SEC WK2 : The language in my country

Language as we all know is a means of communication with one another in order to express our feelings or ideas. Our languages can be communicated through written words, oral words or through our body language. Over time, languages has evolved from primitive to complex and there are thousands of languages in the world that have played a vital role in shaping our cultural identity.

Imagine seeing your country man in a foreign land, the unifying factor there that can differentiate you guys from the other is your language. It creates that sense of belonging and oneness between you guys.

Some people either by traveling or learning has given them the privileges of learning more than one language and other cultures, which sometimes open favors for them.

There are several key points to touch on the topic “language in my country” but before going any further, let me invite some friends of mine to participate in the challenge @uduak23, @us-andrew and @blessingogah-1

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I’m a Nigerian and based on research, we had about 525 languages in Nigeria. Among those 525 languages, we have the majority and minority languages. The majority as we all know is ibo, Yoruba and Hausa before we start thinking of other minority languages like Efik, ibibio, ijaw, tiv, Fulani etc. As a Rivers state man from okrika, my language fall under ijaw language.

With the colonial rule in Nigeria, English language became our official language all over the world. As much as we all speak “English”, our vernacular language remains pidgin English and I’ll say is the dominating language among fellow Nigerians especially for those who can’t speak English language fluently and also their native language.

As a matter of fact, the native language especially the minority ones has gradually been going into extinction because no one speaks the language to them again. It has really been a major challenge in Nigeria. Even with the advent of technology introduced in our languages through social media and text messages, it has reduced native language drastically.

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The most important language that I’m supposed to speak, which is my native language “okrika”, I can’t speak it fluently. I kinda blame my parents for this because they didn’t speak our mother tongue to us, they only spoke between themselves and speak English language to us.

Even the English language, i keep boasting off that i know so well and claim to speak fluently, when it was senior waec exams, I didn’t score “A” in English exams. It is mathematics that I don’t know jack that I scored “A”…. Isn’t that a miracle?? Lol…

Pidgin English is our day to day language… In fact, that’s the language that makes us truly Nigerian. I can speak the pidgin English so well, it has corrupted my English language and has a hand in affecting my English exams.

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English language is the most spoken language in the world and with that advantage, I have been able to interact with many nations of the world through English. Also, by expressing my spoken words in written form, with the use of “google translate”, I’m now able to break that language barrier by just putting down my ideas and content in written words and translating it to any language of my choice in other to communicate with other non-English speaking nations.

Since pidgin English is more of a local language amongst Nigerians and is widely spoken by everyone, I can use it to communicate with people in the market place especially those who don’t understand English. I can also use it in villages especially those ones that know only there mother tongue. They find it easier to relate with pidgin English than with English language.

Then when it comes to my mother tongue, it has helped me a lot especially when I find myself in a different local government area or community. If I am lucky enough to see a particular person that can speak my mother tongue, at that moment, we automatically become friends. You start gaining favors as a result of knowing the language. I experience such favor during my NYSC when I was posted to Ebonyi state. I met someone over there who could speak my language and as a result of that, I got free accommodation throughout my stay in NYSC. Till I left, I was his caretaker of his house.

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I will definitely teach my children these languages. I won’t make the same mistake my parents made with me when it comes to speaking my native dialect. At home, I’ll speak our native dialect, which is okrika. But one thing that gets me worried and I know it will pose as a challenge is that “what if I get married to someone that speaks a different language?? That means the children might not learn a native language…

Then in school, he will learn English language. I wish to even further pay for extra classes so they could learn any of this international recognized language like French, Deutsch or Spanish. I see it as an extra advantage.

As for pidgin English, I don’t need to teach them that one, the environment will take its full course same way it does on all Nigerians… just by association with friends alone, you just know it.