I am a lazy reader. Last week, while reading the WeekendPost newspaper (07 - 13 November) I scribbled on my subconcious that there was an article by Dr Cosmos Kebinang Moenga, with a curious heading "There is more to culture than singing and dancing", which article I had to remember to read. As so often happens, I forgot to read it and threw the paper on to the heap. Today for some unknown reason, I remembered the article; perhaps because I observed some drinkers rolling and floating to the sound of the noisy gumbagumba at a nearby shebeen.
And so I dug up Dr. Cosmos Kebinang Moenga's artcle and read it. It is very enlightenning and I strongly recommend it.
When I reached the end, I remembered how I recently experienced the power of "Big Lies" told by "big" people (as related in Adolf Hitler's 'Mein Kampf'). You see, I never view anything written in Setswana language as possibly carrying any reading value, and so I never read anything written in Setswana language, be it reports or opinion pieces. I must admit though, that my knowledge of Setswana is quite poor!
A few months ago, I bought a Wednesday edition of Mmegi (The Reporter) newspaper. As I paged through, I came accross an article written in Kalanga language, by Dr. Shandulani Buyani Vavani. I instinctively started reading it. I got so egrossed in reading this article, nothing could have swayed my attention whatsoever. By the time I finished reading the article, I felt in much lighter mood; but what then followed is what really shocked me. I found myself having read an entire article in Setswana language in the same paper, without even noticing that I was reading a Setswana article. It was just like the Setswana language article was a continuation of Dr. Vavani's humorous Kalanga article. Perhaps for the first time in my sixty-odd years I stood back and detached myself from what had just happenned to me, and attempted to understand it. I had unconciously sought value in a Setswana language piece, a language I consider oppressive of my native Kalanga; a language I severely despise! I had done that because Dr. Vavani's article, written in my language, had tripped a Setswana-barring switch implanted in my subconcious by the perception that Setswana language oppresses my native Kalanga language.
What had just happenned is proof if ever one were needed, that our Government's argument that allowing languages other than Setswana to be officially used would breed national disunity, is total nonsense. On the contrary, it would cement our nation together, because we would begin to appreciate the value in our fellow country men and women. In other words, we would be truly "free men and women". We would feel curious enough about other languages used in our country that we would become multilingual. A Kalanga like me, would want to converse with an old Naro woman or man, and the only way to do it would be to learn her/his language!
So, beware of Government "Biglies"! The reason why Seretse Khama banned Kalanga from being taught in schools was his inferiority complex as a Setswana speaker who was fully aware that the nation he was leading was a Kalanga nation, and that therefore the only way he could retain the privileged position thrust upon him by Imperialist Britain was to repress and assimilate the majority (Kalanga) into the minority (Tswana). He did it in grand style - by proclaiming that Kalangas are a tribe, and at the same time challenging them to tell him who their paramount chief should be. Imagine the cheek of it. He declares Kalangas a tribe, and instead of him identifying the "paramount chief" of said tribe, he demands that that "tribe" identify to him who their "traditional" paramount chief is!. The same warped argument is being advanced today by Setswana so-called "intellectuals". They now want Kalanga (and other) non-Setswana speakers to tell them how Government can best preserve the many languages spoken in our country! My answer to them is simple - the same way you have so far preserved the Setswana language. As a Kalanga I do not accept the crap about Setswana language being "the National language". Who made it a national language over and above Kalanga, when the Tswana speakers have always been a subset of Kalanga speakers? Seretse Khama never asked, nor did he receive any acceptance by Kalanga speakers that their language be banned from schools. He never conducted a referendum on such an important national question.
In my view, Kalangas should boycot the 50 year Independence anniversary celebrations next year, including the vision 2036 council, until the teaching of Kalanga is RESTORED in our schools!
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