It is a fact which only those not conversant with happenings around them will dispute. The United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation has also confirmed it: local languages are dying. More than half of the 6000 languages currently spoken in the world are estimated to be in danger of disappearing during the 21st century. These include some of Nigeria’s local languages.
And curiously, it is at this critical moment that the Lagos State government is perfecting ways to make pupils learn Chinese. It is saddening that the country does not have a well-articulated national language policy.
In many countries, a language policy is designed to favour or discourage the use of a particular language. Some now have policies to protect and promote local languages being threatened. This is what Nigeria should do through legislation.
Experts including Israeli linguist, Ghil’ad Zuckermann, believe that everything must be done to protect local languages. He once said: “Native tongue title and language rights should be promoted. The government ought to define Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander vernaculars as official languages of Australia. We must change the linguistic landscape of Whyalla and elsewhere. Signs should be in both English and the local indigenous language. We ought to acknowledge intellectual property of indigenous knowledge including language, music and dance.”
This is the way Nigeria should go. And this is how: Let’s tackle the problem from the root. For most of us, the first language we spoke as children were our mother tongue. We were not introduced to English language until we got to school. It is no longer the case. Now, children speak English first and stumble on their mother tongue or never get to speak them at all.
Since a national policy cannot compel parents to speak local languages to their children, we have to turn to schools. I mean nursery schools. The policy should decree that every nursery school, be it private or public, should have teachers who teach the pupils their local languages. This way, we can catch them young. This should be continued by primary schools.
Really, it will not be a bad idea if the policy requires that the mother tongue or language of the immediate community be the medium of instruction at pre-primary and early primary levels, with English emerging as medium of instruction halfway through primary education. I understand the Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi is pushing for this. He needs to speed up action and use the state as launch pad.
And for secondary school level, the old practice where students were expected to sit for and pass one local language in the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination should be revisited and be made a key component of the national language policy. Each child must learn one of the three major Nigerian languages (Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba).
If the United States is forcing its citizens to learn one international language before being given a degree, then we should follow suit and in our own case, it should be the learning and understanding of a local language that should be a prerequisite for being found worthy of receiving a university degree. English should remain the language of instruction.
We should also ensure that Houses of Assembly should hold plenary once a week in their local language. The Lagos Assembly has started this.
Efforts should be made to ensure that there are effectual supporting policies and practices; adequate facilities; curricula that reflect the difference between first and second language teaching; adequate instructional materials; and positive public sentiment.
By the time we try these steps, we will be on the way to reversing the current trend. Not only that, we will also see an improvement in pupils and students’ performance in examinations, as experts believe that students who have better understanding of their mother tongues stand a better chance of doing well in other areas.
Babatunde Fadun, equityloss@xxx.com. 08057970xxx