By Ben Oroko
Linguistic scholars and authors from the Gusii community have been challenged to consider writing indigenous language books as part of the campaign to preserve and protect the community’s language and culture.
Speaking to Education News in Kisii town, Thomas Oresi, a former Kisii civic leader, said indigeneous language books will provide a strong cultural foundation for young children and future generations in terms of moral values and holistic human development.
He raised concerns that the Gusii community’s continued adoption of foreign languages was posing a threat to the community’s mother tongue, much to the detriment of the young and future generations.
The civic leader argued that the books will inculcate in the children a culture of positive virtues like discipline and respect for others in the wider society.
Language, he said, will enable culture to propagate itself before it is passed to the next generation through writing of books, songs and riddles among other folklore.
“It is through these folklore that young children are taught about their community’s moral and cultural values for posterity,” stated Oresi.
Authoring of indigeneous language books, the civic leader observes, will not only introduce the children and young people to the importance of social and cultural value of their mother tongue, but will also preserve and protect their language against extinction due to over-reliance on foreign languages.
“Having our scholars concentrate on writing indigenous language books will protect our language against neglect in favour of foreign languages,” argued Oresi.
He expressed concern that the western culture and use of foreign languages by majority of the community’s members at the expense of their mother tongue had negatively impacted the social and moral values of the community.
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