SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2010-021

During June and July 2004, the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) conducted a survey of the Tairuma language group. The survey was in response to Tairuma speakers’ interest in development of their language, demonstrated by participation in an Alphabet Design Workshop in 2002. The sociolinguistic survey was conducted to investigate the following factors: language and dialect boundaries, language vitality and bilingualism, and potential for a language development programme.

From the data collected, the Tairuma language was found to be vital. There do not appear to be any dialect boundaries which would inhibit any Tairuma speakers from using a common literature. The Tairuma people appear to have sufficient outside contact, educational levels, interest from within the churches, and ability and willingness to invest their resources for a language development programme.