BY LIFE & STYLE CORRESPONDENT
EMERGING author Pauline Chirata-Mukondiwa has described the Shona language as a fundamental cultural tool that defines her identity as Zimbabwean.
She said the destruction of indigenous languages was self-destructive.
Speaking to NewsDay Life & Style following the recent publication of her debut novel Mhere YeZevezeve, Chirata-Mukondiwa said Shona was much more than just a language to her.
She stressed the importance of protecting indigenous languages against cultural erosion.
“We are losing the plot with every stitch of our language and culture we lose. Crucially, Shona incorporates my identity, who I am and where I came from. Embedded in my language is my culture and the essence of what it means to be Zimbabwean is also in there,” she said.
The author said other nationalities would only respect Zimbabwe’s indigenous languages if their native speakers valued them.
“We can never be who we are not. We start by accepting ourselves and preserving that, then others will accept us,” she said.
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“To annihilate the language is to self-destruct by implosion. Imagine burying who you are and wanting others to accept your fake whiteness when you are still black underneath!”
Chirata-Mukondiwa, who explores themes of injustice, corruption, intransigence, lack of legitimacy, fakeness and destructive social and political correctness, said her desire was to encourage development of a culture that is progressive, beneficial and sustainable.
She said her novel was inspired by her observation of the things that went on in households and how they affected young children.
“The book was inspired by children’s reactions to what adults might think is camouflaged from children. All the hidden truths and cover-ups with help from societal accomplices, sometimes in the guise of tradition, have a mental and emotional impact on children,” she said.
Chirata-Mukondiwa said authors could be “a voice of the voiceless or those who have lost their tongues in truth, satire, fiction and sarcasm”, with the important roles to rebuke, warn and encourage.
She said it was important for parents to inculcate a reading culture in their children, with schools playing a complimentary role.
Authors who have influenced her included Dambudzo Marechera, Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Kwame Nkrumah as well as Thomas Hardy, Leo Tolstoy and William Shakespeare, CS Lewis, Shusaku Endo, Leon Uris and Andrew.
She has also been touched by the works of Joyce Simango, Tsitsi Dangarembga and Jane Austen.
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