FIFTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND MEETING
Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun, Nigeria
Niger Delta Cultural Centre, Agbarha-Otor, Nigeria
Ibru Centre, Agbarha-Otor, Nigeria
By
This paper examines the
problem of
language endangerment that threatens the three constituent languages of
Urhobo
culture, namely, Urhobo, Okpe and Uvwie. These languages are in
various
degrees of endangerment; they are all presently grabbling with
survival. We
seek to address the factors responsible for the shrinkage of the three
languages. We observe the relationship between the contraction of these
languages and the problem of underdevelopment and lack of unity in
Urhoboland. Finally, this paper discusses strategies for the
reinvigoration of the languages.
Language endangerment is
synonymous with
language shift. Vic Webb and Kembo Sure (2001: 40) define language
shift as “a process in which speakers of one
language begin to use a
second language for more and more functions until they eventually use
only the
second language.” In most cases, an endangered language dies when the
last
speaker eventually dies.
URHOBO
LANGUAGE COMPLEX
Urhobo, Okpe and Uvwie are
members of the
South Western Edoid family of lanuagues. South Western Edoid is a
subset of the
Edoid family of languages which is a member of the Kwa branch of the
Niger
Congo family of languages. A substantial number of the Edoid
languages are spoken in
Elugbe (1986: 3)
postulates that the Edoid
lanaguages “fall into four primary subgroups of Delta Edoid, South
Western
Edoid,
North Central Edoid, where
REGIONS
OF THE WORLD PRONE TO LANGUAGE ENDANGERMENT
The rapid disappearance of
most languages
of the world is now a source of concern to linguists. Threatened
languages are found mostly in
The main cause of the
endangerment of
indigenous languages in these regions is the political, social,
economic and
linguistic domination of the indigenes by migrant majorities who are
mostly
Anglophone. While English is the superstrate language in
In
Bradley D and Bradley
M(2002: xl) give an
insight into the state of endangered languages in the nearest future
when they
observe: “Various scholars have estimated that up to 90 percent of the
world’s
languages will disappear during the 21st century unless- and maybe many
perhaps
even if- we do something now.”
The prognosis of African linguists on the future of African languages is very bleak. Egbokhare (2004: 13) observes this premonition thus:
There is a grim
prediction that in the next 50 – 100 years, 90 percent of the languages
of
African languages are
marginalized because
Africans believe that their languages are not socially and economically
useful
to them. What is more, in this modern age of technological development
and
information technology, African languages are increasingly becoming a
handicap,
if not a liability (Egbokhare 2004:13). Linguists are now
reinvigorating some
of these dying languages .
CAUSES
OF LANGUAGE ENDANGERMENT IN URHOBOLAND
Several factors are
responsible for the
shrinkage of the languages in Urhobo culture. The salient ones are
discussed
below.
One of the reasons for the
contraction of
languages in Urhobo culture is the polyglossic situation in Urhobo
land. Urhobo
languages have open social networks; they have contact with other
indigenous
languages that envelope them. The ethnic groups that encircle Urhobo
land are
the Binis in the North, the Itsekiris and the Ijaws in the South, the
Isokos
and the Ukwanis in the East and the Itsekiris in the West. Language and
cultural contacts and inter-ethnic marriages between members of the
neighbouring ethnic groups have led to a shrinkage in the use of the
languages
in Urhobo land. This is due to the assimilatory effects of the
neighbouring
languages.
The Western variety or
Warri/ Sapele
variety of Nigerian Pidgin has also endangered the languages in Urhobo
land.
