University of Nigeria Virtual Library

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Author 1

Uguru Joy O.

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Author 3

Title

Language, Enhancement As a Tool For Development

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Description African Humanities, Humanities and Nation Building

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Humanities Unit, School of General Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

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Chapter Nineteen

LANGUAGE ENIfANCEMEI.NT AS A TOOL FOR DEVELOPMENT

BY JOY OLUCHI UGURU

HUMANITIES UNIT, SCHOOL OF GENERAL STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

Introduction Dynamism is a core feature in life. Various aspects of life

are prone to changes-some changes are planned while others are programmed or targeted. Development is the resultant effect of these constant changes that take place in the swiety. It is only in abndrmal contexts like wars, bad leadership, et cetera, that degeneration results from changes in the society. Over the years, some languages have existed and gone extinct while some have thrived and undergone changes from time to time. None however, has remained static. All languages change as the human societies in which they are used change. These changes result from attempts to capture the immediate needs of society, since language is sensitive to the context in which it is used. The !

English language, for instance, has changed form over the years passing from Old English to Middle English and finally to Modem English. Nevertheless, it has continued to acquire more and more vocabularies to enable it meet the communication needs of its speakers in these changing times. Other languages have also had to change form, hence we have classical forms of languages like Arabic and Hebrew and their modern forms, Older forms of the German language include Gothic, Old High German and Old Norse. The indigenous African languages are not left out in the process of changing form to reflect changing reality. In the Igbo language for example, new vocabulary has been incorporated to meet the modernity of our time.

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Pierce, C.S (1967) 'The logic of Abduction". in Tomas. V. (ed.) Pierce's Essays in the Philosophy Science. New York: Liberal Arts press.

Robinson, W.P. (1971) "Restricted Codes in Sociolinguistic and the Sociology of Education", in Whiteley W.H.(ed.) Language use and Social Change. International African Institute: Oxford University Press. 75-94.

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Sampson, G.(1980) Making Sense. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

~anner, N.(1967) "Speech and Society among the Indonesian Elite: A case Study of a Multilingual Community", Anthropological Linguistics. 9 (3) 1540.

Uguru, J. 0 (2003) "Scientific Study of Language for National Development," in Language and Literature in a Developing County. Essays in Honour of Prof. Benson A.OIuikpe.(In press).

(2003) "Language, Values and Ideology", Journal of Liberal Studies. 1q2) 1 13- 129.

1 d - - 'Janguage Enhancement As A Tool For Developnmnt

9

The central focus of this paper is to discover how much linguists have been able to channel and enhance language to meet the needs of society as ages 'come and go. While no particular language is singled out for discussion in the paper, some lanyases, because of the level of development prevalent in the societies where they are pred~minantly spoken, stand out in the dynamic movement towards meeting the growing trends in the society.

Language:' Origin and Progress There has not been any empirical evidence of when

language started. Some scholars have tried to employ Darwin's evolution theory to account for the origin of language. - Philip Lieberman, a foremost linguist, stands out among these scholars. Malmkjaer (1991) shows Lieberman (1984) as drawing certain, conclusions about the evolution (origin) of language based. on the nature of the human supralaryngeal vocal tract. Lieberman shows that the larynxes of most primates are well-adapted for both speech (voicing) and respiration and that the larynx of a human infant below the age of three months has this configuration. Thus the baby is able to breathe and drink concurrently without choking since the larynx is elevated in a way to allow fluid pass without entering the' trachea. Newborn babies and chimpanzees therefore have identical vocal tract. Lieberman goes further to reveal that the examination of the skulls of Neanderthal fossils and those of modem human babies revealed that they have identical structure. Furthermore. computer reconstructions of the Neanderthal indicated that he could not produce the human vowels, [i], [u] and [a] and the velar stops, [k] and Ig]. Neanderthal hominids are a type of prehistoric human being whose remains were found in a cave in the Neander Valley near Dusseldorf, Germany in 1956. Lieberman however, could not produce any empirical evidence to authenticate that the Neanderthal hominids used language. He infers that because they used tools and fire and had burial rites, coupled with the fact that some of their fossils with arthritis and healed bone fractures were excavated, then they may have probably used "a fairly - well developed language". He concludes that they 278 '.

