Jayapura Education And Culture Disdikbud Discourse On The Presence Of The Tobati Village Language Dictionary

Illustration of elementary school (SD) students in Papua. (Between)

JAYAPURA - Jayapura City Education and Culture Office (Disdikbud) in Papua has discussed creating a language dictionary from Tobahi Village to be distributed to every level of education in the area.

Jayapura City Education and Culture Division Head Grace Linda Yoku said the Kampung Tobahi language dictionary will use English and Indonesian so that it is understood both by teaching staff and students.

"This year we have started to make the Tobati language dictionary in collaboration with Cenderawasih University (Uncen)," he said in Jayapura, Thursday, February 22, which was confiscated by Antara.

According to Yoku, the construction of the Jayapura City regional language dictionary is his party's effort to preserve the language in 10 traditional villages in the country nicknamed "Port Numbay".

"Because the regional language in Jayapura City is threatened with extinction along with technological developments, many young people do not actively use regional languages," he said.

He explained that in 2023 his party had completed the language dictionary from Skouw Village which had been distributed to all levels of education in the capital city of Papua Province.

"We hope that the regional language dictionary can help students in using regional languages," he said.

He added that his party will also form a village school based on Regional Regulation (Perda) Number 15 of 2022 concerning the Advancement of Regional Culture in Jayapura City, which is a derivative of Law Number 5 of 2017 concerning the Advancement of Culture.

"This is an effort by local governments to preserve endangered local languages," he said