MARTIN MAWAYA
GWERU-Speaker of Parliament, Advocate Jacob Mudenda says the African languages week is aimed at promoting peaceful coexistence, linguistic and cultural diversity in the country.
He told the academia and government officials who attended the belated African languages week commemoration held at Midlands State University (MSU) that multilingualism plays a pivotal role to national cohesion as well as improving intercultural communication.
The day which was held under the theme “African languages for Sustainable Food Security Cultural and Socio-Economic Development for the Africa we want” was also graced by Deputy Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Tino Machakaire.
Addressing the meeting, Advocate Mudenda said the African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) of the African Union designated day is also the precursor of the country’s quest for indigenous languages growth and development.
“The objectives of this celebrations promote the indispensable role that our vernacular languages play in promoting peaceful coexistence as well as pivotal enablers of inclusivity and sustainable development.
“It promotes the dynamics of African worldviews and philosophies of life through the empowerment and use of our African languages as our languages are the epicenter of defining our humanity, person hood and our celebrated cultural heritage. That is why several international, continental and regional protocols and agreements affirm the sacrosanct status of indigenous languages,” he said.
He said the commemorations of the day will increase awareness and appreciation of African languages by looking at pragmatic ways of empowering and rendering their relevance to everyday life experience.
The celebration comes at a time when “the indigenous languages and knowledge systems are facing imminent threats of extinction as a result of the ever present linguistic imperialism and self-deprecation of local languages.
“It is up to us to rescue our indigenous languages and knowledge systems from the island of obscurity to the sea of relevance,” said Advocate Mudenda.
He highlighted that the “African Union developed several protocols aimed at promoting the preservation and promotion of indigenous languages and knowledge systems which acknowledged the educational and psychological need to use the mother tongue in the teaching and learning of pupils during their primary education”.
Advocate Mudenda indicated that there is an inextricable link between African languages and the sustainable food security, cultural and Socio-economic development.
He said Africa must extol the linguistic usage and application of African languages as they are the life blood of communicating information and ideas as well as being the vectors that defines African humanity and its cultural heritage on the matrix of sustainable food sovereignty.
He pointed out that the global economies are knowledge driven and language is the key driver of knowledge, hence “languages should be employed in advancing new technologies, mechanization and appropriate farming practices which enhances production and productivity to achieve food security anchored on the people’s respected customs and beliefs regarding the spirituality of land tenure”.
He said for native languages to be able to help citizens achieve sustainable food sovereignty, cultural consummation and socio- economic development, a sound national language policy should be put in place to accommodate multilingualism and ethnolinguistic pluralism so that there is linguistic equity and justice.