Delta Central and Delta South senatorial districts as well as the
entire Niger
Delta region are complexly multilingual and multicultural. Nigerian
Pidgin is
the language of wider communication in the two senatorial districts of
Ideally, Nigerian Pidgin
is supposed to be
a language of inter-ethnic communication in Urhoboland. However,
it has now
penetrated the orbit of homes in Urhoboland. It is now being used
as a
language of intra-ethnic communication in urban centers like Warri,
Sapele,
Effurun and Ughelli and other semi urban centers like Abraka, Oghara,
Agbarho
and Eku. Nigerian Pidgin has already acquired a number of native
speakers. The
elaboration in the use and creolization of the language is a cause of
the
contraction of the indigenous languages in Urhoboland. Nigerian Pidgin
is now
the mother- tongue of many children in urban centres. It is now the
only
language used by semi- literate and illitrate Urhobos in homes in urban
centers. It is the language of intergenerational transmission from
parents to
their children in these homes. To the Urhobos, Nigerian Pidgin is
socially
viable to its users while the Urhobo languages are socially unviable.
Apart from Nigerian
Pidgin, English is also
a cause of language endangerment in Urhobo land. English is
It is pertinent to state
here that standard
Nigerian English has now undergone nativisation and indigenisation
because it
is now a blend of British and Nigerian cultures. Bamgbose (1995: 21)
was quite
accurate in his observation that “English language has undergone
modification
in the Nigerian environment. It has been pidgnised, nativized,
acculturated and
twisted to express unaccustomed concepts and mode of interaction.”
In Urhoboland as well as
in
Another reason for the
endangerment of the
languages in Urhobo culture is the flawed language policy in
With a population of about
1.2 million
people, the Urhobo ethnic nationality is supposed to be categorized as
a
majority language. Vic Webb and Kembo Sure (2000: 41) buttress this
fact when
they state that “The concept majority and minority are often understood
in
quantitative terms, that is , a language with a million speakers is
regarded as
a major language.” This flawed language policy is a reason for the
shrinkage of
the languages in Urhoboland.
The non-implementation of
the National
Policy on Education (1977), revised in (1981), is a cause of language
endangerment in Urhobo culture.The policy states that children should
be taught
either in the mother tongue or the language of immediate
community (LIC)
from pre-primary to primary 3 (Bamghose 1992). If this language policy
was
implemented, Urhobos would be literate in their mother tongue.
Egbokhare (2004:
16) observes the adverse effect of the non-implementation of this
language
policy on Nigerian children thus: “Researches have shown that a child
learns
faster when taught in his/her mother tongue rather than a foreign
language
(Bamghose 1992). Experiments in
Egbokhare adds that the
high drop-out rate,
and half baked products emerging from our schools can be traced to the
non-implementation of the language policy. Egbokhare (2004: 17)
concludes
with a quotation of Dr. Meville Alexander thus:
An English-only or
even an English-mainly policy necessarily condemns most people, and
thus the
country as a whole, to a permanent state of mediocrity since people are
unable
to be spontaneous, creative and self confident if they cannot use their
first
languages.
Due to the “English-mainly” policy, Urhobo parents do not encourage their children to learn and speak the languages in Urhobo land. This has led to a shrinkage in the languages.
Linguists have identified five levels of endangerment that an
endangered language
undergoes. They are: potentially endangered; endangered;
seriously
endangered; moribund; and extinct. These degrees of endangerment
are used
below to discuss the degree of endangerment of each of the three
languages in
Urhoboland. A random sampling undertaken by the researcher shows
that
Uvwie is the most endangered out of the three languages due to its
urban
setting and language exogancy. The language is endangered by
Urhobo, Nigerian Pidgin and English. It is now moribund.
Okpe language is seriously
endangered in
Sapele but it is potentially endangered in other parts of the speech
community
due to the predominant rural dwelling of the Okpes. It is
endangered by
Urhobo, Nigerian Pidgin and English. Urhobo is seriously endangered
in urban
centres; however, it is potentially endangered in the rural
areas. The
language is endangered by Nigerian Pidgin and English.
ADVERSE
EFFECTS OF LANGUAGE ENDANGERMENT IN URHOBOLAND
The languages of Urhobo
culture are the
main symbol of the people as an ethnic nationality. The languages give
their
speakers positive self image. The gradual death of these
languages is
therefore a sign of the disintegration of the unity of the Urhobo
nation.
Once the languages which bind the Urhobos together die, the basis of
their
unity and group identity will be undermined.
