Nigeria is a nation with a plethora of tongues, encompassing an approximate range of 350 to 550 regional or native dialects dispersed among its nearly 250 ethnic communities.
The UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger determined that outside influences such as military, financial, spiritual, cultural, or educational demands can lead to a community’s unfavorable view of their native language or an overall decrease in collective identity, ultimately leading to the extinction of a language.
For example, parents may choose to raise their children in languages other than their mother tongue to combat discrimination, achieve equal chances, and gain financial advantages for themselves and their offspring.
Notwithstanding, professionals describe an “endangered language” as a language that is in danger of becoming obsolete as its speakers pass away or switch to another language.
For instance, the Igbo language is losing its status as the preferred means of communication for numerous Igbo individuals. The incidence of endangered languages is progressively on the rise worldwide, said language specialists.
Another illustration, many Nigerian children, particularly in urban areas, only communicate in English.
Additionally, speaking in local dialects or vernacular is prohibited in some households across the nation, and traditional facial markings have disappeared in certain regions.
Experts are anxious that even the Yoruba culture, which involves a junior lying flat on the ground to greet an elder, has become extinct, like a people without identity.
“Identity is closely linked to language. It has the ability to convey culture, which means that when someone loses their language, their culture is at risk.
“Across the globe, individuals use their language for both personal and professional communication.
“In Nigeria, many ethnic groups hold their native language in high regard,” according to research conducted by academics from the Federal University of Technology and Federal Polytechnic Nekede in Owerri.
Worried by that, UNESCO cautioned Nigeria about the potential loss of its cultural heritage due to the trafficking of cultural artefacts.
The warning was reissued almost ten years ago, specifically on July 8, 2014, when Mr. Ayanwale Olayanju, the then UNESCO National Programme Officer on Culture, expressed concern in Abuja about the decreasing value of Nigerian culture.
“In the meantime, it has been reported that UNESCO predicted in 2006 that the Igbo dialect, which is spoken by more than 20 million people in South-East Nigeria, may become extinct within the next 50 years,” said the report.
Dahunsi Akinyemi, a language instructor and the author of “Ede Yoruba ko Gbodo Ku” (Yoruba Language Must Not Die), expressed concern in 2017 that the Yoruba language may become extinct in 20 years or less.
He lamented that many Yoruba children are unable to pronounce “Mo je jeun'” (I want to eat) in their native language—likewise, many children in northern Nigeria would prefer Arabic for Hausa.
Concerned by this issue, investigations have revealed that the local dialects are predominantly affected, and educators are exacerbating the situation in areas where students who comprehend the same dialect are in the majority.
The outcome was contained in reports from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation and the opinions of language experts and linguists, saying, “Approximately 29 less spoken languages in Nigeria have vanished, and 29 others are on the brink of extinction.
“Additionally, the three major languages of Nigeria, namely Yoruba, Igbo, and Ishekiri, are also facing the threat of endangerment.”
Checks showed that educators enter classrooms and commence lessons in the English language. Experts indicate that students in junior secondary schools in Igbo-speaking regions are among the many young individuals in Nigeria and worldwide studying a language that UNESCO proclaimed would become extinct by 2025.
In 2013, Emmanuel Asonye, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of New Mexico, cited that its speakers’ expression and the dialect’s corruption were jeopardizing the language.
According to reports, some of Nigeria’s “vulnerable” languages, which are spoken by many children but limited to certain domains, include Bade, Gera, Reshe, and Polci cluster, and Duguza languages, which are “definitely endangered” because children no longer learn them as their mother tongue at home.
Sources say the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria does not address the issue of national languages. However, Section 55 stipulates that the National Assembly’s proceedings should be conducted in English, as well as in Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba, when appropriate arrangements have been made.
Nevertheless, this was not happening as legislative transactions in the National Assembly are still primarily conducted in English.
According to data, “Critically” endangered languages in Nigeria are those where the youngest speakers are grandparents or older and only speak the languages partially and infrequently.
These languages include Akum, Bakpinka, Defaka, Dulbu, Gyem, Ilue, Jilbe, Kiong, Kudu-Camo, Luri, Mvanip, Sambe, Somyev, and Yangkam.
As stated in the 2013 Journal of the Linguistic Association of Nigeria, “It is a reality that Igbo individuals recognize that they display a pessimistic demeanor towards their dialect.
“This encompasses both the literate and illiterate communities. It is paradoxical that those who refute UNESCO’s forecast are among those who cannot comprehend or inscribe Igbo – those who have not contributed to any scholarly works on Igbo language – those who confidently but unknowingly mutilate both Igbo and English language in their verbal and written communication.”
In a comparable situation, Ohiri-Aniche, a commentator, cautioned that although Igbo and Yoruba, two of three major Nigerian languages, have numerous adult speakers, they are classified as endangered on UNESCO’s list.
It continued that in approximately 50 to 75 years, or two to three generations, the majority of Nigerian languages will be extinct and lost forever.
However, linguists who are concerned have criticized the attitude of Ndigbo, mainly towards their language, supporting the implementation of a community-based strategy to conserve, revitalize, and advance the mother tongue.
They also suggest encouraging young people to converse, interpret, and compose in the language to prevent it from becoming extinct by 2025.
During the 2020 Umunri Colloquium on “Community-based Approach to Promoting and Sustaining Igbo Language” held in Enugwu Ukwu, Anambra State, the keynote speaker, Professor Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, highlighted that the indigenous language is among the languages that are highly endangered globally.
A Professor of African and Comparative Studies at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu University, Igbariam, Anambra State, emphasized the importance of language in preserving cultural identity. He stated that when the majority of young people in a community stop speaking their native language, the language quickly deteriorates.
“A language’s demise results in the loss of valuable knowledge and intrinsic components of the spoken word, such as idiophones. Additionally, oral literature, songs, history, and culture are all lost. The people’s identity and way of life are embedded in their language, making it the repository of their identity,” the source said.
Chuma-Udeh stated that “many native communities across the globe have consciously or unconsciously caused the loss of their cultural identity by disrupting the natural process of transmitting their traditional languages to future generations.
“This is due to the pursuit of modernization, which has led to some self-centered motives such as adopting the colonizer’s language as the official language after gaining independence.
“Consequently, the majority of indigenous languages are now at risk of extinction, experiencing a widespread phenomenon referred to as “linguicide.”
According to UNESCO, every language reflects a distinct worldview with its own value systems, philosophies, and distinctive cultural elements.
A language’s extinction results in the irreparable loss of the distinctive cultural information preserved in it for ages. This includes information that may be crucial for the survival of its speakers and countless others, such as historical, spiritual, and ecological knowledge.
Specialists suggest that the Nigerian constitution must include extra measures to safeguard the survival and growth of indigenous languages to cater to the nation’s political, economic, social, scientific, and technological requirements.
Odimegwu Onwumere is Director, Advocacy Network on Religious and Cultural Coexistence (ANORACC). He contributed this piece via: [email protected]
