A language can be defined as a system
of sounds, written symbols, and/or signs used by the people of a particular country,
geographical area, tribe, or status as the case may be, to communicate with
each other. It can also be described as the human ability to acquire and use
complex systems of communication.
There are several forms of languages in existence, such as spoken
language, sign language, computer language, and animal language. Estimates of
the number of languages in the world vary between five thousand (5,000) and
seven thousand (7,000). However, any precise estimate depends on a partly
arbitrary distinction between official languages and local/mother languages.
Mother language or Mother tongue, which is also widely known as dialect
or native language, is the indigenous language of one’s parents which is
usually the first language learnt by him/her. In the same vein, it is also
referred to as the language of one’s ethnic group. Suffice to say that, one’s
Mother tongue is an apparent indication of where he/she hails from.
Mother language is often regarded as one’s ‘first language’. Therefore
by contrast, a second language is any language that one speaks other than his
or her first/native language. The Mother language is noted as ‘first’, because
it is regarded as the most important language spoken by anyone due to its
hereditary value as well as its cultural impact on the concerned individual.
No doubt, Mother language or first language contribute immensely in a
child’s personal, social, cultural, intellectual, educational and economic
life. Personal; in the sense that a child’s first (native) language is critical
to his or her identity. Social; in the sense that when the native language of a
child is not maintained, important links to family and other community members
may be lost. Cultural; in the sense that sustaining a child’s Mother tongue
would help the child to value his or her culture and heritage, which
contributes to a positive self-concept.
Furthermore, the intellectual aspect of it is that, when students who
are not yet fluent in their second/official language such as English or French,
but have switched to using only the said official language, would have the
tendency of functioning at an intellectual level below their age thereby
resulting to academic failure. Educational wise; students who learn second
language and continue to develop their native language would have chances of
higher academic achievement in later years than those who learn their second
language at the expense of their first language. More so, economically; there
are available better employment or job opportunities in Nigeria and in the
disapora for individuals who are conversant with their official language as
well as another language – probably a native language.
Today Saturday February 21, the world over is commemorating the 2015
International Mother Language Day. The Day was proclaimed by the General
Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) in November 1999. The date – February 21, represents the
day in 1952 when the Pakistani students who demonstrated for recognition of
their native language, Bangla, as one of the two national languages of the then
Pakistan, were shot and killed by the Police in Dhaka – the capital of what is
now Bangladesh.
On 16th May 2007, the United Nations General Assembly in its
resolution called upon Member States to promote the preservation and protection
of all languages used by peoples of the world. By the same resolution, 2008 was
proclaimed as the ‘International Year of Languages’, to promote unity in
diversity and international understanding through multilingualism and
multiculturalism.
As the global community celebrates
the Int’l Mother Language Day, I call on every Nigerian, both home and abroad,
to join in the ongoing crusade of promoting the significance of Mother tongue
by acknowledging that Mother languages are the most powerful instruments
required to preserve and develop our respective tangible heritages.
To this end, I also call on the National Assembly to enact a law that would ensure that every citadel of learning in Nigeria, ranging from primary to tertiary level, offers at least one native language relevant to the area or community where the institution is situated. In addition, the proposed law ought to also mandate the various existing examination boards in the country including the West African Examination Council (WAEC), the National Examination Council (NECO), and the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), to ensure that the students compulsorily enroll as well sit for the said native language or subject as it concerns their respective schools or the institution where they are seeking for admission, as the case may be.
Indeed, considering the singular fact
that Mother Language helps to create full and thorough awareness on cultural
traditions coupled with its role in promotion of solidarity among members of
any given community thereby uplifting the level of moral, social and
intellectual values of our young ones, it is of no gain reiterating that the
ongoing crusade regarding uplift of various Mother languages is a task that
awaits all and sundry. Think about it!
COMR FRED
D.N NWAOZOR
-The Media Ambassador-_____________________________________
frednwaozor@gmail.com
+2348028608056
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