Sustaining and Projecting Nigeria’s Minority Languages through Repackaging of Traditional Music Lyrics

Abstract

It is a common knowledge that in the next fifty years, some endangered minority languages in Nigeria will phase out of existence reducing the gains of language diversity in the country. To synergise ideas and expertise against this awful situation is most timely to curb the fast tempo with which languages disappear. Traditional music in its vocal, instrumental and mixed media varieties is language-based and has evidently been found to preserve the connotation, value and contextual usage of words, language structure, concepts and other related paraphernalia. On this merit, therefore, this paper attempted a new frontier on how traditional music lyrics can be repackaged for the sustenance and enhanced projection of Nigerian minority languages. Data from lyrics of sampled traditional music types of the Ókpè ̣people in Delta State comprised the resource materials for the demonstration of this alternative paradigm in language sustenance. Performance practice, transcription, textual analysis, creative arrangements, technological embellishment, broadcasting, teaching and publishing of research findings were identified as positive models for the documentation and projection of Ókpè traditional music lyrics. By extended inference, it is envisioned that the alarm confronting endangered languages accounting for their underrepresentation in Nigeria’s language diversity will not only cease to be, but will achieve the much desired language sustenance, relevance and projection beyond native environment. Governments at all levels, the social media, scholars and culture stakeholders are advised to provide needed endorsement and espousal of this research outcome to solve the millennium challenge of language endangerment.

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