Tendai Ruben Mbofana
I find myself asking – how, on mother earth, did someone with Zimbabwean parents (who are well-versed and articulate in their own mother tongues) end up incapable of speaking what should be a natural language?
Could this be a matter of the environment they grew in?
Or, maybe the negative attitude of the parents themselves towards their own languages?
Quite frankly, it is hard to wrap one’s mind around this.
I always love giving this example, whenever I find myself involved in such discussions.
I am part of that generation of Zimbabweans who kicked off their educational journeys, soon after the country attained her independence from Britain in 1980, at what were then “white schools”, whilst residing in “white suburbs”.
Yet, in spite of being one of a very few blacks amongst a sea of white folk – having white friends, white neighbors, white teachers, basically everything to do with white culture and language – we never turned into little “white blacks”, or as some would call, “coconuts”, or “masalad”.
Regardless of the fact that, even speaking in one’s own indigenous language at school was strongly forbidden – as being caught doing so would result in uncomfortable punishment – we remained not only articulate in our own mother tongues, but also extremely proud to be identified as a truly local breed.
Indeed, our teachers encouraged and taught us proper forms of diction and phonetics in as far as English was concerned – leading us to master the art of the language with excellence – nevertheless, at no point did we feel compelled to sound white, or demean our own tongues.
Yet, this is in stark contrast to what we witness with our young ones nowadays – who not only appear to utterly disdain and regard with inferiority their own languages, but also have adopted the most irritating habit of fake unnatural accents when speaking in English (which, I truly believe is a direct result of failed attempts at imitating their favorite television stars).
Nonetheless, the question still pertains – how do children of Zimbabwean parents, who themselves can adequately and perfectly speak their own indigenous languages, end up unable or unwilling to speak the same?
Does this not boil down to us – the parents – who have instilled this sense of looking down upon, and rejecting what is ours, whilst promoting and envying what is not ours?
Our own parents, despite being in the middle of white society at that time, never let go of their cultural identities – as such, when we were at home (where no one was punished for speaking in the language of their choosing) the entire household communicated in our mother tongues.
At the end of the day, we were experts in both what we termed “school” and “home” languages – a feat evading our youth today.
However, as we continue on this lost path, leading our children astray – do we, as parents ever stop to think what portraying our own indigenous languages as discredited and unwanted does to our children?
Have we ever pondered the broader implications?
Language is intricately interwoven with culture – and, culture with how we think and behave.
Take a simple greeting in Shona, for instance, “mangwanani”, or “mamuka sei”, which carries with it certain attributes, such as clapping, kneeling, or curtseying – that would never be attached to “good morning” in English.
Even today, at 48 years of age, whenever I greet my mother in our language, I still clap my hands in respect and honour – something, I seriously doubt would have been possible, had I used English.
Why, then, would anyone be shocked and disgusted with the apparent lack of respect, and general moral decadence within our modern day youth – when we are the ones who have cut them off from their culture, whose major tenets are founded on respect, respectability, and responsibility?
Nothing can ever completely destroy a child whose foundation is strong – such that, even if they do get it wrong somewhere along the line in their life journeys, will inevitably get their compass bearings correct, and find their way back to the proper way of living.
Yet, when we have already inculcated in them that anything related to who we are as a people is substandard or inferior to those of others – our children will try to copy what is alien to them, at the end either copying inaccurately or the wrong things altogether.
Let us remember that copying is merely imitating what one does not even fully understand, and there is actually a high likelihood of miscopying – which is more likely when parroting things seen from afar or on television, without a proper comprehension, contextualization, and appreciate of what one is really seeing.
Is there any wonder, then, that we end up with youth who are not grounded, and blown away by every cultural wind that passes by – exactly what we witness with our children?
As such, when drugs, alcohol, illicit sex, and other vices appear as the cool thing – what is to stop them from blindly jumping onto the bandwagon?
I always find people who blame lack of employment, or idleness as the root of our problems in society.
Well, I beg to differ.
Particular behavioral traits only grow and fester where the “soil” is fertile and appropriate enough.
In other words, only when certain characteristics already exist in an individual can certain behaviors thrive.
Why is it that not all unemployed youth are into drugs, alcohol, or sleeping around?
Why are there some youth, even without any gainful occupation, who would rather spend their time engaged in other productive activities – such as writing, reading, or even gardening at home, or assisting the elderly or needy in their communities – instead of roaming around the streets aimlessly, or immersed in dubious and dangerous pursuits online on their smartphones?
As a matter of fact, do we not have plenty of youth who are either employed or self-employed, who are always drowning in booze, drugs, and illicit sex – which, pokes holes in this clearly unproven and unscientific hypothesis?
This has everything to do with the type of “soil” or belief systems instilled in them from a very early age.
As long as our healthy and strong cultural systems are at the core, with an appreciation of who we are (language being one of those) at the forefront – the likelihood of our youth losing direction is significantly lowered.
Once any other temptations come about, usually foreign influenced – they are resisted, and can not grow in such “soil”.
© Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice activist, writer, researcher, and social commentator. Please feel free to contact him on WhatsApp/Call: +263715667700 / +263782283975, or Calls Only: +263788897936 / +263733399640, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com
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