I've been thinking about this for a while, because i am on of those people that cannot speak her language, and i'm from one of those smaller ethnic groups so it will be quite difficult to learn how to speak my language at my age. I don't know why Nigerians are so lazy when it comes to teaching their children their languages, especially the ones that have are living abroad. I have never come across a Nigerian, born in the U'S that can speak their language.
Those Nigerians that are not passing on their language to their children should be ashamed of themselves; i have also seen this behavior with the Asians, they don't teach their children their language, most of them drop their culture once they travel abroad; but what of the Latinos/Hispanics? they teach their children their language, some of the kids don't even know how to speak English and they are living in the U.S, and even the ones that were born in the U.S have Spanish accents, its not like they are living in their own country or something, they don't have two heads; We are not different from them so why can't we teach our children our language?

If you're a parent, or an incoming parent, you should make it a priority to teach your children your language especially if you're living in a foreign country no matter what.

support you, a child should know more about his or her roots.

You know, I think that this issue has to do with American culture eclipsing African culture. Despite the fact that many Nigerians do not teach their language to their children, i cant say that its the case for all. Sometimes parents feel ashamed of teaching their children their language and end up teaching them only English.

I thnk the main issue here is that parents aren't putting enough effort into teaching their children their culture. However not all parents are this way. In most cases, the child will understand his or her native language but will have difficulty speaking it. The rarest cases are that the child doesn not hear or speak his language. It's not enough just speaking the language to the child, but asking the child to speak back is what's best.

However like I said, this isn't always the case. I myself am currently living in the New World and I can speak my language fluently. But to be honest, this is a pressing issue for all cultures. America can be metaphorically described as a "black hole of culture" where different cultural identities ate blended to form the "American Pop culture".

"Teach". People keep using that word. What is "teach"? Children should grow up with their language. That is how they come to [b]own [/b]their native tongue.

my sibs, counsins and myself speak wicked yoruba. nobody taught us, we picked it up from our family speaking it. i speak little spanish and the only reason is i have latino friends, those people are in clusters and speak their language to each other, so its kinda hard to not speak their language. All the yorubas i have met speak the language even the random ones on the street.

razznaija:

I've been thinking about this for a while, because i am on of those people that cannot speak her language, and i'm from one of those smaller ethnic groups so it will be quite difficult to learn how to speak my language at my age. I don't know why Nigerians are so lazy when it comes to teaching their children their languages, especially the ones that have are living abroad. I have never come across a Nigerian, born in the U'S that can speak their language.
   Those Nigerians that are not passing on their language to their children should be ashamed of themselves & speak it a little bit to; I have also seen this behavior with the Asians, they don't teach their children their language, most of them drop their culture once they travel abroad; but what of the Latinos/Hispanics? they teach their children their language, some of the kids don't even know how to speak English and they are living in the U.S, and even the ones that were born in the U.S have Spanish accents, its not like they are living in their own country or something, they don't have two heads; We are not different from them so why can't we teach our children our language?

If you're a parent, or an incoming parent, you should make it a priority to teach your children your language especially if you're living in a foreign country no matter what.

Me & My siblings were born & raised in America; and we understand Yoruba when spoken completely but speaking it is another issue. It depends on the Nigerian parents because many are not ashamed of who they are or training their kids the culture. Some of the Yoruba's I have bumped into that train their kids with the culture understand Yoruba and sometimes speak it. There is 3 Yoruba families I know who are also Yoruba, and their kids were born and raised in America like me and they understand and speak Yoruba like no mans business(they surpass me in that).

When it comes to Latino's/Hispanics, I need to correct you about that assumption you just made. The reason many Hispanics born and raise in the US know their parents language most of the time is because the only language their parents can speak is Spanish, many don't speak English in their homelands unless educated(because Latin American countries official language are Spanish, except Brazil); and so the kids have no choice but to speak spanish, if they want to communicate with their parents. Many times I have seen Hispanic kids follow their non-american parents to stores, and etc just to translate what their parents are saying because their parents can't communicate in English. Most illegal immigrants in America are Hispanics, especially from Mexico, and many Mexicans coming into America can't speak English at all.

When it comes to Nigerians, at least most of them know how to speak English or semi-english when they get into America because Their primary cultural/tribal language plus English is mandatory in Nigeria to be spoken; and some take advantage of it. Now I don't get why when some Nigerians get into America they forget themselves but some of the ones I am around know their cultural language.

My advise to you is talk to your parents about it, and if they still act the same way take it upon yourself to learn your language, go for classes or buy Books & CD-ROM in your language and teach yourself.

9ja-ninja:

my sibs, counsins and myself speak wicked yoruba. nobody taught us, we picked it up from our family speaking it. i speak little spanish and the only reason is i have latino friends, those people are in clusters and speak their language to each other, so its kinda hard to not speak their language. All the yorubas i have met speak the language even the random ones on the street.

