Kao is an

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

non-Austronesian language. This language is spoken in North Halmahera Regency,

North Maluku North Maluku (; ) is a province of Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the north, the Halmahera Sea to the east, the Molucca Sea to the west, and the Seram Sea to the south. It shares marit ...

The last survey in 2008 conducted by the Research Team from the Faculty of Letters and Culture Khairun University states that Kao language is only used by family over 40 years of age. In

traditional A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

, social, and daily events, or religious

ceremonies A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin . Religious and civil (secular) ceremoni ...

, the Kao language is no longer used.

History and spread

The Kao language is spoken by the Kao people. The opening of cultural influences brought by immigrants gave birth to

acculturation Acculturation refers to the psychological, social, and cultural transformation that takes place through direct contact between two cultures, wherein one or both engage in adapting to dominant cultural influences without compromising their essent ...

and inculturation in accordance with values that are considered noble by society. Currently, the Kao language is being displaced by Ternate Malay. However, a preservation effort is still carried out by

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

. For example, the ''Gala Kao'' which is carried out by playing Kao-language

rhymes A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of rhyming (''perfect rhyming'') is consciously used for a musica ...

. Even though it is no longer used in daily life, the people of Kao still recognize that this language is their

native language A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period hypothesis, critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' ...

. The current distribution of the Kao language is in the interior of North Halmahera, the mouth of the Kao River, and the Kao capital area (Kao District).

Language speakers

Judging from the speakers, it is believed that the older the

speakers Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Speaker (song), "Speaker" ( ...

of a language, the more fluent they are. # 60 years and older: very fluent and they understand complex old words. # 50–59 years: fluent, but they do not understand complex vocabulary. # 40–49 years: not fluent, but they understand and communicate in Kao quite fluently.

History and spread

Language speakers

References

Further reading