A branch language for branches

Abstract

This article recapitulates the efforts invested in recent years for the rescue of the Rama language.  Within the Autonomy project, special attention has been given to the Rama language because it is an indigenous language in danger of disappearing.  The situation of Rama is dramatic.  The Rama is a Nicaraguan ethnic group in the strictest sense, and the loss of their language would mean the loss of a unique indigenous language.  In this sense, the situation of the Rama language is even more critical than that of the Garifuna language, which, although it is also in danger of disappearing in Nicaragua, is a living language in neighboring countries such as Honduras and Belize, where the ancestors of the Garifuna of Nicaragua came from. The study of the language that is currently being carried out was initiated in 1984 sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and the CI DCA.  The purpose of the study is to document the Rama language about which very little was known until now.  The linguistic material being produced includes a grammar, a dictionary and a collection of texts.  Along with the linguistic research, a more general study of the situation of the language is being carried out, starting with a study to determine how many branches still speak the language, followed by an assessment of their chances of maintaining their language and culture.  Such an assessment would serve as the basis for any language rescue efforts that the Rama community might wish to undertake with the support of the region's educational and political authorities.