Language Health

Pidgin, spoken in Hawaii for decades, is now listed as one of the official languages in the islands.   This comes as  the U.S. Census Bureau in November after a five-year survey was conducted on bilingual speakers  released a list of languages spoken in Hawaii . The census surveyed more than 325,000 Hawaiian residents from 2009 to 2013, asking whether they spoke any language other than English at home. The results revealed a number of Pidgin and Hawaiian Pidgin speakers. Both were added to the census list that included over 100 languages, representative of the islands diversity. Pidgin is a combination of expressions and phrases that are recognizable to those who speak it. To non-Pidgin speakers, it may sound like slang. For example, “dat” means that and “fadda” means father or dad. According to Patrick Wang who has lived in Oahu for over 40 years,   “It’s in their nature. That’s what they know,” Depending on who he is speaking to, Wang said, “I can turn it on a...

 by  Josiah Chijindu Egbilika Cross section of tribes representatives during God of All Languages programme organized by Assemblies of God Youth Ministries of Ikwerre Central District A representative of the Obolo Language came out first overall in the language competition organized by the Youth Ministries of Assemblies of God Church, Ikwerre Central District. The programme tagged ''God Of All Languages'' aimed at promoting the worship of God through our indigenous Languages. It is no longer news that English and Naija (popular known as Pidgin or Nigerian Pidgin-NP) pose as treat to our Indigenous Languages. They are commonly used in religious centers, market places, event centers and programmes, media and more. Representatives of the Obolo native speakers, winners of the God of all Languages competition As an official language in Nigeria, English is referred as the language of the formal. It is officially used in the what is termed "formal proceedings" like i...

  Josiah Egbilika Language, Gender and Human Rights Advocate and Naijalogist Campaigns are integral part of every electoral process. Through campaigns, electoral stakeholders pass messages to the public, educate the public on certain issues patterning the electoral process. The political parties and politicians do not joke with campaigns, in fact, campaigns are their bedrock, "nextdoor wife" if they need to keep themselves in the mind of the people to draw sympathy towards themselves. Parties and Politicians use campaigns to inform the people of the candidates and gladiators that will square it out in the "egelege" (native wrestling) fight called election. Beyond campaigns, other electoral process like voter's education, sensitization, rallies, etc. are all part to ensure a successful, free and fair election. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) uses sensitization to educate the public on how to vote, how to take their permanent voter's card...

by Josiah Egbilika Language Advocate, Najialogist, Human Rights and Gender Advocate Considering the decline in our indigenous languages, it has become of immense imperative to draw attention to the neglect of our indigenous languages. This is necessitated because the neglect of our languages has resulted to the abuse and false assumption that our indigenous languages are insufficient to national development, peace building and reconciliation. It is worthy of note that no good development can be achieved without communication. A good communication system is a facet to a better development in any region. No matter the tribe, race, belief or people, communicating the precepts and processes for better understanding and follow up is imperative. This is made possible through language. As a matter of truth not just fact, the  place of language in human development can never be undermined. It plays a major role in virtually every human endeavour. It relays the essence of human existence, s...

A language Advocate Josiah Egbilika has tasked Nigerians to intentionally make indigenous language teaching and speaking as part of their resolutions for the year 2023. The Language Expert speaking in his weekly programme, LanguageHealth at NigeriaInfo 92.3 FM, stated that individuals and families need to consciously make teaching of mother tongue as part of their curriculum for the year. Mr. Egbilika remarked that while people pay attention to making resolutions on lifestyle, attitude, character and behaviours, they do not include teaching and speaking of mother tongue as part of it. He further explained that beyond teaching, Nigerians should use the language in their day to day activities. He frowned on the fact that some Nigerians in diaspora make use of the mother tongue in their homes and ensure their children speak it while those in the country do not see the need to use the language as means of communication even in their homes. On decision making, the Language Advocate who is a...

Parents have been urged to take up the responsibility of teaching their Children and Wards mother tongue. This was the submission of a Language Advocate, Josiah Egbilika during a Live program #LanguageHealth aired every Wednesday on NigeriaInfo 92.3fm, a renowned Radio Station in Rivers State. Mr  Egbilika stated that the child acquires language by hearing, urging that  language should always be spoken in and around as the child picks the sounds and words from the language as he/she hears those around him/her speak. He stressed  that the parents are the most important actors in teaching the child  language, noting that the parents are the first persons the child by nature relates with. He called on parents to ensure that they do not fail in the responsibility of speaking language often. Speaking further, the Language Advocate lamented how schools see speaking the  indigenous languages as vernacular and even ascribe some sort of disciplinary measure to those that...

 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...

Hi linguists, I have a question , Do you think that L2 has an effect on L1? – Adary Nelson Surfing the net I came across this question on the wall of a facebook user. Although I gave an explicit answer, I felt the need to do a laborious explanation on it, to clear the fear and confusions. Acquiring language can be so strenuous for a child who is exposed to more than one language at the same time and sometimes same frequency, exposure and speaking rate. The positive fear in the mind of the child’s parents will be the aftermath effect on the child. A further concern is that a child exposed to a first language (henceforth L1), when in later days get exposed to the second Language (L2) what becomes the L1. Thus, this has made some parents lag in the conscious effort to teach the child their languages. Furthermore, there is the assumption that the native language is naturally the first language of the child, thus if the child does not acquire his...