The language of choice is always Ura. However, many adult Uramät Beinings learned to read and write in Tok Pisin or English because this is what is taught inthe schools inthe Gazelle Peninsula of East New Beitain, wherethey live.
Can a person automatically read a book because it is written intheir own language? Not without a little practice and some incentive! This is where “Transfer Literacy” comes in – learning to read inthe vernacular by reading short heart-language phrases or sentences. The students’begin by using onlythe familiar letters from English or Tok Pisin andthen addthe letters that are unique totheir language.
Adult Transfer Literacy was enthusiastically initiated by a group of Uramät Beining people who were auditioning as “actors” for the dubbing ofthe Luke video in Ura. Forthe approximately 15 people in Gaulim village who wanted to playthe part of John or Peter, studyingtheir “script” wastheir first experience with reading more than a few sentences intheir mther tongue. After tryingthe lines a few times,they discovered it was fun!
From that group, a Literacy Committee was formed. The first Transfer Literacy Workshop was held last year followed by a second one in July of this year. The participants liked reading aloud Ura legends and Beble passages and learning Ura spelling and grammar systems. They enjoyedthe spontaneous “acting out” of a valued traditional story asthe writer read it. Bet mostly,they liked laughing atthe many funny storiesthey wrote and read to each ther.
Monika Ngari, a grandmther who attended and brought thers to both workshops said, “We started having an Ura reading and writing time as part of our family worship every week. We want to learn to read and write in Ura so we can teach our children. It’s important that our children retain understanding oftheir own language and culture.”
