NIGERIA is trapped in the local language
dilemma, accustomed to speaking English,
the language of British Colonialism as the
Imperial power tended to wield together,
people of diverse ethnic languages,
cultures, traditions and religions. English was regarded and seen as the language of
unity and administrative convenience in the
amalgamation of northern and southern
protectorates in 1914 to form such a big
country in Africa with the largest population
in the continent. It was just impossible to choose a local
language among about 400 with Hausa,
Igbo, Yoruba as the main ones, none
yielding to the other out of these three as
the lingua franca even up to Independence
in 1960. In this interview, Dr. (Mrs) Kikelomo Adeniyi
who holds Ph.D in English, Chief Lecturer in
the Department of English, AOCOED and
Deputy Director, Passages, Linkages and
Collaboration of the institution bares her
mind on what it takes to entrench the use of mother tongue or the local language. To what will you attribute this national predicament of Nigerians finding it difficult to speak their indigenous local languages and English the preferred language? My overview is that Nigeria is a multi lingual
country with more than 400 languages each
standing on its own, apart from several
other dialects that cannot be counted. For
example, Yoruba language has many
dialects. These include Ekiti, Egba, Ijebu, Ondo, Ijesha, Egun (Badagry), Oyo dialetcts.
So also with Hausa, Igbo, etc, having
different dialects.
Dr. (Mrs) Kikelomo Adeniyi
With the arrival of British colonial masters,
there was the need for a language to unify
us (Nigerians) at least for the purpose of
communication, hence the introduction and
use of the English Language. But it did not
stop at that. Something had to be attached to it, in order to motivate speaking of
English. The English Language became
compulsory in public examinations and to
get jobs and appointments. For instance,
interpreters, who translate from local
language to English in those days, were highly regarded and valued. They were rich
at that time and so our people were
gradually interested in English while our
native languages or mother tongues were
ignored. However, in our respective homes, we were
compelled to speak our mother tongues. But as a country, for peace to reign, there is
need for a central language. Yoruba, Hausa
or Igbo won’t be accepted as a common
language which can be spoken by all. English
was seen as neutral. No one will oppose it
because it does not belong to any of us. It was the language of unity. How did English Language become our lingua franca? In our constitution, English had been
recognised and allowed. For instance, in the
1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria as amended, it was stipulated
that the business of the National Assembly
shall be conducted in English, and in Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba when adequate
arrangements have been made therefore.
But nobody is using these native languages
apart from English, which is still thriving. At
the level of the State Houses of Assembly,
only in Lagos to be specific, that a resolution was passed for the proceedings
to be conducted in the mother tongue
(Yoruba). Legislators were asked to use the
mother tongue, but it is not done. In fact, it
has not been possible. I know that in London, England, children of
Indian parents know how to speak the
Indian language. This is because when they
finish learning in school with English, on
their return home after school, parents
speak Indian language to their children. In the National Policy on Education, it was
stated that our children should be taught at
primary and Nursery level in the mother
tongue, or in other words, teach them in
the language of the immediate
environment. But this is not so. After paying so much in
primary and nursery schools for their
children, no parents want them to be
taught in the mother tongue, except in
English. Why do parents resist teaching their kids in the local language? Let’s take Lagos for instance. Lagos is a
Cosmopolitan City, so English is used
generally. There is no central local language.
The lingua franca is English. The next to it is
Pidgin English. But inspite of this, the
English spoken today by these children or even youths is rubbish. They cannot speak
good English and also cannot speak their
mother tongue. They cannot write good
English. To compound the situation,
everybody loves English. You need to pass
English Language in WASSSCE or WAEC among other things to enter the They don’t hate Nigerian language. It is
because there is no law to compel them do
so. Before now, there was a stipulation by
the Nigerian Educational Research and
Development Council, NERDC, that Nigerian
children must offer a local language at SSSI. But it is no longer compulsory now. People hate things Nigerian in nature. We
like only foreign things, treat things like
speaking the mother tongue as “Idiotic” But
if our children speak English wrongly, we are
angry and reprimand them. Access to internet, GSM and social media
had compounded it. Children use SMS
language while writing English nowadays. How do you find the situation today? Nigerian languages are gradually dying.
While some parents can speak the native
language, the children cannot speak the
mother tongue. Even grand mothers are forced to speak
English to the kids, even if the English
spoken is not correct. In those days, there was a Yoruba proverb
which says: “If you speak English in your in-
laws house, you must interprete it.” Inter-tribal marriages are now forcing
people to speak English at home. It is very simple for children to hear and
speak the local language than adults. In
some time to come, people who cannot
speak the local language may not be
considered for elective positions as
governors or legislators. There was the case of some children who went for scholarship
test in Bayelsa State and performed well.
