Native parents in Zimbabwe feel more proud when their children speak fluent English than indigenous languages.
Some even prefer their children to grow up knowing no other language besides English.
The narrative is that one’s fluency in English determines the person’s intelligence.
Critics blame the failure to approve local languages on colonisation which prefered English over the vernacular speech.
President Mnangagwa
But; President Emmerson Mnangagwa at the National Languages Conference in Victoria Falls today called upon parents to teach children indigenous languages.
He said the revitalisation of indigenous languages is essential for ensuring the continuation and transmission of culture, customs and history.
“… the family is the first classroom and parents are a child’s first teacher. I, therefore, call upon parents and guardians to set a good example by teaching our children their indigenous languages,” he said.
“This will also help reinforce our cultural norms which emphasise the respect of oneself and others, including elders, our community and the environment.”
President Mnangagwa went on to say that indigenous languages must be effectively deployed as vital cogs in the formulation, implementation and monitoring of national development policies, programmes and activities.
The Zimbabwean leader also encouraged the use of local languages to promote increased productivity in economic sectors.
“The broader use of indigenous languages, including sign language, has to trigger active participation of our communities, across the length and breadth of the country, towards nation-building and socio-economic development programmes, from the ward level, upwards,” he said.
“Indeed, an informed citizenry is more empowered and equipped to play their part in the building of our motherland, Zimbabwe, brick by brick, stone upon stone.”
The United Nations has been encouraging the use of indigenous languages for preservation.
Already 2500 languages of the nearly 7000 tongues worldwide are under the threat of extinction.
Colonisation had left Zimbabwe with three official languages namely English, Ndebele and Shona.
The 2013 Constitution added 13 more official languages including Chewa, Chibarwe, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Shangani, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda and Xhosa.
