Prof. Funmilayo Adesanya delivered IAUE’s 57th Inaugural Lecture Series on a case study of audio bible
….”free audio bible app for all in Nigeria”- Funmilayo Adesanya
Professor Mercy Olufunmilayo Adesanya a former female Presidential candidate of the federal republic of Nigeria is a princess from Ira, Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara State. Professor Olufunmilayo Adesanya of the Department of English and Communication Arts, Faculty of Humanities delivered the 57th Inaugural Lecture of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, on Thursday, July 25, 2024 at 2:00pm in the Main Auditorium.
The Vice Chancellor, Professor Ugochukwu Onuchuku presided over the lecture, which was titled: “Leveraging the Transformative Potential of Language on Nigeria’s Societal Challenges: A Case Study of AUDIO BIBLE.” Members of Senate and other members of the university community were fully present. All invited guests, friends, family members and acquaintances were also well represented
At the Inaugural lecture, “Nigerians were urged by Prof Funmilayo Adesanya, ‘To create a conducive environment where everyone could access their rights and protections enshrined in the Constitution and harness the power of Language and Linguistics.” “All evil vices in the country would have to be shun from corruption to insecurity, terrorism, banditry, etc., that has been leading to retrogression, lack of peace, unity and progress.” She added.
Professor Mercy Adesanya stated that, “Language has the transformative potential to address Nigeria’s societal challenges, especially the Nigerian indigenous languages,” and she explored the impact of indegenious languages on Nigeria’s societal challenges, using a case study approach.
Prof. Adesanya recalled Bishop Ajayi Crowther as being the pioneer and father of Linguistics in Nigeria and Africa. Bishop Crowther was responsible for creating the Yoruba alphabets from English alphabets,
compiling a Yoruba dictionary and wrote many books including, “A brief History of the Yoruba.” The hallmark of Bishop Ajayi Crowther’s fame in Linguistics was translating the English Bible to Yoruba language completed in 1883.
Prof. Adesanya further explained, “Nigerian indigenous languages are vital to the country’s cultural, social, economic, and political development. Their preservation and promotion are essential for maintaining cultural diversity, improving education, building communities, promoting economic growth and fostering national pride.” She asserts, “I hereby present THE AUDIO BIBLE in Nigerian indigenous languages as having the transformative potential to solve Nigeria’s societal challenges.
Bishop Prof. Funmilayo Adesanya sighted and instance of FCBH, amongst other AUDIO BIBLE Producers, “Faith Comes By Hearing [FCBH] giving the Apps for free, is an international Christian organization with a vision to providing the Audio/Video Bible to the peoples of the world in their heart languages [mother tongue] for the purpose of engagement with the word of God for the transformation of lives and communities.
“FCBH has been in the mission of recording and providing the audio/video Scriptures for the peoples of world for over 50 years. And now has the audio Bible in close to 70 indigenous languages of Nigeria and 2,128 languages globally with a goal of making the audio/video Bible available in every language of the world by the year 2033 to enable about 70 percent of the global population who cannot read and write have equal and unhindered access to the word of God in their heart languages, given majority of the global population are oral learners and prefers listening to reading.”
She expounded and declared, that although there is the usual quote, that the “THE INK OF THE WRITER IS MORE SACRED, WORTHY AND MIGHTY THAN THE BLOODY OF THE MARTYR.” However. in her words, “THE INK OF THE WRITER IN RHEMA (AUDIO SPOKEN FORM) INSTEAD OF LOGOS (WRITTEN FORM) IS EVEN MUCH MORE FAR SACRED, WORTHY. MIGHTY ABD POTENT THAN THE BLOODY OF THE MARTYR.” – Funmilayo Adesanya
As an Applied linguist, she further propounded Artificial Intelligence Linguistics (AIL), as a new branch of Applied linguistics. In her words, “AI linguistics as a subfield of Applied linguistics would be rich and would focus on the interaction between computers and human language. It would involve the development of algorithms and statistical models that would enable computers to process, understand, and generate natural language data.
One of the key goals of AI linguistics, according to her, would be to develop computers that can understand and process human language in a more human-like way. This would involve developing systems that can analyse and understand the meaning of language, rather than just processing it as a series of symbols as also agreed by McShane & Nirenburg, (2021).
Professor Adesanya the Don is a teacher, an administrator and has held many administrative positions within and outside the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, including being the former Director, General Studies, Entrepreneur and Skills Acquisition of the University, among others. She is currently a Professor in the Department of English and Communication Art.
The linguist was also a Dean at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of Regent University of Science and Technology, Accra, Ghana and Deputy Provost at Life Gate College of Education, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria on sabbatical. She was a Visiting Professor to the University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana and an external examiner and supervisor of Doctoral dissertations for the School of Postgraduate Studies of University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Prof. Funmilayo Adesanya concluded, “First God and His word at the creation, then man and his languages and next it would be, AI and AI Linguistics in the development of mankind. The lecture was so thought-provoking drawing from her extensive research in her discipline over the years show casing the importance of Nigerian Indigenous languages and Audio Bibles in Nigeria.
Her contribution to the field of Applied linguistics is invaluable. Here are some popular apps for accessing an Audio Bible as the Linguist and Professor listed, proposing and propounding as an Applied Linguist, further studies in Linguistics and Artificial intelligence (AI), the study of AI Linguistics (AIL) as a branch of Applied Linguistics; as well as, the study of AI BIBLICAL LINGUISTICS (AIBL) as a further extension of the AIL branch of APPLIED LINGUISTICS:
- YouVersion Bible (iOS, Android): Offers audio Bibles in various languages and versions, with options for offline listening.
- Bible Gateway (iOS, Android): Features audio Bibles, reading plans, and study resources.
- Our Daily Bread (iOS, Android): Includes audio Bible readings, devotions, and Christian music.
- Hindi Bible Audio (Android): Specifically designed for Hindi-speaking users.
- Audiobible (iOS): Offers a simple interface for listening to the Bible.
- Faith Comes By Hearing (iOS, Android): Provides audio Bibles in over 1,000 languages.
- (link unavailable) (iOS, Android): Features audio Bibles, videos, and interactive Bible studies.
- Daily Audio Bible (iOS, Android): Offers daily audio readings and devotionals.
- The Message Bible (iOS, Android): Features audio readings from The Message translation.
- King James Bible Audio (Android): Specifically designed for KJV enthusiasts.
These apps are available for download from the App Store (for iOS devices) or Google Play Store (for Android devices). Enjoy listening to the Word!
Congratulations to us all in the world of AI, AI Linguistics and AI BIBLICAL LINGUISTICS!
Blessings!
Blessings!! and Blessings!!!
