Hello, everyone.
I welcome my blog and another wonderful edition of the Hive Learner's featured post. Language is a very beautiful thing, and if it were easy to learn, I would have tried learning to speak languages like Spanish and German. Language is something that, when I hear people speak, leaves me in awe, especially the ones I don't understand. It leaves me wondering how they are able to understand each other and without any difficulties because there are languages that sound very funny and sound like they cannot be understood or learned unless you grew up in the community or somehow grew up speaking the language.
I am from the Igbo tribe here in Nigeria, but work caused my parents to be based in the northern part of the country, where Hausa is predominantly spoken, and we live among them. My parents tried everything they could to see to it that we learn how to speak and understand Igbo despite the environment where we found ourselves, but sadly both my siblings and I grew up speaking Hausa and can only understand a little Igbo, which is our mother tongue, but then cannot speak it at all. Whenever we meet family friends that are Igbo, they always complain about us, only understanding and responding back in English instead of in Igbo. At that point my parents had done their best, and there was nothing else they could do at that point.
So they decided we must all school in a region where Igbo is predominantly spoken, which is the southeastern part of the country. Luckily I gained admission there, and at first it was difficult communicating and even moving from point A to point B because everyone there speaks Igbo and doesn't care if you understand it or not. Only a few are considerate enough to understand that there might be people who don't understand the language or can't speak it, and so they use English at least to carry everyone along. Those who were considerate are difficult to come by, so that means you either sit up and learn the language or continue facing the challenges of language barriers and not just any language, my own mother tongue.
Some people mocked me because of it; they said it was a shame I could speak another man's language (Hausa) effortlessly but couldn't even speak mine. After a few months of schooling in the eastern part of the country, I was able to start learning a few things, especially how to communicate with transporters and shop owners because I need them more than anything, and proper communication matters. After about a year, my Igbo slowly improved, and today it is better.
So I think my language is a bit easier to learn compared to so many other languages. I have been with Fulani for months, and until I left, I was not able to grab a single thing, and they kept repeating and teaching the same thing over and over again. If I am to learn how to read and write in my language from scratch, I think I will and can do it effortlessly. I have also seen many who are not Igbo speak it like it is their mother tongue.