The Vice-Chancellor of Ebonyi State University (EBSU), Prof. Michael Awoke, has called on Igbo people to teach their children the indigenous language to promote the preservation of their culture and identity.
Awoke, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), Prof. Ike Election, made the call on Thursday at the 4th EBSULING Conference organised by the Department of Languages and Linguistics, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ebonyi State University.
The Vice-Chancellor described language as a universal phenomenon and urged parents to use their indigenous language when communicating with their children.
He said technology could not disrupt language development but would rather enhance it, urging students of Languages and Linguistics to utilise modern technology for effective language development.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the occasion, High Chief Orgbu Igwe, advised youths in Igboland to make punctuality a guiding principle for effective development in their future endeavours.
He stressed the need to promote the Igbo language, describing it as an important means of communication and a source of cultural identity among Igbo people.
Igwe said language was power and urged students to make effective use of technology for their overall development.
Also speaking, the Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Prof. Nkechi Emma-Echiegu, expressed happiness and described the conference as timely, noting that it aligned with the vision and mission of the university.
She stressed the need for parents to teach their children acceptable values and the standard way of life to promote their proper upbringing and development in society.
The keynote speaker, Prof. Michael Olugbenga, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics) of Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri, said Artificial Intelligence (AI) had transformed activities across various aspects of human endeavour.
He said AI had introduced new approaches to human learning, research, assignments and teaching.
Olugbenga described AI as one of the greatest challenges facing humanity, noting that its effective operation depended on human intelligence.
He explained that AI was a linguistic phenomenon that language scholars should embrace to improve their teaching and research activities.
He added that AI represented an advancement in language development and urged speakers of different languages to utilise the technology to promote and advance their indigenous languages.
In his contribution, the lead paper presenter, Prof. B. M. Mbah, Director, Centre for Igbo Language Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, said AI had increasingly taken over several human activities.
He advised lecturers to embrace AI to remain relevant in the university system.
Earlier, the Head of the Department of Languages and Linguistics, Dr Goodluck Nwode, said the conference was timely, given its theme: "Language, Communication and Society in the Era of Disruptive Technologies."
Nwode said the theme was informed by the fact that humanity was experiencing one of the most profound technological transformations in history of man kind.
He noted that the emergence of AI, machine learning, social media, digital communication platforms, automated translation and virtual environments had continued to change the way people communicate.
He said the department was committed to studying the relationship among language, communication and society.
Nwode described technology as a tool that had expanded access to knowledge and education, adding that it facilitated communication across linguistic and geographical boundaries.
He, however, stressed the need to address misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, digital manipulation, privacy concerns, plagiarism, intellectual property rights and the ethical use of AI.
He advocated the need for educators and researchers to prepare scholars to work effectively alongside intelligent machines.
In a related development, the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Dr Jeremiah Nwankwegu, said technology was rewriting the rules of communication, redefining the boundaries of knowledge and challenging some of the most cherished assumptions about language, creativity and intelligence.
He described language as a repository of memory, identity and civilisation.
The conference featured awards to some personalities, while cultural performances by troupes from the Department of Theatre Arts added colour to the occasion. (NAN)
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