KOTA KINABALU, Oct 11 — Digital technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), has the potential to become a crucial medium in efforts to preserve the Dusun language, ensuring that this community’s heritage continues to be learned, used, and inherited by future generations.

Sabah Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam said that modern technology can be leveraged through the development of digital dictionaries, recordings of Dusun speech, podcast production, and the creation of online learning materials.

He noted that these efforts need to be strengthened through the involvement of the younger generation, educational institutions, and local communities so that the Dusun language remains relevant and continues to be used in daily life.

“When a language is used less and less, we are actually at risk of losing a part of our own community’s identity and heritage,” he said.

“The question is, in the next 50 years, will our children and grandchildren still be able to speak their mother tongue and understand the history, customs, and culture that form the foundation of their identity?” he said in a statement today.

Joachim, who is also Sabah’s Minister of Works and Utilities, made these remarks while speaking at the closing ceremony of the Ranau Dusun Language and Culture Festival in Ranau yesterday.

He also encouraged schools, colleges, and universities to establish collaborations with cultural organisations and local communities to collect and document materials related to Dusun history, language, and culture for use in education and research.

He stated that the responsibility of ensuring the survival of the Dusun language does not rest solely on certain parties; rather, it requires the commitment of the entire community, especially parents and the younger generation, to continue practicing the use of their mother tongue.

Consequently, he hopes that efforts to elevate the Dusun language will not stop after the conclusion of the festival, but will instead be continued through education, documentation, research, and the active use of the language in community life. — Bernama