English: Not Our Mother TongueByHappiness Otete
Language is a volcano. It can be active, dormant or extinct. The active language spits molten magma, which can serve as an instrument of change and development. Conversely, when the active language erupts indiscriminately, the cinders can bury many a poor, passive language thus rendering them extinct, or pushing them to the verge of the chasm of extinction. The active language however, may succeed in only posing threats at some languages which consequently may subside temporarily only to re-emerge some time.
In Nigeria, English has over the centuries been spitting cinders and fires on the Nigerian indigenous tribes, bereaving them of their political, cultural and social norms and values. Some tribes, it seems may therefore be ultimately plunge into the dark caverns of extinction if something is not done to salvage the situation. In the southern part of this country for instance, there is a made-in-Nigeria version of English which most southern young generation get well with more than their mother tongue. When the old generation which is assumed to be the custodian of its people’s cultures go beyond the seas and the young generation takes over, what parlance do you think would most of them use to communicate? That youths are leaders of tomorrow, when the morrow comes, of course, they would use the very language they had been using since their childhood. This is logical.
The principle of the freedom of speech and _expression as enshrined in the United nation’s charter as well as in the constitutions of many a democratic nation in the third world should not just be confined to the commonly believed idea of man’s right to hear about others and be heard by others with fairness and dignity. No. This should not be the case, especially in the present era of rapid monumental communications trends. There is another salient purview of man’s social life that this prestigious right is completely oblivious of that of freedom of language of _expression.
Nigeria “a country of diversity and great promise” as the incumbent United States president George Bush once remarked may not be able to attain that ‘great promise’ if it had remained a linguistically tongue-tied nation. Ever since he set his exploitative feet on the soil of the geological area (Niger area) now called Nigeria, the white man had moved mountains and drained oceans to see that he had left an indelible social-cultural landmark of his own in the hearts of millions of innocent Nigerians who would automatically pass on the genes through the western education system adopted by Nigerian authority, to their offspring in the subsequent generations. The white man is wonderfully and clairvoyantly clever. When he landed on the precious soil of the geological area whose ch ief rive – the Niger river – was purportedly and prooflessly said to be discovered by one of his exploring countrymen known as Mungo park, the seeing abundant and promising physical and natural resources and well equipped with the fact that language as one of the unique feature of man was a veritable tool of socio-cultural transformation and change, set off to toil tirelessly.
Gradually, over the years, the mass of the people inhabiting the country called Nigeria found themselves neck-deep involved in the exercise of propagating the man from the “Angle Land’s” language by inputting their efforts consciously or unconsciously, directly or indirectly in the nefarious act eclipsing their own mother tongues. And to crown it all, had it been that their effort had stopped just at propagating the “Angle land” man’s language it would have been less painful, but the handshake rather passed up to the elbow – you learn the ‘Angle Land’ man’s language (English) together with its accents. You may, anyway murmur “and so what?”. That is if you are an advent admirer of speaking the ‘Queen’s language’ together with the accent, like myself. But mind you, nothing is further from the truth. You and I may sizzle but to the unfortunate detriment of our mother tongue. Now, let me tell you my ordeal as a result of my affinity with the wh ite man’s tongue, I can now speak fluently neither Kanuri nor Hausa. And the worst of it all, the thing that when I think over it makes my heart bleed is that I am just to become a guru or an orator in the borrowed language. I have left mine in preference to some one else’s. I have left my folk’s and have not yet reached other folk’s. what a loss! The Hausa people have a wonderful adage that says whoever forsakes the home, the home will forsake him.
Fellow country people, is there anything that we can do to obliterate the borrowed language and replace it with a national one? This question, I believe, I am not the first to ask it and possibly may not be the last to re-echo-it. Nigeria has been dragging feet over thins issue for quite a long time now. You know, the masses may uphold the idea yet they lack the tools and instruments to implement it but the elite may abhor it yet many of them possess the toll and instrument to implement it. It is better we c all the spade a spade. Since apparently that is the case, do we call the Anglo-Nigerian language encounter between Nigerian indigenous tribes versus the English language a stalemate one? No, of course not. There must be a winner or victor and there must be a vanquished. In this case, I am sorry to say, it is not like the case of the Gowon Administration’s post-civil war national integration propaganda of no victor, no vanquished, rather it is like the case of the second world war: Nigeria has lost the encounter, perhaps. It is the acknowledgement of that fact that covered the Nigerian spirit with a wet blanket. This, I am not proud to say is a perfect example of the clinch that if you cannot beat them, join theme. The Hausa people say if s fight surpasses your strength, turn it into a joke.
The torturous impact of all this language-borrowing ultimately slams its harmer on the help[less Nigerian students and our country development in general. That a pupil right from primary school (nursery or pre-nursery kindergarten) through secondary level to colleges and university has to study all the sciences, arts social management and social sciences (to some degree including the so called Nigerian language) subjects in English language creates a lot of impediment to the pupils/students’ potentials and career development which ultimately transverse it over to the progress and development of our nation.
