The Vice Chancellor, University of Jos, Prof. Tanko Ishaya, has said that most minority languages in Nigeria may soon go into extinction due to the lack of autography.
Ishaya said this in an interview with newsmen on the sideline of an international conference on Language and Literature, organised by the Department of English in the university on Monday.
The vice chancellor, who was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics), Prof. Rahila Gowon, also said that “this is the reason behind the non-implementation of the National Language Policy (NLP) of the Federal Government.
“I remember when I was an undergraduate, we were taught to write lesson notes in our languages and use it to teach Biology and other subjects.
“Yes, for the minority languages, they’re likely to go extinct but not for the majority languages.
“Already, the major languages have autography and they are being enforced in the school system as major subjects.
“The major languages may not go extinct but minor languages are likely to.
“But it is left for parents to teach their children at home because they are the first teachers,” he said.
Ishaya advocated the implementation of the the NLP, saying the policy would naturally address the threat.
He, therefore, called on Nigerians to adhere to lay down procedures towards reversing the trend.
“The NLP stipulates that the medium of instruction in the junior primary school is the mother tongue or language of immediate community.
“However, we find out that there are so many languages that are in use, but people prefer to go straight to English, because they do not want to or don’t know which one they should take as their language of instruction.
“Of course, there are some major tribes like Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Efik and maybe Tiv, which use the mother tongue but in Plateau, for instance, it’s been very difficult.
“Also, implementation of the policy has been very difficult because many languages do not have autography, but these are being developed and they are being encouraged,” he said.
The Head of Department, Prof. Jeff Doki, said that the conference was important, adding that language and communication could be used to end conflicts in our society.
He said the international conference, which was the first of its kind in the university, brought together at least 300 scholars from different disciplines, to chart a new future for the study of English, Literature and Communication Studies in society.
The Chairman, Local Organizing Committee of the conference, Prof. Jerome Dooga, presented a paper on “Navigating the communication minefield in a turbulent and uncertain world”.
According to Dooga, language had never been neutral.
“The task of making sense of the increasingly complex communication minefield requires an amalgam of interdisciplinary perspectives and approaches.
“Language has never been neutral, but in today’s world, linguistic communication has become especially contentious as humans promote novel and sometimes strange ideologies.
“Our world is a linguistic and communication minefield, and peaceful human co-existence has become increasingly challenging by the day,” he said.
The theme of the conference is “Language Communication and Literature in an uncertain and turbulent world”.
