THE SILENT DECLINE OF OUR NATIVE LANGUAGES
Now that the festive season has passed, I find myself reflecting on an unsettling reality I encountered in rural communities: many young people cannot speak their native languages, and in some cases, this inability is celebrated rather than questioned. For some parents, their children’s fluency in English, often acquired through private schooling is treated as […]
“FLUENT IN EVERYTHING BUT OURSELVES” – THE SILENT EXTINCTION OF AFRICAN LANGUAGES
Every year, hundreds of African languages move closer to extinction, not because they are forgotten, but because they are systematically erased. Across our continent, languages that once carried our wisdom, history, humour, and heritages are disappearing. They are being replaced — not by natural evolution, but by a system that rewards foreign tongues and punishes […]