Joy OIuchi Uguru

must have gone into extinction when the modem man, with better adaptation for speech evolved, creating room for competition.

It appears to be mos! unsafe to. depend on the evolution theory of language since it is mainly based on assumption. Liebennan and his cohorts might also have been carrying out their experiments with skulls of Chimpanzees which they mistook for Neanderthals'. He sums up his evolution theory on a very doubtful and inconc1usive note by stating that it is not clearly known when human speech,evnlved.

Obviously. the most depzndable account of the origin of human speech i s found in the scriptures where we read of Adam naming the animals immediately after creation. Additionally, he also identified Eve, his wife, as "woman". The first man and his wife had a language for discussion which they extended to their children. Much later, we read of the tower of Babel where the entire world lost their universd language and diverse forms of languages were introduced. This appears to be a more plausible account of the origin of language. However, what is of importance to us in this account is the purpose to which the use of language was put - identification, naming and communication. Adam identified and named the animals and his wife. The same purpose has led to the progress made so far in language use. As new concepts, phenomena and new ways of life emerge, languages develop new words and terminologies to identify them as well as enable people to communicate and inform one another about these concepts. More so, man seeks simpler and faster means of sending information across to the hearer. George Orwell (1947) specifies six ways of using language for faster communication: 3 Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure (sic) of speech

which you are used to seeing in print. 3 Never use a long word when a short one will do.

If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. > Never use the passive where you can use the active. 9 Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word-or a jargon

word i f you can think of an everyday English equivalent. 3 Break any of the rules sooner than say anything barbarous.

George Orwell in Crystal (1991: 2)

- bngrrage Enhancemen; AS A fool For Development

3 Hence 1ang"dge tends to change to forms that are easier to understand in order to enhance communication. However, complex forms could filter in depending on the phenomena under consideration. Globalization, for instance, came with a stream of its own terms and so did democracy and other concepts. Human language progresses because it enables man to report facts as well as create theories, hypotheses, fiction, et cetera.

Language and Development As far as this essay is concerned, development refers to

economic growth, industrialization and modernization. These are the basic features that characterise a developed society. In such a society, there is a continuous rise in production, a fair income distribution. a boost in international trade, low mortality rate and less population. There is also a rise in urbanization whereby urbanization spreads into regions that should otherwise have been rural areas.. Modernization involves social change. Lerner (1968) defines i t as a process whereby "less developed countries acquire characteristics common to developed societies." He shows that modernization is activated by international or inter- societal communication. The foreign languages studied in Africa are languages of most industrialized nations and can be used to bridge the gap between the developed and developing nations. Uguru (2003) has shown that these foreign languages can be studied in such a way as to transfer the science and technology of the native speakers into African nations.

Hughes (1968) defines industrialization as "the system of . production that has arisen from the steady development, study and

use of scientific knowledge". One may ask how the scientific methods can be studied without language. Uguru (2003) suggests that in studying any language, the culture of its users, which includes their technology, should be brought to bear on language to enable students imbibe the scientific methods. The application of

+ these methods is industrialization.

Joy Oluchi L'g~uu

~anguage in Diverse Spherb of Development Expansion in any facet of society requires expansion i ~ i the

language terms and registers used in that facet. Over the years, as man advanced from one stase of development to the other, so also did his language which he has used in reference to the differemt stages of development. As different aspects of a society grow, its language use also grows. Thus language use has grown ma developed from the first time man began to make use of language till now. This can be seen in the areas of science, politics, religion, international relations, agriculture, et cetera. Any :apse or incongruent relationship between the growth in an aspect of the society and the language used in that area results in linguistic constraints which must be overcome before the desired progress in that area can be made. Hence linguists are involved in the continuous. and arduous tasks of word coinage, linguistic borrowing, translation, interpretation of ideas, and conversion of ideas (terms) into shorter and easier-to-understand words or phrases.

With the introduction and expansion of science and technology came scientific and technological terms and expressions which must be incorporated into the language system to enabie language users benefit fully from scientific discoveries. In science, language use targets accurate identification devoid of unnecessary circumlocution. Hence i t i s not therefore unusual to encounter strange and long words in scientific disCussions. Most scientific discoveries are made in the developed world and it is the responsibility of other nations to borrow terms emanating from such discoveries into their own languages. It is the linguists that have this duty of either borrowing or translating such foreign terms into their various languages to enable the speakers understand and use them in such a way that development can be achieved in their societies. In Igbo for example, we have the following scientific words which were either borrowed or translated from other languages.