But when asked to count one to ten in their
mother tongue, majority of them could not
and so missed the chance of getting
scholarship. What do you think can be done to save the local language from extinction? There should be psychic re-orientation;
need for jingles on radio and TV
appreciating Nigerian languages,
advertisements in print media to make
people love and enjoy speaking the local
language. We thank God for Yoruba Nollywood and Movies. Children are
compelled to watch and listen. These
Yoruba and may be Ibo and Hausa movies
are helpful to parents whose children are
not speaking the mother tongue. The NERDC should re-visit the school
curriculum and make Nigerian languages to
be compulsory, enforce the policy of
learning in the language of the immediate
environment. I want to recall the Ife project
by late Prof Babs Fafunwa in which two groups of primary school children were set
up. One group was taught all the subjects in
Yoruba language; the other group was
taught in English. The Yoruba group
performed better than the group taught in
English. It’s unfortunate that most people in the
National Assembly don’t care about the use
of the local languages. Hausa language
won’t die because parents speak it at home
with their children. No matter how educated
the Hausa man is, he speaks his language to the children at home. The Yoruba are trying, but not up to Hausa
people who speak it at home level first. The
Igbo are worse in this respect. They hardly
speak Igbo at home with their children. To
speak and understand other languages is
better for you, it’s also for survival. If you can speak the language of the immediate
environment, one can buy things at cheaper
price in the market than speaking English.
Once you speak English in the local markets,
prices are often inflated. There is clear difference between theory
and practice. I read English, but speak
Yoruba. We have this concept called socio-
linguistics which has to do with language
and culture, language and society. Use of
language in the context and situation that you find yourself. But for the children, they
are forced to speak English at all contexts. What advice do you have on this? People should try to always speak the
mother tongue at home. It would then be
easier for children to speak it because it’s
informal, in the natural setting. Curriculum
should be revisited in order to enforce
mother tongue in learning while at school.When there is inter-ethnic marriage,
like Ibo married to Yoruba, the couple
should decide what language the children
will learn and acquire it at early age. Language acquisition takes place informally.
We can expose our children to more local
languages and would be better for them.
They have plasticity of being easily
receptive to learning a new thing including
language.
dilemma, accustomed to speaking English,
the language of British Colonialism as the
Imperial power tended to wield together,
people of diverse ethnic languages,
cultures, traditions and religions. English was regarded and seen as the language of
unity and administrative convenience in the
amalgamation of northern and southern
protectorates in 1914 to form such a big
country in Africa with the largest population
in the continent. It was just impossible to choose a local
language among about 400 with Hausa,
Igbo, Yoruba as the main ones, none
yielding to the other out of these three as
the lingua franca even up to Independence
in 1960. In this interview, Dr. (Mrs) Kikelomo Adeniyi
who holds Ph.D in English, Chief Lecturer in
the Department of English, AOCOED and
Deputy Director, Passages, Linkages and
Collaboration of the institution bares her
mind on what it takes to entrench the use of mother tongue or the local language. To what will you attribute this national predicament of Nigerians finding it difficult to speak their indigenous local languages and English the preferred language? My overview is that Nigeria is a multi lingual
country with more than 400 languages each
standing on its own, apart from several
other dialects that cannot be counted. For
example, Yoruba language has many
dialects. These include Ekiti, Egba, Ijebu, Ondo, Ijesha, Egun (Badagry), Oyo dialetcts.
So also with Hausa, Igbo, etc, having
different dialects.
Dr. (Mrs) Kikelomo Adeniyi
With the arrival of British colonial masters,
there was the need for a language to unify
us (Nigerians) at least for the purpose of
communication, hence the introduction and
use of the English Language. But it did not
stop at that. Something had to be attached to it, in order to motivate speaking of
English. The English Language became
compulsory in public examinations and to
get jobs and appointments. For instance,
interpreters, who translate from local
language to English in those days, were highly regarded and valued. They were rich
at that time and so our people were
gradually interested in English while our
native languages or mother tongues were
ignored. However, in our respective homes, we were
compelled to speak our mother tongues. But as a country, for peace to reign, there is
need for a central language. Yoruba, Hausa
or Igbo won’t be accepted as a common
language which can be spoken by all. English
was seen as neutral. No one will oppose it
because it does not belong to any of us. It was the language of unity. How did English Language become our lingua franca? In our constitution, English had been
recognised and allowed. For instance, in the
1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria as amended, it was stipulated
that the business of the National Assembly
shall be conducted in English, and in Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba when adequate
arrangements have been made therefore.
