There is a growing concern about the decline and possible extinction of the Igbo language. The Igbo are primarily located in the south-eastern part of Nigeria. This study analysed four interviews on Igbo Radio, an Igbo Internet radio station, to ascertain how Internet radio is being utilized in discussing the decline of the Igbo language. Drawing on ethnolinguistic vitality theory, this qualitative study triangu-lates four selected interviews on Igbo Radio, the website, and personal observations for the analysis. Three salient themes emerged: (1) decline and challenges of the Igbo language, (2) second-generation immigrants and the Igbo language, and (3) sustain-ing the Igbo language. The findings suggest that Igbo parents appear to have less vitality; as a result, they tend not to teach their children Igbo.

There is a mounting consciousness and concern about the decline and possible extinction of the Igbo language, a language that is native to the Igbo people of south-eastern Nigeria. This situation has led to several conferences

Igbo languageInternet radioethnolinguistic vitalityIgbo Radiosecond generationdiasporamedia

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on the Igbo language (e.g. the International Conference of Extinction of Igbo Language, the Igbo School Conference and Workshop), and coverage of the issue at related Igbo conferences (e.g., the Igbo Studies Association, the Igbo World Congress). Several previous studies have addressed the lack of inter-est in the Igbo language (Ekwueme 2011; Odinye and Odinye n.d.; Okere 2007), the Igbo language crisis in the twenty-first century (Madubuike 2011), the relationship between the Igbo language and identity (Ohira-Aniche 2011), and the threat of extinction for the Igbo language due to a globalized prefer-ence for the English language (Njemanze 2011). There is, however, a dearth of research in relation to the Internet radio.

The objective of this article is to present Igbo Radio, the Igbo Internet radio, as a case study in order to demonstrate how the station can be utilized to help sustain the Igbo language, an issue of particular importance for Igbo people living in the diaspora. This study particularly uses four interviews in the Igbo language. The analysis of these interviews suggests that it creates, ‘alternative conventional and physical public spheres in which members of the audience … circulate information and provide opportunities for commu-nity interaction and physical involvement’ (Squires 2000: 291). This statement indicates that the Igbo people can utilize Igbo Radio for the maintenance of the Igbo language.

In crystalizing the uniqueness of the Igbo language and culture, this study presents Igbokalenda/the Igbo calendar, which is pertinent to the traditional Igbo way of life. The Igbo calendar is essentially ‘the same as the international fixed calendar but for a technical difference in the paradigmatic bases of four and seven-day weeks respectively’ (Anthony 2012, par. 11). The following describes these differences (Igbocalander.com n.d., par. 5):

4 market days in one week7 weeks in one month of 28 days28 Days in an Igbo month – Izu ASAA dina otu ONWA13 Months in an Igbo year – i.e. 28 days!13 months = 364 days91 Weeks in an Igbo year – i.e. 91 weeks!4 days = 364 daysOne year – made up of Igbo 13 lunar months or 91 Native Weeks.

The website also reads: ‘Onwa Meeh’ (the month of May), ‘kalenda 2012’ (Calendar 2012), ‘Sonde’ (Sunday), ‘Tuzdee’ (Tuesday), ‘Nwanesdee’ (Wednesday), ‘Tosdee’ (Thursday), ‘Fraidee’ (Friday), and ‘Satodee’ (Saturday). In addition, each day is identified with Igbo four-day market days: eke, orie, afo and nkwo. This website is pertinent to the present study because it reveals to the readers the kind of efforts made by Igbo Radio to showcase and promote the Igbo language.

Ethnolinguistic vitality theory is a social psychology approach to the connec-tion between language and identity (Yagmur and Kroon 2003). Giles et al. defined the notion of ethnolinguistic vitality as ‘that which makes a group likely to behave as a distinctive and active collective entity within the inter-group situations’ (1977: 308). The more vitality an ethnolinguistic group enjoys, the more competent it will be to utilize its own language and to survive and flourish collectively as a group (Yagmur and Kroon 2003). According to Moring et al., ‘findings suggest that media can be an important vehicle in

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maintaining and supporting [ethnolinguistic vitality] EV…’ (2011: 184). EV theory is suitable for exploring how the Igbo utilize Internet radio to maintain the Igbo language.

