Dear colleagues!
The Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of World Culture of Moscow State University invite you to the next session of the “Reports from the Field” workshop.
The session will take place on February 21st 2014 at the Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences at 17:30.
Cecilia Ode
(University of Amsterdam, Institute of Theoretical Linguistics and Phonetics) will discuss the "Tundra Yukaghirs" research project (March 2009 - February 2014) and show the documentary film "Voices from the Tundra: The Last of the Yukaghirs", which won the Grand Prix at the "Arctic" non-fiction film festival in St. Petersburg in December 2012.
Voices from the Tundra: The Last of the Yukaghirs
Directed by Edwin Trommelen
Cinematographer Paul Enkelaar
Duration: 66 min.
The film focuses on the work undertaken by the Dutch linguist Cecilia Ode to document the language of the Tundra Yukaghirs living in the north of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Of the approximately 700 Tundra Yukaghirs today, only 63 speak their native language well.
It was important for the film makers to show the way of life of the "last of the Yukaghirs" and their efforts to preserve their culture and folklore. Filming took place during Yukaghir language lessons at school and at reindeer herding sites in the tundra; the viewer sees reindeer herders foraging, catching reindeer, fishing... Life in the tundra is not a beautiful fairy tale, it often becomes a struggle for survival.
The viewer understands why the children of the village of Andryushkino, where most of the Yukaghirs live, may in the future prefer a warm village flat to the harsh tundra. And this is not the fault of an indifferent state or dishonest corporations, it is the erosion of time, the result of globalisation and progress. And in this situation, before it is too late, it is extremely important to document and preserve the disappearing language and culture, these treasures of world importance.
Everyone is welcome!