There is a growing cultural contradiction across many African households.
Some parents take enormous pride in their children’s ability to speak perfect English or French, but show little concern when those same children cannot communicate fluently in their indigenous languages.
A child speaks English with a foreign accent, and the parents celebrate. Another child struggles to speak Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Akan or another African language, and nobody considers it a problem.
When did speaking our own languages become something less prestigious?
Let’s be clear: English and French are important international languages. They provide access to education, employment, business and global opportunities. There is nothing wrong with encouraging children to master them.
But why should that come at the expense of our cultural identity?
African languages are not merely tools of communication. They preserve our history, traditional knowledge, proverbs, philosophy, indigenous wisdom and the experiences of generations before us.
When children lose their mother tongues, they risk losing an important connection to their roots.
The responsibility does not belong to parents alone. Schools, governments, policymakers and society must also encourage the preservation and teaching of indigenous languages.
**DEVELOPMENT SHOULD NOT REQUIRE CULTURAL AMNESIA.**
A child can speak English, French and three other international languages while remaining fluent in their mother tongue.
Being multilingual should be celebrated. Abandoning one’s heritage should not be mistaken for civilization.
Africa must prepare its children for the world without teaching them to become strangers to their own identity.
### THE QUESTION AFRICA MUST ANSWER:
Are we raising a generation that is globally educated but culturally disconnected?
Are African parents unintentionally contributing to the disappearance of their own languages?
Or is this simply the natural evolution of modern society?
**WHAT IS YOUR OPINION? SHOULD AFRICAN PARENTS MAKE LEARNING THE MOTHER TONGUE AS IMPORTANT AS LEARNING ENGLISH OR FRENCH?**
Let’s have an honest conversation.
— **NEWSBREAK365**
#Newsbreak365 #AfricanIdentity #AfricanLanguages #MotherTongue #AfricanCulture #Education #CulturalHeritage #Africa
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