A report on the possible extinction of Xironga worried Armando Magaia. The linguist was so concerned that he decided to do something to help this language, which is typical of the southern region of Mozambique.
According to the author, the document stated that Xironga could disappear within the next 50 years. To counter this trend, Armando Magaia had the brilliant idea of creating a grammar.
The project bore fruit and the book, entitled “Gramatka Dza Xizronga”, was recently presented at Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM), in Maputo. The work includes different linguistic skills such as phonetics and phonology, spelling and morphology, compiled from field research conducted by the author in communities that speak this language.
“Despite being an English teacher in UEM language courses, Xironga will always have a special place, as it was my first language. However, producing the grammar is a way of slowing down its extinction”, he stated.
The grammar will contribute to the promotion and valorization of Mozambican languages by giving them a scientific and systematized basis. At least this is the thinking of fellow linguist Julieta Langa, who presented the book.
“The work expresses the importance of research into national languages so that they can be shared between the academic community and society in general, facilitating their use and thus ensuring their existence in future generations”, she maintained.
Armando Magaia holds a PhD in Languages, Linguistics and Literature from the University of South Africa (UNISA) and has been teaching English, Study Skills, Translation and Interpretation at UEM since 2006.
(By MozaVibe)
