Sociolinguistic and Political factors in Language and National Integration: A Case of Nigerian Pidgin
Keywords:
Language, National integration, Lingua franca, Nigerian pidginAbstract
Through an objective assessment of the sociolinguistic and political factors that should inform the choice of a suitable language to fill the gap of a lingua franca, this paper adds a voice to the call for the adoption of Nigerian Pidgin for this purpose. Previous suggestions for the adoption of one of the three major languages (Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba) have generated ethnic and political sentiments. Nigerian English currently plays official and education roles and cannot be said to have effectively functioned as a lingua franca. It is the position of this paper that following Nigerian Pidgin’s general acceptability (being used by majority of Nigerians), its de-tribalised and non-ethnic nature, as well as its function as a bridge between the educated and the non-educated; it is the most appropriate language for our national integration. The paper recommends the development of an indigenous sound based orthography, and official recognition of Nigerian Pidgin by policy makers, and the teaching of Nigerian English based pidgin to school children as their mother tongue as some of the ways of repositioning it to effectively play the linguistic role of a national language in Nigeria.
References
Abdulahi-Idiagbon, M. S. (2007). The Sociolinguistics of Nigerian Pidgin (English) on University Campuses. In D. Adeyanju (Ed.), Sociolinguistics in the Nigerian Context Vol. 1, (pp.201-218). Ille IIfe: Obafemi Awolowo University Press.
Adegbija, E. (1997). The Identity, Survival and Promotion of Minority Language in Nigeria. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 125, 5-27.
Aig-Imoukhede, F. (1982). Pidgin Stew and Suffer Head, Ibadan: Heinemann
Awobuluyi, O. (1996). Language Education in Nigeria. Theory, Policy and Practice. Fanfunwa Foundation Journal of Education. Retrieved from: http://fafunwafoundation.tripod.com/fafunwafoundation/id8.htm1
Awonusi, V. O. (2004). Cycles of Linguistic History: The Development of English in Nigeria. In A.B.K. Dadzie and S. Awonusi (Eds.). Nigerian English: Influences and Characteristics (pp.46-66)
Dastgoshaden, A. & Jalilzadeh, K. (2011). Language loss, Identity, and English as an International language. European Journal of Social Sciences 21 (4), 659-665
Edem, E. (2015). Mother Tongue Interference in the Pronunciation of English Amongst Ibibio Students in Uyo Urban: Problems and Prospect. Multidisciplinary Journal of Academic Excellence, Vol.12, No.1, pp.226-237
Edem, E. (2015b). Language and Social Development: A Syntactic and Semantic Analysis of MAMSER Campaign Texts. Journal of Assertiveness, 9(1).
Edem, E. (2016a). A Survey of the Syntactic Features of Educated Nigerian English. International Journal of Academia, 2(1): 84-101.
Edem E. (2016b). Background Influence on the Use of English among First Year Students of Akwa Ibom State University, Akwa Ibom State Journal of Assertiveness, 11(1) 134
Edem, E. (2018). Nativisation of English Language in a Multilingual and Cultural Settings: The Nigerian Experience. Akwa Ibom State University Journal of Arts (AKSUJA). 1(1): 154-165.
Edem, E. (2019). A Linguistic Appraisal of the Controversies of National Language Policy in Nigeria. Dutsin-ma Journal of English (DUJEL) 2(1).
Edem, E. (2020) Language and National Development: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Obasanjo’s Letters to Jonathan and Buhari. In Essays in Language and Literature. A Festschrift in Honour of Prof. Uwemedimo Enobong Iwoketok Dept of English, University of Jos.
Enang, E. and Edem E. (2022). Language Learning and Acquisition (SLA) in a Multilingual Environment: A Case of English and Anaang from the Universal Grammar Considerations on Research and Pedagogical Innovations. Dutsin-ma Journal of English and Literature 5 (1):442-465.
Edem, E. and Effiong, E. (2023). Social Media English in Nigeria and the New Crime Wave. International Journal of Literature, Language and Linguistics (IJLLL) 7(1).
Egbokhare, F. O. (2001). The Linguistic Ecology and the Changing Profiles. In H. Igboanusi (Ed.), Language Attitude and Language Conflicts in West Africa. Ibadan: Enicrownfit.
Eka, D. (1993). Nonlinguistic/Linguistic Considerations in Nigeria’s Search for a Lingua Franca. Journal of Humanities, 3.
Eka, D. (2000). Issues in Nigerian English Usage, Uyo, pp.23-29.
Elugbe, B. (1995). Nigerian Pidgin: Problems and Prospects. In A. Bamgbose & A. Banjo and A. Thomas (Eds.), New Englishes: A west African Perspectives Ibadan: pp.284-299
Emenanjo, E. N. (2002). Language Policies and Cultural Identities. Paper presented at the World Conference on Languages in Barcelona. Retrieved March 13, 2009 from http://www.linguapax.org/coongress/plenaries/Emanege.htmI
Esizimetor, D. O. (2004). On the Question of a Standard Orthography for Nigerian Pidgin. In S. Awonusi and E. A. Babalola (Eds.). The Domestication of English in Nigeria Lagos: Department of English, University of Lagos. Pp.248-264
Fisherman, J. (1997). The Sociology of Language. In N. Coupland and A. Aworski (Eds.), Sociolinguistics. England: Palgrove.
Gumperz, J. (Ed.). (1982). Language and Social Identity. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Ihemere, K. U. (2006). A Basic Description and Analytic Treatment of Noun Clause in Nigerian Pidgin. Nordic Journal of African Studies 15 (3), pp.296 -313.
Jowitt, D. (1995). Nigeria’s National Language Question: Choices and Constraints. In A. Bamgbose & A. Banjo and A. Thomas (Eds.), New Englishes: A West African Perspective pp. 34 – 56.
Mafeni, B. (1971). Nigerian Pidgin. In J. Spencer (Eds.). The English Language in West Africa. London: Longman, pp.95-112
Ofolue, C. I. (2004). Creolization of Nigerian Pidgin: A Socio Cultural Perspective. In S. Awonusi and E. A. Babalola (Eds.). The Domestication of English in Nigeria. Lagos: Department of English, University of Lagos, pp.265-299.
Ogu, J. N. (1992). A Historical Survey of English and the Nigerian Situation. Lagos: Kraft Books Limited.
Oha, O. (2004). National Politics and the Deconstruction of Linguistic Subjectivity in Nigeria. In S. Awonusi & E. Babalola (Eds.). The Domestication of English in Nigeria. Lagos: University of Lagos Press. Pp.280-295
Opeibi, B. O. (2000). One Language Mode in Ethnic and Intergroup Relations: A Bridge Across cultures. Journal of Cultural Studies, Ethnicity and African Development, 2(1), 187-197.
Osakwe, M. (2005). Welcome English ... and How Long English in Nigeria West Delta Multilingual Communities? Journal of the Nigerian English Association, 11 (1), 11-23.
Udofot, I. M. (2008). English Language and Politics in Nigeria. A paper presented at the 25th Annual Conference of the Nigerian English Studies Association (NESA) held on September, 24-27, 2008.
Urujzian, V. (2018) The Internationalization of the English language in Nigeria. In The Intuition Vol. 8. (1), 269-375
Wardhaugh, R. (2006). An Introduction to Sociolinguistic. Oxford: Blackkwell Publishing
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of Communication and Culture (JCC)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