Igbo English I nkanauzu - technology

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4 - bnguage Enhancement As A Tool For - Development

manshidigwe - machine roba - rubber redio - , . radio

The English language. French, German and other languages have had to borrow from one another at one time or the other. Thus in English. we have such loaned French word as enfrunchisetnenr.

Also, symbolic language has been made available for use in science to make for efficiency and effectiveness. These symbols are universal and so have sped up development in nations of the world as they remove language barriers that hinder the use of scientific discoveries. This is observable in the areas of computer, medicine, engineering, chemistry, radiography et cetera. However, i t is also possible to have abbreviations and terms that are solely intelligible to the professionals in particular fields. While there

. may be added advantages for the layman to be aware of these ' terms, particularly in medicine for example, one must not lose sight of the purpose of these specialized terms. They are for the enhancement of speedy and accurate identification, communication

. and progress in the various fields. Hence if only the professionals understand them, the aim of coining them is achieved.

Language has played a major role in religious development. It has played and continues to play various roles in various forms of religion - Christianity, Islam, Judaism et cetera where the basic tenets of the religions were revealed and documented in particular languages - Hebrew and Greek for Christianity, Hebrew and Aramaic for Judaism and Classical Arabic for Islam. The religious beliefs, embodied in form of language, sustain spiritual development. Africa, specifically, has benefited from the role language plays in spiritual development. With the coming of the Christian missionaries and the subsequent introduction of Christianity, certain terms that denoted practices that were inimical to the progress of man - human sacrifice, slavery, killing of twins et cetera were eradicated. Terms denoting good prictices that were for the good of man were introduced. Of major significance were

+ the stopping of the killing of twins, human sacrifice et cetera. Language is indispensable in the running of the affairs of

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Joy OIuchi Ugunc i any government. Constitutions are made and amended as new developments unfold. In such amendments, care is takzn to use language i n such a way as to bring out the ideas being expr,?ssed so as to enable the citizens understand and obey the laws of the country. In law, language has been used to enhance the process of justice. Words are used in such a way as to ensure 13gical arguments which make for critical judgment. Both the lawyer and the witness are expected to use language in specific ways to enhance court proceedings.

The press makes use of language in captivating ways. Short and catchy headlines are used to attract the attention of the public as well as pass on the exact information in few words. The target of the press is economy of words. While they give up-to-date information to the public, the public expresses their opinions through the media. Thus the press is the voice of the nation and needs to be abreast with changes in language use to avoid ambiguity and misinformation which could deal a deadly blow on the development and stability of the nation. The press brings new concepts and phenomena nearer to the populace by explaining in details what they entail, including their merits and demerits. Some of the major concepts that are currently in the press air globalization and genetically modified products. These concepts have been harped on so much. Much iies on the press to explain these concepts in plain language so as to enable .the public understand them. It is only then that people can give full support to realize the goals of globalization or otherwise refrain from pursuing the goals if they're subtly detrimental to the good of the society. This is what development is all about - when the citizens are aware of the country's policies so as to be able to support or criticize them. Participatory democracy requires that all and sundry be so much aware of the policies of the nation that they can participate in the running of the polity. Language plays a very vital role in ensuring this awareness. It is also indispensable to radio and television broadcasting.

' Language is a major raw material in music. Musicians can only move with the currents of the music of a particular period by

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L * Language Enhancement As A Tool For Development

keeping'uack of the language (terms) in use in their field.. Robert Fink and Robert Ricci make this explicit in their book, The Language of Twentirth Century Music published in 1975. They have this to say:

it is the .purpose of this book to present the basic ternzinologies of chance mrisic, computer natsic. electronic music, jilm music, jazz, musique concerr.

' multimedia, rock, nvelve-tone mrisic and other ntore traditionti! soles of cornposition ... as well as to mention a nurrtber of' ir~strirrrrents arid pe$ornznnce practices that have developed ns composers have searched for new mearts of expression. Also, new tools for musical analysis have been inclrided along with many of the important movements in contemporary plastic and graphic arts which employ techniqrres and aesthetic points of view similar to those found in twentieth centuty music ... most of the terminology of traditional tonality was excluded. However, some familiar words ... were included and given a new interpretation in the context of twentieth century musical practice.

