Ndebele language under threat

The Ndebele language is under threat and risks becoming extinct amid concerns by its custodians that most teachers of the language in the country's primary schools do not speak it as their first language, Radio Dialogue.
In an exclusive interview with one of the country's leading researchers and author of the isiNdebele dictionary (Isichazamazwi sesiNdebele), Dr Samukele Hadebe, the language is dying a slow death because the personnel entrusted to administer the language by the education ministry are not proficient in the language.
Dr Hadebe said there was a serious need for an introspection on what can be done to bolster how the language is taught.
"There is still a lot that parents can also do to preserve the language, given that the guardians are the ones that mould and socialise children into society," said Dr Hadebe.
He said if nothing is done, isiNdebele would be eroded, given that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has not done enough to preserve local languages through the education system.
"Most people who teach languages do not have a basic or even a deeper comprehension of the language mainly because it is not  their first language," said Hadebe.
He said most of Ndebele authors were keen on chipping in to translate some of the subjects learnt in schools in a bid to ensure that pupils learn in the best understandable language.
Siphiwe Magutshwa from Pumula South suburb in Bulawayo said there was a need for teachers who exhibit total understanding of isiNdebele to be given preference to teach at primary schools.
"Cultivating the language at a tender age will go a long way in ensuring that this language is kept intact and that its custodians are proud of it," said Magutshwa.
She said there was a need for an emphasis on local languages in the country's schools.
"If we are in Bulawayo for instance, we should make sure that we have Ndebele teachers teaching isiNdebele and Shona teachers for Mashonaland regions," said Magutshwa.
Marko Samende from Mashonaland West said language should be emphasised and prioritised at home while the school plays a complimentary role.
"I think parents are to blame for the decay of local languages because they are the ones that influence their children to adopt Western cultures, for instance today's parents want to be called daddy, mommy, instead of mama or baba. This should be corrected," said Samende.
A teacher at a Bulawayo school said to an extent, modern-day Ndebele writers were corrupting the vernacular language by frequently borrowing foreign words.
"There is still a need for more literature in isiNdebele as a language and we hope most authors will fill this gap, if more people consume such literature, the more the appreciation of the language," he said.