Batswana not proud of mother tongue – Dr Sebina

This came to the fore Wednesday morning during the commemoration of International Mother Language Day at the University of Botswana. The event, which is held yearly on February 21, was celebrated under the theme, ‘Multilingual education: A pillar of learning and intergenerational learning’.

At the celebration, which is designated by UNESCO to promote linguistic and cultural diversity to honour the importance of mother tongues, speakers said Batswana continue to fail to appreciate the use of their mother language. Head of Department (HOD) in the Faculty of Humanities, Dr Peter Sebina, bemoaned that Batswana are not proud of their languages but pride themselves on being a democratic society. “As a country that prides itself in democracy, we should also do it with the languages that we have in our own country,” Sebina said.