*Nnenna Nwanyioma Nwosu-Nworuh, a Professor of Applied Linguistics and Foreign Languages at Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi State, develops Linguascript, a multilingual computer keyboard and technology solution designed to support the writing of Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba alongside English in Nigeria
Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect
Nnenna Nwanyioma Nwosu-Nworuh, a Professor of Applied Linguistics and Foreign Languages at Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike (AE-FUNAI), Ebonyi State, has developed Linguascript, a multilingual computer keyboard designed to support the writing of Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba alongside English.
Prof. Nwosu-Nworuh’s innovation is said to have come as a technology solution amid the reported declining use of indigenous Nigerian languages.
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The keyboard was unveiled Thursday, September 3, 2026, during the University’s 10th Inaugural Lecture, held in the Senate Chamber of the institution.
The title of the lecture: “Multilingualism and Functional Literacy: Hard, Soft or Blended Skills?”
ConsumerConnect gathered Prof. Nwosu-Nworuh noted that Linguascript is more than an academic research project.
She reportedly described the tech solution as an attempt to address what the scholar described as a major gap in the digital representation of Nigerian languages.
According to her, despite the increasing use of computers in education, business and communication, Nigerian languages have not been adequately represented on standard computer keyboards.
She said: “No African and Nigerian language features on a computer keyboard. Hence, this is my research innovation.”
Highlighting the need for the invention, Prof. Nwosu-Nworuh said: “The gap is that no Nigerian language is featured on any computer keyboard.
“So, this is the first that needs to be produced in commercial quantities to enhance the revitalisation of our indigenous languages.”
The scholar also disclosed that the development of Linguascript involved years of research, design and production.
According to her, it took four years to develop the research design and produce the prototype, followed by another eight years of work on the plug-and-play version.
The professor believes that mass production of the keyboard could change the way Nigerian languages are taught and used, particularly in schools.
Nwosu-Nworuh further said: “Imagine the computer manufacturing giants partner with me on Linguascript and produce it in commercial quantities, to be sold either in schools or in the open market.”
The University don, therefore, urged the Federal and state governments to engage major computer manufacturers, including HP, Huawei, Acer and Nigeria’s Zinox, to consider producing laptops fitted with the Linguascript keyboard for the Nigerian market.
She said such partnerships could promote the preservation of Nigerian languages while also creating a new market for computer manufacturers.
Nwosu-Nworuh, however, identified funding as one of the major challenges facing the project.
She said she had personally funded the research and production, with little financial support thus far.