I agree, Yoruba's take pride in their language, many of them can speak proper English but would speak Yoruba amongst their own not english unless they really have to.

Anyhow sha, we will learn it

Nigeria is a country with different ethnicities and languages. We can't compare ourselves to Hispanics who lack diversity in their home countries. All Latin American countries speak Spanish except for Brazil and Guyana. Everybody in mexico speaks Spanish, everybody in Costa Rica speaks Spanish, etc, but everybody in Nigeria does not speak Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa. Nigeria is so fragmented language wise and the only way to communicate with our fellow Nigerians is to speak English. There is not one dominating language in Nigeria like there is in Ghana where majority of their population speak Twi. We are too divided to speak one local language, so English is what we are stuck with.

Many of the younger generations of Nigerians don't speak their language because many of us are growing up in a "melting pot"with different ethnicities that we interact with on a daily basis and this is vastly different from our parents era where many of our parents stuck to their own kind or own group, so it was easier to learn their language. I grew up in the USA, I have Igbo friends, yoruba, ibibio and Niger deltans friends, so how am I going to interact with my fellow Nigerians in the diaspora if I don't speak English. I think this is why Pidgin is on the rise. It is the younger generation way of interacting with others while still maintain our culture.

same boat here

i am efik/ ibibio

all i do is understand, speaking i just suck. not gonna blame my parents but i started speaking  english since i could talk

even my grand parents started talking to me in english,

now when i go back to the hometown i feel like an outcast sometimes

America is complaining everyday that you can't be her citizen without speaking english and learning their culture, this is why latinos are having fear regarding propose immigration law by america immigration.

supported

Truth is the average American is struggling just trying to learn English alone, not to talk of another language. However there's no reason you shouldn't be ae to learn you'r language.

razznaija:

. I have never come across a Nigerian, born in the U'S that can speak their language.

I have come across plenty. Even when I was in secondary school in some rural area like this in the heart of Oodualand, we had a couple of 'tokunbos' who could speak the language wella, even though they were visiting Naija for the first time.

If you're American or ________, your language is English or __________, everything else (except Spanish or ______) is 'other'. Sooner or later, if you're staying in the United States your 'home' language will surely vanish, just as the other hundreds of immigrant languages have. Germans tried to preserve their language and failed. Italians? Didn't even try. Dutch? French? Finnish? Swedish? Polish? Yiddish? All gone, (well, French creoles are still breathing their last breaths) and all these immigrants came to America and populated it in their millions. What Nigerians have to do is start accepting that they are no longer Nigerian in _____ country and try to bring some cultural impact and heritage onto their adopted/home countries, just like all the European and Spanish speaking American immigrants have. Sorry to tell you, but your great grand children will not speak ______ in the United States.

Now if you're actually seriously planning on moving back to Nigeria permanently and raising a family there, you better learn your language fast, because I believe English should not be placed over the native language, in fact I'm looking forward to a situation where English will only be needed in multicultural urban centers (like Port Harcourt) and in national government meetings and I believe that as Nigerians get more successful the lower class will bring their native languages over English. I also believe in renaming (like renaming the Pedophiliac Port Harcourt).

I'm not discouraging people abroad from learning their ancestral language.

If you're American or ________, your language is English or __________, everything else (except Spanish or ______) is 'other'. Sooner or later, if you're staying in the United States your 'home' language will surely vanish, just as the other hundreds of immigrant languages have. Germans tried to preserve their language and failed. Italians? Didn't even try. Dutch? French? Finnish? Swedish? Polish? Yiddish? All gone, (well, French creoles are still breathing their last breaths) and all these immigrants came to America and populated it in their millions. What Nigerians have to do is start accepting that they are no longer Nigerian in _____ country and try to bring some cultural impact and heritage onto their adopted/home countries, just like all the European and Spanish speaking American immigrants have. Sorry to tell you, but your great grand children will not speak ______ in the United States.

Agreed overtime, the descendants of these immigrants are going to assimilate in to the American culture to the point that all they will know is my great grand parents were from Nigeria. That's the price you pay when you decide to move to America. Even the hispanics are going to assimilate overtime.

Oba234:

Agreed overtime, the descendants of these immigrants are going to assimilate in to the American culture to the point that all they will know is my great grand parents were from Nigeria. That's the price you pay when you decide to move to America. Even the hispanics are going to assimilate overtime.

correct!!

//

just like chaircover said, you talking of overseas; there are tens of thousands of kids growing up in Lagos who understand and can only speak English and the parents are so proud. It really baffles me.

@OP

To teach your kids the language, you have to know the language youself!! How many parents abroad really speak/know their language sef. If you can have kids who live in Nigeria that only speak english, what do you expect from those abroad.