Giles et al. (1977) suggested three groups of sociocultural variables could objectively impact the vitality of ethnolinguistic groups: (1) demographic, (2) institutional support and (3) status. Demographic factors comprise those that are related to various group members and their distribution across each level of society including marital status, immigration, birth and mortal-ity patterns. Institutional support variables comprise the degree to which the ethnolinguistic groups obtain support from the government, schools or the media. Status factors encompass economic status, socio-structural elements, and situation of the language both in the community and outside of the community. In other words, ‘Demographic, Institutional Control, and Status factors shape group members’ perceptions of ethnolinguistic vitality. Because language is bound up with social identity, subjective perceptions of language vitality influence whether people promote, maintain, or lose their distinctive language or culture’ (Yagmur 2011: 118). This understand-ing suggests that ethnolinguistic vitality is a concept by which inter-group conditions can be distinctly, collectively, linguistically and communicatively performed.

Scholars have used the notion of ethnolinguistic vitality in various stud-ies (Sachdev 1995; Tuwakham 2005; Ugorji 2005; Yagmur and Kroon 2003). One of the relevant studies was by Tuwakham, who in his ethnolinguis-tic vitality work observed that many in the group of Lamphun of Central Thailand, where 90 per cent of the citizens are Yong people, endeavour to ‘keep their own traditions and use their own dialect within the commu-nity’ (2005: 1). The globalization and fusion of Yong people and non-Yong people have affected the traditions. Even though Yong people residing in Lamphun are strong and still preserve their traditions, ‘the Yong language is endangered because Yong people are sometimes embarrassed to use their language to communicate’ (2005: 1). This problem exists because they believe ‘that whenever they speak Yong, other people, whether Northern Thai or Central Thai speakers, will laugh at them and consider them to be rural people. So they switch to Kammuang or Standard Thai. This seems to indicate some negative attitudes towards the Yong dialect’ (2005: 1). Conversely, modern Yong people are realizing the significance of their Yong dialect. Tuwakham notes, ‘there are some groups of people in Lamphun who are Yong speakers such as teachers, radio operators or government officers who have started activities that focus on Yong people, language and traditional customs’ (2005: 2). This type of pro-activeness is what other Igbo groups, including pan-Igbo movements and Igbo Radio, are employing in an attempt to revitalize the language, in this case among the Igbo in the Diaspora.

The Igbo people are located in south-eastern Nigeria and are mainly found in the Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states. They are also found in the Aniocha and Ika areas of the Delta state, as well as in some parts of the Cross River, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers states. Their spoken language is Igbo, although various dialects exist. The Igbo population is estimated to be over 25.2 million (minorityrights.org). The Igbo are not new to migration,

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and their lives and language have been impacted by the diaspora. According to Afigbo:

[A] well-known fact that not only did the Igbo not know a literate culture until the imposition of European rule, but in addition their land lay outside the areas traversed by early travellers, Arab or European, until a little over a century ago. The result was that the development of Igbo culture, throughout the millennia before 1900, went undocu-mented. Secondly, the fact that the Igbo did not evolve centralized state systems comparable to either Benin or Oyo, which had well-developed institutions for the preservation and transmission of oral traditions, had meant that information which survives about the Igbo past is scanty and scrappy indeed.

(1981: 2)

There is also evidence for a lengthy Igbo presence in what is now called Nigeria. As Afigbo noted:

a preliminary archaeological survey of Igbo land has uncovered evidence which suggests that it was already under occupation, at least the plateau and upland section of it, by the third millennium B.C. And the artifacts left behind by the occupants of those days which were recovered, would seem to lie in the same line of ethnographic development as the cultural artifacts of the present day Igbo occupants of the region.

(1981: 5)

Scholars have documented the experiences of the Igbo in the diaspora, including the historical principle of the Igbo in Africa and the Atlantic diaspora (Korieh 2006) and the Igbo brain drain from Nigeria to the Chicago area in the United States (Reynolds 2002). Reynolds’ qualitative research found that the socio-economics of schooling and educational opportunities outside of Nigeria were the driving force of the brain drain. In general, scholars have documented the experiences of Africans in the diaspora, including those in relation to development and contemporary African political theory (Adi 2002), and the role of globalization in conceptualizing the role of Africans in the diaspora (Mohan and Zack-Williams 2002).

