Sisters save a language in Kenya

Sisters save language in Kenya - 3rd February 2025

Every year, nine languages die. In Kenya, Africa, the Yaakunte language is dying. Not many people speak it. But in one village in Laikipia, two sisters are trying to save Yaakunte. They want to save their culture too.

The two sisters, Ann and Juliana Loshiro, learned Yaakunte from their grandfather. Juliana's a teacher. She teaches the language to young and old people.

Villagers stopped speaking Yaakunte over the last 70 years. Their tribe lived near the Maasai tribe. People from the two tribes often got married. So the Yaaku people stopped speaking their language.

In the past, the Yaaku people lived in the Mukogodo Forest. There, they hunted animals and found plants and honey. Now, the sisters are using the forest with their students. Today, you can walk in the forest and see words on the trees, in Yaakunte and English.

Saving the Yaakunte language and the culture is very important to the sisters.