Only surviving Dura speaker keen to teach

BY THIRA L BHUSAL
KATHMANDU, March 28

Kiu means water. Rilu means cow. Gosay means ox. And, railo means nanny goat in the Dura language, octogenarian Soma Devi Dura explained.

Eighty-three-year-old Soma is the only surviving native speaker of this indigenous language of Nepal, which falls under the Tibeto-Burman group, according to linguists and researchers. It used to be spoken in parts of Lamjung and Tanahun districts in western Nepal.

According to the experts, without Soma, this indigenous language would have been as dead as the dodo.
However, Soma the only resource person with primary knowledge of the language, Soma, is keen to teach it to others.

“How can a once vibrant language die out. It will not,” a very confident Soma said, adding, “It’s so good. It’s better than Nepali and other languages. I can teach it to anyone.”

However, she lamented that though she tried to teach it to several members of her family, relatives and neighbors, no one paid attention. “Every time I spoke in our mother tongue, everyone would frown at me and become annoyed,” she said, adding, “How can you continue with language, when there is no one to listen to it being spoken, and speak it back to you.”

These days, she is teaching Dura to one of her grandchildren. “Though I tried to teach many, only one’s learning it seriously,” she said. Though Soma can’t remember exactly when she last held a conversation in Dura with anyone she says it’s been decades.

She learnt the language from her grandmother. Locals from not only the Dura community but also from other ethnic groups spoke in this language. “Even people from other castes used to speak Dura,” she says recalling her childhood days.

But, gradually the language became endangered as a new generation grew up not speaking it. According to her. “They felt uneasy speaking this language.”

She can speak Nepali, Dura and Gurung languages. According to her, many words in this language are similar to Gurung language.
“Water and nanny goat is same in both languages. But, ox is different,” she said. It’s not only language but also several other customs and practices that are similar between the Dura and Gurung communities, according to her.
Her memory is very sharp. She speaks Dura more fluently than Nepali.

Soma’s health condition has become of special concern not only to her own kin but also to society in general.
One has to shout to make her hear. But, her eyesight is still sound.

Some linguists, researchers and university professors are happy that Soma’s health has not shown any serious problem so far. Soma is more energetic and lively than one would expect at that age.
According to the government, the Dura population is nearly 5,000. “But, our study has showed that the number of Dura people is actually 5,676,” said Sakha Dura, central member of Dura Sewa Samaj.
Currently, they live in 12 districts - Lamjung, Kaski, Tanahu, Chitwan, Nawalparasi, Rautahat, Okhaldhunga, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Doti, Kailali and Banke.

Researchers recently brought Soma to Kathmandu for their study. Kedar Bilash Nagila of Central Department of Linguistics of Tribhuvan University is doing a PHD in the Dura language.
“She is the only person who can be defined as an ideal Dura native speaker,” Nagila said.

Migration, mixing with people from other communities, and the sway of Nepali language are some of the major factors that have jeopardized the Dura language.