According to a recent finding, around forty-three percent of the estimated six thousand dialects spoken globally are endangered.
The study indicated that just a few languages have been given someplace in today’s education system and less than a hundred are utilized in the digital world.
To this end, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, has set aside February twenty-first every year to celebrate “Mother Language Day” aimed at promoting linguistic and cultural diversity across the globe.
The International “Mother Language Day” was born out of recognition of Bengali students, who died in 1971 while demonstrating that Bangladesh government, then East Pakistan, must recognize their mother tongue.
Speaking on the significant of the day, the founder of Otu Suwakwa Igbo, an advocacy group for Igbo language and culture, and a one-time Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Professor Pita Ejiofor, regretted that Igbo language, which he portrayed as the identity of Ndigbo is gradually dying because most parents do not teach their children Igbo language, idioms and proverbs, while pupils, who speak their dialects in classrooms are being slammed with all manner of punishments by their teachers.
Professor Ejiofor lamented that the efforts to preserve Igbo Language has not yielded much impact as Ndigbo still speak English Language in occasions that are supposed to be run in their dialect noting that to save Igbo Language from extinction, religious leaders, traditional rulers, elders and school authorities must acknowledge their responsibilities in preventing the demise of the celebrated language.
On her part, the Director of Anambra State Library Services, Dr Nkechi Udeze, emphasized the need for Ndigbo to be proud of their language wherever they may be as by so doing, the language will not go into extinction as warned by UNESCO.
Dr Udeze encouraged students to speak Igbo language fluently just like they do in English in order to sustain their mother tongue which she identified as their heritage.
Contributing, Mrs. Anthonia Nlemchukwu and Mrs. Oby Ogabido, who maintained that language is the basic tool for communication, stressed the need for all to embrace their mother tongue to relate better with others while they learn other languages for interactions and identification with neighbouring ethnic groups.
This year’s International Mother Language Day has its theme as “Indigenous languages matter for development, peace building and reconciliation”.
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