It is generally accepted that all the languages of the world are
equal no matter how remote or small the number of speakers may be.
The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 2008 as the
International Year of Languages. Today, 26 September 2008 is the day
set aside by the Council of Europe as European Day of Languages. The
title for the 2008 edition in Europe is Languages Open Door.

Language is the medium of expression of thought and ideas. All
languages evolved from the need of humans to express their thoughts,
beliefs and desires and communicate with others. In literature,
mathematics, commerce, politics, science and technology, language
remains the sole vehicle of communication. We only get to know what
people think through their languages. When we want to know about what
a people speak or write to them.

According to the National Virtual Translation Centre, there are about
6,900 languages in the world.

Far from being monolingual, the Africa is a highly multilingual
continent. The number of languages spoken in the Africa is over 2000
making it the continent with the highest diversity of languages.

It is quite amazing that a continent with the highest number of
languages is doing very little to promote and salvage them from
extinction. Statistics from UNESCO has it that about half of the
languages spoken today are in the danger of disappearing. As one can
say, today, Africa with its largely oral tradition of expression
(orature) is losing her languages faster than any other continent.

Colonialism and globalisation assisted in eroding the languages of
Africa. Armed with this knowledge, African governments should work
towards educational initiatives aimed at promoting local languages.
Special emphasis should be given to the use of the mother-tongue –
particularly at the primary school level. The use of vernacular
should be given acceptance at formal and informal settings. Language
teacher education should be including special attention to teacher
training on the use of many local languages. Governments, civil
society organisations, educational institutions, professional
associations and all other stakeholders in Africa should work towards
increasing their activities to promote and protect African
languages, particularly the endangered ones, in individual and
collective contexts.