Henry and his sister, Ebiere, are often cahllenged when occassions call for interaction in the dialect of their parents’ community, Okrika, in Rivers State.
The reason is clear. More often than not, whenever they visit the community, the residents habitually communicate in the dialect, which unfortunately, Henry and his sister do not understand.
The people are often bewildered by the inability of Henry and Ebiere to respond intelligibly during interactions in their native language.
The reasons for this are not far-fetched. Their parents, Mr and Mrs Dagogo, are in the habit of speaking only English language at home, in spite of  the fact that they are both from the same community.
The story of Henry and his sister is, however, not extraordinary; as there are several similar cases in which children could not speak or understand any other language apart from English.
In contrast, however, there are also cases in which the use of mother tongue as the mode of communication in the home is encouraged by the parents.
For instance, Ogbonnaya and Kate speak Bini language because their mother, who is from Benin, communicates with them in her language, while their father, who is an Igbo man, communicates with them only in English language.
The man explains that the reason behind his decision to speak only English language to his children is because it might be somewhat cumbersome for them to pick all the three languages at the same time.
However, the situation is strikingly different in Dagogo’s family, as the parents never deemed it necessary to converse with their children in their mother tongue.
What then is the reason behind this decision?
“We decided to communicate with our children only in English language because we were more concerned about their proficiency in the language,” says Mrs Dagogo.
Nevertheless, Mr Audu Oloyede, an English Teacher at Starlite Secondary School, Ibadan, insists that children ought to be exposed to their mother tongue, particularly in the home setting. “The mother tongue should be the primary language in the home; it is the first language which a child acquires right from the parents,” he says.
Language experts then wonder why most young Nigerians could no longer speak their native language flawlessly.
They lament that the situation has reached a frightening dimension, as it signals the gradual extinction of several local languages.
Alarmist as such views tend to be, they are quite logical, as various organisations share a similar viewpoint.
For instance, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) says that if nothing is done to reverse the situation, over half of the 6,000 languages, currently spoken across the world, may disappear before the end of this century.
Linguists also believe that with the disappearance of unwritten and undocumented languages, humanity will lose immense cultural wealth and ancestral knowledge, which are embedded in indigenous languages.
As parts of efforts to forestall the extinction of more languages, the UNESCO launched the International Mother Language Day, and the day is observed throughout the world on February 21 every year.
The celebration is designed to promote linguistic diversity and multilingual education, while highlighting the importance of mother tongue education.
Linguists say this is a good development because language has become the basic and versatile medium of communication which strengthens the foundations of a community.
This is because language does not only build relationships; it also builds people, especially when it is their native language, they add.
They also argue that the mother tongue is a preserver of culture, as it is capable of strengthening culture, traditional norms and values.
Prof. Akinwunmi Ishola, a professor of Y oruba language, says: “Language is important because it is the storehouse of culture and knowledge.
“That is the centre of controlled culture; so, you can’t know a culture without first knowing the language.”
Ishola urges parents to always strive to converse with their children in their mother tongue, adding that mothers should also endeavour to sing lullabies to their babies in their mother tongue.
He says that such actions will enable the children to pick up the language in the home setting.
“Also, broadcast stations should be encouraged to air more programmes in indigenous languages.
“We also hope that governments, both at the federal and state levels; will make the learning of mother tongue compulsory from pre-school level.
“That is where it is needed because the children will always remember the language while growing up,” Ishola says.
Sharing similar sentiments, Dr Barclays Ayakoroma, the Executive Secretary, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), stresses that “language expresses the worth of a person and his or her psychological wellbeing.
“It is also an avenue to showcase the pride and potential of an ethnic group, community or nation.
“Nigerians must not allow our local languages to die because if they do, it could lead to a loss of cultural, historical and ecological knowledge of the people,” he adds.
Nevertheless, Mr Onwuorah Aghility, the Chairman of the Abuja chapter of Actors’ Guild of Nigeria (AGN), believes that the decline in the use of the mother tongue is due to the people’s false values and their propensity to behave and act like people from the Western world.
He, however, insists that the Igbo language is more at risk because’ ‘we travel wide, go to places and can settle anywhere; we learn other languages easily and fast.
“At the end of the day, we drop our own mother tongue to adapt to the lifestyle of the people of our host community and we speak English language, which is more universal, “ he says
However, Aghility believes that watching local movies with native languages will invariably promote a greater use of local Nigerian languages.
However, highlighting the importance of mother tongue to education, Jim Cummins of University of Toronto, Canada, says that bilingualism typically confers linguistic advantages on children.
In a publication — “Bilingual Children’s Mother Tongue: Why Is It Important for Education?” — Cummins insists that use of mother tongue should be encouraged in schools so as to develop the children’s ability to learn other languages.
“Bilingual children perform better in school when the school effectively teaches in the mother tongue and where appropriate, develops literacy in that language.
“By contrast, when children are encouraged to reject their mother tongue, the language’s development stagnates, while the children’s personal and conceptual foundation for learning is undermined,” he says.
Cummins suggests that parents should establish a strong home language policy, while providing ample opportunities for children to expand the functions for which they use the mother tongue.
In the light of this, observers, therefore, recommend that the use of mother tongue should be encouraged, even in schools.
However, there is a growing consciousness about the need to promote greater usage of mother tongue because of its myriad benefits.
ChiefTanko Zhimiko, the Ward Head of Galadimawa in Abuja, stresses that leaders should encourage the younger generation to take pride in speaking indigenous languages and view them as part of their cultural identity.
Sharing similar sentiments, Mr Deji Ademuyiwa, a Y oruba man who is married to an Igala lady, emphasises that parents have a pivotal role to play in ensuring that their children speak their indigenous languages.
“My children picked more of Igala but we both speak to them in our languages while they reply in English; they’re learning to speak Y oruba and Igala as they grow up.
“Teachers can also encourage the children to develop a greater interest in the use of mother tongue; they can do this by communicating to them strong affirmative messages about the value of speaking additional languages,” he said.
Whatever reasons adduced for or against the use of mother tongue, linguists believe that since culture is strongly connected with language, the mother tongue should be a veritable means of promoting Nigeria’s diverse cultures.

Folasade Folarin writes for the News Agency of Nigeria.