via Jakarta Globe, 08 March 2024: Indonesia’s Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry has reported the extinction of 11 indigenous languages, marking a significant loss for cultural diversity. Predominantly in eastern Indonesia, these languages, including Tandia and Mawes in Papua regions and several in Maluku, have vanished due to a lack of transmission to new generations, impacts of globalization, and shifts towards learning foreign languages.
The Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry announced that 11 indigenous/regional languages in Indonesia have gone extinct due to the absence of speakers passing them on to successive generations.
“The endangered regional languages are predominantly located in the eastern part of Indonesia,” said Hafidz Muksin, the Secretary of the Language Development and Guidance Agency at the Ministry, during an event on Bangka Island on Thursday.
Muksin specifically mentioned 11 extinct indigenous languages, such as Tandia and Mawes in West Papua and Papua, along with Kajeli, Piru, Moksela, Palumata, Ternateno, Hukumina, Hoti, Serua, and Nila in different areas of Maluku.
Source: 11 Indigenous Languages Declared Extinct: Education Ministry
