Sol Phenduka Slams Parents Who Abandon Their African Heritage

He thinks teaching kids their language is compulsory

By  | Jan 28, 2022, 03:33 PM  | Sol Phenduka  | Drama

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DJ and music producer Sol Phenduka has never been one to shy away from controversial opinions, even when they could land him in trouble. And now he has sparked a heated debate on the merits of teaching children their native African languages. 

He recently went on Twitter with a hot take on those parents who choose not to teach their children their native African language. He said the whole idea is not as "classy" as they think it is, but is rather tacky and stupid. 
The tweet has obviously attracted a lot of attention. We would imagine not many parents were happy to be called out so boldly, and it must have felt like their parenting styles were being judged too harshly. 
Some followers have asked him to mind his business. Surely parents have the right to use their own judgement to decide how to raise their children, they thought, so Sol had no right to purport to know the sole right way to do it. 
In a swift clapback, one fan asked him whether he had raised any kids himself. The question was meant to shame him into backing down, probably to be answered "if you haven't raised a kid, you don't know what it entails". But Solomzi stays ready, and he responded that he had obviously raised a kid, disarming the tweep who backed down graciously. 

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Defensive stances aside, some fans saw the merit of his argument. One talked about his own experience as an adult who never learned his African language in his childhood. He complained about taking forever to read texts in isiXhosa, and said he felt like he had been robbed of some part of his heritage that will be difficult for him to recover. 
But others felt like there is no place for Sol’s opinion in today’s highly modernised world. Some had the very strong opinion that the world has globalised beyond African languages, and that teaching them to children is not important as the languages are seldom recognised internationally. 

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However, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this argument is deeply flawed and disingenuous. As it stands, many Africans already speak more than one language, usually English and at least one local language. It is disingenuous to conclude that teaching African languages would prevent kids from learning English and other global languages. It is possible to know both, if not best. 

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This is a hot take though, and we acknowledge that at the end of the day, parents will make the choice they think is best for their children. What do you think? Is it stupid to neglect teaching your kids local African languages? 
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