One aspect of Igbo culture is a tendency to be adventurous. The Igbo people maintain their cultural heritage wherever they reside in the diaspora. As Odi notes:

The Igbo are among the most dispersed in Africa and perhaps even in the world. Their sense of adventure and the ease with which they seize economic opportunities make them easy prey among their hosts – this is what fosters in them a deep sense of community loyalty. It is true that the Igbo at the time of Nigeria’s political independence in 1960 were over-represented in certain areas of lucrative commercial activity. For example, the Igbo formed only 1 percent of the population of Northern Nigeria, but controlled 11 percent of its real estate brokerage, 25 percent of its retail trade, 30 percent of the clothing trade, and 79 percent of department stores.

(1999: 159)

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This statement suggests that the Igbo have a tendency to succeed economically in Nigeria and elsewhere. The question remains if the Igbo also maintain the Igbo language.

The Nigerian historian Nwauwa succinctly articulates that, ‘[j]ust as the Igbo language is under the threat of extinction so is the Igbo history/studies. Both require urgent attention. Currently, enough studies and writings are not being carried out on Igbo history, culture and tradition…’ (2012, para. 40). There are several explanations for this problem: first, there are a limited number of Igbo historians; second, the few Igbo historians who exist tend to concentrate, ‘on other fields/areas of study such as international relations where they hope to work as diplomats or secure a UN job that will do noth-ing about Igbo studies; and thirdly, the Igbo themselves’ are nonchalant in regards to supporting and uplifting the study of Igbo history, tradition, and culture (2012, para 40). Not only does Nwauwa’s articulation resonate with the present study, it also demonstrates the significant potential benefits of this study. Nevertheless, research and journals on Igbo language and culture are beginning to emerge (e.g. the Igbo Studies Review). The benefit of the present study is that it will offer information about the vitality and attitudes of Igbo individuals toward their language via new media such as Internet radio.

Researchers have explored the significance of Internet radio, including the Youth Internet Radio Network (YIRN), a project that builds communities and connects youth across Queensland, Australia, via music, creativity and infor-mation and communication technologies (ICTs) (Hartley et al. 2003). Krishnan and Chang (2000) have examined the development of tools to construct and organize ‘program schedules for Internet audio broadcasts’. Other research has investigated how Internet radio for youth and the youth themselves engage in the design of infrastructures for teaching, communication and creating a sense of society in Australia (Compaine and Smith 2001). Although there is a digital divide between the global North and South, some emerging countries are thriving when it comes to Internet radio. For example, Lothmale Community Radio in Sri Lanka utilized Internet radio for community and cultural devel-opment (James 2005). None of the existing research has, however, examined African Internet radio. The current research considers how the Igbo Internet radio can be used to articulate the Igbo language in the diaspora.

Several African Internet radios exist, and they utilize both native and non-native languages. Africa Radio hosts ‘about 266’ African online radio stations. The first six stations listed include (1) African FM, a station located in London, United Kingdom, (2) Chada FM – 100.8 FM, located in Casablanca, Morocco, (3) Africa No.1 – 94.5 FM – La Radio Africaine, located in Libreville, Gabon, (4) Radio Focus (Ghanaian), housed in London, England, (5) Síntese África, located in Lisbon, Portugal and (6) Wazobia FM Lagos 95.1 – Ogbonge Station, located in Lagos, Nigeria (http://tunein.com/radio/Africa-g133/). These African Internet radio stations provide an avenue for Africans to maintain their languages. Just as in many other societies, the Igbo culture, and especially the language, has been tremendously affected by colonialism and globalization.

This qualitative case study builds on the theoretical framework of ethnolin-guistic vitality in order to understand how Igbo Radio, the Igbo Internet radio station, is being utilized to maintain the Igbo language. Hence, the intersections of research and the evolving nature of Igbo language and the concept of ethno-linguistic vitality lead to the following research question: How does Igbo Radio, the Igbo Internet radio station, facilitate the maintenance of the Igbo language?

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This article utilizes a case study methodology to examine how Igbo Radio, the Igbo Internet radio, is utilized in discussing, preserving and rebuilding Igbo language. Stoner et al. (2010) claim that the benefits, ‘of pursuing a single case study in-depth rather than random sample is the gain in detail and under-standing’ (as cited in Huckins 2011: 226). For Stake, ‘a case study is both a process of inquiry about the case and the product of that inquiry’ (2008: 121).

