Professor Ngulube Defies Odds, Makes Strides in Linguistics and Indigenous Languages

Vice Chancellor,Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi giving his speech at the 121st inaugural lecture.

Professor Isaac Eyi Ngulube,121st inaugural lecturer giving his Presentation

News Details:

 In a remarkable display of academic excellence, Professor Isaac Eyi Ngulube, a renowned expert in English linguistics, has delivered a thought-provoking inaugural lecture at the Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt. The lecture, titled "The Career of Rough Beasts: Language, Literature and the Development of Our Common Humanity," showcased Prof. Ngulube's groundbreaking contributions to the field of linguistics and his tireless efforts to promote indigenous languages.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi, in his opening remark, praised Prof. Ngulube's achievements and welcomed guests to the 121st inaugural lecture. "Former principal officers, the provost and chairman of the committee of deans, heirs of campus, deans of faculties, heirs of departments, professors, directors, diacronies, and I need to acknowledge my other constituency after academics, traditional leaders, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, in the journey of every academic to becoming a professor, there is a story, for every professor has a story," Prof. Zeb-Obipi said.

In his lecture, Prof. Ngulube emphasized the importance of language in human development and proposed the establishment of language centers in universities to promote the study and development of indigenous languages. He also called on the government to fund research and development of indigenous languages, noting that most languages in Nigeria have not been committed to writing and are dying.

"I want the government to do something about it," Prof. Ngulube said. "We have expertise here in this country that can help develop our languages, but there is no funding to that. We need to preserve our linguistic heritage for future generations."

Prof. Ngulube's contributions to linguistics are significant. He developed the Linguistic Goethe-Grid, a theoretical framework that explains the relationships between different domains of linguistics. He has also developed orthographies for several languages and written books in these languages.

The Lambda theory, another notable contribution by Prof. Ngulube, is a theoretical framework that solves translation problems in indigenous languages. This theory has far-reaching implications for language translation and has the potential to revolutionize the field.

In an interview session with journalists, Prof. Ngulube expressed his concerns about the dwindling interest in indigenous languages and the need for government support. "Most languages have not been committed to writing and they are dying," he said. "I want the government to do something about it. We have expertise here in this country that can help develop our languages, but there is no funding to that."

Prof. Ngulube also advocated for the inclusion of indigenous languages in school curricula, starting from primary school. "Oral literature should be embedded in the primary school curriculum so that people can connect with their forefathers, their proverbs, and things like that," he said. "These stories we tell about tortoise and the tricks we played, and then it backfires. Children learn from it. I don't want to be like tortoise, to play useless tricks that will not work in the future."

After the lecture, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi, in his closing remark, congratulated Prof. Ngulube on his achievements and noted that his contributions to the field of linguistics would have a lasting impact on the university and beyond. "Brother Pete follows us. Disciplined ladies and gentlemen, you know, some women feel they have gone through a battle with rough beasts without his family members supporting him," Prof. Zeb-Obipi said. "That's why I thought we should go back and acknowledge Madam and all of you. Our eminent lecturer has told us a story. The rough beasts he encountered in his career path are linguistics, language, and literature. They are so described because each is large and imprecise."

Prof. Zeb-Obipi also highlighted Prof. Ngulube's contributions, including the development of orthographies, BA programs in indigenous languages, and the Lambda theory. "Based on his contributions, he offered several recommendations," Prof. Zeb-Obipi said. "Few of them of immediate interest to us as a university. Restructuring the departments along the lines of English language and linguistics and literature and creative writing. Teaching of program tailored to English language. He has shown us the various courses that we could design to take care of the teaching of English language tailored to our various programs."

In his vote of thanks, Prof. G.B Okon expressed gratitude to Prof. Ngulube for his inspiring lecture and to the Vice-Chancellor for his support. "We are here again with a bouquet full of gratitude," Prof. Okon said. "First, to God, for his enduring blessings and for his boundless grace. To our dynamic and digital Vice-Chancellor, we want to say thank you for sustaining the fabric of excellence and creativity."