Quote:

UK 2011 Census
Igbo is one the official languages that the UK 2011 Census forms are available in, this shows the recognition extended to us by the UK government, in order to further enhance this recognition when you fill your Census form please do the the following

Under the Ethnicity part of the form choose option (c) of African Ethnicity, then where is says Specify write in Igbo
this will ensure that the Igbo’s become a recognised Ethnic group within the UK and help us in achieveing a lot of things including hopefully the inclusion on Igbo language classes in some of the schools.

Please share this information with all the Igbo people you know and help us make a change to show how the Igbo’s positively contribute to the growth and development of the UK.

http://www.thecicuk.org/uk-2011-cencus

Finally, Ndi Igbo are gaining world recognisation. 

This did not happen overnight. We Ndigbo in the U.K fought for the inclusion and recognition. Thanks to the Umuigbo Katolik community in the U.K as well as Igbo Cultural Support Network (ICSN) for achieving this feat.

odumchi:

Quote:

UK 2011 Census
Igbo is one the official languages that the UK 2011 Census forms are available in, this shows the recognition extended to us by the UK government, in order to further enhance this recognition when you fill your Census form please do the the following

Under the Ethnicity part of the form choose option (c) of African Ethnicity, then where is says Specify write in Igbo
this will ensure that the Igbo’s become a recognised Ethnic group within the UK and help us in achieveing a lot of things including hopefully the inclusion on Igbo language classes in some of the schools.

Please share this information with all the Igbo people you know and help us make a change to show how the Igbo’s positively contribute to the growth and development of the UK.

http://www.thecicuk.org/uk-2011-cencus

Finally, Ndi Igbo are gaining world recognisation. 

Kudos to Ndi Igbo.

To bring the aspiration I highlighted above to fruition, I am afraid the Igbo community will need to fund tuition in schools, at least to begin with.
A long time ago, I tried to get stakeholders from one of the other major ethnic groups in Nigeria to fund a similar effort, as statistics for the school population across 3 London boroughs showed their language was the most widely spoken foreign one then - that is, more than French, Spanish or anything else.
I explained how easy it was to approach one of the examination boards (EDEXCEL, say), to get students accessed, and precisely how the Turkish community achieved a similar objective.

No 1 problem at the time was: these stakeholders were dead set against having their children's bilingualism recognised and celebrated in English schools.
The overarching concern (not at all valid in my opinion) was that such an effort would further heighten discrimination.

If only Igbo were taught in British schools alongside other foreign languages such as French, Spanish, and German. Recognition should also be given to Yoruba, Hausa, Efik, Tiv, Nupe, Kanuri, and all other Nigerian languages.

kumamoto:

If only Igbo were taught in British schools alongside other foreign languages such as French, Spanish, and German. Recognition should also be given to Yoruba, Hausa, Efik, Tiv, Nupe, Kanuri, and all other Nigerian languages.

don't mind this people, other languages are used by them

you can read here

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-634231.0.html

I believe the deadline for the census has long passed.

Great.

What needs to happen in order for Igbo to be taught in foreign schools is to show that it is a language that is spoken by many people, which means Igbo people have to start encouraging Igbo language.

We need to start taking pride in the Igbo language. Unfortunately we are one tribe in Nigeria that struggle with a complex problem to speak the language. I am yet to meet an Igbo family in the UK that speaks Igbo to their children

Why did the mod change the topic from "Igbo recognised" to "How to get"?

@Nija4Life

Yeah you're right.

I've also heard that many Igbo parents who live in Britain refuse to speak Igbo to their children. Why is this?

Personally I consider any African who speaks European languages to their children as nothing but sell-outs.

Nija4Life:

We need to start taking pride in the Igbo language. Unfortunately we are one tribe in Nigeria that struggle with a complex problem to speak the language. I am yet to meet an Igbo family in the UK that speaks Igbo to their children

^^^ With respect to the bolded, i reckon we have a lot to learn from Indians/Pakistanis and Somalis. You hear a mum on public transport talking to, or scolding their children and they're doing it in their mother tongue. And when the kids grow up, they're comfortable discussing in their mother tongue to the point that you'll think they were not born in the UK until they switch to speaking english. I do know Igbo kids born in the UK understand Igbo, but holding a drawn-out conversation in Igbo becomes something of a problem.

^^^
Thats true, I've see Malian, Guinean, and even Egyptian parents conversing with their parents publicly in their native languages. I once saw a small muslim West-African child (probably no less than 6) reading a children's novel written in Arabic in a train in full view of everyone. When seeing this, I feel sad that an alarming number of Igbo children in Diaspora cannot understand the Igbo language not to talk of speaking it.

odumchi:

^^^
Thats true, I've see Malian, Guinean, and even Egyptian parents conversing with their parents publicly in their native languages. I once saw a small muslim West-African child (probably no less than 6) reading a children's novel written i n Arabic in a train in full view of everyone. When seeing this, I feel sad that an alarming number of Igbo children in Diaspora cannot understand the Igbo language not to talk of speaking it.

In my job as a teacher, I see many children of Asian origin who were born in this country but very comfortable speaking their native language. In one of my MA education module, research even shows bilingual ability enhances intelligence. So there are clear benefits of speaking your native language but I struggle to find a good reason why our people shy away from doing so. It doesn't surprise me though because even whilst back in Nigeria you find many Igbo kids in Lagos who are well versed in yoruba but haven't got a clue about the Igbo language.

The only way to reverse this trend is for us to once again take pride in our language and be proud of speaking it to our children. That's the easiest way they're going to learn and it will do them more good than harm. It is cool speaking Igbo but if we don't then I fear our future generations will have no identity. On my part, I have two young sons, I and my wife speak nothing other than Igbo to them. They are in the English man's land, so they are always going to learn English. It would even be better they learn directly from the owners of the language.

http://apenandaheart..com/