NO NIGERIAN LANGUAGE IS FREE FROM EXTINCTION

NO NIGERIAN LANGUAGE IS FREE FROM EXTINCTION - Josiah Chijindu Egbilika

Nigeria has about 625 indigenous languages. Some of these languages like Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa are widely spoken and spread across the country and beyond. Some are spoken in the geographical locations they exist. Some have been developed to an extent while some others are yet to be developed, no written documentations of the languages.

In the classification of extinction, people seen to exclude some of the languages that have written forms and some bit of documentation. But the true state of Nigerian languages is that no Nigerian Language is free from extinction.

According to studies by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), 29 Nigerian minor languages have become extinct, while another 29 minor languages are in danger of extinction.

Also, other views expressed by language teachers and linguists in respect of the three Nigerian major languages – Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa; show that they are also endangered. These languages are spoken predominantly in the North, South-East, and South-West respectively.

Other languages are Fulani/Fulfulde, Kanuri, Efik/lbibio; Tiv, ljaw, Edo, Itshekiri, Urhobo, Idoma, Igala, Isoko and Ikwere. Each of the languages has distinctive dialects.

All of these languages are gradually declining and going into extinctions. The penetration of foreign languages like English, Arabic and even Naija (Nigerian Pidgin) are contributing factors to which these languages are declining.

Native speakers of these languages either code-mix or code switch while speaking the languages. They intentionally or unintentionally replace certain words from the languages and use the ones from the foreign. Overtime the Original words in the language go into extinction.

Nigeria languages are faced with word extinction. In Hausa for instance, words from Arabic are widely and mostly used instead of the Hausa words. Words like TV, Radio, Chair, computer, moto, bicycle are now ben used instead of the right form of it in the language. It is unfortunate that from generations to generations, our languages are gradually going into extinction.

There is need to encourage the usage of our indigenous languages in everyday life. The restrictions placed on it as a vernacular language which attracts penalties especially in schools should be abolish. Linguist and language scholars should strive to document our languages in the original form, constantly teach and correct younger generations on the actual words not the so-called common words from foreign languages.

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