The wife of the Governor of Anambra State, Nonye Soludo, has asked parents to prioritize teaching their children their mother tongue and culture over foreign dialects, languages and ways of life.
The Governor’s wife, who stated this in Awka while making a speech in commemoration of this year’s International Mother Language Day, noted that teaching a child the basic way of life, including their mother tongue, social values and traditions are part of primary responsibilities of parts.
Mrs. Soludo explained that some of the causes of social challenges originate from a child being ignorant of his or her cultural values , including the values of hard work, honesty, patience and truth.
The Governor’s wife further explained that one of the things that defines a community’s uniqueness is the distinctiveness of its language, pointing out that one’s mother language establishes originality and gives the speaker a strong identity .
She frowned at some school regulations forbidding school children from speaking their mother tongue in classrooms, explaining that one’s language has no inhibition to learning and academic intelligence.
Mrs. Soludo also noted that parents should lead the revival of dying mother tongues, most importantly the Igbo language, stressing the need to institutionalise the language as every child’s basic learning tool.
International Mother Language Day, celebrated worldwide on February twenty first, celebrates the linguistic diversity of several cultures worldwide.
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