A keyboard for the Kheyang community’s native "Hyow" script was inaugurated in Bandarban hill district on Saturday.
The keyboard was launched at the Gungurumukh Kheyang Community Centre in Sadar upazila’s Kuhalong union around 1pm.
Speakers at the launching event appreciated those whose relentless efforts made it possible to incorporate this endangered native language into a computer keyboard, saying that their contributions will be remembered by the Kheyang community.
Under the supervision of Friends of Endangered Ethnic Languages (FEEL), it took almost two months to successfully integrate the script into the computer keyboard.
In the future, there are plans to develop mobile apps for the keyboard, enabling the Kheyang people to communicate using the Hyow script on mobile devices, similar to other hill communities.
Language researcher Ribeng Dewan from Friends of Endangered Ethnic Languages (FEEL) shared that the organization began its mission two years ago with the aim of digitizing the country's endangered languages.
To date, they have been able to create computer keyboards for 16 endangered languages.
According to sources, with the efforts of a seven-member team, including language researcher Mridul Sangma and language technologist Samar M Soren, the Kheyang language keyboard has been introduced as the latest digital language in both Bangladesh and Asia.
This stands as the 294th digital written language keyboard worldwide.
They urged the Kheyang community to write poetry, novels, and fairy tales in the newly developed Kheyang keyboard to promote its use and preservation.
Furthermore, they mentioned that they are working on resources, writing tools, and dictionary technologies for Kheyang, Kurukh (Kurux), Chakma, Mru, Abeng (Garo), Megam (Garo), Kol, Munda, Santali, Khumi, Kharia, and Sora languages as well.
Ngo Jai U Kheyang, one of the members involved in the creation of the Kheyang script, said that on October 22, 2017, there was a publication ceremony for the Kheyang language and script book.
The Kheyang script comprises 11 vowels and 21 consonants. The learning process of the newly developed keyboard will be easy as it resembles the language quite accurately.
Kheyang language was taught in local primary schools for some time, but it had to be stopped due to financial constraints.
Mentioning that the Kheyang language was previously written in the Roman alphabet, Ngo Jai U Kheyang said it does not match the pronunciation and sounds of the Kheyang language.
Thus, language researchers previously warned that using the Roman script could risk losing the unique heritage, culture, and values of the Kheyang community.
The first Kheyang alphabet was developed by Kasamong Khiyang, who started working on this script in 1999. By 2004, the Kheyang script was fully developed.
In 2006, through UNDP, an English citizen named Jon Crypt, an expert in languages and scripts, supervised the development of this script while working in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Later, under the leadership of five residents of Gunguru Kheyang Para, another Kheyang alphabet was created in 2017. One of the members of this group, Ngojaiu Kheyang, modified the previous script to develop this version.
A 2014 linguistic review in Bangladesh reported that 15 languages in the country are endangered. Among these, the Kheyang language is one of the five endangered languages spoken in the three hill districts.
