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A Port Harcourt based linguist and Indigenous Language advocate, Mr. Josiah Egbilika has called for the adoption, acceptance and recognition of the word, ‘Endoglossophobia’, and its inclusion in the next production of various dictionaries online or hardcopies.
Speaking in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Wednesday, Mr. Egbilika stated that ‘Endoglossophobia’ is not just a word, but a real-life situation which if not handled can result in the extinction of indigenous languages.
Noting that the situation is not only common in Nigeria or Africa but global, the linguist enjoined that it be given the attention it deserves.
By way of definition, Egbilika who holds a Master of Arts Degree in Linguistics, defined Endoglossophobia as “the feeling of unease, apprehension, worry, irritation or nervousness experienced in learning or using either in speech or writing, one’s indigenous language or dialect.”
The indigenous language advocate, who stated that Endoglossophobia, simply put is the fear or anxiety experienced in speaking one’s own indigenous language; added that it could also be referred to as native/indigenous language or dialectal anxiety.
Mr. Egbilika argues that the word is necessitated since there was no word in existence to describe the fear of speaking one’s own indigenous language.
He stated that Endoglossophobia is a common situation but has been subsumed into Linguaphobia.
“This is not the case because the fear of language, Linguaphobia is a summary of all fears of any language situation. It could be the fear of a foreign language ‘Xenoglossophobia’, fear of sign language, also known as the fear of fingerspelling ‘Lexidactylophobia’”, he clarified.
The linguists lamented that while the other terms cover peculiar situations, unfortunately, there has been no existing term for the fear of speaking one’s indigenous language over the years.
Mr. Egbilika expressed happiness that propounding the word Endoglossophobia has given an identity to that pathetic situation, which will eventually turned a menace if not handled.
He therefore calls for its recognition and acceptance so attention can be moved towards the situation before it turns a language endemic.
Mr. Egbilika stressed that he will be glad to see the word Endoglossophobia is captured in both online and hardcopies dictionaries.
