Talking about the languages of Nigeria one may say that, unless they are documented and developed, they may be gradually given up in favor of more prestigious languages, and with time they may be forgotten completely.
Many languages are no longer actively spoken by the younger members of the language community. They may still be able to understand the language, but they prefer to speak English, Hausa or some other language of wider communication among themselves and to their children. The consequence is that these languages will become extinct in the next generation. In fact there are some Nigerian languages that are nearly extinct (e.g. Holma, a Chadic language spoken in Adamawa State) or have already ceased to exist (e.g. Auyokawa and Teshenanci, two Chadic languages formerly spoken in Jigawa State).
Of course, this is not a rule without exceptions. Unwritten vernacular languages have existed for hundreds of years, without losing their local importance. On the other hand, developing a writing system and maybe even producing literature for a language does not by itself "immortalize" this language. In fact, Robinson 1997 warns that: "The promotion of literacy may work against linguistic vitality unless it has a clear pragmatic usefulness in the local community."
For many Nigerian languages, there is already a certain amount of published materials available. Mostly religious literature – Bible portions, the New Testament, portions of the Bible, Catechisms etc. –, but also some secular literature has been translated into Nigerian languages. Primers have been developed and literacy programmes have been carried out. But not all the languages of Nigeria have been well described and developed to an extent that would allow them to be used for educational purposes.
The following pages seek to show what needs to be done in order to at
least document the endangered languages of Nigeria.
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