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Gtaʔ
(Didey)
Language
Gtaʔ [gaq] also known as Didey remains one of the least
known of the Munda languages. The Living
Tongues Institute for Endangered
Languages began working with speakers of
Gtaʔ in 2010 as they occupy villages
either together with the Bonda or in
nearby locales, and their endangered
language is heavily influenced by Remo.
There are roughly 3,500-4,000 speakers
of Gtaʔ, but this represents probably
less than half of the Didey ethnic
group. This is the most recent of the
languages that we have begun working on
under the auspices of the Munda
Languages Project. To date several
thousand words and sentences and short
texts have been collected. Working
together with Dr. Anderson and Dr.
Harrison has been the local coordinator
of this work in Orissa, Opino Gomango.
Our primary consultant is Budra Raspeda.
We also have legacy materials on Gtaʔ
dating back some 50 years.
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Left to
Right: Budra Raspeda (Gta'
consultant), Sonia
Danghada-Majhi (Remo
consultant), Sudarsan Majhi
(Remo consultant), Greg
Anderson, Opino Gomango in
Bhubaneswar 2010
Photo by
Mundari scholar Bikram Jora |
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