Ms May Ikokwu, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Save Our Heritage Initiative (SOHI), an NGO, on Monday called for preservation of mother languages for enhanced national identity and development.
Ikokwu made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the occasion of UN International Mother Languages Day.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the UN sets aside Feb. 21 annually to celebrate Mother Languages Day.
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It was approved at the 1999 UNESCO General Conference and has been observed throughout the world since 2000.
The SOHI Chief Executive said that sustaining the languages of ethnic groups was critical for the preservation of cultural heritage and identity.
“Using one’s mother tongue at home makes it easier for children to be comfortable with their own cultural identity.
“We urge parents and guardians to always communicate with their children in the native language to make them to culturally integrate into their language community,” she said.
Ikokwu who described language as the way to represent the formation and expression of a nation’s culture, said preserving the different cultures and languages foster tolerance and respect for others.
According to her, mother languages are easily learned from older persons because they epitomise culture and identity.
She said that older persons have demonstrated their belief in the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity for sustainable societies.
“Language identifies a culture’s ethnic identity; thus, the development, preservation, and research of culture are linked to learning a nation’s language code,” she said.
Ikokwu, who said that language was a vital factor in a nation’s development, said that language was the carrier of a country’s intangible heritage.
She expressed concern at the diminishing rate of use mother tongues especially among minority tribes and some elites, who refer to speak English or the dominant language to their children.
“Parents must make conscious effort to speak the mother tongue to their children otherwise they will be held responsible for the death of their language.
“Aside from the currency, flag, name or geographical boundary, the mother languages make a country unique and respectable.
“Mother Language is the indicator of the country’s national identity and a part of a person’s heritage or a nation,” she said. (NAN)
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