I don’t know about you…  But My father barely speaks Ekpeye with me, we communicate in ekpeye only when it’s a serious issue or when he’s pissed off. I forgot to add and when he wants to give me a private information in public… I summed it to be 30%.

My mother communicates with me 70% percent of the time in ekpeye, she only speaks English when she’s damn serious, and all hell has been let loose.

Sincerely I owe my mum for the little ekpeye I can speak, although my ekpeye was deficient it is not completely malnourished like that of my younger siblings, my parents no kukuma try for that side o, unlike me they communicate with them almost all the time in English, as the years rolled by, the ekpeye language diminishes.

But I managed to get cure for my ekpeye deficiency not with my parent’s medication, but my Grandmother’s medication and some other ekpeye folks whom I spent part of my teenage age with.

Dear parents or future parents,

Aside good education and responsible upbringing, your child has the right to his or her mother tongue, don’t deny them that soku soku (Please)….  mo dio yo odio uko meh zhi li ele (My knees are on the floor).

The home is the place a child voices out his first words, speaking your native language to them at an early age won’t stop them from speaking queens English, or being fluent in other their 2^nd Languages, no not at all.

At least the basics of their Mother tongue should be taught to them, your mother tongue is supposed to be your first language.

I have watched learned people from other tribe speak polished English and their mother tongue is still very much alive.

Speak Your Language Every day and keep the language threats away

Excerpts from Umasoye..