This study uses triangulation to ensure validity. In general, triangula-tion is a procedure utilizing, ‘multiple perceptions to clarify meaning, verify-ing the repeatability of an observation or interpretation’ (Stake 2008: 133). The researcher triangulates this research with the four selected interviews posted on Igbo Radio, the website, and the participant observations of the author in Washington, DC, and Randolph, Massachusetts, both during April of 2012. The first observation was at the annual meeting of the Igbo Studies Association, at which the author presented a paper on Igbo culture, and where a hotly debated issue concerned the decline of the Igbo language. The author relied on what he observed and the statements of conference partici-pants to support this study. The second observation was drawn from an annual, Worcester, Massachusetts Igbo-based association ‘Igwebuike’, held in Randolph, Massachusetts. The occasion was intended to celebrate the Igbo culture. The author relied on his observations of the event participants and some discussions to help inform the analysis.

Purposeful sampling was employed for the selection of materials. The author surveyed the Internet by conducting simple Google searches using phrases such as ‘Igbo Internet radio’, ‘Igbo radio’, ‘Nigerian Internet radio’ and ‘Nigerian radio’. The search engine produced websites and blogs that each have something to do with Igbo radio or Nigeria. Even though there were twelve Igbo-related radios that came up, only one – Igbo Radio – demon-strated enough promise in terms of information content, because every other station only played music while Igbo Radio includes music, interviews and discussion in the Igbo language. For example, Igbo Radio broadcasts in Igbo and uses the Igbo alphabet for writing on its website. But as of the time of this study, Igbo Radio has no live streaming. Some other Internet radio stations that deal in Igbo affairs include AWR Ibo/Asu.su. Igbo, Biafra Radio, Family Igbo Radio, Igboamaka Radio and Igbokwenu Radio.

Three websites that carry Internet radio across the globe were identi-fied, including Shoutcast.com, Tunein.com and Streamingthe.net. Shoutcast.com and Tunein.com did not carry any Igbo station at the time of this research. Streamingthe.net carries one Igbo language station, which is ‘Radio PalmWine’, a gospel radio channel hosted by web radio Nigeria.

The Igbo Radio website was examined in order to understand how Internet radio can be used to sustain the Igbo language. The home page was analysed to explain the vision and symbols that promote the Igbo language. The reason for analysing the interviews was to extract Igbo concerns and associated feel-ings about the Igbo language. The researcher purposely chose the most recent four interviews on the website at the time of this study. All interviews were conducted in the Igbo language, and the interviewer was Chidi Igwe. The names of the interviewees are Okammuta Ejike Eze (alias Omenka 1), who resides in Boston, Massachusetts; Mmaezi Yvonne Mbanefo, who resides in London, UK; Mazi Chimeziem Nwalibe (alias headmaster), who resides in Edmonton, Canada; and Mazi Abraham Madu, who resides in Houston,

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Texas. Surprisingly, all of the interviewees reside in the diaspora. This fact suggests that some Igbo in the diaspora are attempting to maintain the Igbo language, even after a long absence from home. The researcher, who is fluent in both oral and written Igbo, translated and transcribed the interviews.

In order to identify overarching themes in the interviews, the researcher played each interview four times and occasionally replayed specific parts of the interviews. The main themes of the interviews centred on the Igbo language. The author identified three discrete themes: (1) the decline of and challenges to the Igbo language, (2) second-generation immigrants and their use of the Igbo language and (3) sustaining the Igbo language.

The first theme is the decline and challenges of the Igbo language. As mentioned earlier, the Igbo language is under threat and UNESCO predicts that it faces extinction by the year 2050. In the interviews, Chidi Igwe echoes the UNESCO prediction to the interviewees and their response is mixed. Eze, who is a professor from Boston, Massachusetts, refuted the prediction of extinction and claimed that, with sufficient commitment, the Igbo language will not disappear. He warned parents not to depend on school teachers to instruct their children in the Igbo language. He said that parents should make it a point of duty to teach their children the Igbo language. On the other hand, Mbanefo, who is a professor from London, lamented that the Igbo language might die in 25 years if there are no new learners of the language. Also, Madu said in Igbo, ‘Agwo no na nkirika’, which translates roughly as a python is in the grass or hidden in our midst. In other words, he suggests that there is a major problem in the Igbo community concerning the decline of the Igbo language. This fear is consistent with the author’s discussions and obser-vations at the Igwebuike event in Worcester, Massachusetts, and the Igbo Studies Association Conference in Washington, DC, where he discussed the lukewarm attitude within the Igbo community towards the Igbo language. At both events, English was the preferred language, even within some groups of friends who are fluent in Igbo.

