LAGOS – Mr Louis Eriomala, the Lagos State Director of Nigerian Institute of Cultural Orientation [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″](NICO) on Thursday advised Nigerians to take pride in speaking in their mother tongue.
Eriomala told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that Nigerians were not proud of their cultural heritage and in specific the various indigenous languages in the country.
“Language is an integral and intangible aspect of our culture and when a language dies the people stop existing.
“The Koreans were more nationalistic than us, considering the way they flaunt their language [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”8″]
everywhere they find themselves.
“In order to keep existing and being relevant, we need to guard our language jealously through constant usage of our indigenous languages.
“Research has shown that most people fill shy to speak their indigenous languages publicly but are proud of that borrowed language.
“Language is the foundation of the people which reveals the culture of respect, unity, a sense of belonging and mutual understanding.
“For instance, a man can communicate secretly with his wife through their indigenous language in the presence of a visitor.
“This scenario is possible only if both parties understand and speak their language,’’ Eriomala said.
The director noted that most parents believed that their indigenous languages were not classy and fashionable to speak, hence they discouraged their children from speaking.
He said that languages were poorly spoken thereby destroying their value.
“When we speak our indigenous languages and we have to chip in a little of English, we are killing the language.
“Our Yoruba film makers are guilty of this in the process of film production,’’ he said.
Eriomala urged Nigerians to embrace the various indigenous languages in order to promote the Nigerian cultural heritage. (NAN)
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