MacDonald Ndou – Children need to know that it is important to learn their mother tongue

MacDonald Ndou is a proud Venda man and is passionate about teaching people about the beauty of his culture and language, but wishes more young people would recognise the importance of why dramas like Muvhango are still relevant. The actor told TshisaLIVE he is proud to be part of a drama that still prioritises showing the nation the importance of learning their home languages and the cultures attached to them.

“Muvhango may be underrated for people who do not realise what the drama has done in terms of teaching people the language and the cultures of the Venda people. Because of the drama, people went from always trying to ridicule Tshivenda to actually wanting to know more about it.

“Now I see people everywhere I go genuinely interested in not letting their mother tongue die, and that’s how it should be. The actor applauded creatives in the media space for working hard to ensure that all languages are represented, making mention of dramas such as Giyani: Land of Blood.

MacDonald wishes that young, black parents would also take it upon themselves to ensure they don’t rob their children by placing another language higher than their mother tongue.

“It is our responsibility to create a culture in society of prioritising our own languages. Particularly for our children, we need to start them young. What I realised is that the younger generation don’t know our language, and that’s a tragedy. They should, from a young age know, thanks to us and their parents, that speaking English isn’t everything. They must teach their children their home languages.