A series of five documentaries on languages is scheduled to air on OBE (Original Black Entertainment) TV in the UK starting on 13th April 2008. OBE TV is a freeview 24 hour Channel on Sky Digital Channel 204 with a primary target audience from the African, Caribbean and other ethnic communities in the UK and Ireland, Europe, North Africa and beyond. OBE TV reaches over 7.8 million satellite subscribers in the UK and Ireland alone.
The documentary series is called World – Speaking in Tongues and the episodes are…..
Episode 1: Let There Be Words
In this episode, a wide array of experts will define what language is. We will go back to early prehistoric time and attempt to trace the possible origins of language. Various theories of language origin will be presented and what distinguishes human communication from all other forms of animal communication will also be discussed.
Episode 2: Constant Change
Early migration, the introduction of agriculture, and genes will be some factors that will be discussed and debated. A look at how language is transferred from mother to child and from one population to the next and the internal and the external factors that contribute to language change will also be examined. How languages splinter off into dialects and how dialects then can become new languages will also be considered.
Episode 3: Mother Tongues
Just 0.1% of the world’s population speaks about a quarter of the world’s languages. Why is this? We journey across the world to find out how many languages are spoken in each region and what characteristic the languages of that region share. We also look at the historical backgrounds of some key languages.
Episode 4: Civilization to Colonization
We look at the emergence and development of various writing systems from around the world. What role did European colonization and the development of writing play in the proliferation of certain languages?
Episode 5: Birth and Death
It is believed that in just one hundred years, more than 50% of all the world’s languages will be extinct. But as languages are lost, new ones naturally emerge. Others are constructed by diligent scholars. In this episode, we look at the phenomenon of artificial languages like Esperanto. We also look at the future of languages and predict which ones will emerge as the important languages of the future.
There will be a pre-recorded discussion programme entitled Truth of the Matter to be broadcast on 13th April 2008 which will range over the topics covered in the five documentaries. I have been invited by the presenter Adwoa Agyemang to be part of the discussion panel, along with my colleague from the SOAS Language Centre Anil Biltoo. It is to be hoped that OBE TV makes the documentaries available for showing elsewhere in the world, such as on SBS in Australia which showed the Danish documentary In Languages We Live: Voices of the World on Friday 4th April 2008.
Mfululizo wa filamu tano za maandishi juu ya lugha zimepangwa kutangazwa kwenye OBS (Original Black Entertainment) TV nchini Uingereza kuanzia Aprili 13, 2008. OBS TV ni freeview 24 saa Channel juu ya Sky Digital Channel 204 na lengo la msingi watazamaji kutoka Afrika, Caribbean na jamii nyingine za kikabila katika Uingereza na Ireland, Ulaya, Afrika ya Kaskazini na zaidi. OBS TV inafikia zaidi ya wanachama milioni 7.8 wa satelaiti nchini Uingereza na Ireland pekee. Mfululizo wa filamu za maandishi unaitwa Ulimwengu <unk> Kuzungumza kwa Lugha na vipindi ni..... "Msemo wa kwanza: ""Hebu kuwe na maneno"" Katika kipindi hiki, wataalamu mbalimbali watafafanua lugha ni nini." Tutaenda nyuma hadi nyakati za mapema za kabla ya historia na kujaribu kufuatilia chanzo kinachowezekana cha lugha. Nadharia mbalimbali za asili ya lugha zitazungumziwa na kile kinachotofautisha mawasiliano ya binadamu na aina nyingine zote za mawasiliano ya wanyama pia kitajadiliwa. Mabadiliko ya mara kwa mara: Uhamiaji wa mapema, kuanzishwa kwa kilimo, na jeni ni baadhi ya mambo ambayo yatajadiliwa na kujadiliwa. Pia, utajifunza jinsi lugha inavyoweza kuhamishwa kutoka kwa mama hadi mtoto na kutoka kwa watu mmoja hadi mwingine, na jinsi mambo ya ndani na ya nje yanavyoweza kuathiri mabadiliko ya lugha. Jinsi lugha zinavyojigawanya na kuwa lahaja na jinsi lahaja zinavyoweza kuwa lugha mpya pia zitafikiriwa. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, ""kiasi kidogo tu cha 0.1% ya idadi ya watu duniani huzungumza karibu robo ya lugha zote duniani.""" Kwa nini jambo hilo linatukia? Tunasafiri kuzunguka ulimwengu ili kujua ni lugha ngapi zinazozungumzwa katika kila eneo na ni sifa gani zinazoshirikiwa na lugha za eneo hilo. Pia tunachunguza historia ya lugha fulani muhimu. "Msemo wa 4 ""Utamaduni hadi Ukoloni"" unaelezea jinsi mfumo wa maandishi ulivyoanza kuanzishwa na kuenea katika ulimwengu." Ukoloni wa Ulaya na maendeleo ya maandishi yalichangiaje kuenea kwa lugha fulani? Katika kipindi cha miaka 100 tu, zaidi ya asilimia 50 ya lugha zote duniani zitakuwa zimetoweka. Lakini lugha zinapopotea, nyingine mpya hutokea kwa kawaida. Nyingine zimetengenezwa na wasomi wenye bidii. Katika kipindi hiki, tunaangalia jambo la lugha bandia kama vile Kiesperanto. Pia tunaangalia siku zijazo za lugha na kutabiri ni zipi zitakazojitokeza kama lugha muhimu za siku zijazo. "Tuna mpango wa mazungumzo ya awali iliyoandikwa yenye kichwa ""Ukweli wa Kuhusu Mambo"" ambayo itatangazwa tarehe 13 Aprili 2008 na itazungumzia mada zilizofunikwa katika filamu tano za maandishi." Mtangazaji Adwoa Agyeman amenialika kuwa sehemu ya jopo la majadiliano, pamoja na mwenzangu kutoka Kituo cha Lugha cha SOAS Anil Biltoo. "Tunaamini kwamba HBO itafanya filamu hizo ziweze kuonyeshwa katika maeneo mengine ya dunia, kama vile kwenye SBS Australia, ambayo ilionyesha filamu ya Denmark ""In Languages We Live: Voices of the World"" siku ya Ijumaa, Aprili 4, 2008.""