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ABSTRACT
simonabochol@yahoo.co.uk
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1.0 INTRODUCTION
Most usages of minority refer to group(s) or collection of people who are not
society. The concept of minority is also used in some contexts, for example, in
States, the term minority is also used to refer to both the numerical population
two usages tend to be correlated. The concept, minority, may, therefore, refer
to linguistic, religious, political and social groups, and women, based on their
According to Bleambo (1), “minor languages are those Nigerian languages that
are not major. The major languages are two groups; the foremost are Hausa,
Igbo and Yoruba and closely following are; Edo, Efik, Fulfulde, Igala, Izom,
Kanuri, Nupe and Tiv ”. Emenanjo (88) adds that “The major group comprises
the developed and developing”. The developed have the following features:
dynamic metalanguage.
category. These are languages that have no standardized orthographies (if they
metalanguages. In this group, there exists languages that are spoken by small
Pero, Turkwan, Ubaghara, Zarma, etc. The common refrain is that the future of
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For a minority language to establish itself effectively as a
written language, there has to be cooperation between the
speakers, who alone have the emotional commitment to
develop their language, and various agencies who can help
them.
their languages. If the linguists had waited for that opportunity, the
endangered languages would have died”. Olaofe (59) succinctly handles the
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In spite of the foregoing, NEEDS and the Millennium Development Goals do
not have an overt place for minority languages development in Nigeria. The
highlights of NEEDS and the MDGS below will testify to the above claim that
plan.
targets (IDTS) which were set in 1996 to improve economic well-being, social
(MDGS). These embrace most of the IDTS and add poverty concerns related to
hunger, water, disease, AIDS, orphans and urban poverty”. The declaration
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1. TO HELP THE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE WHOSE INCOME IS LESS THAN ONE
commercial use.
to ensure the voices of the poor are heard and their concerns addressed.
Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other major
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NEEDS THRUST:
contribution.
DWELLERS BY 2020.
NEEDS THRUST:
by capturing the NEEDS and MDGS highlight number two (2) which states thus:
Achieve Universal Primary Education. The reason for this inclusion of minority
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languages development through the NEEDS and MDGS highlight number two
(2) is simply that the introduction of the national policy on education (NPE,5)
Akpakpan (4):
In the context of the above definition, then, we may ask ourselves, what has
vehicle of thought. This has been empirically proved right from the onset of the
heated debate on the issues arising from various language policy statements
from the NPE. Examples of such statements are: section 1 paragraph 8 that
makes it mandatory “that each child should learn one of the three languages
other than his own mother tongue”. Section 2 paragraph 11:3 on pre-primary
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education states that: “that medium of Instruction will be principally the
paragraph 15:4 prescribes that “government will see to it that the medium of
19:4 stipulates that two Nigerian languages are to be studied as core subjects
throughout the junior secondary school. The policy specifies that: in selecting
two Nigerian languages, students study the languages of their own area in
addition to any of the three main Nigeria languages: Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba,
Nigerian language shall be taken as one of the six required core courses
(section 4, paragraph 19:4b). One thing that stands out clearly in the language
policy of the NPE is that indigenous Nigerian languages are given secondary
roles to play; they are to play transitional roles for English to take over at a
later stage right from primary school to the highest level of education. As a
instruction as from the upper primary school. Even where they are taught, they
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The English language and the so-called majority languages (Hausa, Igbo and
Yoruba) have not brought about obvious development in Nigeria yet the
languages are more upheld than the so-called minority languages. In fact, the
present age of science and technology. Though, in this paper, the emphasis is
on minor languages, since the major Nigerian languages have been developed
except for the statuses of officialdom and nationaldom which the three (Hausa,
Igbo and Yoruba) have not attained. Nigeria seems to forget some developed
development and use of their indigenous national and minor languages. The
example of the former Soviet Union readily comes to mind. The former USSR
ranks high among the world powers in terms of advanced science and
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technology. The secret behind the highly technological development of Russia
foreign languages for special or foreign reasons (Novost Press Agency: 49). The
with high commitment which was responsible for the country’s development.
Former Russia was a multilingual country but she developed most of her
the university level. And despite the fact that exponents of English as the
Russia developed without English, yet she is a world power to reckon with,
technologically. One can continue with examples from other countries such as
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Switzerland, Japan, Germany and China that developed through the use of their
Also, the report of the UNESCO (1953) research that education in the mother
tongue is the best is incontestable. The result of the Ife six-year Yoruba project
according to him:
objective is better established by pointing out a few of the efforts already made
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the minority ones. A few of such examples on the efforts by some indigenous
Dimension Publishers.
Ltd.
Apart from the few materials listed above, a lot of efforts are being made to
development. The neglect of the minor languages ought to have attracted the
minority languages development even by the MDGs stems from the fact that
for three decades of linguistic studies in Nigeria, no one can give the exact
ranges between 50 and 500 (see Omamor, 1994; Awoniyi, 1982 and Omolewa,
1975). Going back to the Russian example, NOVOST Press Agency (49) affirms
that:
According to the agency, all of these languages (127) are well developed. As a
matter of fact, given the right will-power, the Soviet Union example is possible
in Nigeria. For instance, Yoloye (16) reports that “six manuals in 30 (Nigerian)
Languages had already been produced”. Given that there are 400 languages in
achievable given the right political will and climate in the words of Emenanjo
(1970-76) and the Ife Six-Year Yoruba Project (SYYP) of 1970 is well known. But
rightly notes that “in spite of the encouraging results from Ife experiment,
adopt the system as a general policy”. It is not that the minority languages
development cannot work, but that the right political will and climate should
be given it to work.
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Having examined the issue of minority languages development in Nigeria as a
panacea for an all round development in the nation, this paper faults the
political hitches.
challenges.
iv. The successful Ife Six-Year Yoruba Project (SYYP) and the ABU, Zaria
implemented.
WORKS CITED
Bamgbose, Ayo Deprived Endangered and Dying Languages. Diogenes 161 Vol.
41/1,1993. Print.
Novost Press Agency, The Soviet Union: Facts, Problems Appraisal 2 Moscow
(1987) in Matemilola, P A. Advanced Studies in Languages and Literature: A
Reference Text for Colleges and Universities. Vol. I. Zaria School of Languages
Publication, 1999. Print.
Yoloye, E. A. Vision and Mission of Education in Nigeria: Matters Arising and the
Challenges of the 21st Century. A Keynote Address read at the NCCE, 1996
National Conference, NTI Conference Hall, Kaduna, 21st -25th July, 1996. Print.
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