By Professor Jairos Kangira
EVERY year on 21 February, the people of different cultures who speak different languages observe the International Mother Language Day and engage in various activities to mark this day.
The celebrations in different languages indicate the multilingualism and multiculturalism that abound at the local, regional and international levels throughout the world. In other words, 21 February is a day set aside to celebrate linguistic and cultural diversity in the world. In 1999, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed that the major purpose of the International Mother Language Day was “to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world.” And from the year 2000 up to date, the world has been observing International Mother Language Day on 21 February. But why is 21 February a special day?
On 21 February 1952 the police in Dhakar, Bangladesh, shot and killed students who were demonstrating to have their language recognised as a national language in that country. The language at the centre of the massacre of the innocent students is called Bengali. In honour of the deceased students and the cause for which they laid down their lives, UNESCO saw it befitting to proclaim 21 February as International Mother Language Day. It is against this backdrop that the United Nations Mother Day made the following pronouncement or proclamation: “Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. All moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education, but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.” It is through the mother tongue that the child begins to understand phenomena around him/her. It is through the mother tongue that the child is socialised.
It is therefore important that mother languages are preserved and promoted in all communities. It is equally crucial to understand that there is no language superior to another language; all languages basically perform the same functions linguistically. Therefore, children have a right to learn their mother languages. This why most governments make it mandatory to use the mother language as the medium of instruction from Grade 1 to 3. Teachers, lecturers and all educators, let your learners sing songs and narrate stories in their mother languages. A positive practice that I have noticed and cherished in Namibia is the holding of cultural festivals at institutions of higher learning and some schools. I always take some videos and pictures of different cultural groups during the cultural festivals, which I always admire and will admire in my retirement years. What I like most is to see young people being crazy about their traditional songs and dances, which is not the practice in some African countries where they think that speaking English through the nose is the best invention. Keep it up Namibia!
As the world celebrates International Mother Language Day it is a time to reflect on all the languages spoken in Namibia. Individually, it is time to be proud of your language in a special way. Why not buy a book written in your mother language for your child, partner or a friend? Even singing to your child, partner or friend in your mother language can be a befitting feat. If you have to name a newly-born baby, go for a name from your mother language – Ndeshimona, Kachana, Zezera, Saartjie, Taurob, Iipinge, Thato, Munashe, James, Delize, Gerhardus, Afonso, Benedito, Maxence, Jeanne, etc. All the names above are beautiful from the perspective of their languages. It is not too late to adopt a beautiful name from your language. It is pointless to give your children foreign names whose meanings you do not even know. In my culture, even dog names are used to communicate something and they are mostly from vernacular languages. Equally, it is a time to embrace and tolerate other people’s languages and cultures.
Once we accommodate other people’s languages and cultures, we accept the linguistic pluralism that makes us part of this global village of diverse communities. By accepting multilingualism we nip tribalism in the bud and avoid xenophobic and prejudiced ethnic cleansing that has affected some parts of the world. But how many languages are spoken throughout the world? Some linguists say 6500 languages while others put the number at 6900. The estimate is about 7000 languages most of which are threatened with language death or extinction. Of these languages, Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world with Spanish in second place and English coming in third. Arabic is tagged at fourth place, while Bengali is fifth in the row. So, celebrate your mother language in a special way!
Professor Jairos Kangira is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Namibia. He is the Head of the Department of Language and Literature Studies and Chief Editor of the Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. E-mail address: jkangira@unam.na