Answer Options
Correct Answer
A.
Do we really want our children to grow up hearing only foreign tongues? Nigeria is a mosaic of over 500 indigenous languages, each a living repository of culture, history, and identity. First, preserving these languages safeguards the wisdom of our ancestors; the oral histories, proverbs, and songs embedded in them cannot be captured fully by translation. For example, the Igbo proverb "Ọkụkọ na-efe n'ala" teaches humility in a way that English equivalents miss. Second, linguistic diversity promotes social cohesion and educational inclusion. When schools teach in mother‑tongues, pupils grasp concepts faster, as seen in the Yoruba primary schools of Osun State where literacy rates rose by twenty percent after introducing Yoruba instruction. Parallelism, antithesis, and repetition echo the richness we seek to protect. Let us not allow these voices to fade. I call upon the federal and state governments to allocate funds for community language documentation, to train teachers in mother‑tongue pedagogy, and to broadcast cultural programmes in local languages. Only then will our children inherit the full tapestry of their heritage.
B.
Do we really need to keep old tongues alive? While Nigeria boasts many languages, focusing on them diverts resources from economic development. First, allocating funds to language preservation would waste money that could build roads; for example, spending on Yoruba dictionaries could have funded a bridge in Lagos. Second, teaching in mother‑tongues confuses students, as seen when Hausa instruction lowered test scores in a northern school. Repetition, antithesis, and parallelism highlight the drawbacks. I urge the government to prioritize infrastructure over language projects.
C.
Do we really want our children to grow up hearing only foreign tongues? Nigeria is a mosaic of over 500 indigenous languages, each a living repository of culture, history, and identity. First, preserving these languages safeguards the wisdom of our ancestors; the oral histories, proverbs, and songs embedded in them cannot be captured fully by translation. For example, the Igbo proverb "Ọkụkọ na-efe n'ala" teaches humility in a way that English equivalents miss. Second, linguistic diversity promotes social cohesion and educational inclusion. When schools teach in mother‑tongues, pupils grasp concepts faster, as seen in the Yoruba primary schools of Osun State where literacy rates rose by twenty percent after introducing Yoruba instruction. Parallelism, antithesis, and repetition echo the richness we seek to protect. Let us not allow these voices to fade.
D.
Do we really want our children to grow up hearing only foreign tongues? Nigeria is a mosaic of over 500 indigenous languages, each a living repository of culture, history, and identity. First, preserving these languages safeguards the wisdom of our ancestors; the oral histories, proverbs, and songs embedded in them cannot be captured fully by translation. For example, the Igbo proverb "Ọkụkọ na-efe n'ala" teaches humility in a way that English equivalents miss. Second, linguistic diversity promotes social cohesion and educational inclusion. When schools teach in mother‑tongues, pupils grasp concepts faster, as seen in the Yoruba primary schools of Osun State where literacy rates rose by ten percent after introducing Yoruba instruction. Parallelism, antithesis, and repetition echo the richness we seek to protect. I call upon the federal and state governments to allocate funds for community language documentation, to train teachers in mother‑tongue pedagogy, and to broadcast cultural programmes in local languages. Only then will our children inherit the full tapestry of their heritage.
Correct Answer
A
Correct Option:
Do we really want our children to grow up hearing only foreign tongues? Nigeria is a mosaic of over 500 indigenous languages, each a living repository of culture, history, and identity. First, preserving these languages safeguards the wisdom of our ancestors; the oral histories, proverbs, and songs embedded in them cannot be captured fully by translation. For example, the Igbo proverb "Ọkụkọ na-efe n'ala" teaches humility in a way that English equivalents miss. Second, linguistic diversity promotes social cohesion and educational inclusion. When schools teach in mother‑tongues, pupils grasp concepts faster, as seen in the Yoruba primary schools of Osun State where literacy rates rose by twenty percent after introducing Yoruba instruction. Parallelism, antithesis, and repetition echo the richness we seek to protect. Let us not allow these voices to fade. I call upon the federal and state governments to allocate funds for community language documentation, to train teachers in mother‑tongue pedagogy, and to broadcast cultural programmes in local languages. Only then will our children inherit the full tapestry of their heritage.