The Centre for Niger Delta Studies and Sustainability (CNDSS), Federal University Otuoke, has organised workshops on orthography and indigenous language documentation in Bayelsa State with the theme: ‘Documenting and Digitising Nigerian Languages for Global Complementary Utilisation: The Federal University Otuoke CNDSS Experience.’
In his opening remarks at the School of Postgraduate Studies Auditorium, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Promise Mebine, represented by the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Professor Stevenson Osakwe Omoera, noted that the theme was apt and demonstrated the capacity of indigenous institutions to develop indigenous languages for global use. He added that it was important to discuss ways of developing these languages for the benefit of the people of the Niger Delta and the world at large.
The Director of the Centre for Niger Delta Studies and Sustainability, Professor Kosioma Owede, stated that language was more than a means of communication, describing it as a repository of the history, culture and identity of a people. He identified globalisation, migration, urbanisation, changing educational patterns, technological transformation and the increasing dominance of widely spoken languages as challenges to language development. Shedding light on the CNDSS experience, Professor Owede said the centre’s mandate was to preserve indigenous languages through learning, research, community engagement, documentation and interdisciplinary approaches. He emphasised that the workshop would provide participants with an opportunity to examine how to move from traditional methods of language preservation towards innovative, technology-driven and globally acceptable systems of language documentation and preservation.
During the panel session, Dr Eneware Emeketin, an Izon language facilitator at Isaac Jasper Boro College of Education, Sagbama, disclosed that he was among those who developed the Izon language curriculum for use in schools in Bayelsa State. He stressed the urgent need to make the Izon language available through software, ringtones and digital content, including films produced in the Izon dialect. He also suggested that students should be allowed to write examinations in selected semester courses in their indigenous language as a means of promoting digitisation. Dr Emeketin identified the lack of an approved orthography for the Izon language as a major factor hindering language teaching and development in the state.
Another panellist, Mr Macbere Tovie, an Epie language facilitator, said the Epie language orthography had been approved by the National Language Board. He advocated translating English words such as ‘cement’ and ‘engine’ into Epie, using indigenous languages to send text messages and write letters in local languages.
He noted that learners’ interest was essential to language acquisition and advised parents to speak their indigenous languages to their children.
Another panellist, Dr William Azibaoguanasi of the Department of English and Communication Studies, FUO, observed that language teachers increasingly relied on government funding to document and preserve indigenous languages, despite the limited availability of such support. He urged practitioners to draw inspiration from K. Williamson, who reportedly funded a language project from personal savings before receiving support from Brazil, the University of Ibadan and the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT). He lamented that even when governments released funds for language projects, the money was often given to government officials rather than the practitioners directly involved in the work.
Dr Azibaoguanasi stressed that language practitioners should not focus solely on preservation but should also promote the practical use of indigenous languages. He encouraged them to embrace digital technologies by developing indigenous language software, computer language tools and social media groups to promote communication and engagement in local languages.