Promoting indigenous languages helps to maintain and preserve culture.
Language, an essential component of culture, is a tool for human communication which promotes engagement and the sharing of ideas. It is a foundation of cultural identity that binds people to their history and traditions, making it more than just a tool for communication. The most significant component of any ethnic group’s cultural history is its language.
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Welcome To Nigeria: Home of 500 Spoken Languages
Nigeria, the 6th most populated country in the world is a multilingual society that is home to over 250 ethnic groups with over 500 indigenous languages.
The diverse cultures from these ethnic groups are rich, unique and fascinating; from the aesthetic spoken languages, symbols, attire, hair, names, accents, food, folklore, music, dance, festivals, weddings, proverbs, customs and tradition, and many more. All of these serve as means of cultural identity and a representation of a rich cultural heritage.
However, there is a huge decline in the use of these indigenous languages. Reports from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2006) and numerous academic writers have raised concerns about a possible extinction of some of Nigeria’s indigenous languages. Is there truly a decline in indigenous languages in Nigeria? Could this posit a loss of cultural heritage ?
Apparently, yes.
It is quite rare to hear or see two Nigerians on the street speak or communicate in their native languages, especially the minority languages. As established, culture is preserved when there is a promotion of one’s indigenous language. Where this is absent, a gradual erosion of cultural identity happens.
What Could Be the Reason for this Decline?
A number of reasons have led to the decline of indigenous languages in Nigeria which includes:
Adoption of English Language as the Official Language
The introduction of English language by the British colonial masters and the making of English as Nigeria’s official language have resulted in the widespread use of English in Nigeria. The use of English in schools, worship centres, professional settings, markets and homes, has greatly reduced the use of indigenous languages.
Even though the four major languages ; Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, and Nigerian Pidgin are widely spoken in the country, the fact that English is the official language poses a big risk for both the major and minor languages.
Migration and Urbanisation
Mass migration and urbanisation leads to an abandonment of indigenous languages, as people move to urban areas or foreign regions for better economic, educational, and social prospects.
This can result in younger generations speaking the dominant language instead of their ancestral tongue, leading to a decline in their native language proficiency. This cultural replacement often favours dominant cultures, overshadowing and reducing the significance of minority indigenous cultures and languages.
The Failure of Parents to Teach Kids Their Indigenous Languages
Another significant issue contributing to the decline of Nigerian languages is the inability of parents to teach and pass down their mother tongue to their children. This is usually in an effort to increase their social acceptance and recognition by speaking fluent English.
The home is the first agent of socialisation.
Most Nigerian homes prioritise the use of the English language because it is recognised professionally. As a result, most Nigerian children do not know how to greet or even communicate in their language nor pronounce their indigenous names.
Naturally, if parents do not speak their native tongues to their children, the following generation will not speak them to their children either, which will cause these local indigenous languages to become extinct in the coming years.
Inter-Ethnic and Racial Marriages
Inter-ethnic and racial marriages have also contributed to the decline. When two individuals from different cultures marry, instead of teaching the children either of the languages, parents settle for the universal language which is English, thereby causing a decline in the use of native languages.
Love for Western Culture
The dominance of English has even led to the abandonment of indigenous names, and obsession with foreign accents. Parents now prefer to give their children English names. In the Northern part of Nigeria, parents prefer to give their children Arabian names. This results in a loss of connection with their roots.
The obsession with foreign accents has made a lot of people view the foreign languages as superior and the native, inferior. People who make wrong grammatical expressions are often mocked, therefore the determination to sound like the westerners has led to an abandonment of our roots and unique dialects. The implication of these is that cultural diversity is at danger as indigenous languages are going extinct. Cultural heritage which includes traditions, customs, and local knowledge, is weakened by the loss of these indigenous languages.
Because of this loss, minority language speakers become socially marginalised and their cultural ties are weakened. Local indigenous languages will lose importance as a result of the dominance of global languages over indigenous ones. This suggests the need for sustainable practices that promote cultural heritage and suppress the feelings of cultural inferiority and linguistic imperialism.
Possible Solutions
It is apparent that the indigenous languages in Nigeria, especially the minor ones are going extinct. Here are a few suggestions that can help preserve these languages:
- Since the home is the first agent of socialisation, parents should practice communicating in their native dialects to help with preservation.
- Culture custodians, such as local chiefs/rulers, elders, kinsmen etc, should document indigenous languages on digital platforms to preserve them for future generations.
- The government should implement educational programs that encourage the use of indigenous languages.
- The media such as television/radio programmes, social media podcasts, blog posts and historical films should be utilised to preserve and document indigenous languages.
- Cultural festivals and activities should be organised often to help preserve indigenous languages and culture.
Final Thoughts
As much as the English Language is a unifying factor in the Nigerian multilingual culture, we must prioritise the preservation of our rich and unique cultural heritage.
Read more: The Role Of Indigenous Languages In Schools
