GLOSS/402soc Batun Harsunan Afirka (The Issue of African Languages)

Batun Harsunan Afirka	<>	The Issue of African Languages
Alkalluma sun yi nuni da cewa ana amfani da harsuna kimanin 2000 a nahiyar Afirka mai yawan al'ummomi kusan miliyan ɗari tara. To, sai dai a ɗaukacin ƙasashen Afirka harsunan Inglishi, da Faransanci, da kuma na 'yan Portugal su ne harsunan da hukumomi ke amfani da su. To, sai dai a rayuwarsu ta yau da kullum, mussaman a tsakanin 'yan uwa, al'ummomi da kuma ƙabilu a wannan nahiya suna magana ne da yarukansu na asali.	<>	Statistics show that approximately 2,000 languages are spoken in Africa where some 900 million people live. However, in the majority of African countries, English, French, and Portuguese are the languages used by the government. In their daily lives, however, especially between family and within communities and ethnic groups in this region of the world, the people speak in their native tongues.
Rishin amfani da harsunansu a hukumance yana kawo cikas ga ci gaban ƙasa in ji Kofi Yakpo masanin kimiyyar harsuna. “Yare da mulki na dimokuraɗiyya suna tafiya ne kafaɗa da kafaɗa da juna. Watau, amfani da harshen 'yan mulkin mallaka a wata ƙasa, yana sa a shiga wani hali inda ake mayar da ɗaukacin al'ummomin wannan ƙasa saniyar ware a harkokin mulki. Saboda haka ya kamata a ba wa harsunan Afirka muhimmanci domin ɗaukacin al'ummomin wannan nahiya sun fi iya yarensu na asali, amma ba na turawan mulkin mallaka ba.”	<>	The lack of the official use of these languages creates an obstacle in the development of these countries, according to linguist Kofi Yakpo: “Language and a democratic government go hand in hand. That is, the use of the colonial language in a country causes a situation in which the majority of the population are rendered disconnected from government affairs. Thus, African languages should be given importance because the majority of the population of this region understands their native tongue better than that of the Western colonialists.”
Kofi na mai ra'ayin cewa alhakin yin haka ya rataya ne a wuyan al'ummomin Afirka da kansu, amma ba hukuma ba. Ya ce ta hanyar watsa shirye-shirye kamar na rediyo da buga jaridu da fassara littatafai a cikin yarukan Afirka zai taimaka bisa manufa.	<>	Kofi is of the opinion that the responsibility for achieving this rests on the African people themselves rather than on the government. He said that broadcasting radio programs, publishing magazines, and translating books in the African languages will help to reach this goal.
Irin wannan aikin ne kuwa, Kolyang Dina Taiwé ɗan asalin kasar Kameru da ke koyar da ilimin kamfuta a jami'ar birnin Bremen yake yi. Tun shekaru bakwai da suka wuce yake buga wata mujalla da yaren Karu wanda ake amfani da shi a arewacin Kameru. “Ba da dama rubutu yare yana ƙara wa mutum zurfin tunani da dagantakarsa da yaren nasa na asali. Haka kuma, wani ƙarin ilimi ne domin yana bada damar yin musayar ra'ayoyi a rubuce.”	<>	This is the kind of work that Kolyang Dina Taiwé, a Cameroonian who teaches computer science at Bremen University, is doing. For the last seven years, he has been publishing magazines in the Karu language, which is spoken in northern Cameroon. “The opportunity to write in one’s language adds to the depth of thought and relationship a person has to his native language. Furthermore, it increases one's knowledge because this provides the opportunity to exchange opinions in a written format.”
Taiwé na da sha'awar yada wannan yare wanda kamar wasu ƙananan harsuna suke fuskanta barazanar ɓacewa sakamakon tasirin da wasu manyan harsuna suka yi musu.	<>	Taiwé is interested in promoting the advancement of this language, as it is facing the threat of disappearance like other less spoken languages because of the effect that the more widely spoken languages have on them.