|
Languages across the world are increasingly under threat, or disappearing altogether. By some estimates, 43% of the estimated 6000 languages spoken in the world are endangered. Only a few hundred have a place in education systems. And even fewer are used in the digital world. These trends inspired the launch of the International Mother Language Day, 19 years ago.
To mark the day, we’re publishing articles that reflect on language challenges in Africa.
In Kenya, Kiswahili - the national language - enjoys widespread acceptance. But there’s also a perception that a knowledge of English is a true sign of having a good education. Peter Mose says these perceptions might gradually shift with the inclusion of indigenous languages in Kenya’s new curriculum.
For migrant children the daunting task of learning a new language. can be a major barrier to their chance of success at school. Ke Yu explains why this means that schools and parents need to pay greater attention to non-conventional teaching methods to help them.
Africa is the home of 2144 languages. Ekkehard Wolf argues that the continent needs a new strategy for mother tongue based bilingual education, from primary through to tertiary level. He also looked at why European languages are seen as “superior” to indigenous languages.
An example of how languages can be an untapped resource comes from Nigeria where the BBC’s Pidgin programme has attracted millions of followers in the region. In Nigeria alone between three and five million people use Pidgin – a mix of English and local languages – as their first language, while a further 75 million have it as their second language. Edosa James Edionhan wonders if it isn’t time for Pidgin to be given official status across West Africa.
In South Africa Mmaki Jantjies explores why mobile apps and online learning platforms should be adapted to diverse languages while Peter Mose lauds the country’s decision to introduce Kiswahili to the school curriculum. For her part, Lara-Stephanie Krause unpacks how the definition of “mother tongue” in the context of South Africa’s education system can be a little complicated.
The issue of the dominance of English is explored by Russell Kaschula, and Zakeera Docrat while Ryan Szpiech, Andries W. Coetzee, Lorenzo García-Amaya, Nicholas Henriksen, Victoria Langland look at a unique bilingual community of Afrikaans and Spanish-speaking descendants in Argentina’s Patagonian Desert.
|
