The push by the Indigenous Languages Initiative for Advancement (ILIFA) to inculcate awareness of the value of indigenous languages is to be launched on May 25 under the theme “Mother Tongue Indaba”.
The launch, which will be held at the Soweto Theatre in Jabulani, in collaboration with the Soweto Theatre, seeks to drum up support for the use of African languages in all spheres of social life, including business, political and economic discourses, primary to tertiary school levels, and all other African human activities.
Chairperson of ILIFA Mabutho “Kid” Sithole said the organisation will team up with schools and churches to help agitate for the use of indigenous languages and, in that way, promote pride in African languages.
“The problem among Africans not to embrace indigenous languages is societal,” according to Sithole.
“The perception that English reflects civilisation and progress is endemic, entrenched, and generational, and so inhibits the development of indigenous languages.
“We are hoping that the Mother Tongue Indaba will help to generate interest in demystifying the unfounded notion about the inferiority of African languages as viewed against the perceived superiority of English.
“Commerce, business, and schools should embrace the African languages, and this idea must filter down to our courts as well.”
Negativity about indigenous languages
Sithole explained further: “If we can, as Africans, take pride in the usage of our languages in stokvels and other public meetings or such places, instead of placing a lot of focus on the English language, then half the battle shall have been won.
“By not using African languages in public spaces, we diminish the importance of our own languages.
“The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture must play a leading role in this area of concern, and we as ILIFA hope to engage the department and make proposals for collaboration.”
He decried the widespread “negativity” about indigenous languages in African settings and suggested that “we as Africans require a serious dose of re-orientation so that we can begin to see our African languages in a new light, as bearers of culture and civilisation”.
“The fight to decolonise should not be left to political activism alone. We, too, as a society, must join the bandwagon of decolonisation.
“This requires a change of mindset to value things that ought to give pride to African society, and language is one such thing.”
Nationwide crusade
Sithole added that ILIFA will, in months to come, embark on a nationwide crusade, launching provincial indaba sessions throughout all provinces “to bring consciousness among our people about the importance of African languages and the need to develop a society that takes pride in its own languages”.
The indaba, explained Sithole, will also bring awareness to South Africans about the value the UN attaches to indigenous languages.
Annually, it celebrates indigenous languages through the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on August 19, in which nations are urged to recognise languages of indigenous origins.
Facilitating the indaba on the day will be Professor Somadoda Fikeni, a public scholar, and Dr Victor Ramathisele, a cultural activist.
