This has been a serious problem that run across all ethnicities in nigeria even in africa as a whole. In some tribes,its minimum while in some ,it's beyond control. For me personally, i do it but not that much. I can speak igbo for a whole day without adulterating it with english. How about yourself? Are you a victim of that sickness?. How can we stop it?. Please mature comments.

It's not only Africa. Smaller languages in Europe also are experiencing pressure from English.

When I watch a Yoruba or Edo movie, they sometimes mix in English words. So even important sources such as music and movies don't speak the language without pressing in English words. From what I know, it's especially youths that are the worst when it comes to language pollution.

Yoruba example: MAMA/DADDY, KILO HAPPEN? Mo understand. It is very disturbing. All of which have Yoruba equalients.

As you see, many languages are threatened by English especially. If allowed to continue, it can destroy entire languages in a very short time. The government of Nigeria needs to make sure literrature is published in Nigerian languages, they need to promote language learning in school, they need to make people aware by using media.

Though, the single most disturbing thing about this, is parents not allowing their kids/not teaching them to speak their native tongue. This needs to stop completely before they destroy their own language.

I also think that this is a major problem that is threatening the welfare of not only languages in Nigeria but languages in any country where English is present.

In Ireland, the Irish are trying desperately to revive their language, Gaelic, which has been dominated and eclipsed by English, and in Nigeria we struggle with the same thing.

As a native speaker of Igbo, I have encountered people who recklessly mix English with Igbo. I've come across the terms "o dependiri" (it depends) and "m likiri" (i like) many, many times and it has caused me to wonder if we are slowly losing our fluency in our native languages.

I myself used to partake in this until I decided to help myself by asking questions when needed. What helped me the most was communicating with my non-English speaking relatives. I'm glad to say that I no longer mix English with my native language when I write or speak.

I'm guilty!!
I do it a lot..
I can't remember the last time i spoke plain yoruba all through in a sentence.
Same goes to a lot of peeps i know too.
.
Makes me remember a yourba friend who was born and bred in yoruba land but at almost 30 did not know "baluwe" is yoruba for "bathroom"
When saying "i don't like it" in yoruba,you get to hear "mi o like e".
English language is slowly eroding our indigenous languages.Sad but true!

Good posts. It's all about awareness. Government needs to launch campaigns to support Nigerian languages. They need to inform people and let them know of the concequences. I can tell you, the day people stand without their own language anymore, the frustration and lack of identity will strike them like thunder.

I would give anything for my parents teaching me Edo while I was still small, instead I am desperately looking for somewhere to go on a course. I am also learning Yoruba, which I find invaluable. How people can speak and pollute their language with English words to such a degree that it's no longer the language, but instead a pidgin,is beyond me.

It angers me and makes me sad and frustrated at the same time. Why oo, why can't people realize this before it's too late.
I advice everyone to promote their language, no matter how small your contribution may be, it will still and help and support the language.

slimyem: I'm guilty!!
I do it a lot..
I can't remember the last time i spoke plain yoruba all through in a sentence.
Same goes to a lot of peeps i know too.
.
Makes me remember a yourba friend who was born and bred in yoruba land but at almost 30 did not know " baluwe " is yoruba for "bathroom"
When saying "i don't like it" in yoruba,you get to hear "mi o like e".
English language is slowly eroding our indigenous languages.Sad but true!

Ibaluwe

*Ileke-IdI:


Ibaluwe

huh?
Says who?

I speak engili-igbo almost everyday but only with friends or people who understand the igbo language, I've never done it in a formal situation\setting though.
For me, its more of a fun thing, especially when I'm in the mood for bringing in some good joke into a conversation.

Antivirus92: This has been a serious problem that run across all ethnicities in nigeria even in africa as a whole. In some tribes,its minimum while in some ,it's beyond control. For me personally, i do it but not that much. I can speak igbo for a whole day without adulterating it with english. How about yourself? Are you a victim of that sickness?. How can we stop it?. Please mature comments.

