President Emmerson Mnangagwa has called for the promotion of indigenous languages across the country in order to preserve cultural heritage which is necessary for unity, education, economic well-being and mass participation.
He said this at the ongoing National Languages Conference launch today in Victoria Falls under the theme, “Re-defining the Role of Zimbabwean Languages for National Development Towards Vision 2030 and Beyond.”
“Indigenous languages are critical for improving social cohesion as they give our communities a sense of inclusivity while nurturing national cultural identities, pride and the dignity of indigenous people. Our languages are also an indispensable cultural heritage which is necessary for unity, education, economic well-being and mass participation,” said the President.
This comes at time indigenous languages are under threat from external influences. In 2019, President of the United Nations General Assembly (PGA) Tijjani Muhammad-Bande warned that “every fortnight, at least one indigenous language vanishes from the face of the earth,” and this translates into two extinct indigenous languages each month.
The United Nations General Assembly has already declared the period between 2022 and 2032 the International Decade of Indigenous languages.
Section 6 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, recognizes 16 official languages, including sign language which are Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Khoisan, Nambya, Ndau, IsiNdebele, Shangani, Xhosa, Sign Language, Sesotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda and ChiShona.
The government has so far made significant strides in ensuring that most of these languages are contained in national documents.
“My government has ensured the translation of national documents such as the Constitution, National Development Strategy (NDS) and COVID-19 information, education and other communication materials into the 16 national languages,” said Mnangagwa.
Last year cabinet announced that the NDS1 document was available in Shona, Tonga, Nambya, Venda, Xhosa, Kalanga, Chewa, Shangani, Tswana, Sotho, Ndebele, Chibarwe and Ndau, Braille and Sign Language.
The three day indigenous languages indaba was attended by members of Parliament, members of the judiciary, Government departments and agencies, civic organizations, traditional leadership, African indigenous languages experts, linguists, media, clergy, cultural experts and the academia.
