Indegenous Language Matter for Development Peacebuilding and Reconciliation.

Abstract

The International Mother Language Day is celebrated worldwide on February 21st every year. The day is intended to create awareness on the importance of the mother language in the preservation of our cultural identity, promotion of cultural diversity and literature. The Directorate of Research and Postgraduate Support and the Department of Language and Literature Education of Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST), in collaboration with the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO, Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage, County Government of Kakamega, Longhorn Language Services and Bible Translation & Literacy E. A. organized a three-day conference in order to commemorate this important day. The event took place from the 19th to 21st of February 2020, at the main campus in Kakamega Town. The theme of the conference was “Indigenous Languages Matter for Development, Peace-building and Reconciliation”.

This publication comprises of more than 30 papers, which are contributions from renowned scholars, publishers and stakeholders in the field of Language, Linguistics, Literature, Communication, and Political science among others, who participated in the conference. The speakers were drawn from various countries around the world. The papers focus on the following six sub-themes of the Conference: Language maintenance; language technology and communication; sociology of language; language, education, gender and politics; language and literature; mother language and sustainable development. The papers have been evaluated to guarantee scientific quality and content of the presentations by the chairpersons of the various sessions. All accepted contributions are presented in this publication. The organizers recognize the tremendous contribution made by the participants and our open access peer reviewed proceedings are intended for a wider distribution of knowledge.

We sincerely thank all the authors without whose efforts this publication would not have been realized. We equally thank the scientific committee members and the secretariat for their tireless efforts, sacrifice and the excellent work done in coming up with the publication. We also acknowledge the support of our partners and sponsors. We invite you to exciting and fruitful read.