ICT expert urges governments to use ICT to promote indigenous languages

ABUJA – Mr Chigoziri Ucheaga, Head, Production, Mavis Computer Limited, Abuja, on Thursday called on governments to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a tool to promote [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]indigenous languages.
Ucheagha told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that ICT could be successfully used to[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″] promote indigenous language in schools.
According to him, ICT can be used for the purpose, especially among the youth who use such devices [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”8″]more often.
He said his company had discovered that many people complained about impending extinction of some [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]indigenous languages and produced a device that would encourage the learning of languages.
“We have what we call the talking book language learning series. We use a product called the Smartpen which is made by our partners in the USA”, the ICT expert said
NAN reports that the company works with experts in the U.S. to record the languages and then programme them into pens to be used on customised books.
“What brought about the ‘talking book’ is that you hear so many people complaining that our local languages are dying and nothing really is being done.
“Even the few books that are written in those languages, you see the word but you’re not sure exactly how it’s pronounced.
“Some in Igbo, for example you have a word that can have four or five meanings, depending on your intonation and your pronunciation.
“So how does someone know how this is how the word is to be pronounced.
“This brought about this technology and then we’ve programmed the pen to teach it with no difficulty,’’ he said.
Ucheaga said the device had the audio that could be played repeatedly until the learner got used to the word and its pronounciation.
“It gives you the audio; you hear it as many times as you want; you don’t have to go and meet somebody to say ‘ok’ what did you tell me last time.
“We worked with people who have a minimum of PhD in each of the languages.”
Ucheagha said with such facilities, it would be easy to encourage young people to develop interest in indigenous languages, to learn and master them. (NAN)