Celebrating International Mother Tongue Day

On 21 February, South Africa will join the world in commemorating International Mother Tongue Day. But how does South Africa support the use of local languages?

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 gives a directive for the establishment of the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB). The board’s mandate is to promote and create conditions for the development and use of all official languages, as well as the Khoi, Nama and San languages, and the South African Sign Language. It is also obliged to promote and ensure respect for all languages commonly used by communities in South Africa. Furthermore, the Constitution recognises the historically diminished use and status of the nine marginalised South African indigenous official languages: Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Siswati, Tshivenḓa, Xitsonga, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu. There is an obligation on the State to take practical and positive measures to elevate the status and advance the use of these languages. These obligations and the Use of Official Languages Act, 2012 (Act 12 of 2012) in essence fosters multilingualism within working spaces and beyond.

Promoting indigenous languages

The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed the period between 2022 and 2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, to draw global attention on the critical situation of many indigenous languages and to mobilise stakeholders and resources for their preservation, revitalisation and promotion.

To commemorate International Mother Tongue Day, and as part of the institution’s efforts to promote the use of mother tongue and further multilingualism in South Africa, the PanSALB launched Language

Activism Month on 1 February, 2023. The launch kickstarted various activities that will be conducted by the institution throughout the month.

International Mother Tongue Day 2023 is commemorated under the theme; “Multilingualism education, a necessity to transform education”.

Mother tongue in South African Classrooms

The Constitution grants learners the right to receive education in the language of their choice. Most research suggest that learners entering school are able to learn best through their mother tongue, and that a second language (such as English) is more easily acquired if the learner already has a firm grasp of their home language.

However the question of mother-tongue education in South Africa remains a vexed one. While it seems reasonable and desirable that learners should be able to receive education in their mother tongue, there is still a long way to go to ensure that this is possi- ble, given the scope of some subjects and the availability of study material in all levels of education.

“It is estimated that 40% of the population globally does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand. Subsequently, more focus and emphasis will be placed on advancing the adoption of the Department of Basic Education’s Mother Tongue Based Bilingual Education (MTBBE) programme and fast tracking its roll-out in schools throughout the country” said PanSALB in a statement.

As part of the Language Activism Month Campaign Month, the PanSALB will hold a seminar in Limpopo, where delegates will discuss the rollout of the MTBBE programme in the province, followed by a celebration on International Mother Language Day.

“The two-day event will include the launch of 75 schools (25 for each indigenous African languages in Limpopo – Tshivenda, Sepedi and Xitsonga) that are starting the MTBBE system wherein mother tongue is expected to play a crucial role as a language of teaching and learning to ensure the learners’ cognitive development,” added the board.

According to PanSALB, the “Language Activism Month campaign aims to create awareness of multilingualism as an important educational instrument that adds academic value and also promotes appreciation of cultural awareness and the preservation of indigenous languages”.

There is no better time than now to ensure that, as South

Africans, we communicate effectively and in a manner that promotes understanding. Citizens have the right to access information and it is critical that those entrusted with dispatching any information in the public interest do so with sensitivity of language.

The idea to celebrate International Mother Language Day was approved at the 1999 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization General Conference. The day recognises the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity for sustainable societies.