Pupil reviving an extinct language inspires Perse peers
A special moment in this year’s 42 Society series: Year 10 student Umar took to the stage to open the lecture programme, stepping into a role traditionally held by former students and guest speakers.
The 42 Society hosts a series of lunchtime talks from external speakers, often Old Perseans, spanning academia, journalism, the arts and beyond, with the goal of sparking inspiration, curiosity and intellectual discussion.
Umar spoke passionately to a packed lecture theatre about his love of linguistics and history and his mission to revive the ancient language of Badeshi, a language spoken by a handful of elderly people in Pakistan and previously thought to be extinct.
He spoke eloquently of his experiences in Pakistan, meeting the community and conducting his research, which included documenting the largest recorded collection of Badeshi words.
Asked how he felt about becoming the first pupil to deliver a 42 lecture, Umar said,
“Sharing my expedition with the Perse community was a privilege. I witnessed the heart-breaking realities of a post-conflict region, where it is always the children and the innocent who suffer most,”
“In societies where we have so much, we must push for peace and preservation of the heritage and cultures that give communities their identity.”
Discover more about Umar’s extraordinary expedition, his research and the communities he met along the way here.