NIGERIANS AND LANGUAGE HYPOCRISY.

First of all,I will like to establish the fact that this article does not intend to question the usage of English language as our official language but rather to make everyone of us as Nigerians introspect on ways to balance our attitude towards our official language(English language) and native languages.

Due to the multi-ethnicity structure of the Nigeria state.About 520 languages are spoken by different tribes and ethnic groups.In order to unify our language patterns,English Language was adopted as our official language from our colonial masters(Britain).

To the crux of the discussion,Since We(Nigerians) all agreed to use the English language as our official language,why then do we refer to English language as an 'imported' language.Even if logically,English language was never our native language,our adaptation of it should have corrected that perception long time ago.

Moving forward,Many a times,I have always being accused of focusing too much on the mastery of English language thereby jettisoning my Mother's tongue.This has led to intense argument between me and my brothers who feel our 'official language' is not worth focusing on over our native language.On a similar pedestal,in every section of the country,excellent speakers/writers of English language who are not privileged to be of good command of their native languages have always faced harsh criticisms for mastering a 'foreign' language at the expense of their indigenous languages.

This current play out of things in the Country has always triggered me to question our collecetive stance on the issue of language.If my memory does serve me well,the wife to the immediate past President of Nigeria,Mrs Dame Patience Jonathan was severely ridiculed and shamed for her glaring incompetence in English language while speaking.Video clips of her making horrible mistakes while speaking English language went viral on Social media and other facet of life.

This brings me to the question of why do Nigerians comfortably mock peopke who are unable to express themselves in English language using the right diction and at the same time victimize people who pulls their strength and energy towards learning English language.Countless number of times,respectable individuals of the society have reiterated on the need to preserve our cultural traits most especially our native languages.Yet,many Nigerians will at any slightest opportunity verbally assault anyone who is found incapable of constructing acceptable English language sentences despite being a good speaker of his or her native language.

A noticeable reference is the gathering of our federal lawmakers usually called the National Assembly.Every elected lawmaker is expected to spend a duration of four years in the legislative chamber.Unfortunately,With English been the officially recognised language,these years are often fruitless and poorly maximised for active participation by some lawmakers who are always reluctant to speak during plenaries out of the fear of committing grammatical blunders which will invariably spark public criticism.This is just one out of the innumerable similar cases yet we all clamour for the retention of our most important cultural identity which is language.

Taking a sincere look at man's ability,not everyone is intellectually gifted to excellently master the usage of two distinctively different languages thus the hostility melted on people who find it hard to construct error free English language sentences while speaking or writing should be considerably reduced likewise those who prioritize the mastery of English language over their native languages should be pardoned of criticisms and needless vituperations in order to maintain an impartial balance.

I am TheHistorian and these are my thoughts.

Pens down!

Mynd44
Lalasticlala
Seun
Fynestboi
Dominique

Lalasticlala.

Well said @TheHistorian.

Though some are of the opinion that "Pidgin English" should be adopted as our official language due to its universality in the Nigerian state.

What is your take on this?

Bobola07:
Well said @The..Historian.

Though some are of the opinion that "Pidgin English" should be adopted as our official language due to its universality in the Nigerian state.

What is your take on this?

That's a very good idea as most of us will find it easier to learn the manner at which it is been spoken.

Though,It's predominantly spoken by the South-South,if we systematically integrate it into our lingua franca,I believe there will be lesser stress as against the unnecessary rigour and strength channeled at learning English language that could have been used for more productive tasks.

Musicwriter
Aribisala0

I need your inputs on the subject of discourse.

TheHistorian:
Musicwriter
Aribisala0

I need your inputs on the subject of discourse.

What you need understand is that at no time did we beg English people to give us a language. Before Britain arrived here we had our own languages, government, education system, nations,etc. All our instutions were subverted and a new identity given us.

The reason we need pay attention to our native languages is because we claim to be independent and free. Independent people speak their language.

I don't castigate anybody because of their English, unless your're making a schorlarly debate. In that case I would expect the person to at least speak or write in good English showing he/she read their books. Speaking English fluently alone doesn't equate to intelligence or even education, though, we're conditioned to think that way as slaves, not realizing Russians, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Vietnamese, are also educated. Yet, they speak no Engllish or French.

musicwriter:


What you need understand is that at no time did we beg English people to give us a language. Before Britain arrived here we had our own languages, government, education system, nations,etc. All our instutions were subverted and a new identity given us.

The reason we need pay attention to our native languages is because we claim to be independent and free. Independent people speak their language.

I don't castigate anybody because of their English, unless your're making a schorlarly debate. In that case I would expect the person to at least speak or write in good English showing he/she read their books. Speaking English fluently alone doesn't equate to intelligence or even education, though, we're conditioned to think that way as slaves, not realizing Russians, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Vietnamese, are also educated. Yet, they speak no Engllish or French.

Speaking English or any other language fluently does translate to intelligence.

What you have in Nigeria is people who cannot even read, write or speak their native language(s) decently. Are they intelligent? Doubtful. To have been immersed in a language so long and refuse to learn its proper conjugation, etc is a sign of lack of intelligence. It is a shame. If you wish to communicate in a language then do so properly and by the rules of the language.

An IQ test measures the intelligence of a person by testing their language skills, too. It's impossible to get the full measure of a person's intelligence without knowing their approach to language, especially a lingua franca such as English.

It is not about Independence or slavery. Mensa didn't invent language but it is a criteria for intelligence , sentiment aside.

BTW, using Koreans, Chinese, etc as examples compared to Nigeria is pointless because they all speak one language form. Let's use the micrometer screw gauge to measure the thickness of a fingernail, and not a trundle wheel.

I disagree with your first aasertion