Promoting the use of the Igbo language among the Igbo people in Nigeria and in the diaspora

Abstract

Nobody promotes what he does not possess or what he knows little about. Promoting a product implies that the product is in the custody of its promoter or that details of the product are well-known to its promoter. The Igbo language however is alien to the majority of Igbo youths especially the urban dwellers who form part of the highly placed civil servants and who may be privileged to interact with members of the international community. The objective of this paper therefore is to investigate ways of redirecting the negative attitude of the Igbo people towards their language in order to be well equipped to promote it among themselves and the international community. Discussions and awareness campaigns were carried out at different levels with different classes of Igbo people (youths as well as the elderly), in order to find out the reasons for this aversion to their language. It was observed that their attitudes are embedded in some socio-political and economic factors. The paper therefore highlights these factors and then suggests ways of boosting the Igbo language among the Igbo at home and in the diaspora.