Hon Chairperson and hon members, it is with tremendous sadness that I stand here today to debate the menace of extinction facing indigenous languages in South Africa. This happens while English continues to enjoy unchallenged supremacy as a medium of verbal and written communication, both in business and in government.
We are all guilty of not doing enough to safeguard indigenous languages as valuable resources for our knowledge systems, cultural norms and values and national heritage. The UDM believes that we have a collective responsibility to play a more active role in the preservation and promotion of indigenous languages.
Government must take the lead in the development of more supportive policies that promote the use of our indigenous languages. Government must invest in the development of the intellectualisation of indigenous languages for them to be able to function effectively as mediums of communication, both in business and in government.
Resources should be made available to improve the capacity of university research departments on indigenous languages. Government must promote the use of indigenous languages as mediums of instruction at schools and universities. Available empirical evidence clearly demonstrates a positive correlation between the use of the mother tongue at school as a medium of instruction and improved performance in school work by pupils, particularly in maths and science. [Applause.]