The gradual death of
Urhobo languages is also
eroding some of the traditional practices like knowledge of traditional
medicinal plants. The folklore and folk tales of the people are being
gradually
eroded and they may well go into oblivion once the languages go into
extinction. Since the Urhobo languages are experiencing language
contraction, the precious cultural practices of the people are also
shrinking.
A grim picture of the
adverse effect of
these languages on its speakers if it goes into extinction is captured
by the
Centre for Endangered Languages in its universal declaration of
linguistic
rights in Barcelonia (1996: 10) thus:
Language is the key to
the heart of a people. If we lose the key, we lose the
people. A
lost language is a lost tribe, a lost tribe is a lost culture, a lost
culture
is a lost civilization. A lost civilization is invaluable
knowledge lost…
the whole vast archives of knowledge and experience in them will be
consigned
to oblivion.
So, the Urhobos should
maintain their
languages in order to avoid the pathetic effects of language death on
its
speakers. Although the languages in Urhoboland do not play the
type of
economic role that English plays in Urhoboland, the languages do give
their
speakers numerous advantages over monolinguals.
STRATEGIES
FOR REINVIGORATION OF LANGUAGES IN URHOBOLAND
Linguists are now
enthusiastically pursuing
language revival in many regions of the world. Bradley
(2002) observes
that the revival of Hebrew language during the past fifty years is the
most
remarkable case of language resurgence in the world. He
also adds
that the resurgence of Welsh in
The first strategy for the
revification of
the languages is for the speakers of the languages to change their
attitude
from the present negative posture to a positive one. Bamgbose
(1992: 29)
buttresses this fact when he states: “When all is said and done the
fate of an
endangered language may well be in the hands of the owners of the
language
themselves and in their will to make it survive.”
Once the speakers can
identify the unique
qualities of these languages to them, interest in them will be revived.
With
the revival, intergenerational transmission of the languages from
parents to
their children will also be revived.
Right now, the speakers of
the three
languages that constitute the Urhobo culture are not aware that their
languages
are contracting. This is a major problem for the speakers of an
endangered language. The fact that there are young Urhobos
who have
already experienced language loss and there is also a large army of
semi-speakers shows that the languages are tottering inanely to their
linguistic
graves. Linguists within these speech communities should enlighten the
Urhobos
on the impending death of their languages and its concomitant
cataclysmic
effect. This enlightenment will help revitalize the languages.
Anther strategy that can
be adopted to
stimulate interest of speakers in these languages is to encourage
multilingualism among the speakers. An educated Urhobo speaker should
be fluent
in Urhobo, Nigerian Pidgin and English language while an educated
Okpe
should be competent in Urhobo, Nigerian Pidgin and English. The
same
situation should also obtain for the Uvwie speaker. Being fluent in
English,
for example, does not entail the abandonment of an indigenous language
and
Nigerian Pidgin. Each of the languages mentioned above has its unique
function.
Although the languages in Urhobo culture have little or no economic
values they
have their unique cultural values. These cultural values should
be made
to stimulate the interest of the younger generation towards reviving
these
languages.
Finally, the Agbarho
dialect of Urhobo
language, which is a linqua
“People tend to learn the
languages that
are socially and economically useful to them. This is the
linguistic
version of the law of maximum return.”
The educational usefulness
of the languages
will reinvigorate interest in them. The adoption will also halt
the
falling standard of education in Urhoboland. It will also halt
the high
illiteracy rate in Urhobo land.
CONCLUSION
The recognition of
language loss in Urhobo
land is delayed because the speakers are not conscious of it yet.
Linguists are
already conscious of it. They now categorize the present generation of
Urhobos
as the “miguo generation” because they have a modicum knowledge of the
languages. The endangerment of these languages is a premonition
that the
Urhobos are in serious danger of erasure as a people. It is our
hope that
if the strategies for the reinvigoration of the languages discussed
above are
favourably considered by the Urhobo people, their languages can be salvaged and empowered again.
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