Nigerian parents proudly say
these days and with all confidence too: Oh! My child only speaks the English Language. Interesting!
It is for sure a beautiful
thing to be able to stand out from the crowd and present yourself, your speech
or even your ideas gracefully and fluently in a language acceptable by many.
There is indeed great pride in discussing with friends from different parts of
the world and flow excellently well, understanding every conversation and more importantly,
being understood. You are no doubt respected and in fact, there is a personal
feeling of poise, brilliance and self-confidence. Certainly, people will relate
better with you than with those who struggle or stutter at their words in
English Language. You definitely have an edge.
However, that's about where it
all ends. Not until you leave the shores of your own country before you realize
that no matter how much you try, you are who you are. No matter how fluent your
English is, you are not English. No
matter how strong your American accent is, Americans know themselves.
You would be often asked questions like: 'Where are you from?' for obvious reasons of course, and the only thing that would remind you of your root would be your name, well, if you have a local name. 😊 Only then, would you wonder and ask yourself, “If I don't belong fully abroad, I hope I fit and can even ‘balance well’ at home?”
You would be often asked questions like: 'Where are you from?' for obvious reasons of course, and the only thing that would remind you of your root would be your name, well, if you have a local name. 😊 Only then, would you wonder and ask yourself, “If I don't belong fully abroad, I hope I fit and can even ‘balance well’ at home?”
There is a need, an urgent one too, to be able to identify with our roots, and also be able to prove that identity!
A number of us are familiar
with the reports on languages. But just to reiterate, "The brain is not
biologically set to learn only one language" quoting expert Laura-Ann
Petitto, ‘a Cognitive Neuroscientist, popularly known for her discoveries about
the biological foundations of language’.
Another research, according to an article in ‘Daily Mail Online’ says
that “People who can switch between two languages seamlessly have a higher
level of mental flexibility than monolinguals”.
Perhaps, we have been under
utilizing the potentials and abilities of our children. A statement like
'Yoruba will spoil my child's English' is a proven myth. There are many people
who communicate well in their local language and still speak the English
language fluently. As strong as the French accent is, there are French with
great American accents and who would have you believe that they are Americans
until they begin to speak perfect French. How did they achieve that? Well, you
can never know how much ability you've got until you try to discover. Experts say that the best way is to speak
local languages to our wards at home and have them learn the other languages at
school. In fact, have them learn a third or fourth language. Start from when
they are young.
Also worth mentioning, is the sweetness
in switching between languages at the perfect place and at the right time too.
Turning to that comfort zone even in the tightest corner; when it only makes
sense to talk to mum about that pressing family issue; dad about the next giant
step you are about to take and discuss that friend that grates on your nerves
with your sister, IN YOUR LOCAL LANGUAGE. Whilst still feeling safe that you
have neither divulged confidential issues nor 'washed your dirty linens in
public'
Again, our true identity lies
in our root, our root is defined by our culture, and our culture is reflected
in that local language. We cannot afford to have a generation without an
identity. Though it might seem to be fading out, we still have a chance to
revive our culture and revival will start by ensuring we pass on our local
language and the importance of it, to generations after us.
We hope to build a generation
of leaders who have names like Omotola, Chidinma and Chawai and can fluently
speak Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa respectively.
God Bless Nigeria!
References and for further
reading on how many languages a child can learn:
Ute Limacher-Riebold, Expat
Since Birth, https://expatsincebirth.com/2013/08/19/how-many-languages-can-a-child-learn/
Daily Mail Online, Science
& Tech, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2600623/Language-biological-instinct-Babies-dont-learn-develop-speech-theyre-BORN-ability.html
3 comments:
Great thought there! We need to be proud of our heritage enough to make the younger ones see the value and the potential that lies in our future. Its just unfortunate that the same local language we don't allow our children to learn is what foreigners travel down to learn from us. Write ups like this i believe will help greatly in enlightening the people. Well done!
Thanks Johnson!
Lovely...no language is of a LESSER quality and each of us must be proud of whichever one God endows us with. Bisi, i agree absolutely with your position. Two quotes to add:'if you speak to a man in another language, you speak to his head and when you speak in his native language, you speak to his heart'-- Nelson Mandela. "The problem with us in Nigeria is that we think in our native dialect and try to speak in a foreign language" -- Bishop Hassan Kukah.
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