I Fink and Ricci (1975: v and vi)

Trends in Language Enhancement for Increased Development 1 Over the years, language use has been enhanced both for '

i ushering in development and meeting up with the rate of development at a point in time. In multilingual as well as i monolingual societies, language planners have played leading roles , in making language, the invaluable universal tool, effective in its :'

function. , One of these ways the use of language has been enhanced js i

standardization. This is important in both monolingual and multilingual societies. In the former, because languages tend to have various varieties, depending on the regions the speakers live in, it is pertinent to choose one variety to serve as the standard. In ::

the latter, there has to be a choice of the particular language to

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Joy Oluchi Ugurrc

become the. country's national language. This is the situation currently prevailing in Nigeria. When the choice of the standard is made, it is further enriched through coining and borrowing 'of words that are not existent in the language. The adoption of indigenous national languages is one of the problems presently facing many African nations. The importance of indigenous national language to national development has therefore sparked many African nations into scampering about for indigenous national IBnguages. Hailu (1971) reveals the extent of these nations' efforts in the following way.

A rizrniber of developing nations in Africa have started to use one or several of their vernaculars as the oficial language(s) of their societies and as a medium of instrirction in the schools, at least in the elementary gmdes. Ethiopia is one of these countries, and its Oficial Venrac~tlar (OV) is Ahntan'c; all subjects in the public elementary schools are taught in Ahmaric. Ethiopia, along with those Afnkan countries that use OV in schools, hopes to use only OVJbr teaching all subjects in the secondary schools in the not too far distant f i twe, and event~rally in the universities, Such a language policy is very significant, and will certainly have far - remhing consequences for the overall development of these countries.

Hailu: (1971: 309)

It is not only in the quest for national languages that standardization is necessary but also in ethnic languages. In Igbo language, for instance, a number of varieties exist but only the standard is used in literature. In any language-ethnic, national or international- it is the standard variety that is used in literature as well as in any formal situation. Borrowing is indispensable in the enrichment of any standard language. Hence English for instance, has many French and Latin words. Loan words can be left as they are or spelt to reflect the word structure of the borrowing language. They can also be given one - M more - word translation into the

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Language Enhancement As A Toof For Development r;

borrowing language. Below are some borrowings made by some languages:

English Rendezvous - French Tete-a-tete - French

Igbo 1

Osi kapa (rice) - Shinkafi (Hausa) Ichafu - Chiffeon (French) Igwe na-ekwu okwu - Radio (EngIish) (Talking machine) A kara - Yoruba

' Borrowing is necessary in making the standard language an efficient tool for communication and development. Hailu emphasises this as follows:

I am not advocating the keeping of national languages 'uncontaminated' with foreign words. Contamination is

. inevitable and, in fact, desirable.' However, the '

contamination, so to speak, should be so controlled that it has a dynamic influence on ODcial Vernacular (OV) without straining its communication effectiveness and without destroying its characteristics ... One way of tackling the problems of terminology is the establishment of a ,rational OV institute whose membership includes scholars in other Jields of study as w'ell as language.

Ha&: (1971: 317)

Also, as time goes on and new discoveries are made in diverse spheres of life, new words are coined thus expanding the lexicon of the language in order to meet new challenges.

In addition, non - verbal forms of language have been introduced to take care of the linguistically - handicapped. Prominent among these are the American Sign Language (ASL), British Sign Language (BSL), French Sign Language (FSL), 9 ~ 2

Joy Oluchr' Uguru 1. Danish'Sign Language (DSL), Chinese Sign Language (CSL) et 1 cetera. All these use different signs to depict different meanings. 1 , Thus each of the existent types of sign languages has to be learnt i differently before i t can be understoxl. However the unification of signs commission of the deaf adopted a system known as Gesruno i to be used by the deaf and mentally - retarded. Signs for the , different types of sign languages are usually drawn from both -,

natura1,signs made by the dumb. the deaf or both and artificially- constructed signs (.Crystal 1987). The aim behind this mode of "

