Complementarity or Conflict: The Role of English in the Nigerian Linguistic Context
Abstract
This paper argues that English plays a complementary rather than a conflicting role in the Nigerian linguistic context. Nigeria is the most linguistically heterogeneous country in the African continent, with more than 500 indigenous languages spoken within its borders. With such a linguistically diverse landscape, a common language is needed to facilitate inter-ethnic communication and social interaction among the people. English, like French and Portuguese in other parts of Africa, has played this role since the post-colonial era. As an exoglossic lingua franca and the official language of the country, the use of English has helped to minimize inter-ethnic rivalry and conflict that would erupt if any indigenous language were imposed to play these roles in Nigeria. The paper further argues that there is a stable diglossic relationship between English and the indigenous languages in Nigeria because these languages have maintained clearly distinct linguistic domains in which they function; the High language (English) in formal domains and the Low (indigenous languages) in informal domains. With proper language planning and the formulation and implementation of a pragmatic language policy, especially in the domain of education, English and the indigenous languages can continue to co-exist and complement one another. This paper has used the concepts of diglossia and domain analysis as the theoretical framework
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Schmied, J. (1991). English in Africa: An Introduction. New York: Longman.
Yule, G. (2007). The Study of Language (2nd edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Adegbija, E. (2004). Language Policy and Planning in Nigeria. Current Issues in Language Planning, 5(3), 181 – 244.
Adegbite, W. (2003). Enlightenment and attitudes of the Nigerian elite on the roles of language in Nigeria. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 16 (2), 185- 196.
Afolayan, A. (1984). The English language in Nigeria: Education as an agent of proper multilingual & multicultural development, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 5(1), 1-22.
Akinnaso, N.F. (1991). Toward the development of a multilingual language policy in Nigeria. Applied Linguistics, 12 (1), 29-61.
Alimi, M. M. (2014). Making Applied linguistics relevant in Africa: A theoretical perspective. In A.E. Arua, T. Abioye, & K. Ayoola (Eds.), Language, Literature and Style in Africa (pp. 144-169). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Ani, K.J. (2012). UNESCO prediction on the extinction of Igbo language in 2025: Analyzing societal violence and new transformative strategies. Developing Country Studies, 2(8), 110-118.
Anteteh, G. & Ado, D. (2006). Language policy in Ethiopia: History and current trends. Ethiopia Journal of Education and Science, 2(10, 37 -83.
Bagwasi, M. M. (2003). The functional distribution of Setswana and English in Botswana. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 16(2), 212 -217.
Bamgbose, A. (2004). Language of Instruction Policy and Practice in Africa. Accessed April 8, 2015 from http://www.unesco.org/education/languages_2004/languageinstruction/afri.
Batibo, H. M. (2007). Language use optimization as a strategy for national development. In H. Coleman (Ed.). Language and Development: Africa and Beyond (pp. 12 -20). Proceedings of the 7th International Language and Development Conference, Addis Ababa (26- 28 Oct., 2005). Ethiopia: British Council.
Blench, R. (2007). Endangered languages in West Africa. In M. Brenzinger (Ed.), Language Diversity Endangered (pp. 140 -162). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Eckert, P. (1980). Diglossia: Separate and Unequal. Linguistics, 18, 1053- 1064.
Fasold, R. (1987). The Sociolinguitics of Society. Oxford: Blackwell.
Federal Government of Nigeria (1997). National Policy on Education. Lagos: Federal Government Press.
Federal Government of Nigeria (1981). National Policy on Education (revised). Lagos: Federal Government Press.
Federal Government of Nigeria (1998). National Policy on Education (revised) (1998). Lagos: Federal Government Press.
Federal Government of Nigeria (2004). National Policy on Education (revised). Lagos: Federal Government Press.
Ferguson, C. (1959). Word, 15, 325- 340.
Fishman, J. (1972). Sociolinguistics: A Brief Introduction. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Gardy, P. & Lafont, R. (1981). Diglossie comme conflict: L’exemple Occitan. Languages, 61, 75- 91.
Holmes, J. (2001). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Essex: Longman.
Ihemere, K.U. (2006). An integrated approach to the study of language attitudes and change in Nigeria: The sace of the Ikwere of Port Harcourt city. In O.F. Arasayin & M.A. Pemberton (Eds.) Selected Proceedings of the 36th Annual Conference on African Linguistics (pp. 194-207). Sommerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.
Kachru, B. (1995). Foreword. In A. Bamgbose, A, Banjo, & A. Thomas (Eds.), New Englishes (A West African Perspective). Ibadan: Mosuro Publishers and Booksellers.
Mufwene, S.S. (2002). Colonization, globalization and the future of languages in the 21st century. MOST International Journal on Multicultural Societies, 4, 162- 193.
Mufwene, S.S. (2005). Globalization and the myth of killer languages: What’s really going on? In G.Huggan & S. Klasen (Eds.), Perspectives on Endangerment (pp. 19- 48). New York: George Olms Verlag.
Nettle, D. & Romaine, S. (2000). Vanishing Voices: The Extinction of the World’s Languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Obeng, S.G. (1997). An analysis of the linguistic situation in Ghana. African languages and Cultures, 10(1), 63-81.
Onyeche, J. (2002). The Ika community: A sociolinguistic description. Africa & Asia, 2, 42-53.
Oyetade, S.O. (2001). Attitude to foreign languages and indigenous language in Nigeria. In H. Igboanusi (Ed.). Language Attitude and Language Conflict in West Africa (pp. 14-29), Ibadan: Enicrownfit.
Owolabi, D. & Dada, S.A. (2012). Language Policy in Nigeria and Nigerian language policy: Implications for effective communication in non-monolingual nations. Sino-U.S. English Teaching, 9(11), 1676- 1685).
Population Nigeria (2013). Accessed June 10, 2014 from http://www.countryeconomy.com/demography/population/nigeria
Prah, K. K. (2010). The burden of English in Africa: From colonialism to neo-colonialism. In K. C. Monaka, O.S. Seda, S.E. Ellece & J. McAllister (Eds.), Mapping Africa in the English World (pp. 128- 142). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Rubagumya, C.M. (1991). Language Promotion for Educational Purposes: The example of Tanzania. International Review of Education, 37(1), 67 – 85.
Schmied, J. (1991). English in Africa: An Introduction. New York: Longman.
Yule, G. (2007). The Study of Language (2nd edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Authors
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“Complementarity or Conflict: The Role of English in the Nigerian Linguistic Context”, Soc. sci. humanities j., vol. 1, no. 07, pp. 445–458, Dec. 2017, Accessed: Apr. 20, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://sshjournal.com/index.php/sshj/article/view/61
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