English and African Languages

There are many
advantages of mastering English Language.  They are effective communication, social acceptance, freedom of speech, freedom of writing, joy of fulfilment and effectiveness in the place of work where English is the major means of expression. Many Africans use the language in their countries; English has come out of the accident of the colonial past or conscious embrace of it.  The important point is not the repetition of how the language has become a very important means of communication in most African countries; the focus is the examination of the attitudes of users of the language, their effectiveness in juxtaposition with their languages.
It is impossible to communicate effectively without having an aim or goal in mind.  The speaker or writer who defines his scope of communication limits vocabulary to an area.  He decides on the main idea which is the umbrella that houses sub-ideas.  The speaker or writer begins and progresses like a map properly drawn to lead a person to a destination.  The major ideas and minor ones are ordered to make prose elegant with sequence, logicality and unity.  The paragraphs are most likely to delight the reader when subject-verb-agreement is in place, collocation is appropriate and mechanics are observed. These are ordered into prose.  Prose rhythm flows smoothly when words, collocation, sequence and unity of ideas and tense move in accordance with the subject matter, the thought which is described or character that is depicted.
The speaker who pronounces words like the standard of Daniel Jones Dictionary of Pronunciation is a very effective speaker of the English Language.  It is rare to find second language speakers who have mastered pronunciation as the native speaker who is an expert in English language.  It is certain that most of them have mastered mother tongue interference and, wrong transliteration from their languages into the English language.  They are effective speakers of the language.  Members of the educated English elite class are undoubtedly the effective users of the English language.
Thorough mastery of any language gives the user advantages; mastery of any language is social ornamentation which makes one to become accepted into polite society.  Few examples are Nwapa in Achebe’s Arrow of God.  The people call him master of words – one whose words are effective for all purposes; he is capable of presenting effective dialogue, winning cases and convincing people.  People love an orator of the kind and are willing to become his friends.  He always receives ovations for sound and excellent speeches.  Another example is Mark Anthony in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.  He is an orator and judge in the context who does not use his power of speech to destroy justice and fair persons.  He starts his speech as any good speaker does; he addresses the people giving them honour for the opportunity granted him to speak. He negates the lies against Caesar, justifies him for the good things done and condemns the evil practices against him and the perpetrators of the crime.
Mastery of English encourages freedom of expression.  Most people are shy to speak on occasions because of stage fright and poor communication skills.  The freedom and joy of expression are possible when people know English thoroughly; they are able to use words for different audiences and different purposes.  They do these to convey different moods, messages and ideas.  Simple ideas require simple means of communication; difficult ones require loftiness of expression, discourse and diction.
Another advantage of the mastery of language is effective writing.  Poor writing skills destroy good ideas and arguments.  Masters of the language know that verbosity is evil but some persons feel that bombastic words and verbosity are the hall marks of perfection.  Every word is used for effective communication.  They know that good writing is like woven net; every thread is relevant without which the whole is not complete.  Every paragraph must have a logical connection with another.  Good writing is impossible without mastery of the grammar of the language and communication skills.
The joy of fulfillment in communication derives from acceptance, effective writing, effective speech and fitness into polite society.  A master of the language could do several things; he could act as master of ceremonies, deliver speeches, write books, essays and whatever he wants to do with the language.
A good communicator of English fits into any job effectively as long as he has also mastered the knowledge in his area of specialisation.  There are some creative writers who did not study English – they are not majors in the area in the strict sense of taking degrees in the discipline but have published in various genres of literature.  The effective ones have read novels, poems and plays, and books on creative writing.  Few have gone back to register for literature courses after graduating in various disciplines.  Few of them have contributed so much to the discipline; indeed few have excelled than the graduates in the discipline because of their rare talents.
Where does the problem lie?  Do the effective speakers help promote the language and African languages?  Are they basking in the joy of communicating in English without promoting their own languages?
The problem lies with the attitude of effective users of the language towards other users.  Few effective users of the language often sympathise with those who are incapable of using the language effectively.  The most problematic issue is the false consciousness of basking in the joy of being  excellent communicators of the English language.  Ironically some of them are incapable of communicating effectively in their own languages; few can speak their languages but many cannot write mere letters in them.
The English people have given Africans the gift of the language.   They have translated the Bible into many languages, promoted the development of many languages in Africa.  Some African languages are dying, few are dead.
Dictionary is a book which helps learners and users of a language in various ways.  There are several languages in Africa. Are there dictionaries written on the languages?  Are there other books which help people to read, learn and write the languages? These are fundamental questions.  The half baked communicators are those who trouble us most; they have not drunk ‘deep’ nor have they tasted ‘the Pieria spring’ so they are intoxicated by ‘draughts’ of the language as Alexander Pope’s saying in Essays On Criticism is paraphrased here.
In conclusion, the English Language is an international language; every speaker of the language could communicate with people in any country where the language is spoken.  Those who have mastered it may be admitted into various important circles in the world.  The owners of the language have worked very hard on it right from the time of Chaucer to the present age.  They have assisted countries colonised to develop their languages, why should Africans bask only in the joy of communicating in the international language without developing their own languages?  There are people who are working but much work is still required.  There is the need to change the attitude – it is possible; each language is from a worldview and a culture; it should not be neglected at the expense of another.  Few are peddling and hawking the myth of a superior language.  No language is superior to another; every language has the capacity of expression to accommodate new experiences as my post graduate lecturer Professor E. Nwanolue Emenanjo said in class many years ago.
Barine Saana Ngaage is of the Dept of English and Literary Studies, NDU, Bayelsa State.

Barine Saana Ngaage