I Professor Ihechukwu Madubuike, PhD, D.Litt (Hons) is a Former Minister of Education, Nigeria (1979), Former Minister of Health (1994), Author, Ighota Abu Igbo (1980) and Facilitator, Igbo Language Academy, Abuja, Nigeria.
The Igbo Language Academy (ILA)
is conceived to further enhance the effort at promoting the Igbo
language and to make it respond dynamically to the challenges of a
science and technological era. An Academy in the generic sense is
an institution for cultivating and promoting the Arts, and as an
Academy of Igbo Language and Culture.
ILA is set up as a matter of urgency to tackle the
technical problems and challenges associated with the development
and promotion of the Igbo language as well as charting a new course
for its sustenance.
Among the immediate duties of the Igbo Academy is the task of
vocabulary building, which is finding Igbo words, old and new to
express scientific, technical and literary terms that are relevant
to the age. The Igbo Academy is expected to guard against pedantry
and purism, eschew rigid adherence to archaic and fossilized forms
and take into account the fresh stock language of the masses in its
raw, vibrant and exuberant expressions of contemporary
realities.
MANDATE
ILA will ensure that the Igbo language will not only be made to absorb new words and vocabulary, it will also assimilate new concepts that were unknown to it before the computer and internet age. The ingenuity of our people will make this possible and it is already at work. For example, “ekwenti”, is the Igbo equivalent of a handset; “ntuoyi” is used for air conditioner, while ‘okwu oto ekeleze”, is the elegant transliteration of the vehicle Land cruiser. And so on.
Can anyone imagine the number of words that have entered the English language since the 19th century, for example? It is simply bewildering and ever increasing. They include words like broadband, regime change, face transplant, designer baby, genetic time bomb, metrosexual, Internet café, cannabis café, cyborg, and several others. The same applies to the French language, which has adopted words like building, weekend, sandwich, among several other English words into the French language.
FUNCTIONS AND GOALS OF THE ACADEMY
Compile the Igbo language lexicon
Conduct a structural and
historical analysis of the Igbo language
Motivate and guide the
development of Igbo, paying special attention to its orthography,
its character, pronunciation (given that it is a tonal language),
its grammar and its scientific and academic
needs.
Prescribe standards for
the Igbo language with regards to its grammar, orthography, pronunciation,
etc.
From time to time hold
public discussions and debates on the Igbo language and
civilization.
Publish an Igbo magazine
and other specialized studies in Igbo from time to
time.
Support efforts towards
the writing and publication of specialized books such as IGBO
THESAURUS. In this respect our writers can create words and phrases
for their own writing, like the English Peter Mark Roget did in
1852. Individuals can also publish Igbo Family Dictionaries, like
Chambers did, with supplements on our people, events, maps and
places to illustrate UWA NDIIGBO, etc.
The Academy is a private sector driven, with minimal government representation. It draws its members from all the Igbo speaking areas of Nigeria. It has forty members, including not less than 15 academic advisers. Special place is reserved for those who have published books in the Igbo language. Membership include writers, journalists, scholars and broadcasters of Igbo language and culture, academic advisors and scholars from the fields of linguistics, language studies and history. It also works closely with Nollywood to encourage production of films in the Igbo language.
MISSION STATEMENT:
To Work For The Survival and Development of The Igbo Language And Position It as an Instrument of Communication Not Only Among Ndigbo But Also For All Those Who Desire To Study It As A Language of Communication and Culture.
To Provide A Framework For The Regulation And Advancement Of Igbo Language Studies.
VISION:
To Make Igbo One of The Most Respected Languages In Nigeria And The World And Re- Position It As A Resource For Ethnic Validation
FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURE:
The Academy shall work in Committees. It shall set up specialized /technical committees to carry out specific assignments, e.g.
Committee on Terminology could be charged with the development of technical and scientific terminology on a variety of professional fields.
Dictionary Committee will be responsible for putting together an Igbo dictionary
A Standards Committee for setting/ prescribing appropriate standards for grammar, phonetics and composition.
An Awards Committee for meritorious services and contributions towards the advancement of the Igbo language and culture.
EVENTS AND CEREMONIALS:
Members will be publicly admitted with appropriate attire resplendent of the dignity of Igbo traditional costume. A flutist with a group of dancers will usher them in Other events will include:
Seminars in Igbo language
Periodic Press Briefings
THE SECRETARIAT:
The Academy will have a functional secretariat, which will be manned by an Executive Director. The latter shall be in charge of the day-to-day running and up keep of the office and shall be answerable to a Plenum. His office shall be open to the public at all working hours and he shall attend to their interests. He shall have assistants. Volunteer workers shall be welcome.
FUNDING:
All those who support the ideal and idea of setting up the Igbo Language Academy shall make the initial contribution and shall continue to be active in sourcing for funds. We shall also seek funds from international agencies like UNESCO. Endowments and grants shall be solicited from the business, political and intellectual elite.
CONCLUSION:
The significance of these developments includes:
1. A commitment to a Pan-Igbo philosophy and renaissance of which Igbo studies will be the epistemological hub.
2. The Igbo language will be studied as a language in its own right and not as an appendage to any other language or civilization. It will be private driven.
3. It should gain the support of our Igbo Diaspora cognoscenti and other Igbophiles.
Copyright | Igbo Language Academy
2013