Kera'a

Present-day Status of Kera'a

Kera’a is a Trans-Himalayan language spoken in the Arunachal Pradesh province of northeast India, along the Sino-Indian border. The number of speakers is estimated between 10.000 and 16.000 people. Kera’a is at risk of disappearing due to several factors. For one, Kera’a is not recognised as an official language. Also, primary school children are taught in Hindi and English, which makes it difficult to pass down the language from older to younger generations. There is little written material in Kera’a as well, and although people have attempted to represent the language in writing, it has no official recognised writing system. Due to the effects of globalisation, the Kera’a adapt to diverse communities, contributing to the rapid decrease in opportunities to use their language.

Map of the region where Kera'a is spoken

Kera’a has two main dialects: Midu and Mithu. While Midu is spoken by the majority of the Kera’a people, Mithu is the more conservative and less prestigious variety. Besides these two dialects, the community also relies on Igu, the language used by shamans in shamanic rituals.

Challenges of Fieldwork

Linguistic fieldwork on Kera’a involves challenges on different levels. For example, due to the tense political situation, researchers only have limited access to the region. Other challenges have to do with the language itself. Kera’a is a tonal language, and it can be difficult to pick on the subtle differences in tone for speakers of non-tonal languages.

The help of Kera’a speakers is especially important for understanding the structure of the language since the researchers are outsiders to the community. Nevertheless, even with the support of the locals, some of the problems that the researchers encounter do not have simple solutions to them. How do you analyse a language that you do not know? How do you transcribe a language that is not written? Fieldwork with the Kera’a therefore involves a lot of experimenting and learning from mistakes.

The process of transcribing and translating data

Challenges include how the consultant understands the task and how the researcher interprets the data; the researcher has to remain flexible yet critical of the input they receive.

Naturalistic data recording

Data collection should ideally include recordings in an environment where the language is closer to how it is spoken in natural settings. Such data can include asking the speaker to tell a story or recording a conversation between two or multiple speakers.

Material about the Kera'a for the Kera'a

The material produced often has emotional value for Kera’a community members. A subtitled video can help the Kera’a connect to each other and bridge the gap between older and younger generations who may not be as fluent anymore. On the picture above you can see Dr. Uta Reinöhl showing a transcribed and translated recording of a healing ritual to members of the Kera’a community.

Outcomes of fieldwork

One should not view researchers purely as activists – fieldwork is generally not about advocating for the community against local laws, and what fieldworkers try to achieve varies depending on the particular language and the researcher’s personal goals. However, fieldwork can sometimes become more politically involved if the community empowers the researchers to represent them. For the project with the Kera’a, general goals include understanding and documenting the structures of Kera’a and Igu, as well as creating scientific output in the form of books and journal articles.
Fieldwork can only happen with the consent of the Kera’a, taking their perspectives and wishes into account, as fieldwork is not possible without their cooperation. The researchers must also define the actions that benefit the community and the goals that are achievable – how can one help the Kera’a cultivate their language without imposing external bias?

Children's Book

Children’s books are one example of work done by the Kera’a community to cultivate the language among younger speakers.

Thũwe - The traditional garment of the Kera'a

Much like the language, the thũwe is now primarily used by the older generation on an everyday basis, with younger people adjusting to global trends.

Book of a Kera'a Folktale

Documenting the stories of the people is another way of keeping the language alive. The Kera’a cherish traditional folk tales that they tell each other and their children. Publications keep these stories alive even when they fade from everyday culture.

Researcher's Notebook

Besides audio and video recordings, researchers rely on written notes, which can include observations about the language or the settings in which something is said. These notes can be helpful later during data analysis as the researchers can revisit their impressions, recall specific details about a conversation, or remember additional contextual information that may not be immediately apparent from the recordings alone.

Project Information

You can find more information on the research project here.