#BTColumn – World Kiswahili Language Day

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY. 

by Wayne Campbell

Habari gani is the Kiswahili for how are you? The United Nations Educational, Scientific Educational Organization (UNESCO) celebrates the first ever World Kiswahili Language Day on July 7, 2022.

UNESCO states that indigenous peoples number some 370 million and their languages account for the majority of the approximately 7,000 living languages on the planet.

Many of us who have been socialised along Eurocentric principles have forgotten or try to disassociate ourselves from our genetics roots. We have been told over and over that anything too black is not good.

Unfortunately, we have continued the negative narrative of words associated with the prefix black to describe our brothers and sisters.

This is problematic and should be interrogated especially in a historical context of enslavement of black people
who were forcibly removed from Africa and transplanted
in the Americas.

Words such as black market, blacklist, black eye, black out, black box, black mood, black magic, black death, black sheep, black face, black hand, black head, black hole, black shirt, blackmail, blackleg, blackball, black mark.

The list goes on and on. The manner in how we speak is often scrutinised and stigmatised not solely from outside but by those of our own skin colour and creed. This should be of concern to any black person particularly when the symbol ‘white’ has been historically free of negative representations.

The international community joins the peoples of Africa in commemorating the first World Kiswahili Language Day. Kiswahili is a language that speaks to both past and present.

With over 200 million speakers, it is one of the most widely used African languages, encompassing more than a dozen main dialects.

Over the centuries, this Bantu language has emerged as a common form of communication in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, in addition to the Middle East.

In the 1950s the United Nations established the Kiswahili language unit of United Nations Radio, and today Kiswahili is the only African language within the Directorate of the Global Communications at the United Nations.

The United Nations General Assembly, through its resolution 71/328 of 11 September 2017, on multilingualism, welcomed implementation of a day dedicated to each of its official languages in order to inform and raise awareness of their history, culture and use, and encouraged the Secretary-General and institutions such as UNESCO to consider extending this important initiative to other non-official languages spoken throughout the world.

Kiswahili language plays in promoting cultural diversity, creating awareness and fostering dialogue among civilisations and noted the need to promote multilingualism as a core value of the United Nations and an essential factor in harmonious communication between peoples, which promotes unity in diversity and international understanding, tolerance and dialogue.

The resolution proclaimed 7 July of each year as
World Kiswahili Language Day. Kiswahili is the first African language to the recognized in such a manner by the UN.

This first celebration of the World Kiswahili language day will be held under the theme: ‘Kiswahili for peace
and prosperity’. The mission of the annual celebration is to promote the use of Kiswahili language as a beacon for unity, peace, and enhanced multiculturalism.

Language is Dynamic

The classroom should never be viewed as an outlet for shame and discrimination; instead, the classroom should be seen as an oasis of opinions where one feels safe to express his/her views respectfully.

This linguistic power play in society is obviously a violation of human rights since speakers of the mother language are sometimes denied some services due to a fear of being ridiculed or laughed at.

Language reinforces a hierarchal system of discrimination and for us to ignore our Mother Language we too are guilty by association of perpetuating a system of prejudice and inequality. Language is dynamic.

On this special day let us embrace this historical moment especially those of us who were denied the opportunity to speak our true mother language Kiswahili. Happy World Kiswahili Language Day.

In the words of Nelson Mandela, if you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.

Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com @WayneCamo © #WorldKiswahiliLanguageDay #KiswahiliforPeaceandProsperity #Africa #BantuLanguage