Umuhimu wa Kuhifadhi Lugha Zetu Za Kiafrika (The Importance of Preserving Our African Languages) .
Presenter name: Nduku Mulumba
Session Language: English and Kiswahili
Type: Individual presentation (1 hour)
Description:
This session will focus on the origin of Kiswahili and why the speaker is convinced that this is a language that was created by Afrikans and not Arabs as is popularly believed. It will also touch on “linguistic colonialism”, particularly how the invasion of Afrika cost us our languages and how for example Kiswahili, which those who invaded East Afrika saw as a language that united the different peoples of Afrika, was corrupted so that it would lose its connection to us and that ability to unite us. The presentation will propose solutions for the preservation, the rebuilding, the recording, and the expansion of Kiswahili and all Afrikan languages to ensure we do not lose our Afrikan culture.
Time slot: February 21st at 2PM EAT (11am GMT)