There are several challenges that the Igbo language and the Igbo people face. Some of these challenges surround the lack of interest among many Igbo in their language, the lack of updated or recent books written in Igbo, the lack of visual aids such as movies or cartoons, and a lack of technological support. These sentiments are consistent with the interviewee’s comments. As Mbanefo commented, ‘We [the Igbo] are yet to understand ourselves’. She said that some Igbo refuse to speak Igbo because they think that it will make them look unintelligent. She even noted that some Igbo children in Igboland in Nigeria do not know how to speak Igbo. Eze observed, ‘[w]hen I visited my hometown, my children spoke Igbo language with the villagers. Eventually, the villagers gathered as spectators to witness my children who were born overseas speaking the Igbo language’. Eze laments that his cousins and neph-ews, who live in Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Enugu, do not speak Igbo. Eze encouraged his family in Nigeria to start speaking Igbo to their children.

Lack of passion is another reason why some Igbo parents hesitate to assist their children in learning the Igbo language. Nwalibe said that about six years ago, he started an Igbo school in the part of Canada where he resides. Parents were excited and started bringing their children, but eventually they backslid, citing work obligations. Additionally, he said that some parents

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were concerned that their children would not be able to speak like children born in Canada.

An additional challenge is that, because Igbo has many dialects, one word in Igbo could mean several things depending on the context. It will be benefi-cial if everyone were to use standard Igbo (Igbo Izugbe). Nwalibe said that central Igbo and others are just dialects (Olu ndi). He said that Igbo Izugbe is the agreed-upon standard that every Igbo writer should be using.

Other challenges involve technology. Mbanefo warned that one can write something in Igbo on the Internet, which might be confusing or inaccurate. She said that people might write based on their Igbo dialect (Olu mba), however, not everyone would understand it. In other words, the Igbo language can be written or spoken based on the dialect of a given particular geographical area in Igboland. For example, imagine the confusion if there were ten different English spellings of ‘water’ depending on whether one has a Boston accent, a Texas accent, a New York accent or a London accent.

The second theme is the second generation and the Igbo language. The second generation of Igbo in the diaspora are of concern to many of their parents when it comes to learning how to speak Igbo. Even though many parents believe that learning the language is difficult, some have managed to teach their children Igbo. The most troubling reason why some parents do not teach or allow their children to learn Igbo is that they are afraid that their children will not be proficient in English if they learn both Igbo and English at the same time (i.e., if they attempt to be bilingual). This sentiment was shared by almost all of the interviewees. Eze argued that children who speak more than one language are intelligent, and their brains are more open than those of their monolingual peers. He encouraged Igbo parents to speak Igbo to their children. He said that many second-generation young Igbo adults have approached him, asking him to teach them how to speak Igbo. These young Igbo adults blame their parents for not teaching them how to speak Igbo. Nwalibe argued that teaching children Igbo will not affect their English profi-ciency. He said that, once children learn any language by the time they are nine years old, they will speak like a native for the rest of their lives.Mbanefo disagreed that being bilingual will affect the quality of English spoken by Igbo children in the diaspora. She said that children could learn four to five languages at a time. She cited her experience with her own children, who speak both Igbo and English with proper accents.

Societal institutions have also been blamed for the scarcity of Igbo children in the diaspora who learn the language.As Madu lamented, ‘[i]t is hard to teach our kids Igbo language overseas; sometimes they feel reluctant to learn Igbo’. He blamed ‘day care’ as one of the reasons that second-generation Igbo do not learn the Igbo language. He said that it, ‘set us back’.

The third theme is the sustaining of the Igbo language. There are many calls for a revitalization of the Igbo language. These calls come both from home (Nigeria) and from the diaspora, and are echoed among academics and non-academics. Revitalization efforts include those around conferences, the literature and online sources that have been utilized in calling for the rekin-dling of and sustaining of the Igbo language. All of the interviewees, each of whom were hopeful that the Igbo language could be sustained, raised this concern. Mbanefo lamented that the schools in Igboland need to dedicate one or two days a week to speaking Igbo, rather than fining students for speak-ing Igbo in some schools in their homeland. Mbanefo said that technology, ‘technuzu’, is necessary to sustain the language. She said utilizing ‘technuzu’

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for drawing, spelling, and video (Ihe onyinyoo) would help sustain the language. She believed that technology is a key vehicle for rescuing the Igbo language, because the Igbo people are spread out across the world.

