languagematters@ukzn
Today I initiate a conversation on Language, a very emotional subject if you ask me, but one that is so critical. Language is vitally important as a system of communication. It is at the heart of our human existence. It is linked inextricably to humanity’s identity and culture in all its multifaceted forms. It defines humanity, records human progress and spurs human innovation. It is an important resource that is acquired effortlessly, and yet is essential in facilitating all learning processes, and in the transmission of both mundane and complex knowledge. Family and society is organized through language as generational knowledge is recorded and transferred through language. Natural language becomes a specific referent to a conventional language such as isiZulu, English, Afrikaans, etc. used as a means of communication among people.
Every society uses natural language to transmit knowledge. It is through natural language that moral values and citizenship training is cultivated and fostered. The whole training process is facilitated through language from early childhood resulting in cognitive development, nurturing cultural identity, acquisition of (survival/professional) skills and social progress. Natural language is thus very important in the education and training of citizens. Thus the absence of African languages in the current education system in most African countries is unique and most unfortunate.
Without going back to the whole colonial history, suffice it to say that through the colonial process of domination and subjugation, education became formalized and institutionalized through schools, colleges and universities. Through the colonial process knowledge was characterized as that which can be accessed through schools, colleges, and universities, and extracted from written books. The absence of African languages in written form contributed to a racialized conception that they did not qualify as languages, and hence perceived as shallow and inadequate since they did not have the capacity to discuss complex scientific knowledge. Knowledge was confined to written pages. The education system as introduced by Europeans excluded the use of African languages in knowledge generation, acquisition and transmission. In the colonial model Africans were perceived as lacking in both history and knowledge.
Tragically, according to studies by numerous scholars, the main reason why many children in Africa drop-out from school and why there is such a high failure rate of African learners is because Africa is uniquely one of the few continents where children receive knowledge in foreign languages such as English and French. Basic education is most effectively accessed through a language familiar to the learner. It has been noted by others that instruction through the learner’s home language improves the quality and quantity of interaction between the learner and the teacher resulting in the learner’s cognitive development and improved literacy. Conversely it has been observed that whenever the switch is made from the learner’s first language to the language of the school there is always an instructional blackout. For the vast majority of children, the blackout is total and final. It is argued that learning is then reduced to verbatim memorization.
English arrived in Africa as a colonial language of domination, but has notably since evolved to assume a unique position as a language of choice, particularly in the education system across the African continent by African people themselves. Why? How did this arise? How does language affect access and success in education given this complexity? The next post attempts an answer to these and more. But below, I repeat myself in isiZulu …
Ezolimi@ukzn
Namuhla ngiqala ingxoxo ngezolimi okuwudaba olubucayi kakhulu ngokubona kwami, kodwa olubaluleke kakhulu futhi. Ulimi lubaluleke kakhulu njengohlelo lokuxhumana. Lungumgogodla wokuphila kwabantu. Luxhumene kakhulu nobuntu babantu kanye nesiko neminxa yalo enhlobonhlobo. Luchaza ngobuntu, luqophe inqubekelaphambili yabantu, lugqugquzele nobuciko. Luyinsiza etholakala kalula, kodwa lubalulekile ekulekeleleni izinhlelo zokufunda nasekudlulisweni kolwazi olulula nolubucayi. Imindeni nomphakathi kuhlelwe ngolimi njengoba ulwazi lwezizukulwane luqoshwe futhi ludluliswa ngolimi. Ulimi lwemvelo lungumongo wolimi olunjengesiZulu, isiNgisi, isiBhunu, njl. olusetshenziswa njengendlela yokuxhumana phakathi kwabantu.
Yonke imiphakathi isebenzisa ulimi lwemvelo ukuze idlulise ulwazi. Kusetshenziswa ulimi ukuze kuthuthukiswe futhi kugqugquzelwe izimisompilo ezifanele nokuqeqeshelwa ukuphilisana nabanye emphakathini. Lonke lolu hlelo lokuqeqesha lwenziwa ngolimi kusukela ebuncaneni bengane okuholela ekuthuthukeni kwezingakucabanga, ukukhula kokuzibona njengengxenye yesiko elithize, ukufundwa kwamakhono okuphila nokuthuthuka emphakathini. Ngakho ke ulimi lubaluleke kakhulu kwezokufundiswa nokuqeqeshwa kwezakhamizi. Ukungabibikho kolimi lwase-Afrika ezinhlelweni zezemfundo emazweni amaningi ase-Afrika akuvamile futhi kuyishwa.