If you critically and objectively loot at the countries that use their indigenous languages as a national language in schools and offices, whether they are developing or underdeveloped countries who are employ Roman’s language in formal nationals (and sometimes even international/bilateral) activities and engagement. Consider among the third world countries Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Egypt to mention but few. Even though these countries may be using English language they did not upgrade it to the state status of being the chief national language like in Nigeria.
I am having the feeling that your hand may be itching you to take proper pen and paper to write, may be a refutation letter what I clamor for in this my write-up cannot be achieved in this country, maybe because of the multi-ethnic nature of this nation. Well that could be the true but sacrifice and eschew all over sentiments, I believe was can make it as possible and easily as the rat can drag the mouse.
Since we are presently neck-deep in the phenomenon, I should like to suggest palliative measures that will, I believe if well implemented can bring epoch-making succor to the teeming Nigerian students one of whom I am. You and I know well that Nigerian has now come to era when English languages is under taught in most public schools, if you would one day endeavor to flip through one English notebook of any O’ level student (or pupil) you will be exasperated. I was once an O-level student. Often English language notebook had the least notes, and the available notes had never been anything to tell home about more than the oft-repeated parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs and what of you shallowly treated. Hardly will you come across such genres as oral English or pronunciation lessons. In my secondary school where I was supposed to be taught, I had never received any worth-writing about lessons on oral English from form one to form six and I attended a Federal Government College for that matter. Then w hat could have caused all this? Is that teachers were not properly educated on how to teach oral English? Or is it deliberate that we Nigerians have given a dam about the thorny-hookies of oral English?
Therefore, students should not be examined on oral English since it is rarely taught and nobody even cares about it. Why should one be examined about what was not taught? After all, we are no longer being colonized by British. Rather, oral English like its literature in English counterparts should be taught separately as a vocational subject only those who have the interest and applied for it should be taught and examined at least right from secondary level. This done, I believe, students or entrance examinations candidates will have a repute and a focus and, of course, would develop the necessary flair and zeal to lean and writes the English language examinations and pass with flying colours. And if the oral English examination must continue, then there is the need for auth orities concerned to see to it that, the oral English lessons are vigorously and seriously taught in our secondary schools so that prospective entrance examinations candidates would have something substantial to grap as they sit for examinations. And therefore, with the current wave of under-teaching in most public schools nation-wide one had beetr stopped dreaming of becoming a Tom or Jerry while one is in Nigeria. If you want to verify my assertion or stand about this issues just try to twist your tongue one day and pronounce words the way they are supposed to be (as outlined in the International phonetic symbols in many a dictionary of English language) which from the basis of the oral English being purportedly taught in schools, you will realize the your circle of friends will start having some kind of ‘provincial’ or stereotypical perception of you. Some will even say you are just doing ‘yanga’.
Just of recent, one lecturer in my department for the time took us one course. And unfortunately the man has this kind of Queen’s language accent (hard luck to many of my colleagues). One day during his lecture he mentioned the word ‘issue’ and pronounced it this: ‘issiu’ instead of the traditional way most students pronounce: ‘ishu’, for instance. The whole class surprisingly went murmuring like a beehive full of bees droning. It was disappointing and consternating indeed to se that three hundred level undergraduate who are suppose to have Cs in English language would be so oblivious or let me use the correct word, ignorant of some common things they were supposed to have known since. It would have been a different story had they known that that word two possible pronunciation but that they were traditionally more conversant with one. So, you can now see what I mean by saying that oral English should, rather be separated from English language proper and made a subject of its own just like literature in English. This, furthermore, will minimize failure in English language and English examinations.
Let us ponder a little over the Nigerian version of English or the made-in-Nigeria English. How did we come about it? This is simply to tell you that majority of Nigerians do not subscribe to the alien idea of borrowed language accents assimilations. Here is a simple analogy: Nigerians have borrowed or adopted some of the English speaking people’s foods stuffs like cabbage, spinach, salad cream, butter, margarine, cheese, etc and cook it in their own unique way palatable to them. But if many of us are to help ourselves over some English traditional dishes cooked with the same stuff, many of us would have an offset stomach or even vomit. Similarly, Nigerians have borrowed and adapted the adaptable from the ‘mongrel’ language and fashioned it in their own way and use it in the ir everyday communication. But if we are to be urged to speaking the typical British accent, I believe many of us would nearly bite their tongues, certainly Nigerians do not have teeth and tongue in the nose.
It was by consistent, dedicated and patient experimentation that the Wright Brothers built the first ‘iron bird’. There is nothing that consistent and well-intended practice cannot make man achieve within the spheres of what is humanly possible. Therefore, I furthermore would like to suggest that oral English should be properly and adequately taught to students and be maintained as partners to English language, or had better been separated so that those who have the gust and enthusiasm to become mini Toms, Dicks and Harrys should try their luck. But please, pity innocent Nigerian students and use your hand no to put a cog on the wheel of progress of our Great nation and hardworking promising students.
HAPPINESS OTETE DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMM., UNIVERSITY OF MAIDUGURI, P M B 1069 MAIDUGURI, BORNO STATE.
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