The significance of Mother Tongue

|AWEBAHE JOHANNES ||HOESEB WRITES:I truly am very grateful to pronounce my views on the significance of the annual celebration of International Mother Tongue Day on 21 February.A mother tongue is an important tool for promoting national cohesion and integration, even though oppressive colonizers used linguistic diversity in Namibia as a tool for ethnic division.Arts and cultural festivals are fundamental in the preservation and promotion of cultural, linguistic and traditional heritage. Language, culture and tradition are about being human, and give meaning to our existence within a heterogeneous linguistic populace.Article 30 of the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulates: “In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities or persons of indigenous origin exist, a child belonging to such a minority or who is indigenous shall not be denied the right, in community with other members of his or her group, to enjoy his or her own culture, to profess and practice his or her own religion, or to use his or her own language.”The men and women entrusted with the drafting of the Constitution of Namibia thought it wise to include Article 19, pertaining to culture, in line with the aforementioned. Article 19 states: “Every person shall be entitled to enjoy, practice, profess, maintain and promote any culture, language, tradition or religion subject to the terms of this Constitution and further subject to the condition that the rights protected by this Article do not impinge upon the rights of others or the national interest.”WORTHINESSIt is sad to come across people who regard their own mother tongues, as well as traditions and cultures, as worthless, useless, insignificant, backward and despicable.But what is more disturbing, and not only disappoints me but hurts me deep emotionally, is that some people not only denounce, belittle and disregard their cultures and languages, but allow others to disrespect their cultural and linguistic heritage, both through word and deed.Our Namibian African languages, traditions and cultures are ill-treated mainly because we allow this. It is only by standing up with pride for our languages, cultures and traditions that we as Namibians and Africans will get due recognition and respect for our cultures, languages and traditions.Yes, by speaking our languages, and actively practicing our cultures and traditions, we will let others take note of us as a people who also have the right to enjoy our linguistic, cultural and traditional rights.EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENTThe role language plays in cognitive development; and the language and the relevance of education provided to society; are issues constantly pondered upon.There is a constant battle to decide which mother tongues, the lingua franca or the language of wider communication to use and what role should be assigned to languages. Language is at the heart of education, because it is through language that the curriculum is delivered to learners.Furthermore, the issue of language is central to any discussion about development in Namibia, SADC, Africa and globally. Development goes hand in hand with education and the availability of mother tongue languages at all levels of education.It is an undeniable fact that, for development efforts to be understood, such efforts must be presented and explained to people in the languages in which they can think and create.Education systems should foster indigenous languages and cultural identities through the use of the mother tongue as medium of instruction, at least in the formative years of schooling, and offering Namibian African Languages as subject throughout formal education.The use of one’s mother tongue is a basic human right, and it is the duty of the State and society not to encroach upon that right in the education system and society at large.VARIETYThe multilingual nature of Namibia, and virtually all African countries is regarded as an impediment to the introduction of mother tongues in education systems.However, when compared to other countries in Southern Africa, Namibia has made great strides in providing mother tongue education to ethno linguistic minorities.The mother tongue may be the only means of communication a child possesses and one of the determining tools to settle into a new school environment and gain meaningful access to learning content.In terms of corpus and status planning, the development of Namibian African Languages is crucial in the development of nationhood and the integration of society.The functional value of Namibian African Languages is important as they are used as a means of communication on different levels of government and in the economy. The Government can promote African Languages by making it a requirement when advertising vacancies that applicants should at least speak one indigenous language. That language could be the dominant language in a given area.It is important that the necessary resources be availed so that the formalisation of Namibian African Languages, in their infant stage of codification can be expedited and communities trained to master written forms of their languages through reading.TRANSMITTING KNOWLEDGEThe local language of people is a vehicle for transmitting culture and traditional knowledge systems. It is the language best understood by people and the most useful tool to transmit knowledge in whatever economic activity people are involved in.This transgenerational transfer of knowledge and practices is only possible if sound cooperation exists between older and younger generation.I would therefore extend a word of thanks to adult members of school communities who are prepared to teach learners their cultural and traditional life skills without demanding remuneration.There are learners who are very fortunate to be taught in their mother tongues, and who can also study their language as subjects from Pre-primary up to Grade 12, and at university.BEINGE GRATEFULWe must be grateful that we can live together in peace, harmony and unity.It is nowadays disappointing to observe that children do not greet adults politely. Some children do not even say “thank you” when they receive a gift, or use the word “please” when they are asking for a favour. It is a sad situation.I want to make a clarion call on the adult members of our traditional communities to strive to teach our children the value of good manners and behaviour. We must also teach our children to treat their peers with respect.However, we as adults must also practice what we preach by displaying exemplary behaviour that children can copy safely. Let the younger generations draw inspiration from us, and learn from us how to respect and value their mother tongues, cultures and traditions.Let us respect the languages, traditions and cultures of those who do not hail from our ethnic and or tribal, linguistic, traditional and cultural groups. Let us free ourselves from shackles creating the false impression that other cultures, traditions and languages are inferior.Embracing and sharing your cultural, traditional and linguistic heritage with others is crucial, because these elements provide us as human beings with a distinct identity.

The significance of Mother Tongue

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Republikein 2026-02-16

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The significance of Mother Tongue

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Republikein 2026-02-16

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