BBC News - How to revive a 500-year-old dying language

"But reviving a dying language is not easy. One main challenge is that Kristang is mostly a spoken language and has rarely been recorded.

 There is no standardised spelling or pronunciation system - one word can have dozens of variations. The word for four, quartu, can be spelt and pronounced in 20 different ways.

 And because it has been in decline for so long, it has huge gaps in its vocabulary...

 To solve this problem, his group invented new words with mash-ups of Kristang's root languages."

This article raises questions about the efforts required to revive a language that so few speak today. With significant ties to heritage and culture, the question of whether a language in its "dying days" so to speak is a futile effort, or an attempt at cultural revival.

How to revive a 500-year-old dying language

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