Language Health

A Port Harcourt based Linguist and Indigenous Language Advocate, Mr. Josiah Egbilika has called for the adoption, acceptance and recognition of the word, ‘Endoglossophobia’, and its inclusion in the next production of various dictionaries online or hardcopies. Speaking in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Wednesday, Mr. Egbilika stated that ‘Endoglossophobia’ is not just a word, but a real-life situation which if not handled can result in the extinction of indigenous languages. Noting that the situation is not only common in Nigeria or Africa but global, the Linguist enjoined that it be given the attention it deserves. By way of definition, Egbilika who holds a Master of Arts Degree in Linguistics, defined Endoglossophobia as the feeling of unease, apprehension, worry, irritation or nervousness experienced in learning or using either in speech or writing, one’s indigenous language or dialect. The indigenous language advocate, who stated that Endoglossophobia, simply put is the...

By Josiah Chijindu Egbilika In commemorating the international women's day celebrated March 8 every year, a Nigerian Linguist and Indigenous Language Advocate, Josiah Egbilika has tasked women all over the world to be at the forefront of campaign for the development and sustenance of Indigenous Languages. With this year's theme, invest in women: Accelerate progress which focuses on diversity and empowerment, Mr. Egbilika stated that one of the ways women's progress acceleration can be said to be holistic is when their identity is not lost and if language is lost, no matter the amount of  empowerment, there will still be a missing gap. Josiah Chijindu Egbilika,  Linguist and Indigenous Language Advocate  The Indigenous Language Advocate urged women to begin the language campaign by carrying out sensitization and encouraging the continuous speaking of their languages in their every day activities including to their children and wards. Mr Egbilika appreciated the fact that w...

 By  Josiah Chijindu Egbilika February 21 every year is the celebration of the international day for mother tongue. It is a day set aside to create global sensitization about indigenous languages in a bid to bridge the gap on language discrimination. This year is not left out in the celebration as the world commemorates the day focusing on education with the theme: Multilingual education – a pillar of learning and intergenerational learning. According to United Nations, presently, 40% of global population lacks access to education in their native languages. And the figure goes over 90% in some regions. In Nigeria, one can point places or regions where native languages are used as means of communication or even taught in educational sector, regrettably, it has not been a major concern in the nation.  Although the Nigerian situation seems challenging with about 625 recognized languages and over 2000 dialects, it becomes difficult on how to actualize a multilingual system in...

By Josiah Chijindu Egbilika  A Linguist and indigenous language advocate, Mr. Josiah Egbilika has called on the Federal and State Governments to prioritize indigenous language development as a national problem in Nigeria. Mr. Egbilika lamented on the continuous neglect towards language development from both national and States' budgets. According to him, there is no way the about 527 languages in Nigeria can be truly developed and properly documented without money. The Indigenous Language Advocate pointed out regrettably that the Twenty-Eight point Seven Trillion Naira (N28.7 trillion) budget passed by the Tinubu led administration did not cover the development of indigenous languages in Nigeria and the main reason for this continuous neglect is because government after government has not seen the need to make language development a national issue. Unfortunately, the rate at which Nigerian languages are going into extinction is alarming. According to the Linguist, no language in Ni...

by: Josiah Egbilika  Starting from 2023/2024 academic session, Yoruba language will be a compulsory course for all students in Lagos State University (LASU). This comes as the school introduces General Nigerian Studies known as GNS 104, a Yoruba Language Studies course, as part of its curriculum. The decision by LASU aligns with the broader national initiative to protect and promote Nigeria’s diverse linguistic and cultural legacy.  The Yoruba Language Studies course aims to provide students with a comprehensive grasp of Yoruba, one of Nigeria’s prominent indigenous languages also adopted in Brazil as one of it's lingual Franca. Yoruba Alphabet The course seeks to equip students with language proficiency, cultural awareness, and historical context, fostering a deeper appreciation of and for Yoruba culture. Reacting to the development, Professor T.M Salisu, Dean of LASU’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities, expressed his excitement highlighting the course potential to strengthen st...

By Josiah Chijindu Egbilika The word phobia is a Greek word that means “to be afraid of” or “fear of”. In one word, it refers to fear. It could be the fear of a thing, people ,object or language.  Lots of persons globally have one fear or the other. They find it difficult to relate to a particular thing. In some cases, it could cause harm if exposed to that situation. Same way, there are those who have fear for language, “Linguaphobia”. There are also those who have fear for speaking foreign languages “Xenoglossophobia”.  There are people who are afraid of speaking in the public too “Glossophobia”. There are also those who are afraid of speaking their own Indigenous or Native languages. This situation is referred to as “Endoglossophobia”.  The word Endoglossophobia was first dropped on Radio during the #LanguageHealth Show with Sam Oracle Chinedu and Josiah Chijindu Egbilika  Endoglossophobia is a common situation but has been subsumed into linguaphobia. This is not ...

By Josiah Chijindu Egbilika The use of Naija popularly called Nigerian Pidgin has been Advocated by drivers in Port Harcourt the Rivers State capital to be use when carrying out sensitization campaigns by institutions. The call to use Nigerian Pidgin as a communication means for sensitization programmes was made when the Federal Road Safety Corps, Rivers State command carried out a sensitization programme on safe driving and observing Road Safety Rules especially as the raining season intensifies. According to the drivers, the use of pidgin will make them understand the message communicated better.  Federal Road Safety Corps sensitize drivers on road safety in Port Harcourt  This does not negates the fact that they are unable to understand English, which currently serves as the official language in Nigeria but the call is to promote the use of Pidgin in social space. In Nigeria, over 90% of people understand and communicate with Nigerian Pidgin. The once creole language has b...