Can We Revive Our Local Languages? – By Arnold A. Alalibo

Posted by admin Arnold Alalibo, Articles, Columnists, NNP Columnists Saturday, March 15th, 2014

By Arnold A. Alalibo | NNP | March 15, 2014 – If the number of countries in the world is tripled, it will be impossible to arrive at an estimate of the number of languages and dialects spoken by human beings on earth. Considering that each language belongs to a specific culture, no one can help but be amazed by the diversity of people.

It was in realisation of this that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, set aside every February 21st to remind people to cherish their native tongues. Hence, February 21st of every year was declared as ‘International Mother Language Day’. This year’s celebration marked the 15th edition of the Day.

So, what is it all about? The International Mother Language Day is aimed at preserving and promoting the use of local languages and creating awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity.
This year’s celebration was characterized by calls by some Nigerians for the inclusion of local language studies in the nation’s education curriculum.

While some Nigerians advocate the study of a foreign language in our institutions, others insist that the proposal is acceptable, but more important is the introduction of mother tongue in our institutions

What this means is that Nigerian children should be encouraged to learn and speak their mother tongue. For this category of persons, the proposal can be realized if local languages become the medium of learning in both primary and secondary schools in the country.

A one-time university don, Dr. Shola Adesanya, of Department of Foreign Languages, University of Jos, encourages the learning of at least a foreign language by every student from primary to tertiary level. According to him, the option is important because the world is fast becoming a global community. And by that, he says, everyone needs to speak and understand the other person’s language.

He particularly cites French as a language that ought to be introduced in all schools in Nigeria from primary to tertiary institutions. Acknowledging that the French language has already been introduced by schools, he says not all schools have taken its introduction seriously. Hence he calls on the federal government to legislate on the compulsory study of at least a foreign language in our schools.
“Many people undermine the importance of learning at least a foreign language in our institutions. For instance, a subject like French language is important for Nigerians given that we are surrounded by many Francophone countries. Also, our role in the region makes it imperative for the language to be studied by all students”, Adesanya says.

The university don calls for the regular training of all foreign language teachers in our institutions particularly at the lower levels.

However, Dr. Luke Kalu of the Foreign Languages Department, University of Port Harcourt, agrees that the learning of a foreign language is important. But more significant, he says, is the learning of our mother tongue. According to him, local languages are vital to our existence as a nation and so must not be neglected. He urges parents to teach their children their dialect wherever they find themselves.

Explaining that our situation is a bit complicated because Nigeria comprises several nations with different languages, Kalu says the languages spoken by the major ethnic groups can be introduced in our schools to represent the languages spoken by the smaller groups.

“Any nation that neglects its language will go into extinction. That is why children must be taught their mother tongue. The government must begin to finance the development of the orthographies of more languages in our country for the purposes of introducing them as subjects in our schools”, Kalu stresses.

Mr. Ignatius Lawson, an educationist and proprietor of Easy Way Nursery and Primary School in Port Harcourt, decries the diminishing number of those who speak the mother tongue in the name of globalization. Lawson laments a situation where children are restrained from speaking their mother tongue and may be penalised for doing so. He advises the government to finance research into the development of mother tongue as well as introduce a national language policy for the country.

Disturbed by the dying status of mother tongue and in line with Dr. Kalu’s suggestion that orthographies be developed for more local languages, the federal government has proposed the development of standardized orthographies to stem the situation. The languages to be developed and introduced are Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and Ijaw. These languages will be introduced at the basic level in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The supervising Minister of Education, Barrister Nyesom Wike, disclosed the information at a forum to mark the International Mother Language Day. The minister says the continuous use of local dialects by Nigerians will symbolize our universal right and invariably preserve our common nationality.
“Government would pursue the successful usage of standardised orthographies of four Nigerian languages namely: Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba and Ijaw which was developed by the ministry of culture and tourism. Government would not allow a particular language to enjoy undue hegemony over other languages irrespective of how many people that speak them”, Wike declares.

Some Nigerians are, however, doubtful of the workability of the federal government’s proposal. According to them, the plan might work if the four languages will be taught and spoken at the various areas they are used. But it might fail if the languages will be taught nationwide including the areas they are not spoken. They cite disunity and mutual suspicion as reasons for their doubt.

“This proposal will not work because of our peculiar nature. For instance, the Ijaw man may want to see his language being taught and spoken in the North before he will accept to learn and speak the Hausa language in his location, vice versa. Anything short of this will reduce the learning of the languages to mere academic exercise”, says Dr. Dennis Amachree, a retired director in the state civil service and a French language scholar.

Amachree describes the gradual extinction of local languages as a sad development. He attributes it to parents who deny their children the opportunity to communicate in their mother tongue. This, he says, makes the children averse to learning the languages. The solution, according to him, is for children to be taught in their own languages regardless of the primitivism of such languages.

The reality of the extinction faced by local languages was revealed recently when Dr. Victoria Okonkwo, President of the Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria, stated that 60 per cent of Nigerians who speak their dialects are above 50 years. The implication is that a large percentage of Nigerians less than 50 years old are unable to speak their dialects. Experts say this portends great danger to the nation’s development.wp_posts