Video: Meet Hunsrik, the language spoken in Republika Srpska that is included in Google Translate; “It’s my mother tongue,” says expert | Rio Grande do Sul

You don't have to look far to find someone who speaks German on the streets of the municipality of Santa Maria do Herval, in the Vale do Sinos.

Solange Hamster Johan, a resident of the city, is fluent in the language and an expert in it. HunsricIt is considered The most widely spoken Germanic language brought to Brazil by immigrants. It was recently included in the languages ​​available for consultation. Google translator. Learn the language in the video above.

“I learned Portuguese when I was seven years old,” he says. “At home, prayers were said in German. We arrived here in Santa Maria do Herval 30 years ago and my neighbours did not speak Portuguese.”

In addition to Hunsrik, there is Google Translate – a tool that translates text, images and voice into another language – Integration of more than 110 new languagesRepresent Over 660 million speakersThat's about 8% of the world's populationaccording to the company.

All our writings are based on Message sound. As written, it reads.“Children at the end of the first year (of primary school) read fluently,” explains Solange, explaining that Hunsrik is 60% similar to English and only 30% similar to German..

After retiring from the classroom, Solange is currently training teachers to teach Hunsrík.

According to her, there is There are between three and four million Hunserk speakers in Brazil.It is common in the valleys of Sinos, Cay, Tacuari and Rio Pardo, and says that in Santa Maria do Herval More than 90% of families still speak the language..

The inclusion of Hunsrik in Google Translate is seen as an important recognition of the language that carries the cultural heritage and Germanic roots of a part of the population in southern Brazil.

“We're having a party,” he says. “This is my mother tongue.”

This July, Rio Grande do Sul celebrates its National Day. Bicentennial of German Immigrationwhich marks the bicentennial of the arrival of German immigrants. At this time, in 1824, languages ​​of Germanic origin appeared in Brazil as forms of communication, including Hunsric, as well as Westphalian and Pomeranian.

In 2004, German linguist Ursula Weismann, in partnership with the Society for International Linguistics (SIL), launched the project Hunsrek Platt Titex ProjectThis initiative aims to create a written code for the Hunsrik language.

“We welcomed a team of linguists led by Dr. Ursula Weismann, who lived with us for 5 years to create this text,” says Solange, the current coordinator of the project.

The work of Ursula and her team has led to the recording of the Hunsric language. Ethnologya UNESCO initiative that aims to catalogue the world's languages.

“Our language, Hunsric, is the official language of Luxembourg. It is spoken in two states in France, the southern half of Belgium, and in the Netherlands. Four states in Germany speak our language. When I am there, I feel at home. I cry because I talk to people and they say, ‘It's a lie that you are from Brazil, you speak just like us.’”

SIL's work has a global reach, with “1,500 people working” around the world.

According to the Secretariat of Culture of Republika Srpska, the legislation “declared the Husricano a historical and cultural heritage of the state.”

But despite the strong tradition of Germanic languages ​​in the valleys, “early childhood education is a problem,” the teacher says.

“Children are no longer homeschooled,” he says. “Children go straight to nursery, and as a result, there are fewer of them. But it’s still very strong and we’re moving forward step by step.”

Works and educational materials

Over the years, the Hunsrik project has developed a series of translated materials into the language, such as:

• Translation of “The Little Prince” (“Te kleene Prins”): “We have already taken this book to Europe four times to attend book fairs exclusively for writers in our language,” says Solange.
• Children's dictionary.
• Book of verbs;
• New Testament translation;
• Dubbing the movie “Jesus”.