Hope for dying Nepali language wanes as one of the last fluent speakers passes away at 85 · Global Voices
<PERSON> with <PERSON>. Photo by <PERSON>. Used with permission.
<PERSON> Kusunda was not known to many but she was a beacon of hope for linguists who hoped to revive the isolated and dying Kusunda language. She passed away on 25 January 2020 at her home in Kulmor Village of Dang District in western Nepal. 811
She was 85.
She was one of the last two fluent speakers of the Kusunda language, an oral language without any script. Though the 2011 Census puts the population of Kusundas at 273, field studies suggest there are actually only 150 Kusundas living in the western districts of Nepal.
Read More: A conversation with <PERSON>, one of the last speakers of a dying Nepali language
Gagan Thapa, Member of House of Representatives, tweeted:
कुसुण्डा भाषाका दुई जानकार मध्ये एक ज्ञानीमैया कुसुण्डाको निधनले कुसुण्डा भाषामा अपूरणीय क्षति पुगेको छ। दिवंगत ज्ञानीमैया कुसुण्डा प्रति हार्दिक श्रद्धान्जली।
— Gagan Thapa (@thapagk) January 26, 2020
With the demise of <PERSON>, one of the two fluent speakers of Kusunda language, the language has suffered an irreparable loss. Heartfelt reverence to deceased Gyani Maiya Kusunda.
The Kusundas led a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle until only few decades ago when they began settling down in villages mainly in western nepal. Recently, Gyani Maiya helped researcher <PERSON> conduct the first phase of Kusunda language classes for a cohort of 20 people interested in learning the language. She has worked not only with <PERSON> for the revival of the language but also with researchers like <PERSON>, <PERSON>, <PERSON>, <PERSON> and <PERSON> among others.
Read More: Indigenous Nepali Language With Only Two Fluent Speakers Sees Pages of Hope in Newly Launched Dictionary
Researcher <PERSON> wrote on Facebook:
देशले एउटा अमूल्य निधि गुमाएको छ । ज्ञानी मैयाँ सेन कुसुण्डामा अद्भूत भाषिक क्षमता थियो । मैले उनीसँग कुसुण्डा भाषाको विविध पक्ष, संरचना, शब्दावलीका बारेमा एक दशकभन्दा बढी काम गरेँ । 811