly limited to the Eritrean
and the Ethiopian Tigrians.
This ethnic
group itself is compelled, after the initial schooling stages, to learn and use
the Latin or the European alphabets in order to be exposed to and acquire the
knowledge of the European languages like: English, French, German, Italian,
Swedish and so on.
For the
Kunama, this process, up to now, has been taking place in reverse order.
Any European
or other national wishing to learn the Kunama language would now be obliged to
acquaint him/herself first with the Tigrigna alphabets before proceeding to
learn the Kunama language.
The Kunama
today are, therefore, confronted with the biggest question:
WHY IS THIS
BACKWARD MOVE BEING IMPOSED ON THEIR LANGUAGE by the present Eritrean
government?
After
covering all these and many other extremely challenging questions and
reflections, the KUNAMA REPRESENTATIVES, unanimously agreed upon that, beginning
with the genocidal attempts by Ras Alula on the Kunama ethnic group, the pursuit
has now reached the final stage of attempting to destroy the Kunama people
linguistically and culturally.
The
KUNAMA REPRESENTATIVES, therefore, are, again, asking, on behalf of ALL THE
KUNAMA PEOPLE, the present and the future Eritrean governments to drop this
"EVIL PLAN” and spare the Kunama from new attempts to eliminate them from the
Eritrean soil.
The
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE KUNAMA PEOPLE AT HOME AND
ABROAD RKPHA 5th August 1999
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