It was Bloch and Trager (1942:5) that defined language as “a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by which a social group operate”. By implication, language is a core part of any culture and the umbrella body of other ethnicity features.
Human language is like an organism –it can be healthy or unhealthy, determining whether it lives or dies. The vitality of any language depends on how well it is taken care of (how well it is being appreciated and nurtured).
The number one identity/strength of a people is what proceed out of their mouths. We can see the power and importance of language in the scriptural books of Judges 6:12; Gen. 11:1-8; Esther 1:22 etc. This implies that we are our language and our language is us. Little wonder why Essoh (2008) asserts that “the formation (and preservation) of a culture (and identity) among humankind is made possible by language”. The implication of that assertion is decoded thus: Ọrọ is a distinct tribe because of the Ọrọ language… if the Ọrọ language is no more, then the ethnic group Ọrọ goes extinct. So while we are concerned about the development of Oro politically, we should be more concerned about its survival linguistically.
The Ọrọ Language Situation
Ọrọ is the first language and name of a group of people occupying the southern part of Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria. It constitutes one of the three major ethnic groups/languages of the state. It is spoken in five local government areas in Akwa Ibom State namely: Oron, Okobo, Udung Uko, Urue Offong/Oruko and Mbo and one local government in Cross River State which is Bakassi.
It has various dialects which include: Ọrọ central, Ebughu, Enwang/Uda, Avai, Okobo, Ilue etc which are mutually intelligible and possess the same phonological, morphological, syntactic and pragmatic structures. It is a lower-cross Benue Congo language, according to Cornell’s (1991) classification.
Over the years, Ọrọ has suffered a great deal of decline; it has been somewhat abandoned; living in the shadow of English and Efik-Ibibio. I’ll simply put it that Ọrọ has been exposed to prospective extinction. To this note, urgent moves must be put in place to ensuring that such is reversed and Ọrọ is preserved; swift measures must be taken to ensure the survival and growth of the language.
WHY ỌRỌ IS AT RISK OF ENDANGERMENT
Like human beings and other living organisms, every language needs to be catered for in order to avoid extinction. Such catering includes its documentation, appreciation, proper usage, teaching/learning and other forms of development. Primarily, one factor that can swiftly cause extermination of a language is NEGLECT, which factually is what Ọrọ is facing at the moment. Evidences of language neglect are revealed in structures of the following threats:
• Lack of orthography
• Absence of a Language Development Union
• When there are dominant and more preferred languages (in Ọrọ’s case we have English and Efik-Ibibio as threat languages) etc.
Implications/ Possible Resultant Effects of Lack of Language Development:
The absence of putting necessary measures in place for the status improvement of a language can primarily lead to ‘language change’ which involves:
1. Lexical Change: A linguistic process where speakers of a particular language drop some words from the language, trading them for that of a more developed/dominant language. Observe below some few out of numerous lexical changes in Ọrọ:
S/N Ọrọ (Original) Form Gloss Threat Language Form
1. njòk Lies nsù (Efik-Ibibio)
2. mvùvàk Wisdom ífìọk (Efik-Ibibio)
3. èmmé Love ímá (Efik-Ibibio)
4. úk!p Seed ḿkpás!p (Efik)
5. Ègbèí Request èbéñé (Efik-Ibibio)
6. ùt!dọlìọ Cripple mbúñọ (Efik-Ibibio)
7. Ndù Life úwém (Efik-Ibibio)
8. ísséghé Pity ḿbọm (Efik-Ibibio)
9. ọgúgọ Spoon ìkpáñ (Efik-Ibibio)
10. ọvùvọñọ Spider Spàídà (English)
11. ọkpútùñùtùọñọ Butterfly bọtàfláì (English)
12. Ákíáñ Rust Ñgáráváñ(Efik-Ibibio)
13. èzù éñwìmmànì Women fellowship èsòp íbàn (Efik)
14. Líék Turn wọñọré (Efik)
15. Íkpê Boundary ádáñá (Efik)
16. ágbágâ Pillar ọbúbọk (Efik)
17. àdàì ọgwọ Backyard àdàì êssà or èssà (Efik)
18. Nzêmmè Beans ọkọtì (Efik)
19. ọgọnúñ An edible leaf áfàñ (Efik-Ibibio)
20. Úláp Young man àkpàráwâ (Efik-Ibibio)
21. ọmúñ Cup ọkọp (English)
22. úffọñ Glory úbọñ (Efik)
23. yọd Turn/convert/interpreted Kàbáre (Efik)
24. éllè/úbùgh’ûvọk Bedroom/room/apartment ùbèd (Efik-Ibibio)
25. ḿvúvọñ mosquito ébọñ (Efik)
26. Ètàí Middle/centre ùfọt (Efik-Ibibio)
27. mv!p óté An Edible leaf Èdítán (Efik)
28. Kpàñá Before Mbèmìsó (Efik)
29. ùkwàì Hunch Égùñ (Efik)
30. Èssù Gathering/assembly/court Mbónó (Efik)
