(Laikipia) – The Yiaku community in Kenya’s Mukogodo Forest region of Laikipia County is embracing technology to protect their native language, Yiakunte, which has become critically endangered. Through a mobile app, the community hopes to preserve their language for future generations, ensuring that Yiakunte can continue to be used and understood despite the challenges posed by time and cultural changes.
The app, developed by the Yiaku Laikipiak Trust, a community-based organization dedicated to preserving Yiakunte, uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help users learn the language. According to Jeniffer Koinante, the Trust’s director, the app not only provides language lessons but also offers interactive, audio-based responses in English, Swahili, or Yiakunte, allowing users to ask questions and practice speaking the language. The app is available on the Google Play Store for anyone who wishes to learn and practice Yiakunte.
Koinante emphasized that preserving Yiakunte is vital to the community’s heritage and identity, which has been threatened by assimilation into the neighboring Maa culture. The Trust’s efforts to revive the language include creating books, dictionaries, and learning materials, which use simple language and visual aids like pictorials and charts, making self-study accessible for people of all ages.
Raipeti Ole Sekenoi, a former senior chief in Doldol, shared that the language has declined rapidly due to intermarriages between the Maasai and Samburu communities, which has reduced the number of fluent Yiakunte speakers. The impact has been so severe that, according to a 2010 UNESCO assessment, only nine individuals were fluent in Yiakunte, and today only two elders, aged 90 and 104, can still speak it fluently.
Mary Leitiko, a Yiakunte language teacher, noted the cultural and identity value of preserving the language. “Reviving Yiakunte is vital for our recognition as a community. Through this, people will know that Yiaku people live here, preserving our unique identity,” she said.
| Project Component | Description |
|---|---|
| App Development | AI-enabled app to learn and practice Yiakunte |
| Educational Materials | Books, dictionaries, pictorials for self-learning |
| Cultural Center | Located in Mukogodo Forest; serves as a library and classroom |
| Remaining Fluent Speakers | Only two elders, aged 90 and 104 |
| Availability | App available on Google Play Store |
As part of its ongoing work, the Yiaku community has also established a cultural center in Mukogodo Forest. This center acts as both a library and classroom where community members, including adults and children, can gather to learn Yiakunte using the app and other educational resources.