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| Art work titled 'Teach Them' by Olawunmi Banjo |
Do you
speak your native language at home always, sometimes or not at all? There is a growing
concern that some languages might go extinct after this present generation.
This fear comes from the fact that many families rather communicate among themselves
in English Language than do in their mother tongue.
The issue
actually surfaced in my home when I asked my son to get me an item in my native
language. First, he was amused by the sound of the word and asked what I was
talking about. I felt beaten that my own
language sounded strange to my own child. But then, I knew that the boy was not
to be blamed because I only speak to them in my native language sometimes.
In the
course of the week, I have taken on the responsibility of consciously talking
to everyone in my home in my native language. The children seem to like it but
it has been very challenging because I have had to explain almost everything I
say in English to them. And I was
worried again if we are actually going to make some progress.
While people
ordinarily assume that children tend to learn the local language of their immediate environment, it seem to me that it just may
not follow that way. I have seen families of Yoruba descent who live in Lagos, yet are faced with the problem of their children
not speaking their native language. Even
when the parents talk to them in Yoruba Language, they reply in English Language.
A family friend,
who is Igbo by tribe, has also complained about her children not understanding
every word of her native Igbo Language. She explains that her problem is with
her husband who though is Igbo by origin, but was born and raised in Campus
Square area of Lagos Island. She laments that her husband grew up speaking
Yoruba and still prefers communicating in the language, so she is the only one
making an effort to help the children learn Igbo Language.
By the
multiplicity of the challenge that makes people speak a preferred language to
their mother tongue, I tried to do some analysis and resolved that:
In places
like Lagos where I live, and Port-Harcourt where a very close cousin of mine
lives with her family, families tend to communicate in Pidgin and English Languages
because it appears easier to communicate with people from different tribes of
Nigeria.
In some
parts of the city, like Lagos, you could find the neighbourhood children
communicating in Yoruba Language, so the language overshadows their native
languages if their parents have not been talking to them in those languages
from their early years.
Interest in
a language counts a lot in learning and understanding the language, just as do
association with friends.
Many
parents today cannot speak their native languages so, it is impossible for them
to teach their children those languages. However, some form of help could come
in if they can engage the services of language teachers for the children.
While the school
curriculum has provision for local languages to be taught in different states
of Nigeria, a strong interest has also risen for the need to begin to learn the
Chinese language for international trade reasons.
Kenyan writer, Ngugi wa Thiong'O, enjoins African writers to begin to write books in their mother tongues, while UNESCO believes that if people are able to keep their mother tongue alive, they will be able to preserve their cultural traditions.
I’m back on
the drawing board, working hard to
contribute my own quota so that my native language remains. What about you?
Kindly share your opinion.