The death of Yoruba Language

[Olùkọ́ Ọbádélé]

The death of Yoruba Language
Toyin Falola

Chief librarian of the African Heritage Research Library, Yeye Akilimali
Funua Olade, in this article, makes a case for Yoruba language.
Culled from "egbeomoyorubanorth america:

THAT English, the ready-made weapon of British-American cultural
imperialism, is not just trying to destroy African languages, but is
attacking all other languages worldwide, I agree. Ojoogbon Akinwunmi
Isola, related to me during a discussion with Ojoogbon Babatunde Fafunwa,
the problem the French are having with English. He stated that the French
government had recently warned all French broadcasters to stop polluting
French with English, as is now popular in general French conversation, or
face dismissal.

The greatest tragedy in Yorubaland today, however, regarding language is
the dominating trend to speak only English to their children, making it
their first language, then sending them to private nursery school, who
only teach in English and causing Yoruba children to value English above
all other languages! (After all their WAEC will not be in Yoruba, one
highly¦amp;shy; educated Yoruba man told me!) And see the result! These
English-speaking children will rudely use English to disrespect all and
sundry (after all English does not have pronouns of respect for anybody).
Ask them or some of their parents and they will tell you they don't know
the original Yoruba for the popular phrases that many literate and
non-literate leaders and followers commonly use throughout Yorubaland.

As a Black-American, who has come back to her Yoruba roots these past 26
years in Nigeria, I want to break down in tears over this ⪏Eiyonu⪠!
How can Yorubas kill their own language? What sort of curse is this?
Obviously the curse of european-american
imperialism/ colonialism/ slavery! As a result I have declared 'War
Against Destroying Our Nigerian Languages'from today. And it must start
from Yorubaland. Are not the Yorubas the ⪏Ewisest and the greatest⪠?
As everything good seems to start from Yorubaland in Nigeria, ⪏Elet it
be so⪠. Full-blooded Yoruba, as of today should consciously seek not
to mix English with their Yoruba. Yoruba leaders must slowly speak,
watching their tongues, not to include any English word inside their
Yoruba.

It has gotten to a state where such leaders cannot avoid mixing English
as they speak Yoruba and their every sentence includes whole English
phrases! The late Yoruba leader, Oloye Bola Ige was a pure Yoruba
language speaker and other Yoruba leaders should follow his example. All
clubs and organisations in Yorubaland should hold bi-annual and annual
Yoruba Speaking Competitions for the 'Best Yoruba Speaker', with heavy
monetary prizes (N20,000 plus) to get Yorubas to consciously practice
speaking Yoruba without any English mixture. Yoruba broadcasters are
guilty of promoting this deadly trend. In schools, Yoruba teachers must
stress the importance of not mixing Yoruba. All private schools in
Yorubaland must be required to have classes in Yoruba language from
nursery through secondary school levels. And any student who fails to
pass Yoruba in Yorubaland must not be allowed to graduate!

The Yoruba press must be commended for indeed holding the banner high
and not polluting Yoruba with English. More effort, however, must be
made to eliminate ⪏Epasito⪠, ⪏Eprofessor⪠, ⪏Edokita⪠ words as
most of them have genuine Yoruba words that can be enlisted and
popularised among their readers. Yoruba departments in Nigerian and
foreign universities must start churning out more research on
modernising Yoruba for technical, scientific and other vocabulary and
making it available through special courses for the media and the
general Yoruba public. Yoruba writers must begin to write and publish
bilingual publications. For any publication they publish in English, its
Yoruba equivalent must be done. In the same book (Yoruba-from the front,
turn upside down, English from the back) is one way to do it or in a
title simultaneously released. More books, magazines, other publications
like club histories, year books must be published in Yoruba. Yoruba
music too, has been
assaulted by Yoruba artists, unknowingly killing Yoruba language. The
mixture of English has reached a new high in Fuji. Yoruba gospel has
started mixing English inside Yoruba songs within Yoruba cassettes,
adding along side complete English songs! Olodumare!

Such artists must be warned: "no more killing of the language in this
manner." If it is English you want then put that on an English cassette.
Do not replace our God-given Yoruba in a Yoruba music cassette! Yoruba
movie practitioners are perhaps the biggest offenders and must take up
this challenge to save Yoruba language. English nixing should absolutely
be banned in all Yoruba films. I have not researched the topic but I
suspect that Hausa, is probably the most unpolluted language in Nigeria,
and in all their films that I have seen no English there at all. The
beauty of the Yoruba language must be showcased by having more Yoruba
Cultural Festivals to be held by all clubs and organisations in
Yorubaland annually.

Odua's People Congress and other enforcers of law and order in Yorubaland
must be in the vanguard, not only by stressing among its members that
Yoruba should not be polluted but by holding bi-Annual Yoruba Speaking
competitions for the 'Best Yoruba Speaker' . They must lead the way in
correct Yoruba speaking and have literacy classes for all their members to
learn to read in Yoruba and encourage them to speak Yoruba in the home to
their children: Yoruba must become again the first language of Yorubas at
home and abroad. A private Yoruba school system must be set up. These
schools will teach all subjects in Yoruba from nursery up to the
university eventually. If it must be like a 'mushroom school', starting
with nursery school first and adding class by class this must be done.
This Yoruba Academy can be supported extensively by Yorubas abroad,
eventually having board houses were Yoruba children from abroad can join
their counterparts here, (including all
⪏Eclasses of children, street children etc.) This Yoruba Academy will
inculcate Yoruba culture into our children also. With the help of our
Yoruba scholars we can build on Ojoogbon Babatunde Fafunwa's successful
⪏EMother-tongue Education at University of Ife in the 60s. After all,
even UNESCO has proven that Mother-tongue Education is the best for all
children.

Let Yoruba Language not die! God has given the Yoruba race a language to
be proud of, anywhere in the world (there are at least 60 million or
more Yoruba speakers throughout the world). Let's not destroy it with
our own mouths! Let us pass it on in its richness to our children, daily
in our home. Let us proudly speak it daily, read it daily, champion it
daily. Yorubas cannot remain great without our language. And let us be
in the vanguard of saving all Nigerian and African languages. Biu,
Ogoni, Urhorbo, Igele, Ogoja, Ebira, Idoma, Efik, Tiv, Langale: Tangale,
Kagona, Kutep, Oron, Legdo, Bubiaro, Esan, Afima, lsekiri, Ijaw, Edo,
Ikenne, Joba, Gwari, lbo, Igala, Hausa, speakers are you listening?