Africa-Press – Angola. Teachers in the province of Cuanza Norte defended, this Wednesday, the inclusion of the teaching of national languages in the school curriculum at all levels of education, for greater dissemination and to encourage young people to speak.
The teachers, interviewed regarding International Mother Language Day, consider that the population, especially young people, should be proud of knowing their local language, as it is a means of communication that will provide a feeling of identity and belonging to a community.
For the teacher, Vasco Domingos, teaching languages up to the 6th grade is not enough, as is the case in the province of Cuanza- Norte, and it is necessary to cover other levels of education to expand and encourage young people to speak.
He reinforced that the dissemination will encourage citizens to speak and many will no longer be ashamed to communicate publicly in national languages, as happens, for example, in the provinces of Uíge and eastern Angola.
José Manuel recalled that the Portuguese introduced their language, devaluing the native languages as a way of imposing themselves, valuing their culture, to facilitate colonization.
At this time, when the country has already gained its independence, he defended, it must rescue its culture and its national languages. “Each region should teach the predominant language,” he suggested.
José Manuel noted that churches already frequently use national languages, but in public places they still ignore who speaks it.
Cristovão de Carvalho considered that local languages are a form of personal identification and an individual’s naturalness, therefore, they must be preserved.
“It is a vehicle for transmitting cultural values from generation to generation and represents Angolanity”, he stressed.
In Angola, which has Portuguese as its official language, there are more than 20 national languages.
After Portuguese, the second most spoken language is Umbundu, in the central-south region of Angola and in many urban areas. The third is Kimbundu in the central-north zone, on the Luanda-Malanje axis and in Kwanza-Sul.
Currently, there are approximately seven thousand languages spoken in the world. However, a third of these languages are at risk of extinction. The loss of these languages impoverishes reality. With this in mind, UNESCO has celebrated, since 1999, February 21st as International Mother Language Day.
The date, which aims to promote linguistic cultural diversity and the recovery of endangered languages, is yet another strategy to foster respect and solidarity between different nations.
According to UNESCO, languages should not be thought of only as a means of communication, as they also carry values and conceptions of the world.
The mother tongue is one that develops from the first years of life and is acquired mainly through the interaction of people who are in the same environment, starting directly with the family. It is considered the main process for developing linguistic ability.
For More News And Analysis About Angola Follow Africa-Press
