March 08, (THEWILL) – Nigerian Linguist and Indigenous Language Advocate, Josiah Egbilika, has tasked women all over the world to be at the forefront of campaigns for the development and sustenance of indigenous languages.
Egbilika made the call in commemoration of the 2024 International Women’s Day (IWD), celebrated March 8 every year.
Speaking on this year’s theme, “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress”, which focuses on diversity and empowerment, Mr. Egbilika stated that one of the ways women’s progress acceleration can be said to be holistic is when their identity is not lost.
“If language is lost, no matter the amount of empowerment, there will still be a missing gap,” he added.
The Indigenous Language Advocate urged women to begin the language campaign by carrying out sensitisation while encouraging the continuous speaking of their languages in everyday activities with their children and wards.
Mr Egbilika, who appreciated the fact that women are coming out and making lots of impact in society, however, urged them to create programmes using the indigenous languages or programmes that are also tailored towards encouraging the development of indigenous languages.
The Linguist further encouraged women to speak out on the issue of language development with the same energy they championed issues of neglect and marginalisation.
The Port Harcourt-based indigenous language advocate underscored that women have the capacity to change a cause. He, therefore, tasked them to “lay their voices towards ensuring that their indigenous languages do not go into extinction”.
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