I do that often especially when i'm having a discussion with parents or siblings.

It is not a sickness, and it can't be stopped. Linguistically, we call it code-switching/mixing. It happens when the L1 (first language) lacks the resources with which you can fully express a situation or an experience. Diglossia (the existence/use of two languages in a place) makes it possible for a linguistic chemistry to occur, thereby making one language to interfer in the other.

Code Mixing and Code Switching it is.. I do it frequently.. When speaking Yoruba.. Because we were brought up strictly with Yagba language in our family.. We dont speak Yoruba save we ar in school or outdoor, or a yoruba visitor comes. So there ar many words I'm missing out. I'm a bad Yoruba speaker!. In Yagba for example we say Hmm Kpekpe Re (I'm still going).. Buh in Yoruba, what I say is Mo still n' Lor .. Some say dats how we Ilorin speakers put it . A friend from Kogi told me the right way to say it is MO YIN LOR.. I find that funny and absurd though. . .

slap1: It is not a sickness, and it can't be stopped. Linguistically, we call it code-switching/mixing. It happens when the L1 (first language) lacks the resources with which you can fully express a situation or an experience. Diglossia (the existence/use of two languages in a place) makes it possible for a linguistic chemistry to occur, thereby making one language to interfer in the other.

are you a language philosopher?

I went to a Ghanaian party and I found that they talk just like is in Nigeria. They speak their respective languages but mixed them with English.

You mean kpe, like sau nawa I dey miks am por english da hausa? Nna, dis kweshion odikwa hard like Jamb o! Ko easy, ra ra, abi kilonso?

Thank God for me ooo,I hardly speaks ukwuani let alone mix it up with English,if you say English and pidgin then am in because I can't do without my pidgin.

But can that language adulteration be corrected or is it beyond control now. Because according to me,it is now beyond control. I have witnessed igbo elites like dora akunyili,chuba okadigbo etc speak, to be sincere,they speak 65% english and 35% igbo. Which is very bad.

Some people don't know how to express every word in their native language which makes them add English language for the purpose of communication. So I keep asking myself, does every language have an expression for every word? And if yes, how many people knows that? You must be extremely native and traditional for you to be fluent and eloquent in your native language devoid of English.

Antivirus92: are you a language philosopher?

No, a language student.
Furthermore, no language has it all, hence the need to borrow, code-switch, etc. The more widely spread a language is, the more it borrows to expand its vocabulary, that's why we have Nigerian English, American English, etc. Words like bean-cake, co-wife, etc, are 'made in Nigeria' English. . .

Which kind question be dis sef? I be Igbo man?

Antivirus92: This has been a serious problem that run across all ethnicities in nigeria even in africa as a whole.

Wrong...all non-English speaking countries on this planet have very strong accent whenever they speak English.

Would you decide to call it a general world problem?

In as much as English is our official language, we must still respect our native dialect. You can't just abandon your roots just because you want to look modern.

No one on this planet does that...so don't call it a serious problem please.

Antivirus92: In some tribes,its minimum while in some ,it's beyond control.

To be honest, I really admire tribes that respect their native dialect a lot.

In the North for instance, you can never come across a Northerner who doesn't know how to speak his language...the same cannot be said for the easterners.

We easterners have this mentality of feeling our native dialect (Igbo) is irrelevant to us. Annoyingly most parents who raise their children in the west feel the same, hence their children become yorubas and have no knowledge about their own roots.

This is wrong.

Antivirus92: For me personally, i do it but not that much. I can speak igbo for a whole day without adulterating it with english.

Good...I'm proud of you.

Antivirus92: How about yourself? Are you a victim of that sickness?. How can we stop it?. Please mature comments.

Are you calling someone who speaks his native dialect a sick person?

What is wrong with us (Igbos) are you saying we should stop speaking our language?

To be frank....I speak Igbo fluently, and I have no intentions of stopping it,

Why.....you may ask?

Because..

