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<h2 class="entry-title">Nigerian govt. must intervene to prevent extinction of minority languages – Experts</h2>
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<span class="gmail-date"><a href="http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/217190-nigerian-govt-must-intervene-prevent-extinction-minority-languages-experts.html" title="Permalink to Nigerian govt. must intervene to prevent extinction of minority languages – Experts" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date" datetime="2016-12-06T14:54:41+00:00">December 6, 2016</time></a></span><a href="http://www.premiumtimesng.com/author/andrew-ajijah" title="Posts by Andrew Ajijah" class="gmail-author gmail-url gmail-fn" rel="author">Andrew Ajijah</a> </div>
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<p>Nigeria’s government needs to restrategise on a national language
policy to avoid about 50 indigenous minority languages going to
extinction, an expert has said.</p>
<p>The President, Linguistic Association of Nigeria, LAN, Chinyere
Ohiri-Aniche, stated this on Tuesday during the opening ceremony of the
29th annual conference of the association holding at the University of
Jos, Plateau State.</p>
<p>She did not list the affected minority languages, some of the over
250 languages spoken by different ethnic groups across Nigeria.</p>
<p>“Let me also use this opportunity to advise the federal government on
the need to reawaken the national language policy project which is
moribund already,” she said.</p>
<p>Represented by LAN Vice President Harrison Adeniye, Ms. Ohiri-Aniche
called for the establishment of language centres to prevent possible
extinction of most minority languages in the country.</p>
<p>“We would like to use this opportunity to remind you, sir, of the
promise made on behalf of the university to establish the centre for
minority languages in your institution,” she said while addressing the
representative of the vice chancellor of the Jos university.</p>
<p>“We know this centre when established will go a long way in
documenting and revitalizing well over fifty languages, most of which
are moribund.”</p>
<p>The Vice Chancellor of the University of Jos, Sebastian Maimako, in
an address lamented that there was a decline in cultural and ethnic
language speaking among some Nigerians.</p><div class="gmail-code-block gmail-code-block-3" style="margin:8px 0px"><p style="text-align:center">
</p></div>
<p>Represented by the Dean, Faculty of Arts, of the university, Tor
Iorapuu, Mr. Maimako charged the linguistic association to fashion out a
way of revitalizing moribund languages in the country.</p>
<p>“Given this unfortunate situation of language and cultural decline in
our various immediate communities, I enjoin you as teachers, scholars
and professional researchers in the academic discipline of linguist as
well as in other related areas of language studies to deliberate and
fashion out viable means of readdressing issues of inadequacies relating
to the documentation and revitalization of minority languages in
Nigeria.”</p>
<p>The Vice Chancellor charged parents and teachers to teach young people how to speak and write in local languages.</p>
<p>“Revitalization of minority languages in Nigeria is key, such that
our children can grow to speak and write in our indigenous languages,”
he said.</p>
<p>The LAN 5-day annual national conference ends on Friday after which a communiqué is expected.</p><p><a href="http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/217190-nigerian-govt-must-intervene-prevent-extinction-minority-languages-experts.html">http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/217190-nigerian-govt-must-intervene-prevent-extinction-minority-languages-experts.html</a><br></p><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message. A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/" target="_blank">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
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