On Monday (21/02), International Mother Language Day was celebrated.
Languages are about more than just words; they also have sayings and ideas that cannot be translated. When using these, we keep our cultures alive and experience a sense of belonging.
If we do not teach our children their mother tongues, we will be robbing them of not only a language, but of their identities too, believes Gogo of the reading for enjoyment campaign Nal’ibali.
Children need to be able to read, think and express themselves in their mother tongue to do well in school. This is because they need to be able to learn and understand in their first language if they are to learn and understand in a second language, such as English, in Gr. 4.
Here are four tips for growing a love of African languages with your children:
- Start early. Babies and young children love rhyme and repetition. As they listen, they start to figure out how to put sounds, and then words, together. Use traditional rhymes that are unique to your culture.
- Share stories. Look for books in your first language at your local library. If there are none, translate or retell your favourite stories yourself, or access free children’s stories in different African languages on Nal’ibali’s website at nalibali.org or by sending the word “stories” in a WhatsApp message to 060-044-2254.
- Keep going. Start talking and reading with your children in their mother tongue from birth and keep doing this throughout their lives.
- Have fun. Tongue twisters promote pronunciation and fluency. They also help to develop accents through the repetition of one sound. Here is an example: Paqama ke o qoqele moqoqo o qabolang. Ke tla o qalla qalong ke o qetelle qetellong (repeat three times).
Gogo is giving away books to three caregivers and their little ones. Send an email to Gogo at support@nalibali.org with the subject line, “Hello, Gogo!” to enter.
Tell her what you are most proud of about your mother language and include your name, contact number and physical address.