Nollywood, the name given to the Nigerian film industry, has been challenged to start making films in Igbo instead of English, and especially films for children. This sentiment was echoed by Mbanefo, who encour-aged Nollywood producers to produce Igbo-language movies. She has been making her own teaching video for the Igbo language. Mbanefo is a part of an Igbo organization in London; at its biweekly meetings, the parents teach their children the Igbo language. She suggested that the Igbo government in Igboland should provide resources to help individuals learn Igbo. She said that the Igbo language should be made an official language in Igboland, as is now true for the language of the Yoruba people. In Yoruba states in Nigeria, the Yoruba language is used in the judicial system, in the marketplace, and by the state governor. She opined that the Igbo government should emulate the efforts of the Yoruba.

Writing Igbo papers and books is another way to promote the language. All of the interviewees prided themselves as being Igbo teachers, and helping to save the language. Madu, who is passionate about revitalizing the Igbo language, used several Igbo proverbs to describe the Igbo and their culture. He says that he has written several papers on the Internet, like Eze. Madu noted that even though, ‘Christianity came and forced our forefathers to surrender their language for colonialist language, we have to reclaim our language and tradition’. He said that his son, who is an engineering student, provided the keyboard he is using for his Igbo language. He concluded by saying, ‘Kama ehi ga gbanari m, kama ka mgbabi ya odu’, which translates into ‘Instead of a cow evading me, I would rather at least cut the tail’. In other words, ‘instead of giving up on teaching children their Igbo language, we should teach them at least something about Igbo traditions’.

This qualitative case study triangulated data from the Igbo Radio website, four selected radio interviews from the website, and the author’s personal obser-vation in order to understand how Igbo Radio, an Igbo Internet radio, can be used to maintain and revitalize Igbo language, particularly in the diaspora, via the framework of ethnolinguistic vitality. The analysed interviews and author’s personal observations suggest that the Igbo parents have less vitality; as a result, they seem not to appreciate teaching their children Igbo. This phenom-enon is revealed through the analysis of the Igbo Radio website and the four interviews that yielded three themes (decline and challenges of Igbo language, second-generation immigrants and the Igbo language, and the importance of sustaining the Igbo language). In addition, the short analysis of Igbo kalenda shows how Igbo Radio is pertinent in promoting and sustaining Igbo oral and written language. The re-articulation of Igbo as both a language and culture in the diaspora has become a crucial hope for some Igbo living there. This research is aimed mainly at Igbo people in the diaspora, who are more likely to have regular Internet access than the Igbo who reside in Nigeria.

The dominant factor in explaining the decline of the Igbo language is insti-tutional as opposed to demographic- or status-related. This finding is due to the fact that the Internet is the primary source for the analysis. Additionally, the content of the interviews plays an important role in the analysis. The

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description of the Igbo Radio homepage suggests the importance of expressing and continuing to promote the disappearing written language of Igbo.

The Igbo language is endangered and the Igbo people should be mindful of maintaining it, ‘otherwise the Igbo world … [will] continue to lose what is left of its embattled culture and values’ (Madubuike 2011: 419). Technology, such as the Internet, can help to sustain the Igbo language. Even though the Igbo language may not receive much support from mainstream institutions, Igbo individuals and small organizations appear to competently and gener-ously help fill the gap (e.g., through the Igbo Studies Association and Igbo Radio). This conclusion is consistent with Moring’s (2007) and Moring and Dunbar’s (2008) articulation, in which they note that ‘minority language media would thus in many cases perform a restitutionary function as a defen-sive tool that balances the impact of media in the language(s) that dominate(s) the media landscape’ (as cited in Moring and Husband 2007: 78). This claim suggests that Igbo Radio can help to make up for mainstream media neglect by promoting the Igbo language.

The decline of the Igbo language and the challenges it faces are concern-ing the Igbo people. The UNESCO prediction serves as a reminder to the Igbo that their most important heritage – ‘language’ – is in danger. ‘Any language that the children will not speak one hundred years from now is endan-gered. The Igbo language falls within this category’ (Madubuike 2011: 422). Igbo parents have a responsibility to teach their children Igbo so it can be passed on to future generations.

