08/05/2026
Dr. Khanyile Joseph Mlotshwa highlights the importance of preserving minority languages through the simple act of speaking the language.
Further, Dr. Mlotshwa cautions on the dangers that new technologies pose to indigenous and minority languages by elevating "universal languages of modern times," like English ahead of a myriad of other mother tongues.
"When people are sheepishly shepherded into digital enclosures, it is clear they will lose not only their land, but their languages, their history and their culture as well. So much for responsible adoption of Artificial Intelligence when people who cannot write or read their mother languages are thrown into the digital dungeons where English rules!."
Tom Lantos Institute Namati United Nations Human Rights UNESCO International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA)
https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/freedom-of-speech-is-ultimately-to-speak-ones-language/?fbclid=IwY2xjawRq5WBleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFoYzJtckR1aXJCVk5KbHduc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHlzwFo27BD8qhnIsSaw2piMbMVw4SOeX61E33j6j-UoDCkAZDiNVLb--8VLF_aem_mPHJ-uPMqRA0eAeT09ZXtQ
Khanyile Mlotshwa I remember in 1999 reading a story where the godfather of Ndebele literature, Ndabezinhle Sigogo, told a group of literature enthusiasts at a writer’s workshop held at the National Art Gallery in Bulawayo, not to worry that IsiNdebele language is under threat, “just keep speaki...
