Programme Directors Mrs Ndlovu and Mr Malakoane
His Worship Ethekwini Mayor: Cllr James Nxumalo
PanSALB Acting CEO: Mr Nkosi
The Head of Arts and Culture Department: Mrs Khumalo
Students and learners
Ladies and gentlemen.
It is with a great sense of honour that I am addressing you on this important day which is very close to our hearts and the business of the department that I am leading.
Language can be a powerful instrument to forge unity and social cohesion in a culturally diverse country such as ours. At the same time, it can be used to sow divisions and disunity. In instances where it has been used by those in power to achieve the latter, it has led to strife and unrest. One of such incidents which are still etched in our memories is the 16 June 1976 events when Soweto students took to the streets to protest against the attempts by the apartheid regime to introduce Afrikaans as medium of instruction in schools. Scores of young people lost their lives because they realised that this would erode their culture and heritage.
You will also recall that on this day we remember the Bangladesh students who were brutally killed by the state police because they were exercising their right of speaking their mother tongue.
As a democratic government we have vowed that we shall never go back to a situation where one language enjoys hegemony over other languages including those of minority groups.
Ladies and gentlemen!
The International Mother Language Day which this year has been themed “Mother Tongue, instruction and inclusive education,” is an observance held annually on 21 February worldwide to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. As the department we could not celebrate it on the 21st due to other critical government activities that occurred on this day.
The International Mother Language Day was first announced by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation on 17 November 1999. Its observance was also formally recognised by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution establishing 2008 as the international Year of Languages Linguistic and cultural diversity represent universal values that strengthen the unity and cohesion of societies. The recognition of the importance of linguistic diversity led to UNESCO’s decision to celebrate International Mother-Tongue Day.
On the occasion of International Mother Tongue Day in 2005, the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koichiro Matsuura, stated that “teaching a mother language and multilingualism are the cardinal points of a sustainable development that safeguards each individual’s attachment to his or her native culture while ensuring that everyone can open up to others and reap the benefits of an increasingly interactive world”.
International organisations such as UNESCO actively promote linguistic and cultural diversity and using one’s mother tongue has came to be a universal human right.
The Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity states that “all persons have the right to express themselves and to create and disseminate their work in the language of their choice and particularly in their mother tongue.
Today, multilingualism is a growing phenomenon worldwide, and people who can speak, read or write more than one language are much in demand as translators, interpreters and general facilitators of communication and interaction between groups with different languages and cultures.
Programme Director!
The International Mother Tongue Day is observed every year to fulfil the following objectives:
- To celebrate cultural and language diversity
- To promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism
- To promote multilingualism by increasing awareness about linguistic and cultural traditions of communities. People are encouraged and inspired to learn other languages
- To encourage people to take pride in their mother tongue
- To emphasise the importance of one’s mother tongue to development as an individual
- To encourage people to use their mother tongue when writing literature and to read material written in their own mother tongue
- To promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by people of the world
- To show respect for all languages as a key factor for ensuring peaceful coexistence without exclusion of societies and all of their members
Ladies and Gentlemen!
You will recall that earlier on I did touch on the struggle waged by the Bangladesh students to maintain their mother language, this day is also regarded as the international recognition of Language Movement Day, which has been commemorated in Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) since 1952, when a number of students including the students of the University of Dhaka were killed by the Pakistani police during the Bengali Language Movement protests.
As the Department of Arts and Culture, we take this day very seriously hence we have been celebrating it since 2004 with the community including the language stakeholders, institutions of higher learning and learners.
Programme Director!
This department is committed to acknowledging and preserving indigenous languages. Before 1994, the majority of our people did not understand or speak the languages used by the government of the day. Today, our new Constitution guarantees parity of esteem and equity to all the official languages and a right to express ourselves in our own languages. In the province we have put in place a Provincial Language Policy which acknowledges the four official languages of the province which are isiZulu, isiXhosa, English and Afrikaans.
We have embarked on a number of projects to ensure that we preserve and promote our indigenous languages. In a bid to promote multilingualism and improving access to information, the department provides translation, interpreting and editing services. Language Services provides a translation, interpreting and editing service to the provincial government departments and statutory bodies in three official languages in the Province (i.e. isiZulu, isiXhosa, English and Afrikaans), making it possible for the provincial government to communicate with the people in their own language.
Interpreting Service is provided in meetings, seminars and conferences. For the official languages to enjoy parity of esteem, they need to be developed. Terminology development plays a crucial role in promoting multilingualism and also the translation of documents into all official languages give the speakers of these languages access to information in their own languages of choice. This forms an integral part of language development, as it facilitates knowledge acquisition and transfer. It also assists in improving communication between people in all spheres of life.
One of our many goals as the department it to promote writing, reading and appreciation of literary works, especially with regards to the previously marginalised languages. One way of achieving this is to encourage literary works through workshops and competitions. The department has visited various municipalities with the aim of encouraging communities to write and read their own stories. So far, we have established 29 reading and writing clubs in the province. Some of these clubs have been adopted by the top publishers in the country.
Programme Director!
To enhance and popularise the notion of the International Mother Tongue Day, the department has embarked on a number of language awareness campaigns including participating in radio talk shows to debate language issues.
We also encourage the learning of other languages and promoting linguistic diversity in our community through programmes like learn another language which is intended to encourage the citizens of KwaZulu-Natal to learn seSotho.
Ladies and gentlemen!
Let me conclude by saying that the government of South Africa considers its many languages as an asset, rather than a burden. While committed to political and economic integration, the government actively promotes the freedom of its citizens to speak and write in their own languages and of course to learn their neighbour’s languages.
I thank you
