September 16, 2019
Username:
 In 2024-Indigenous Languages

Topic: 2024-Indigenous Languages
Country: Afghanistan
Delegate Name: Kennedy Anderson

Afghanistan
SOCHUM
Indigenous Languages

The delegation of Afghanistan has been a devoted member of the UN since 1946 and has gone through hardship as a developing country to establish governance within the country. Afghanistan recognizes its difficult position to establish UN considerations as the Taliban is the primary leader of the country, however the Afghanistan delegation will strive to provide assistance and insight to other countries as well as aiming to better improve the country. The UN has contributed numerous aid such as creating the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan to help the people of Afghanistan (UNAMA), having the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) placed in Afghanistan who protects the most vulnerable and assist newly displaced Afghans, and 21 other UN entities are inhabited in Afghanistan. The delegation of Afghanistan would like to extend its gratitude to the UN’s consideration for not allowing the Taliban after it’s unfortunate take over to represent the country of Afghanistan and allow the delegation of Afghanistan to remain the sovereign entity and representative of Afghanistan.

Indigenous languages hold and maintain cultural heritage between a community and one’s ancestors which allows for one to feel a sense of belonging. Professor Megan Davis, Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues said that “Saving indigenous languages is crucial to ensure the protection of the cultural identity and dignity of indigenous peoples and safeguard their traditional heritage.” With there being more than 40 languages spoken in Afghanistan, Afghanistan is a linguistically diverse country with the 2 official languages Dari and Pashto belonging to their respective ethnic groups and being indigenous and native languages. There is however a threat to the smaller indigenous languages since around 77% of the population speaks Dari and 48% speaks Pashto and not many formal institutes use minority languages. Social media, Skype, and other communication technologies have played an expanding and crucial role in language maintenance and transmission for Pashai (a minority language spoken in Afghanistan) especially since many women who speak Pashai are monolinguistic since there is limited education for women compared to men. Preserving indigenous languages and many others allows one to be connected with others, especially if one doesn’t have the resources to learn a new education.

Creating a website and app that includes speakers of an indigenous language, awareness of indigenous languages and the ability for others from other countries to learn a new language. Creating a list of endangered languages can help UN officials know when a language is going to need more outreach for others to learn and when a language is at threat of becoming extinct. The purpose if this isn’t only to preserve languages and spread culture but to also continue letting a culture flourish and grow from extinction.

Cites
https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/afghanistan/language
Lehr, R., Fluri, J. (2020). Mother Tongue and Language Practices of Pashai-Speaking Communities in Afghanistan and the Diaspora. In: Brunn, S., Kehrein, R. (eds) Handbook of the Changing World Language Map. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02438-3_57
https://www.un.org/en/desa/protecting-languages-preserving-cultures-0#:~:text=The%20revitalisation%20of%20indigenous%20languages,biodiversity%20loss%20and%20climate%20change.