But nobody is using these native languages
apart from English, which is still thriving. At
the level of the State Houses of Assembly,
only in Lagos to be specific, that a resolution was passed for the proceedings
to be conducted in the mother tongue
(Yoruba). Legislators were asked to use the
mother tongue, but it is not done. In fact, it
has not been possible. I know that in London, England, children of
Indian parents know how to speak the
Indian language. This is because when they
finish learning in school with English, on
their return home after school, parents
speak Indian language to their children. In the National Policy on Education, it was
stated that our children should be taught at
primary and Nursery level in the mother
tongue, or in other words, teach them in
the language of the immediate
environment. But this is not so. After paying so much in
primary and nursery schools for their
children, no parents want them to be
taught in the mother tongue, except in
English. Why do parents resist teaching their kids in the local language? Let’s take Lagos for instance. Lagos is a
Cosmopolitan City, so English is used
generally. There is no central local language.
The lingua franca is English. The next to it is
Pidgin English. But inspite of this, the
English spoken today by these children or even youths is rubbish. They cannot speak
good English and also cannot speak their
mother tongue. They cannot write good
English. To compound the situation,
everybody loves English. You need to pass
English Language in WASSSCE or WAEC among other things to enter the They don’t hate Nigerian language. It is
because there is no law to compel them do
so. Before now, there was a stipulation by
the Nigerian Educational Research and
Development Council, NERDC, that Nigerian
children must offer a local language at SSSI. But it is no longer compulsory now. People hate things Nigerian in nature. We
like only foreign things, treat things like
speaking the mother tongue as “Idiotic” But
if our children speak English wrongly, we are
angry and reprimand them. Access to internet, GSM and social media
had compounded it. Children use SMS
language while writing English nowadays. How do you find the situation today? Nigerian languages are gradually dying.
While some parents can speak the native
language, the children cannot speak the
mother tongue. Even grand mothers are forced to speak
English to the kids, even if the English
spoken is not correct. In those days, there was a Yoruba proverb
which says: “If you speak English in your in-
laws house, you must interprete it.” Inter-tribal marriages are now forcing
people to speak English at home. It is very simple for children to hear and
speak the local language than adults. In
some time to come, people who cannot
speak the local language may not be
considered for elective positions as
governors or legislators. There was the case of some children who went for scholarship
test in Bayelsa State and performed well.
But when asked to count one to ten in their
mother tongue, majority of them could not
and so missed the chance of getting
scholarship. What do you think can be done to save the local language from extinction? There should be psychic re-orientation;
need for jingles on radio and TV
appreciating Nigerian languages,
advertisements in print media to make
people love and enjoy speaking the local
language. We thank God for Yoruba Nollywood and Movies. Children are
compelled to watch and listen. These
Yoruba and may be Ibo and Hausa movies
are helpful to parents whose children are
not speaking the mother tongue. The NERDC should re-visit the school
curriculum and make Nigerian languages to
be compulsory, enforce the policy of
learning in the language of the immediate
environment. I want to recall the Ife project
by late Prof Babs Fafunwa in which two groups of primary school children were set
up. One group was taught all the subjects in
Yoruba language; the other group was
taught in English. The Yoruba group
performed better than the group taught in
English. It’s unfortunate that most people in the
National Assembly don’t care about the use
of the local languages. Hausa language
won’t die because parents speak it at home
with their children. No matter how educated
the Hausa man is, he speaks his language to the children at home. The Yoruba are trying, but not up to Hausa
people who speak it at home level first. The
Igbo are worse in this respect. They hardly
speak Igbo at home with their children. To
speak and understand other languages is
better for you, it’s also for survival. If you can speak the language of the immediate
environment, one can buy things at cheaper
price in the market than speaking English.
Once you speak English in the local markets,
prices are often inflated. There is clear difference between theory
and practice. I read English, but speak
Yoruba. We have this concept called socio-
linguistics which has to do with language
and culture, language and society. Use of
language in the context and situation that you find yourself. But for the children, they
are forced to speak English at all contexts. What advice do you have on this? People should try to always speak the
mother tongue at home. It would then be
easier for children to speak it because it’s
informal, in the natural setting. Curriculum
should be revisited in order to enforce
mother tongue in learning while at school.When there is inter-ethnic marriage,
like Ibo married to Yoruba, the couple
should decide what language the children
will learn and acquire it at early age. Language acquisition takes place informally.
We can expose our children to more local
languages and would be better for them.
They have plasticity of being easily
receptive to learning a new thing including
language.
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