Marriage is believed to be one of the main factors contributing to the disappearance of one of the many languages used in the African continent.
Ongota is a language belonging to the Afro-Asiatic family and is spoken by the Ongota community, which is based in a small village on the west bank of the Weito River in southwest Ethiopia.
Given its pool of native speakers was already restricted, this language, also known as Birayle, has been considered “moribund” for several years.
In 2012, UNESCO reported that out of a total ethnic population of 115, only 12 native speakers, all elderly, remained. The number may have decreased over the past decade.
Ongota, which is not known to be taught in schools, has been described as either a moribund or endangered language as it is not believed to be learned and used by children.
As a consequence, it is likely to die out when its last native speakers pass away.
Ongota members have been abandoning their original language for years in favour of another idiom, the neighbouring Tsamakko.
It has been noted that, among the main reasons Ongota is no longer spoken by most Ongota members, is marriage.
Research dating back to the early 1990s noted many Ongota men have ended up marrying Tsamakko women, and their children are growing up learning only the language of their mothers.
Ongota people are part of a hunter-gatherer community that originated from a number of different Ethiopian populations.
Their language is among the over 2,470 considered in danger of extinction by UNESCO.
Another language that appears to be destined to be forgotten after its remaining speakers die is Njerep.
Also spoken in the African continent, Njerep is prevalently spoken by the Mambila people, who are located between eastern Nigeria and northwest Cameroon.
As reported by the Endangered Languages Project (ELP), it is believed there are only four people left in the world who speak it, and are all aged over 60s.
Even those who can speak Njerep no longer use it on a daily basis. Rather, the language is still spoken by its users “for joking or if they don’t want to be understood by others”, the ELP reported.
