BOOK AVAILABLE ON MEIREK, ONE OF WORLD`S OLDEST SPOKEN LANGUAGES

KUCHING (Malaysia), April 13 (Bernama) -- Want to learn to speak Meirek, one
of the oldest spoken languages of the world now in danger of extinction? Then
you must get this book, "A Guide to the Meirek Language".

The book is the brainchild of Abdillah Abdul Rahim, president of the Miri
Jatti Meirek Association.

He was encouraged by Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud "to
ensure the survival of our language", association secretary Ujut Abdul Rahman
told Bernama Monday.

Ujut said Abdillah and other members of the association had spent more than
five years painstakingly compiling data and information on the language, spoken
by the Jatti Meirek ethnic group which is usually referred to as just Meirek.

It has not been conclusively established when the Meirek landed in Sarawak
but some people say it was about 200 or 300 years ago. It is generally known
that the name, Miri, was coined from the word Meirek.

At present, the Meirek population is said to number 10,000, and most of the
people now live in northern Sarawak and Brunei.

"This is our first major step to document our language since the number of
the younger generation able to speak fluently in the language is dwindling," he
said.

Ujut said the book focuses on the translation of the language into simple
Malay. He said about 400 copies of the book had been printed and distributed
free to selected individuals, companies and academic institutions.

The book was officially launched by Abdul Taib in October last year and
those interested to get a copy can contact the association office in Kuching at
082-245581 or 082-235242.

"We hope that with the publication of the book, the younger generation
especially from our community can take the initiative to preserve their own
language," he said.

He said the next project in the pipeline was the publication of a
dictionary.

-- BERNAMA