Is Local Language about to Die?

This piece of writing will tell you a few reasons to let you think about fostering a local language. If you are not growing up with two languages, then may be you have sometime to consider reading this at home.

Let's just start with why learning another language is crucial, if you might want to consider reviving a local language. In fact, if not all, the majority of us at least know two languages at home, with one we speak very fluently and another we use less frequently.

Growing up in a multicultural society gives us some privilege to learn two languages naturally. Our ability to master local language is indeed a huge help to access another language as we grow up. Our active interaction within our community also helps faster our mastery of those languages; therefore we automatically become effective language users.

Are we using local language more than before?

Unfortunately, number of speakers within local languages have decreased slowly or may be even largely. The presence of dominant language has changed the journey of local language. Interaction in local language is quite a rare scene nowadays as majority prefer national language as a way to communicate. aren't we?

Family and language

Growing up in the late 80s, I witnessed how local language was a big deal. Almost rarely had I used national language with close friends back then. Also, daily conversations within family members were 100% in local language. This practice even made the language a lot easier to acquire as a tool to interact with extended family members. 

As I reached to primary school, I began to expose myself to another language. School's curriculum was mainly a reason as to why national language should be learned. To this time, local language was still used but very limited to informal discussions. As far as I can remember!. 

In school, teachers imposed national language to exchange conversations. Activities within school's curriculum were run in national language framework and those considered as extracurricular might have ended in a mixed mode: both local and national language. Little did conversations in class were carried out in local language.

It was totally understandable why national language was dominantly used in schools. Firstly, A lot of students arrived in schools not only with different background but also diverse ethnicity. Secondly, they might not all acquire local language at home. Lastly, they knew very little about their country.