Browsing by Author "Kiuna, Rosemary, Njeri"

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The Importance of Mother Tongue
(Tangaza University College, 2009) Kiuna, Rosemary, Njeri
Language is an important part of a society's culture. However, globalization has seen African states give away more than they can receive. This is because they have embraced English lifestyle and are on the verge of forgetting their own culture. Languages are very powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. Initiatives to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue' African local languages are extremely important in giving people an identity in a very rapidly changing world Indigenous languages are slowly dying out simply because Africans generally believe that foreign languages are superior to local indigenous languages. The world will be a poorer place to live in should the other languages and their associated cultures disappear, or become enfeebled as a consequence of the rise of English, a betted by continuing American supremacy in the cultural sphere? There is need to decolonize people's minds so that they can take pride and preserve their languages. Loss of indigenous languages also means loss of thousands of years' worth of culture, heritage and tradition. Indigenous languages also carry much of the wisdom of the people who speak them.