Children should learn their home language its not a difficult thing to do this is what i told my fiance he says all they need to know is english thats total rubbish. He is nigerian and im south african so i said this is how we will teach them his home language in the morning english during the day and my home language in the evening, they will just have to learn ive been in a situation wer one of my cousins couldnt speak our home language and i had to translate for her at a family gathering the entire week that can really make a person to feel out you feel like you dont know your roots your heritage.

It is not just a problem amongst kids born/raised abroad. I had friends who could speak Yoruba while growing up in Akure. Infact I felt embarred when I discovered one of our family friends had difficulty pronouncing Yoruba names after secondary school.

I think the problem is the fact that some parents think raising their kids with English only will make them better than other People's Kids.

I'll tell you it is a big lie!

Oba234:

Nigeria is a country with different ethnicities and languages. We can't compare ourselves to Hispanics who lack diversity in their home countries. All Latin American countries speak Spanish except for Brazil and Guyana. Everybody in mexico speaks Spanish, everybody in Costa Rica speaks Spanish, etc, but everybody in Nigeria does not speak Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa. Nigeria is so fragmented language wise and the only way to communicate with our fellow Nigerians is to speak English. There is not one dominating language in Nigeria like there is in Ghana where majority of their population speak Twi. We are too divided to speak one local language, so English is what we are stuck with.

Many of the younger generations of Nigerians don't speak their language because many of us are growing up in a "melting pot"with different ethnicities that we interact with on a daily basis and this is vastly different from our parents era where many of our parents stuck to their own kind or own group, so it was easier to learn their language. I grew up in the USA, I have Igbo friends, yoruba, ibibio and Niger deltans friends, so how am I going to interact with my fellow Nigerians in the diaspora if I don't speak English. I think this is why Pidgin is on the rise. It is the younger generation way of interacting with others while still maintain our culture.

Gbam!!! this is a thoughtful and by far the most intelligent post here.

swingbl:

Gbam!!! this is a thoughtful and by far the most intelligent post here.

Seconded,

but as usual on nairaland, no one is right and no one is wrong. Expect this thread to populate as the sun rises

Did anybody TEACH you your language? This kids should grow up with their language but abroad everything is in English so how do they grow with their language. Parents don't have time for their kids, they move from one job to the other and the only contact these kids have are with their peers, computer and television. But the Hispanics have an edge because Spanish is like a second language in the USA and some schools try to teach both Spanish and English and this makes it easier for their kids. So, the environment plays a major role in this.

well my case is peculiar.I go to ma village vry often infact I knw d terrain vry well buh I dnt speak cos ma g.parents are educated n therefore speak english.Ma dad on d oda hand is nt always at home,he speaks it nt too well buh undastands perfectly.Ma mum on the oda hand is nt of d same tribe as dad buh she speaks 4 naija languages and is nt always arund.I undastand yoruba cos I ws taught in skul n mum speaks it wit ha sibs.SO I TINK OUR LANGUAGES SHULD BE TAUGHT IN SKUL SINCE EVRYTIN IN NIGERIA REVOLVES ARUND SKUL.

I have never met a british born Indian, chinese and Pakistani that can't speak their native language fluently. It got to a point that I was picking up some urdu and hindi words. Unfortunately all the british born Nigerians I have met can't speak their language except those that had their secondary school in Nigeria.

ChinenyeN:

"Teach". People keep using that word. What is "teach"? Children should grow up with their language. That is how they come to [b]own [/b]their native tongue.

LOL.
I sooo feel you.
@Swingbl,Sorry but the whole Ghana don't speak "twi" or use twi as pidgin/semi lingua franca.Twi/Fante is dominant in Accra,cape coast and Kumasi,In the north hausa is generally spoken while at ho/aflao axis ewe and French is spoken freely.Even at that,each speaker still have a grasp of his/her own local distint lingo.

this to show how far some languages are going extint. tnk God i sabi speak my language

I've read all the replies that have been posted. From experience, I want to say ''I'm not happy that I can't speak my language'' but I wasn't taught the language. My dad's Urhobo. He has never, not once, spoken his language to any of us in the home. And when we tell him, he simply ignores us. As for my mum, She's Delta Igbo (kwale) , speaks yoruba fluently too but she never speaks her language to us. Not until recently and she doesn't speak it always. She'd probably just make a statement in her language and dt's it for d day. Why she even started speaking her language was cos I told her I hated wat they (my parents) did to me. And dt when they die,I would tell dat dey were lacking in one area. Not teaching us their language. Pple always tell me I could learn the language on d streets but hw many pple especially delta pple speak their language. We only know how to speak waffi. I'm sori my post was too long.

@ razznaija

+++++

This is a big problem. I can't tell you how much I suffered because I have not been able to speak my language. It's created a serious communication gap between me and my relatives. Parents don't know the complications they cause for their kids.

We are slowly being culturally brainwashed by the Western media into replacing ours with theirs. Its profitable for them because it makes us spend money on acquiring their cultural items( Clothes, music, etc)

We need to consciously teach our kids the language before they grow up with identity problems.