Sometimes it feels weird not knowing your own language.
So, I’m Kenyan. My parents are from different Kenyan tribes: my dad’s a Luo and my mom’s a Kamba. Do I know how to speak Dholuo or Kikamba; my mother tongues? Nope.
Growing up, both my parents spoke to me in English, with some Kiswahili thrown in as I got older. So other than practicing for French oral exams, I’ve never really spoken any other language in the house.
That’s why I find it so cool when people know how to speak their mother-tongue fluently. Being multilingual is a great skill to have, but it’s also really cool to be able to switch languages at the drop of a hat. Personally, I can speak Kiswahili well enough to get by, but I still have a long way to go. And I only know a few words in Dholuo and Kikamba.
There are about 42 tribes in Kenya and there are dozens of tribal dialects spoken in the country. Some tribes have more than one language spoken within their community, which creates even more cultural variation. Other countries have tons of languages: for example, Nigeria, has over 500 native dialects!
Knowing your mother tongue allows you to connect more with your culture and those who share a culture with you. Not knowing it sometimes feels awkward. I’ve been in situations where people see that my surname is Oduor and greet me in Dholuo. In situations like these, I respond with an ‘adhi maber‘ (‘I’m good’ ) and hope that they don’t continue talking in Dholuo because I’ll have no idea what to say.
In Kenya, I’ve heard older adults commenting about how people from my generation don’t know their respective mother tongues and that there’s a risk of mother-tongues dying off. This is already happening in several places in the world. Some languages which are only spoken by a few people, most of whom are elderly.
A website called Ethnologue estimated that currently, there are about 3,000 languages which are endangered. Just like flora and fauna, languages are at risk of going extinct if nothing is done to preserve them.
Languages come and go over time. People don’t speak Old Saxon or write in Sumerian anymore. But we should try and preserve different tribal and cultural dialects. Maybe it’s because my mom is a linguist, but I think it’s important to keep languages alive, not just for the sake of it, but for the sake of future generations. Language is knowledge. And good knowledge should be preserved.
So, try and learn a little of your mother tongue if you don’t know it already. I guess I’d better try and learn some Dholuo and Kikamba. Wish me all the best with that.
Sources:
Ethnologue. How Many Languages Are Endangered? https://www.ethnologue.com/insights/how-many-languages-endangered