REVITALIZATION OF IGBO LANGUAGE AFTER THE UNESCO PREDICTION

Sunny Ifeanyi Odinye

Abstract


Language is a system of communication whether spoken or written which consists of sounds for speaking and symbols for writing that is used by members of ethnic group or nation for communication, expression, identity and culture. Igbo is an ethnic group of south eastern Nigeria whose language has about 25 million speakers who live in Nigeria and abroad. Unfortunately, Igbo language is endangered and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) forecast its extinction in future if nothing is done to revitalize it. Surprisingly, there are divergent opinions about the UNESCO prediction. However, the prediction has awaken the call for a revitalization among the Igbo people. This paper examines the revitalization of Igbo language after the UNESCO prediction with Hinton (2018) principles of language revitalization as a model. At the end, it was found that a positive language attitude precedes language revitalization. In conclusion, some recommendations and suggestions were made in which home/parents and school/teachers are most important and effective in language revitalization.

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