31. èkpú palour pálọ (English)
32. mbèk Growth/development ñkọrí (Efik)
33. ọzízọ revival Èdídéméré (Efik-Ibibio)
34. útók honour Ítòró (Efik-Ibibio)
35. ólúghú Idol Ndèm (Efik-Ibibio)
36. àkwàñ Bed Bêd (English)
37. ókwè Basin Átíàn from tíàn (Efik)
38. ọgọgọ Roofing zinc Átíàn ọnyọñ (Efik)
39. ágáí Thatch Ñkányá (Efik)
40. Ùlèì Grave Ùlì from ùdì (Efik)
41. sọ Again tọñọ nták (Efik-Ibibio)
42. ùw!d laziness Ìfù (Efik-Ibibio)
43. ntìtàm Arrangement/programme Ndùt!m (Efik-Ibibio)
44. ñkíè thing ñkpọ (Efik-Ibibio)
45. fáí Take (forcefully) Wámáré (Efik-Ibibio)
46. àdìàghátà cat Àñwâ (Efik)
47. ùkpọñ Trumpet trọmpèt (English)
48. úkìọ War/battle Ègúñ from ékọñ(Efik)
49. nyíyòñ little Ñkèñé (Efik-Ibibio)
50. ùbéghé fear Ndék (Efik)
51. Ñg!m fruit Mfrî (Efik)
52. ùllé Free (of charge) mfọ from mfọn (Efik-Ibibio)
Phonological Change: A process where some sounds in a given language are lost, dropped, considered absent or assimilated to another because of the influence of a dominant language. Phonological changes often arise chiefly because of lack of orthography in a language. Some phonological changes in Ọrọ include:
1. /gb/ as in ìgbòtò (thatch) /kp/ where it is spelt ‘ìkpòtò’
2. /g/ as in óg!d (heart) /k/ where it is spelt ‘ók!t’
3. /v/ as in èvọñ (conk) /f/ where it is spelt ‘èfọñ’
4. /z/ as in nzàñ (friend) /s/ where it is spelt ‘nsàñ’
N/B: The availability of voiced sounds in a language shows that their voiceless counterparts are also present. That is to say that if a language like Ọrọ has /gb/, /g/, /v/, and /z/, then /kp/, /k/, /f/, and /s/ are present as well. But these voiced sounds are considered absent.
Syntactic Change: The grammatical process in which the sentence structure of a particular language changes, sometimes adapting the structure of a dominant and more developed language. In Ọrọ, the following syntactic changes have occurred:
1. S’éné d!ghí ònyí? S’éné ònyí d!ghí?
2. K’înì mmâ ñgú nzúgh’ózúghú K’îbọñ ñgú ndàkádàk nzúghú
3. Ibọghọké Àgbàtèdé ónù
4. Ñkọ vî àtá étì étî Nnèñé’nyì ñkọ vî
Other implications/possible results of language neglect include:
• Dialect status
• Inferiority complex
• Moribund state
• Possible Extinction etc
SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS:
• Formation of Ọrọ Language Developers Union which should be commissioned and sponsored by Oron Development Union
• Drafting of Ọrọ Orthography which will be possible when there is a development union
• Our folktales, folksongs, legendry stories and even children play songs should be developed and documented
• Churches (especially the orthodox) must replace Efik with Ọrọ as liturgical language during service and as a target language during sermon interpretations
• Literatures should be written in/on Ọrọ (though it is only possible with availability of orthography)
• There should be more programs on radio using the ‘undiluted’ Ọrọ language and culture
• More movies in Ọrọ language should be shot and also played on cable TVs after due screening/vet
• A day should be set aside annually for celebration of Ọrọ language and culture
• Government must be ‘pressurized’ to return to news translation in the three major languages of the state
SUMMARY/CONCLUSION
It is a common and acceptable believe among language engineers that no language is bigger than another in rank - be it Indo-European languages like English, Spanish, French or even Niger-Congo languages like Efik, Igbo, Ọrọ etc. nevertheless, one language may actually taste development and the other may not. This by implication may give the developed language a high status to the detriment of the neglected or underdeveloped ones.
Ọrọ language, being our number one heritage has not tasted the development it needfully deserves. Its development therefore, is a collective responsibility of every Ọrọnian. Parents are saddled with the duty of proudly using it to communicate with their children at homes. Churches should from now on, dutifully, incorporate the language in their liturgical plans. Schools in Ọrọ land (especially private ones) have big roles to play in this development and preservation strives. Poets (particularly balladeers), playwrights and indigenous musicians must extend their creativities to basing some of their works in Ọrọ language (no matter the dialect).
Ọrọ language has suffered neglect for a long time, we are losing that sweet linguistic savor that distinguished us from our neighbors and it’s high time we woke up from our slumber and do the needful which is to develop the Ọrọ language for preservation of the Ọrọ identity. Let’s save what’s truly ours!
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