Ngaphandle kokubuyela emlandweni wonke wokucindezelwa kwabantu ezweni labo, kuwukuthi ngalolu hlelo lwengcindezelo ukubuswa ngenkani nokuphathwa, imfundo yaba yinto esemthethweni ezikoleni, emakolishi nasemanyuvesi, futhi yaba ngecashunwa ezincwadini ezibhaliwe. Ukungabibikho kokubhalwe ngezilimi zase-Afrika kwaba nomthelela ekubonakaleni kwalezi zilimi njengezilimi ezingafanele ukuthathwa njenge ziphilayo, ngakho azijulile futhi azifanelekile ngoba azikwazi ukudingida ulwazi olubucayi lwezesayensi. Ulwazi lwalugcina kolubhalwe emaphepheni. Uhlelo lwezemfundo njengokwethulwa kwalo abaseYurophu lwalushiya ngaphandle izilimi zama-Afrika ekukhiqizweni, ukutholakala nokusatshalaliswa kolwazi. Ngokwesithombe sengcindezelo, ama-Afrika ayengenawo umlando nolwazi.
Ngebhadi, ngokocwaningo lwezifundiswa eziningi, isizathu esiphambili sokuyeka kwabafundi base-Afrika ukufunda nezinga eliphezulu lokufeyila yingoba ngokungavamile i-Afrika ingenye yamazwekazi lapho abafundi bethola ulwazi ngezilimi zokufika njengesiNgisi nesiFulentshi. Ezemfundo zamabanga aphansi zitholakala kahle uma kusetshenziswa ulimi olujwayelekile kumfundi. Kuphawuliwe ngabanye nokuthi ukufundiswa kwezifundo ngolimi lwebele kuyalinyusa izinga nempumelelo yokuxhumana phakathi komfundi nothisha okwenza ukuthuthuka kwezinga lokukhula kwengqondo nokufunda. Futhi kubuye kwabonakala ukuthi uma kuguqukwa kusetshenziswa ulimi lwesikole hhayi olomfundi, kubanzima uma sekufundwa. Ebantwaneni abaningi lobu bunzima buyisiqalo nesiphetho. Kunombono othi ukufunda kuphenduka kube yinto ewukubamba ngekhanda amagama njengoba enjalo kungekho ukuqonda ngokujulile.
IsiNgisi safika e-Afrika njengolimi lokucindezela kodwa seluguquke lwaba sesikhundleni esingavamile sokuba ulimi oluhamba phambili ikakhulukazi kwezemfundo ezwenikazi i-Afrika lonkana kubantu abangama-Afrika. Yini isizathu? Kungani? Kwenzeke kanjani lokhu? Ulimi lukuphazamise kangakanani ukuphumelela nokutholakala kwemfundo uma kubhekwa lobu bucayi? Imibhalo elandelayo izobe izama ukuphendula le mibuzo neminye eminingi.
Nice read and thought -provoking .
This is a big problem baba Khuya, it is difficult to revive a language that does not have money!!!! English brings with it economics in form of money!!!!! How do l put effort in a language that won’t give me riches of the world!!!!! African Languages will never succeed as long as there is no monetary attachment to them …………………………………………. Thanks for the effort by UKZN
Very interesting topic indeed. Africans also excel in various professions learnt in foreign languages, Just imagine the achiements they could make if they were to be taught in their own languages. Look at China today , it’s so highly developed and extremely productive. Which continent does not have a Chinese product today. They learn in their own language and are very innovative and super productive. Let’s all have positive images about our selves and value our language then the rest will follow.
This is an interesting and provoking piece. I hope we wake up from our slumber soon.
Thank you.
Guta Ra Mwari brought me here..udumo kuNkulunkulu ukusiphakamisa.umhlaba uzabamazi ngathi…
Very true indeed,there was a school in kzn whose pupils had passed matric with flying colors. When asked how they managed to do so,the reason was they were being taught in their mothers language which was isiZulu.
Very insightful Langa. I’d appreciate your view since you touched on the cognitive importance regarding home language instruction: Do children with multi-lingual mother tongues or dual home-languages cognitively develop differently to single-tongue speakers? For example, would a dual language speaker be better equipped to adopt foreign language instruction better than a single language speaker?
This purpose of talking about language is to waste time. A Euro-centric somebody would laud the European languages; I would then spend the next 5 years attempting to convince him that an African can also exult in his language. I’m still perplexed by the seeming insistent great desire of Africans to do everything in relation to Europe. The fact that we’re talking about language – a theme bombarded by discrepancies – is an indication that we haven’t detected a unitary path as the people of the so-called ‘dark continent’ – there’s still some tug of war going on. The plan should be to rise above everything; we should become the bigger and better people, find our way and then do! This might sound like a kind of a cliché but it’s true.
What is the currency for language?