The United Nations has declared 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages. To celebrate, for each month this year, you’re invited to view greetings for different languages.
For October we feature the languages Dutch and Gaelic:
Italian
Papa Francesco ci dice che “I popoli indigeni, con la loro varietà di lingue, culture, tradizioni e conoscenze ancestrali, ci ricordano che siamo tutti responsabili per la cura del creato che Dio ci ha affidato”.
Preghiamo che Dio benedica tutti i popoli indigeni del mondo e che nel dialogo continueremo sempre alla ricerca di cio che ci unisce.
Pope Francis tells us that “The indigenous peoples, with their diverse languages, cultures, traditions and ancestral knowledge, remind us that we are all responsible for caring for God’s creation with which we have been entrusted.”
We pray that God bless all the indigenous peoples of the world and, that in dialogue with them, we will continue to discover all that which unites us.
Pidgin English
Today, there are 851 languages spoken in Papua New Guinea. These languages are spoken by the tribal groups inhabiting the country (“Papua New Guinea has 832 living languages (languages, not dialects)) making it the most linguistically diverse place on Earth.
Bikpela hamamas ikam long yupela olgeta! Dispela yia em i yia bilong tok ples.
Olsem na nau mipela tok olsem yumi salim ting ting lotu igo long olgeta lain bilong taim bipo, taim bilong ol tubuna man na tubuna meri.
Yumi tok save olsem taim bilong ol tubuna ol nau sindaun wantaim papa yumi askim ol long lukautim olgeta pikini, lapun man, lapun meri, ol sik lain, ol lik lik na bikpela samting na graun blo ples yumi sindaun. Yumi askim papa na bihanim tok save na ting ting bilong em.
Long nem bilong bik man na nem Jesus yumi askim.
The very rough English translation is:
Sending you happy peace today during a year in which we celebrate the languages of our tribes.
Firstly, we honour and send our prayers to our ancestors.
We ask our ancestors and God who now watch over every person (young and old) and all living things and to help us look after each other and take care of the world we share. Help us live the word of God through our thoughts and actions.
In Jesus name we pray.
Image of Rome by Free-Photos from Pixabay. Image of Alotau Beautiful Child by Image by JulesR from Pixabay. Both images used with permission.