Mother tongue or English: Which language should come first?

The online dictionary Wikipedia defines language as the ability to acquire and use complex systems of communication, particularly the human ability to do so, and a language is any specific example of such a system.Linguists however see language as a system of communication that enables humans to exchange verbal or symbolic utterances. This definition stresses […]

The online dictionary Wikipedia defines language as the ability to acquire and use complex systems of communication, particularly the human ability to do so, and a language is any specific example of such a system.
Linguists however see language as a system of communication that enables humans to exchange verbal or symbolic utterances. This definition stresses the social functions of language and the fact that humans use it to express themselves and to manipulate objects in their environment. So in simpler terms, language can be defined as a tool for greater human understanding.
Since every human being is born with the innate ability to learn a language, it is assumed that by the time a child is six years old, he must have known how to speak about six or more languages, his mother tongue inclusive. However, due to many factors such as inter-tribal marriages, so many indigenous languages face what linguists call ‘language death.’
It is against this backdrop that Life Xtra sought to find out what people think about the language a child should first learn to speak.
Simon Tunji, a 32-year-old banker, said he feels it should be English because the child will have interaction with the outside world even at that tender age: “The accepted school language is English and most children should have gotten a grasp of it by pre-school. It won’t make much sense for the child to begin to learn the English language after being enrolled in school. Then the mother tongue can later begin to flow side by side with the English.”
Nwoke Ezechimere agrees with Tunji, stressing that: “For me, I will teach my children English first because it is more unifying for kids of various cultures coming together, especially when you live in the metropolis. Then mother tongue follows because you would ensure that it is spoken at home while the language of the host community comes third.”
Others respondents like 28- year-old Joy Balogun, said they would combine the knowledge of both languages. In other words, while learning English in school they would teach the child mother tongue at home. “They will learn/speak English in school but it’s our mother tongue at home,” she emphasised.
But Nas Abdul, who is in his mid-30s, had two different answers. He said: “On the one hand, I think the mother tongue should come first because it will give the child a real sense of heritage. Then on the other hand, I think English first because in today’s Nigeria, that is the only hope the future generation has if they are going to understand and respect one another. English is a common unifying means of communication. I will also take pidgin English in its place.”