Why it’s prudent to embrace our mother tongues

Today is the International Mother Language Day, themed “Multilingual Education is a pillar of intergenerational learning”. Originally championed by Bangladesh but formally promulgated by Unesco in November 1999, it is meant to encourage the promotion of “linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism”.

Allow me to briefly share one of my memorable accounts on mother tongue. Back in my primary school days there was an odd token, officially known as a ‘monitor’—but pronounced as a ‘monito’ by a good majority of us—that was used to encourage us to converse in English. Whoever was found talking in mother tongue was handed the monitor and the one who ended up with it in the evening became liable for punishment.

What that penalty bespoke was that mother tongue was for the rough-hewn and for the ilk with uncultivated tastes and, perhaps, unsure future. But nothing could be further from the truth than that! Mastery of exotic languages (in this case English) alone does not make one a genius; nor is it a marker of high IQ. Similarly, mastery of mother tongue and the slew of subtle cultural sensibilities it conveys does not turn one into a savage.

I appreciate that our teachers were out to encourage us to master English because, besides Kiswahili, it was the language in which all major subjects were tested. Yet, I still decry the fact that the attitude we acquired about our mother tongues was needlessly negative. Today, we should know better.

To help us ponder over how multilingual education is a pillar of intergenerational learning, I have a few musings to share. First, every language carries unique cultural heartstrings that reveal how a community interprets its universe. That means mother tongues are critical emblems through which the cultural homogeneity or diversity of humankind may be better understood. Besides, when languages encounter new phenomena, they borrow from others to fill emerging gaps. How mother tongues embed new vocabulary into their lexicon is itself an art that unveils a streak of understated genius.

Modern-day communication has enabled wider and faster sharing of information. By extension, traditional methods of conveying knowledge and learning have undergone massive transformations over the past few years. Multilingual education for intergenerational edification is, hence, a smart idea. It is likely to change the fortunes of learners hitherto limited to a narrow worldview bereft of the privilege of ‘bluetoothing’ other significant mindsets underpinned by varying language jurisdictions.

Over and above understanding how other societies understand the world, promoting multilingualism is a perfect way of securing deeper common understanding by a huge number of global citizens.

The ‘we-feeling’ that would proceed from the acquisition of multilingual skills is a useful foundation for world peace, greater tolerance among races and a deeper appreciation of cultural aspects that bind humanity. These opportunities for cross-cultural understanding are aided by multilingualism.

In ways more than one, mother tongues are gems we should never abandon.

Ms Kagure is the patron of Kenya University Students Organisation. @itsagneskagure