A Polycentric Eʋe? Towards another standard to compete with “Standard Eʋe”

It’s called polycentricism, and it is the standard of most languages today: one standard for locals and one or more for international speakers. Why not so for one of West Africa’s international languages, Eʋegbɛ?

Eʋe is spoken by over eight million people in West Africa today. Shortly, it may cease to be a language as a result of the formally accepted Aŋlɔ-Eʋe notion called Standard Eʋe. Today, my case is simple: no more Standard Eʋe for everybody. Today, I would like to make the case for International Eʋe to become the new standard to be learned by the Eʋe Diaspora.

Is Standard Eʋe dead or not?
How come Standard Eʋe is so poorly managed as a formal language of expression? From the looks of it, many cannot fluidly speak it without using their own dialect or English. This manifestation attests to the reality that Standard Eʋe is either lacking in diction or most Eʋe speakers cannot properly articulate themselves using it.

Why is the language that is so rich in proverbs, diction and idioms suddenly the very thing that some have used to literally eat akplɛ (maize and cassava dumplings) and nothing after that? The answer to the former question is likely this: Standard Eʋe is Aŋlɔ-Eʋe for the most part, and most Eʋes who are literate have noticed that it is under-funded and something that has been relegated to the sukuxɔme, teacher’s training colleges and church mainly.

In my view, Standard Eʋe is not really a good standard anyway. It is based on the Aŋlɔ dialect and does not lend well to intellectual endeavours, but rather, it is well suited for artistic expression like music and poetry. So far, it has never been used to teach things like physics, chemistry or even math in classes across Eʋeland. Why is this the case?

Has Aŋlɔland refused to own up to its responsibility to take care of the heritage of the people? If so, how can research be done to check the facts on whether Standard Eʋe is even accepted among the general populace of Eʋe people? I am for another Standard of Eʋe today because Aŋlɔ-Eʋe has become so irrelevant that I really wonder if at all Aŋlɔs themselves are ready to fund it with the millions of dollars needed to further develop Eʋegbɛ for modern use.

Today’s Standard Eʋe, when spoken by many people, cannot even be used to properly articulate terms that are already in existence in Eʋe in general. Much of the time I and others hear Eʋes having to mix English with their tɔgbɛ (father voice) in order to express themselves properly. Some of the worst culprits of this nu gbɛgblɛ̃ (error) are the very people whose version of Eʋe has been used to take away vital time from developing our linguistic heritage. What should be done then? That is the question.

The International Standard: Eʋegbɛ Dukɔdomɛtɔ

Eʋe is not a new language to West Africa. It is so widely used that it is a shame that it has lost much time to the shoddy and lackadaisical work of its custodians who neither fund it well enough, nor even take the time to properly articulate the grammar and syntax behind it in a well published format. Eʋe will need millions of dollars in order to properly make sure that the language is used for modern users to prosper.

Today I make the case for International Eʋe as the new standard to be used among the Eʋe Diaspora and to further its use in ensuring that Eʋe remains a living language for years to come.

I am personally ready to commit my resources towards International Eʋe to the tune of US$75,000 as seed money for the necessary charts, teaching aids, CDs, DVDs and other materials for instruction of Eʋe to go forward among speakers of the language in other lands apart from Eʋeland.

In addition, at this point, there needs to be at least one or two or even three conferences on the state of Eʋe among speakers abroad. As well, a need must be satisfied: more Eʋe language materials than ever must be published to ensure that no child who wants to learn Eʋe is without them.

May the best Standard Win!
So then, if Standard Eʋe cannot find people to properly fund and manage its diction, parts of speech etceteras, it is only natural that only the people whose dialect gave rise to it must use it. My Eʋe at this point is International Eʋe. It is my standard at this point and hopefully will be so in the years to come when my children and children’s children use it to not only eat akplɛ, but abolo, yakɛ-yakɛ and even ayibɔbɔ too.

The author is a communications professional. He writes on contemporary issues of faith, science, politics, economics, righteousness and reason in the church and beyond.