The second-generation and Igbo language theme shows the concerns of parents who are afraid of their children not belonging to the mainstream of a host culture. This result suggests that parents do not want to jeopardize the life chances of their children. The analysis shows that parents often perceive the diaspora as an alienating environment where they do not feel at home. However, the ancestral home and culture gives them strength, and that is why they want to transfer relevant knowledge to their children in the diaspora. Madubuike notes that, ‘many immigrant communities all over the world have maintained their mother tongues in their environments despite being bilingual or trilingual as the case may be. Igbo immigrant communities are one of the notable exceptions, despite the belated effort at a catch-up’ (2011: 422). This statement is consistent with the concerns of the four interviewees, each of whom expressed disappoint-ment and vowed to continue to fight to uplift the Igbo language.

The theme of sustaining the Igbo language shows that the Igbo people interviewed are passionate about the Igbo language. They see Igbo Radio as a voice for the Igbo. Sustaining the Igbo language is a form of reflective self-imagining. The interviewees perceive the diaspora as a threat to the Igbo language. They believe that Igbo as a language and a culture carries the seeds of identity maintenance. Njemanze (2011) articulates, ‘the Igbo lead-ers of the Igbo community can accomplish much in this regard by speaking Igbo when addressing their communities. The underlying message will be that inability to speak Igbo is not a measure of educational attainment’ (2011: 460). The Igbo leaders’ refusal to address the Igbo in the Igbo language was recently observed by the author at both the Washington, DC, and Randolph, Massachusetts, events. The author’s experiences, including several discussions, observations and attendance at an Igbo Studies Association panel discussion on the decline of the Igbo language, held at Howard University, are consist-ent with these results. Furthermore, the author’s conversations and observa-tions at the Igwebuike Organization event in Worcester, Massachusetts, are

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consistent with the severity of the threats to the Igbo language, with a general lack of interest in speaking Igbo, and with the concerns of some Igbo who are advocating for use of the Igbo language at Igbo functions.

In sum, Njemanze (2011) opines that, ‘language is a central issue in nationalism, group identity, culture, education, communication, commerce, political, and economic independence’ (2011: 460). This study highlighted how Igbo Internet radio can serve as a tool for sustaining the Igbo language and Igbo culture, particularly in the diaspora.

Can the Igbo language be sustained in the long-run, when the forces of globali-zation pressure people everywhere to use the English language, and given that the Igbo people are highly dispersed across Africa and the rest of the world? I think the best case for answering ‘yes’ lies in the history of the Yiddish language, which has been sustained for centuries under similar conditions. Historically, it was usually the case that the maintenance of a language in a diaspora relied on the existence of ethnic enclaves or neighbourhoods, where people could use their native language while going about their day-to-day business (this is the case in many of the Chinatowns found in the United States), but the Internet provides an opportunity for learning and using a native language for individu-als who do not live in an ethnic enclave or neighbourhood.

Another question this article raises is whether people would actually learn and use the Igbo language over time, if it is largely limited to Internet communication. Unfortunately, I think the answer to this question is probably ‘no’, and that other spaces for interaction in the Igbo language are needed to support whatever role the Internet plays.

I believe that Igbo Radio should participate in or find a way to stream Igbo news from an Igbo radio station located in Nigeria. This radio station could in part announce the events of Igbo organizations, such as town meetings, on the radio. It would also be useful to conduct in-depth interviews with first- and second-generation Igbo immigrants to discover how Igbo Internet radio can assist them. Future research would benefit from having members of the second generation of Igbo in the diaspora listen to Igbo Radio. In-depth inter-views and/or focus group discussions could follow in order to ascertain their opinion of how they perceive Igbo Internet radio and what they would like to see in the future. Similarly, a quantitative study could help to ascertain the Igbo nation’s ethnolinguistic vitality.

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Onuzulike, U. (2014), ‘Discussing the Igbo language on the Igbo Internet radio: Explicating ethnolinguistic vitality’, Journal of African Media Studies, 6: 3, pp. 285–298, doi: 10.1386/jams.6.3.285_1

Uchenna Onuzulike recently received his Ph.D. from the Department of Communication, Culture and Media Studies at Howard University. His research interests encompass Nollywood, social media, transnational media, folk belief, identity, critical intercultural communication, and second-generation Igbo in the diaspora. He is currently an adjunct instructor in the School of Media Arts and Design (SMAD) at James Madison University, where he teaches Mediated Communication: Issues & Skills.

Contact: School of Media Arts & Design, James Madison University, Harrison Hall 0273, MSC 2104, 54 Bluestone Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22807, USA.E-mail: uchelike@gmail.com

Uchenna Onuzulike has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work in the format that was submitted to Intellect Ltd.

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