1. I'm an Igbo

2. I'm Educated, which means I can communicate properly in English language.

3. I respect my culture and I know my roots.

So, what's all dz fuzz for? What's d big deal en it?

sizzlers: Need a plot(s) of land in asaba airport rd., or inside asaba. Call 08189170499.

and how does this relate to the topic being discussed?

Antivirus92: But can that language adulteration be corrected or is it beyond control now. Because according to me,it is now beyond control. I have witnessed igbo elites like dora akunyili,chuba okadigbo etc speak, to be sincere,they speak 65% english and 35% igbo. Which is very bad.

Code switching/mixing is here to stay, bro. There are experiences you cannot adequately relate in your own language. What are the Igbo or Yoruba words for network, atom, molecule, Twitter, Google, Adobe Reader, etc? There is no English word for spagetti, so the English man has to code-mix in order to clearly relay his spagetti experience. . .etc.

I think it's just fun mixing English with local language when conversing. I could speak Yoruba all day, but not in office environment where I communicate with foreigners on frequent basis. Its just fun. Se o grab?.

CrazyMan:
Wrong...all non-English speaking countries on this planet have very strong accent whenever they speak English.

Would you decide to call it a general world problem?

In as much as English is our official language, we must still respect our native dialect. You can't just abandon your roots just because you want to look modern.

No one on this planet does that...so don't call it a serious problem please.


To be honest, I really admire tribes that respect their native dialect a lot.

In the North for instance, you can never come across a Northerner who doesn't know how to speak his language...the same cannot be said for the easterners.

We easterners have this mentality of feeling our native dialect (Igbo) is irrelevant to us. Annoyingly most parents who give raise their children in the west feel the same, hence their children become yorubas and have no knowledge about their own roots.

This is wrong.


Good...I'm proud of you.


Are you calling someone who speaks his native dialect a sick person?

What is wrong with us (Igbos) are you saying we should stop speaking our language?

To be frank....I speak Igbo fluently, and I have no intentions of stopping it,

Why.....you may ask?

Because..

1. I'm an Igbo

2. I'm Educated, which means I can communicate properly in English language.

3. I respect my culture and I know my roots.

no brother, what i called sickness is the art of adulterating our native language with english and not the native language itself. It seems like you didn't understand my post.

It is not limited to Nigeria. English is killing indigenous languages. Some scholars estimate that English kills 500 languages every year.
For Nigeria, I can predict a pattern: Igbo looks like it may die first and Yoruba may follow. Unless something is done like the Suba kwa Igbo (Do speak Igbo) campaign by Igbos in diaspora and Rochas campaign in Imo. Hausa is a trade language spoken in several countries and with their negative attitude to western education, it may thrive longer.

KINGwax: So, what's all dz fuzz for? What's d big deal en it?

Languages are going extinct

StarFlux:

Though, the single most disturbing thing about this, is parents not allowing their kids/not teaching them to speak their native tongue. This needs to stop completely before they destroy their own language.

At the school where I work, I often encourage the parents of my kids to speak their language with them. We are prohibited from speaking the native languages with the children, but will you as a parent also not speak your native tongue with your child? How can you as a parent prohibit your kids from speaking your native tongue?? That's absurd! No wonder the present generation of children we are raising can't understand their native language.

I on my part only started speaking my language in my teens. I made a conscious of effort to start speaking my language because I was tired of English 24/7.

I do it almost everytime I speak yoruba but I will never make that mistake when writing in yoruba language. I believe it ‘s an act that is here to stay,afterall it doesn‘t stop you from understanding your native language.

odumchi:
As a native speaker of Igbo, I have encountered people who recklessly mix English with Igbo. I've come across the terms "o dependiri" (it depends) and "m likiri" (i like)

Lol@ "o dependire"

I have Yoruba folks say "as per bo ya kpe", "se en get nko ti nmo talk about" (are you getting what I'm talking about?) and other uncountable adulterations. We do it so often we no longer notice we are doing it.