Just like the national anthem goes, our shared culture identifies us, and our language unifies us. Shocking to many but fascinating to us, Kinyarwanda is Rwanda’s only traditional language spoken by the whole population. Every February 21, the world marks the international Mother Language Day. Among other events, Rwanda will mark the day by launching a new dictionary of financial technical terms in Kinyarwanda through Inteko y’Umuco (Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy). ALSO READ: Kinyarwanda’s hope for survival lies in our tongues This is an addition to already existing efforts to preserve and grow the Kinyarwanda language, after the former Rwandan Academy of Language and Culture (RALC) raised an alarm in 2018 about the language being in danger of extinction should current generations continue favoring foreign languages over their mother tongue. According to UNESCO, a language is considered ‘vulnerable’ if most children speak the language, but it may be restricted to certain domains, such as at home or other social functions. A language is considered ‘definitely endangered’ if children no longer learn the language as a 'mother tongue' in homes, and it is considered ‘severely endangered’ if the language is spoken by grandparents and older generations; while the parent generation may understand it, they do not speak it to children or among themselves. ALSO READ: Rwandans urged to embrace mother tongue Does this ring a bell? Today, many children in Rwanda cannot speak Kinyarwanda, and their parents are unbothered, or so they seem. The misguided associate this great anomaly with 'modernity'. But the future of our language lies in our children today. Through them, the Rwandan identity is alive. Preserving our mother language is not Inteko y’Umuco’s duty alone. We also have a role to play in our respective walks of life, especially as parents. Let us encourage and even reward the culture of speaking Kinyarwanda among children, and sometimes it starts from us speaking the language in their presence.
