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 To
Bridge Languages
February
21,
2012, 5:30 pm
By Ada
Higuera
adacrist@enet.cu
Translation by
Ernesto Gutierrez Pino
Linguistic diversity is closely
related to biodiversity. At a time when humanity is called
to preserve the species of the Earth or the animals in
danger of extinction, the languages must be also defended
because some of them are in the same risk of disappearing.
Alarming data reveal that since humans began to talk, some
30,000 languages have died out and at least ten languages
disappear every year. Thus, cultural multiplicity gradually
becomes poorer.
To raise awareness of the linguistic traditions of the
world, every February 21 is celebrated the International
Mother Language Day, proclaimed by UNESCO in order to
preserve languages, as world heritage.
In Cuba the government promotes measures for the
preservation of the Spanish language by means of educational
and cultural projects. On this matter, the Caribbean nation
seeks consistency with the rules established periodically by
the Royal Spanish Academy and all provinces boost
initiatives to fulfill those purposes.
In Las Tunas the Provincial Station Radio Victoria has on
air a language program from Monday through Friday since 18
years ago, which is defined as a faithful defender of the
Spanish language.
Ibis Gonzalez Ana Fonseca, current writer and presenter of
the program, told Tiempo21 that "the purpose is to improve
the vocabulary of people from all walks of life."
"In each program we make emphasis on the spelling of the
words and their origins. We say that the words must be
bright as gold, light as wings and solid as marble." she
stressed.
The mother tongue is considered the basis of identity,
communication and social integration of people, but a poor
vocabulary hinders all these processes and is the cause of
personal and social conflicts.
"Language reflects a cultural level and can close or open
doors. It depends on how we use it. We can fail an exam or
lose a job for language errors."
To promote the dissemination of the mother tongues and to
inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and
dialogue it is worthy to ask to ourselves: what are we doing
for our own language in our daily actions? Is it enough?
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