The Lingua Franca as a Threat to the Indigenous Languages

It is undisputable that English Language as a subject is a very sacrosanct one to be offered in all schools. The importance of the language cannot be overemphasized of course. It has gained much recognition through the years. It is a lingua franca _ a global language, which  breaches language barriers across continents, hence it has remained a very crucial subject that cannot be abrogated.

However, the existence of English Language should not be a threat to our local languages. Our indigenous languages form one of the groundworks of our culture; therefore, we should appreciate and preserve this by showing regards for our languages in all ways. Thus, rather than children being exposed to more of the target language, they should be given the opportunity to explore their local languages too. How does this work? 

I think, in a view to preserving our local languages, we should learn to use them more often in our day to day communication.  Trotting out the old cliché: "If you don't use it, you'll lose it", I suggest one of the quickest ways to preclude the loss of our culture is to train the younger generation to use them. Inculcating in them the habit of speaking their mother tongue goes a long way. Let them speak the foreign language in school, and at home, parents should endeavour to converse with them in their indigenous languages. That way, they'll have the ability to understand, as well as speak both languages well enough.

In Nigeria, for example, where English is the target language, most parents train their children to speak the English Language frequently. Consequently, this has culminated in the loss of our local languages. If parents start taking to this idea, our languages can retain their value once more. 

Moreover, local languages should be added to schools' curricula. It may be taught for a brief period of 40 minutes per week, nonetheless, the benefit is indispensable. This will always tend to remind the children of where they come from _ their lineages. 

In the pursuit of knowledge of using the lingua franca proficiently, let's not discard our own indigenous languages. They form the basis of our culture _ our heritage.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Importance of Higher Education in the Society

Some people believe students in the institute of higher learning should fully fund their studies themselves due to the fact that advanced learning only benefits them, and not the society. I personally do not think this is the case, therefore , I strongly disagree to this proposition. Modules taught in the universities, I would say, are voluminuous; however,  more explanatory and comprehensive version of the secondary schools' curricula.  In Nigeria,  for instance, students are taught different laws and principles to become scholars,  physicists and scientists without having an insight into how the laws work in reality. The universities, on the contrary, provide them with a wide variety of modules, and lots of seminars, presentations and workshops that are tailored to help them gain more expertise in a specific area or field. These higher institutes of learning, without doubts, are microcosm of the larger society because they focus more on practical, rather than theo...
Read more

Health Diet and Adequate Exercise for Improving Health

In recent times, a relatively fair number of people neglect the consumption of wholesome meals and even the act of keeping themselves physically fit for some reasons, of which busy/tight schedule could be one of them. For example, in Lagos, Nigeria, a buzzing city in the Western part of the country, which is comprised of a quite large number of inhabitants, who go through struggles, hurdles and hustles each day while transporting themselves to their diverse work places, working _ class people, and even small business owners usually need to stay awake very early in the morning so as to beat the traffic snarl, and even stay out late at night, stuck in the traffic jam. In this situation, people barely have enough time for themselves on business (working) days. Therefore, they do not even have the time for exercises. The only thing they would always love to do at their leisure is 'take a nap' or 'sleep' and 'snooze'. In the same manner, they hardly have the time to ...
Read more

Why Younger Adults Do Not Communicate With The Older Ones

Nowadays, a great deal of people do not want to interact verbally with the older adults in the society the way they used to in the past. This is actually not a positive situation, therefore, the issue needs to be surmounted urgently.  In the ancient times, people _both little and young used to be enthusiastic to communicate with the elderly ones. Back in those days, , children would sit under the moonlight to listen to the elders while they spoke. Similarly, the younger adults were never tired of consulting them to seek advice on diverse issues. Taking cognizance of the importance of these generians and the need to communicate with them effectively had greatly led to comparatively great achievements in the past. Indisputable, the old are most experienced as regards the phenomenon of the universe that the young and are capable of handing situations meticulously and sagaciously. They deal with problems or challenges with prudence and wits. By comparison, despite the significant roles...
Read more