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| Zimbabweans Lose Cultural Identi |
Normally the various rallies that these people hold in their constituencies is typical of the huge gulf between the the electors and elected.First of they will use whatever opportunity they get to show of their command of the English language.Whilst we may boast of one of highest literacy statics in Africa,it surely does not mean that every Tom ,Dick and Harry is profficient in the English language.In the unfortunate event that a news crew with television cameras is around,then these politicians outdo themselves.Watching the news reel one can tell that the electorate did not have the faintest idea what the speaker was on about.IF they did then they would be signs of interaction.
I was in a chemist the other day when a middle aged man came in looking for various items that he had listed.He proceeded to address the saleslady in English,I suppose it being a business environment there is alright to use English but me thinks 35 years after Independance ,some of these colonialist tendencies need to be gotten rid of .After a lot of repetitive explanations of what he required,he ended up using his mother tongue Shona.My thinking then was why go to all the trouble if one has to go over it again in a different language ,unless granddad wanted ton show of the fact that he had been to school and he could hold his in English.
He cultural prostitution is so entrenched that most Zimbos have English and Shona names on their birth certificates and it is mostly the English names that are used.Some of the names are so absurd one would wonder what the parents were thinking in naming they offspring thus.
It does not end there as most families have tried as much as possible to alienate themselves from their cultural customs to the extend that they no longer visit their ancestral homes,eat the traditional foods let alone wear clothes that have a cultural identity.
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