[lg policy] Nigerian Languages Are In Danger- Association Cries Out

[Harold Schiffman]

Nigerian Languages Are In Danger- Association Cries Out
 Article | February 26, 2014 - 5:32am | By Ugochukwu
Onyeocha<http://www.dailytimes.com.ng/author/ugochukwu-onyeocha>
 [image: Prof. Chinyere Ohiri- Aniche]

The President of Linguistic Association of Nigeria (LAN), Prof. Chinyere
Ohiri- Aniche, on Tuesday in Abuja, said about 400 Nigerian indigenous
languages are currently  endangered.



Ohiri-Aniche made the disclosure at the UNESCO International Mother
Language Day Celebration organised by the Ministry of Education in
collaboration with LAN entitled; "Local Languages for Global Citizenship:
Spotlight on Science.''



She said the languages were endangered due to past neglect and denigration,
adding that some languages had already become extinct, while 152 languages
were on the verge of being extinct.



"Our greater concern however is that our languages are not being handed
over to children in homes and schools.



"Researches show that on the average, 25 per cent of children below 11
years are unable to speak their parent's indigenous language.



"If this trend is not checked, then Nigerian languages will be in
extinction in two to three generations, that is in 50 to 75 years time.''



She called on stakeholders, schools, telecommunication agencies, media
establishments, UNESCO and other international organisations to take
drastic actions to prevent the death of indigenous Nigerian mother tongues.



According to her, parents must learn to speak to their children in the
indigenous language.



She also called on schools to ensure that every child was taught his or her
mother tongue in primary and secondary schools as prescribed in the
National Policy on Education since 1977.



Ohiri-Aniche said that the Ministry of Education and the Nigeria
Educational Research and Development Council should reinstate Nigerian
languages as core subjects in the senior secondary school curriculum.



She said that the federal and states ministries of culture and national
orientation should also promote entertainment and other cultural activities
in Nigerian languages.



The LAN president urged the National Assembly and state houses of assembly
and other stakeholders to urgently convene a National Language Policy
Summit.



The summit, she noted, would provide a forum where Nigerians would decide
if indigenous languages should be allowed to die or be safeguarded.



"The summit will also lead to the enactment of a comprehensive national
language policy for Nigeria,'' she added.



Ohiri-Aniche said that the association believed that with the right
political and popular will, Nigerian languages would be pulled back from
the brink of extinction.



"They will go on to regain their vibrancy and once more, play their
rightful roles in all aspects of our individual and collective lives, right
into the 22nd century,'' she said.



She commended UNESCO for exposing the challanges facing Nigerian indigenous
languages.



Hassana Halidu, the Regional Representative of UNESCO, said the celebration
of the day was important in order to educate Nigerians on the use of mother
tongue.



Halidu urged the Federal Government to revitalise the use of indigenous
languages in schools as a way of creating peace and harmony in the country.



She said UNESCO would be partnering with the ministry and other
stakeholders to revitalise the use of indigenous languages in the country.

http://www.dailytimes.com.ng/article/nigerian-languages-are-danger-association-cries-out


-- 
**************************************
N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its
members
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)

For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to
https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/
listinfo/lgpolicy-list
*******************************************
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/lgpolicy-list/attachments/20140226/a39999e3/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
_______________________________________________
This message came to you by way of the lgpolicy-list mailing list
lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
To manage your subscription unsubscribe, or arrange digest format: https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/lgpolicy-list