As we selebet ’’World Mother Tongue Day’’

As Naija de rol, plenti pipul no de send egen fo wetin konsain tins ebaut ‘’current affairs.’’ In doz déz, if pesin no sabi ‘‘current affairs’’ na im bi se di pesin no ‘’current’’ at ol. An na wen pesin ‘‘current’’ na im pesin bi pesin. Fo dat taim, nobodi send fo hau mosh moni de fo yo poket. Wetin pipul laik to nou, na hau yo hed de wok. Na hau yu ‘‘current’’ rich na im dem go tek ‘‘rate’’ yu. Nauadés, evribodi de fait fo im poket. Evribodi de hozul fo im bele. Fo exampul, if yu ask ten pipul fo Naija todé wetin bi ‘‘World Mother Tongue Day,’’ i no go izi to faind won pesin we sabi am. Na so di tin bi fo difren tins fo dis levul.

Di ‘‘World Mother Tongue Day’’ don kom an go, bot i go mek sens if wi tok ebaut am fo Naija Langwej A-Z bikos, i fol propa fo dis ples. Dis na di rizin wai wi want to faind aut wai di ‘‘United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’’ (UNESCO) se mek wi tek won dé rimemba awa mama an awa papa langwej. If yu folo di flo fo bottom, yu go si wetin wi de tok.

Di ’’21st of February’’ evri ‘‘year’’ na spechal dé we UNESCO se mek wi yuz selebret as ’’World Mother Tongue Day.’’ Dem biliv se ivun dó langwej jabrata fo evriwie, notin go fit bi laik awa ’’mother tongue.’’ Dem se di koret langwej we wi sopoz to tek tich awa pikin-dem fo eni biginin na awa ’’mother tongue.’’ Na im bi di langwej of awa papa an awa mama-dem. Dem se if wi no du dis won, na so awa langwej dem go de kpai de go won bai won. Dem kom se Inglish langwej we wi de du folo folo de folo, na im bi di bigest ’’killer’’ of plenti langwej bikos, as wi de yuz am fo redio an TV, wi de foget awa oun langwej-dem. Dem kom se, no mata wetin de hapun, mek wi no sidon de luuk as awa langwej dem de kpeme de go. Dat won bi se, mek wi no giv op at ol at ol. Di sem UNESCO kom se, apat from se awa ’’mother tongue’’ na im bi awa pawa, na im mek os hu wi bi. If wi stat to spik oda pipul langwej an foget awa oun, wi no go bi hu wi sopoz bi. Bifo wi nou wetin de hapun, wi go ton to okrika fo mata we konsain awa langwej.

As fo hau dis ‘‘mother tongue’’ mata tek kom aut, na fo di jenaral konfrens of UNESCO, November 1999 na im dem agri fo agriment no. (30C/62) ebaut ‘‘International Mother Language Day.’’ Fo 16 of May 2009, dem kom agri egen fo anoda agriment wit nomba (A/RES/61/266) se mek dia membas ‘‘promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world". Na fo insaid di sem agriment dem se, ‘‘year 2008’’ go bi ‘‘International Year of Languages, to promote unity in diversity and international understanding, through multilingualism and multiculturalism.’’

Sins February 2000 di hol wold de rimemba an selebret February 21st ‘‘to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.’’ Anoda tin ebaut dis spechal dé bi se, dem also de yuz am to mak di dé fo 1952 wen dem ‘’shoot’’ som University of Dhaka (now Bangladesh) student-dem we de demonstret se mek dia langwej, Bangla, get rikognishon as won of dia ‘‘two national languages’’ fo Pakistan of doz déz.

So, if wi tok of UNESCO World Mother Language Day, wi de olwes de rimemba ‘‘Dhaka University’’ students we dem tek bulet pisis dia bodi bikos dem se dem most rikognaiz dia langwej. Wi de olso tek dis de rimemba ol di pipul of Pakistan we fait to si se dem fri dem sef from ‘‘political slavery of west Pakistanis.’’ Source: (Originally written in English language but translated to Naija) - http://www.un.org/en/events/motherlanguageday/

Afta yu rid dis finish, mek yu tink weda na yo original langwej yu de spik. Yu go si hau som som langwej de swalo oda langwej. Yu go sabi se pesin sopoz spend enitin to mek sho se im langwej no los. Yu go agri wit mi se pesin sopoz len hau to spik im langwej. For exampul, Naijiria get plenti moda tong we don los. An som de los de go. An wi no sopoz rimen laik dis de luuk as awa langwej de go. Sins awa moda tong na im mek os bi hu wi bi, mek wi du di smol wi fit du to mek sho se wi kep am ‘‘alive.’’