Namibia moves to protect African languages

Namibia has added its voice to the cause of protecting and preserving African languages. It was confirmed last week that Cabinet had earlier this year approved the ratification of the Charter of the African Cultural Renaissance and directed that the process be completed as soon as possible. The ratification of the charter promotes the unification of culture, arts, cultural values, language and heritage as central to sustainable development. The charter also aims to correct the cultural imbalances that were created by colonial regimes across the continent by enhancing the protection of African cultural values and cultural heritage as well as promotion of the spirit of Pan-Africanism. The charter recognises that cultural domination during the slave trade and the colonial era led to the depersonalisation of part of the African people by falsifying their history, and attempted to progressively replace African languages with their own. The African people were however able to find, in African culture, the necessary strength for resistance and the liberation of the continent. The Charter for the African Cultural Renaissance was adopted in 2006 by all member states of the African Union, and it was decided that it must be ratified by all member states to be enforced. Campaign to ratify Charter It was also decided that member states should undertake an active campaign to promote the ratification of the charter. Africa is comprised of 54 countries, slightly over one billion people according to 2012 projections, and an estimated 2 000 different spoken languages, making it the most linguistically diverse continent in the world. Other experts put the number at around 2 500 languages. Linguists have noted that some languages are critically endangered and are disappearing, mainly through increasing assimilation by bigger language groups. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) estimates there are 231 extinct languages in the world. Of these, 37 are from Sub-Saharan Africa. For example, the Zeem language in Nigeria, Berakou in Chad, Kwadi in Angola and Kw’adza in Tanzania are said to be among many that have become extinct in the last decade. Nigeria and Cameroon have the highest number of critically endangered languages, according to Ethnologue, a comprehensive reference work cataloguing all of the world’s known living languages.