Language Imperialism: The Journey of Indigenous Languages into Extinction (i)

Ibrahim Adeigbe, B.A (Hons), PGDE (Ilorin) M.A (LASU)

 “Whenever a language dies, a bit of world’s culture, history and

diversity dies with It”.

– The Economist Dec 22^nd, 2001 – Jan 4^th, 2002: 67

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands,

that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his

Language, that goes to his heart”  

   – N. Mandela

During our secondary schools days we were over-whelmed with a number of ambitious feelings. We have our dreams to study a course that is well pronounced in the society and live a flambouyant life after graduation. Even those who will not make it beyond secondary school nurse this ambition in futility. As soon as admission lists are released, reality sets in. It is either you have applied for a course and you are given the other against your choice or you are not offered admission at all and have to wait for another year. Despite the various courses people aspire to study in the University, hardly will you find any applicant willing to study the indigenous languages (the writer inclusive).

There is always a feeling of disappointment and dejection whenever you check the admission list and find out that you have been offered to study an indigenous language (like Yoruba) against your wish of studying Law or any other course. The reason for this is not far-fetched; it is due to the fear of how the society will perceive you and the chance of getting your desired job after graduation. If you do not know your worth, if you are not confident your friends and colleagues in other Departments of the University will deride you. Therefore, there is a need to rise to the task, prepare yourself and be ready at all times to convince your friends and relatives your destined course of study is the best even if your instinct says something else.

Most people do not see any prospect in studying the indigenous languages. Questions like: Where will you work? Where will you take this certificate to? We who study indigenous languages also nurse this fear of uncertainty during the cause of our study. But on getting to the labour market, one realises that the same fate awaits everybody irrespective of your discipline. It is the way you package yourself couple with a bit of luck that determines how far you can go; not your course of study per say. More so, the services of indigenous languages graduates are required in schools (both private and public) and homes where the embarrassment which the inability of the children to speak an indigenous language is becoming unbecoming to the parents.

It is unfortunate our indigenous languages have been assigned low diglossia functions and most native speakers of any of the languages spoken in Nigeria accept that our indigenous languages are inferior. Alas! No language is superior, all languages are equal. Any of the indigenous languages will perform any function performed by English, French, German, Arabic or Spanish, Chinese if assigned such functions.

The linguistics situation in Nigeria is complex as noted by many language scholars. Nigeria being the most populous black nation with an estimated population of about 160 million has more than 500 indigenous languages. It is a multi-lingual nation with languages of unequal political, social, religion, official and educational statues.

Mother-tongue is the first language an individual acquires or speaks as a child. It is the first language one start to speak when someone is young as a child. That is, the first language which a child is exposed to and so it is referred to as the child’s first language or mother-tongue.

Mother-tongue does not necessarily have to be the language spoken by the mother, but the language which the child is first exposed. This means that there could be a child whose mother is Igbo or Hausa having Yoruba as his mother-tongue, that is, if the first language such a child is exposed to is Yoruba.

To be continued