'Investing in African Languages' & Beyond: Importance of Developing Native Tongues
'Investing in African Languages' & Beyond: Importance of Developing Native Tongues
"We know that children learn best when they learn in a language they understand best," Nadeema Jogee, Literacy Director for South Africa at the South African branch of the Room to Read NCO, told Sputnik Africa.
There are areas where building economic systems around language could open up "a whole realm in the economy that currently is not being utilized," she said, speaking on the occasion of International Mother Language Day. These areas include:
🟠intellectualization of languages;
🟠research;
🟠materials development;
🟠translation services.
Speaking about the example of South Africa, she said that Afrikaans, although being associated with apartheid, is "a very good example of how to elevate language from a low-status function to the top, to the most high-status function you can."
She noted that some people's "ideological position" prevents South Africa from doing the same with its other languages that were suppressed by colonialism.
Jogee noted that although some choose to support African languages as an economic investment, she is "not a big fan" of this logic.
She spoke about the importance of the country's linguistic diversity that lies beyond economy.
"It's only possible to have a functional democracy, which South Africa is, if it recognizes its multilingual nature and allows everybody to participate in a way that is true to who they are," Jogee noted.
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