Evelyn with her passion fruit plant.
KOTA KINABALU: Learning a native tongue can be fun and easy – this is the message a teacher here is trying to convey to potential students in her effort to preserve the Kadazan language.
Evelyn Annol, 58, an English teacher with a secondary school in the city, is organising a basic Kadazan language class at her home in the Penampang district on Dec 21.
She said she has been conducting such courses since 2005, realising the importance of native tongues and that they were slowly becoming extinct.
She said the one-day class is open to everyone and will teach participants basic Kadazan vocabulary.
Participants will also be allowed to explore the residence, where Evelyn keeps a number of traditional musical instruments, and garden while learning the names of different things in Kadazan.
They will also be treated to Kadazan delicacies like pinasakan do ikan dan bambangan (a soup-based savoury and sour fish dish, mixed with a mango-like fruit) and sada do takob akob (fish with a very tart fruit).
Evelyn said the idea for the course occurred to her when she noticed that more and more children and youth in Penampang were unable to converse in basic Kadazan.
"I thought, what better way to encourage them than to learn than through fun courses like this," she said.
She said it was a shame that many natives do not know their own mother tongue or culture.
"It shocked me that there were so many adults and parents who could not understand a word (of Kadazan) as well. The children I can understand, but the older generation ... I was shocked," Evelyn admitted.
After the course, she said, participants would at least know basic words like osin (salty), onsom (sour) and opoit (bitter), she said.
Learning a few words and being able to use them in daily conservation is better than not knowing any at all, she added.
Evelyn said she tries to conduct cultural and language-related programmes at minimal cost every year to create awareness and interest.
Her efforts have also attracted the interest of non-natives, with some Chinese and Indian participants keen to learn basic Kadazan and taste local delicacies.
"We have so many ethnicities in Sabah, each with its own dialects and language. All are beautiful and it would be a loss to our own generation and culture if we do not make any effort to preserve them," said Evelyn.
Over the years, however, she noticed that fewer people were signing up for classes or activities.
According to Evelyn, this might be caused by their embarrassment at not knowing their own mother tongue.
She said it would do more good than harm if they just accepted that fact and came to learn.
"We are not judging. We are trying to teach and promote our language and culture so what is there to be ashamed of?" she asked.
She hoped more people would take the initiative to teach others about their own languages, dialects and cultures as Sabah is known for its rich cultural and ethnic diversity.
"We must work together to preserve our identities," she said.
Evelyn can be contacted at 0 16-218 4231 for more information on the classes and related matters.