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communication is to enable all ci~izens participate actively in the ,,

process of individual as well as societal development. Some linguistically - handicapped people have the sign language as their '-

? mother tongues. Artificial languages have also been developed to bridge

communication gap between nationals of different countries. These languages are not only universal but also have simplified phonetic spelling to aid easy learning. Artificial languages that stand out include Esperanto invented by Ludwig Lazarus, Volapiik invented by John Martin Schreyer, Interglossa invented by Lancelot Hogben, Interlingua invei;!ed by International Auxiliary Language Association and Glosa invented by W. Ashby and R. Clark. Artificial languages can be coined for use in a nation. In

! Nigeria for instance, there had been attempts to introduce artificial languages to solve the national language problem. Wazobia, a :

construct from the three major Nigerian languages - Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba - is a typical example. This could not succeed because of some obvious reasons like ethnicity, low literacy level and lack '

of fund. Artificial languages have many advantages over natural .

languages. They are easy to learn (because of their simplified phonetic spe I ling). They are multi-purpose languages, being used to perform scientific, social, formal and other needs of life.. They arestandardized since they usually have only one variety. he^ are neutral because they are nobody's mother tongues. They are therefore a unifying force. Greater insight into reality can be got through artificial languages since they are free of ambiguous words and phrases.

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Language Enhancement As A Tool For Development > -. The compo!er has been used to enhance language and

language study. Cemputer corpora, -that is, machine - readable corpora have been devised for easier and faster analysis of large

' data (Leech,. 1991). Corpora aid in research and ensure accuracy. They are also used ~s aid in language teaching, translation and lexicography (the art and science of making dictionary). Computer corpora have also been used in speech processing, that is, natural language processing (translation). Apart from the computer corpora, a number of symbolic languages have been devised for use by the computer. These include machine language (made up of binary c.odes), assembly language (made up of abbreviations), high level programming language (helps the computer to accept instructions in diverse languages) et cetera. Hence, language has been enhanced for use by both man and machine. These enhancements are to ensure continuous development in our society.

Conclusion Since language is a major aspect of human life, it changes

just as life does. However, what makes its change uniquely different from that of any other aspect of life is that it must be pianned. Linguistic changes are more induced than natural particularly in the area of incorporation of new words, grammar and word formation. Hence, man has put a lot of efforts into enhancing language for better and easier communication. In doing this linguists have been able to channel language to meet the needs of man irrespecfive of the stage of man's development. As the society, man, science and technology advance therefore, language is enriched to meet the advancement. Non-verbal language has also been enriched to ensure that every member of the society can participltte actively in development. Linguists are specialists who keenly trail development so as to furnish the world with linguistic tools needed to understand and practise in different fields.

d . Joy Oluchi Uguru

REFERENCES

Crystal, D.A. (1987). The .Cambn'dge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Fink, R. and Ricci, R. (1975). The Language of Twentieth Century Music. New York: Schirmer Books.

Hailu, F. (1971). "Problems of Terminology" In Whiteley, W.H. (ed.) , Language Use and Social Change. International African

Institute: Oxford University Press. 309 - 3 17.

Hughes, J.R.T. (1968). "Industrialization: Economic Aspects", In Sills, D.L. (ed.) Interndwnal Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. New York: MacrnilIan and Free Press. Vol. 7 and 8.252 - 263.

.Leech, G.N. (1991). "Corpora". In Malmkjaer, K. (ed.). The Linguistics Encyclopedia. London: Routledge.. 73 - 80.

Lerner, D. (1968). "Modernization: Social Aspects" in Sills. D.L. (ed.) Internationid Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. New York: Macmillan and Free Press. Vol. 9 and 10, 386 - 394.

Lieberman, P. (1984). The Biology and Evolution of Language. M.A. Harvard University.

Malmkjaer, (1991). "Origin of Language", In Malmkjaer. K. (ed.) The Linguistics Encyclopedia. London: Routledge. 324 - 329.

Orwell, G. (1447). Politics and the English Language. In Crystal. D. (1987). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge university Press.

Uguru, J.O. (2003). "Scientific Study of Language for National Development," In Language and Literature in a Developing Country: Essays in Honour of Pro$ Benson A. Oluikpe. (In Press).

(2003). A Common Nigerian Language. Enugu: Fuliadu.