Table 8. EGIDS levels of the speech communities Village
EGIDS Level Hedangna 6a-Vigorous
Devitar 6b-Threatened
Seduwa 6b-Threatened
Rajarani 6b-Threatened
Khoktak 7-Shifting
Language vitality in Hedangna is described as “vigorous” level 6a. “Vigorous” means that a
language is being used orally by all generations and is being transmitted to children in the home domain Lewis and Simons 2010. In Hedangna, Yamphu is used by all generations at home; additionally, all
children are learning and using Yamphu at home. Though not all language use patterns are the same, Devitar, Seduwa, and Rajarani are described as
“threatened” level 6b. “Threatened” means that the language may continue to shift toward use of a more dominate language. The mother tongue may cease
to exist at a sustainable level orally unless efforts are made to increase use in different domains. The Yamphu speech community in Khoktak exists at an EGIDS level 7
“Shifting”. “Shifting” means that the language is no longer being transmitted to all the children, though the parents still know the language.
8.2.2 Implications
The methods for language development efforts should take into account where Yamphu language use and vitality is strongest and weakest. Since Hedangna has very high use and vitality, any language
development initiatives would be well-supported there. Hedangna is the only village with an EGIDS level of 6a among those studied. Since Yamphu of all ages speak the language often and in most domains of
life, they are in the best position for successful literacy and MLE program
s. Foundational literacy activities that include people from Hedangna would have the best chance of long-term success. This is
not to suggest excluding people from other communities. As many as can be involved, should be involved. One initial step in moving towards literacy would be to begin developing many types of
written materials in Yamphu. After developing an orthography, written materials such as a book on Yamphu history or Yamphu proverbs would be a good place to begin. People in Hedangna also expressed
interest in short story and poetry contests, and developing books on different subjects.
The Devitar, Seduwa, and Rajarani speech communities are all at a level 6b “Threatened” on the EGIDS scale. Language preservation depends more on oral use than literacy activities alone. In order to
preserve the language, oral use of Yamphu needs to be more widespread in different domains and among all generations, especially in the home. Involvement in Yamphu language-based development activities
can also help support those goals. The language communities in these villages have already expressed interest in activities such as radio programs, developing cassettes, stories, and books.
People that we interviewed in Khoktak expressed interest in development, but as fewer people there are using the Yamphu language in their homes, language revitalization activities would be the most
effective kind of program there. Some examples of language revitalization activities would be language documentation, efforts to create bilingual homes, and language revitalizationawareness community
groups.
8.3 Language variation and attitudes
