![]() ![]() ![]() This is because most Nigerians now tend to use non-native languages, like English and Pidgin, more often than the native counterparts in their official and unofficial capacities. The linguistic situation in the present-day Nigeria appears to be precipitously complex in terms of language preference and usage. The Linguistic Situation in the Present-day Nigeria It is therefore important to examine the linguistic situation in the present-day Nigeria.Ģ. This factor has led to language preference which can be considered a precursor to endangerment and threat of extinction of some native languages. The bilingual and multilingual nature of the Nigerian nation may be considered a precipitous factor of this situation. Oladele Awobuluyi, with far-reaching insights now think that they are, more or less, endangered and may eventually go into extinction. As a result, the state of our native languages has become so deplorable that prominent Nigerian linguists, such as Prof. Thus this scenario has led both the English language and Nigerian Pidgin to become global languages in Nigeria. Today, the prestige enjoyed by the English language because of its official status, functions, and roles as well as the currency and lingua franca status of Nigerian Pidgin, which has almost taken over from the native languages as the only language of Nigerian masses from diverse linguistic backgrounds, has worsened the linguistic situations. Gradually, this adoption led to a situation in which the native languages have become neglected. After Nigeria’s independence, in 1960, the parliament had to retain the English language as Nigeria’s official language because of the multi-ethnic and multilingual nature of the country and because none of the ethnic compositions was ready to forego its own language and accept another as national or official lingual franca. But the amalgamation turned the various ethnic and linguistic nationalities into nation states under the British colonial rule with the imposition of English language as official language of administration, commerce/business and other official transactions. This points to the fact that our indigenous languages are being displaced, endangered, and may even be exterminated.īefore the amalgamation of the Northern and the Southern Protectorates of Nigeria in 1914 by Sir Fredrick Lugard, Nigerians from diverse socio-cultural, ethnic, and linguistic extractions had lived separately as different nations. Moreover, it is also discovered that most Nigerians switch between English and Pidgin depending on whether the context/nature of their communication is formal or informal. A major finding is that most young Nigerians cannot speak their own mother tongues, at all or well enough, because their parents and their schools simply discourage children from speaking them at home and at school respectively where the indigenous languages are termed ‘vernaculars’. Using a qualitative (descriptive) and inferential approach, we attempt to examine the roles of the English language and Nigerian Pidgin viz-a-viz the gradual decline in the population of speakers and endangerment of some Nigerian languages like Efik, Ibibio, Igbo, Yoruba, and so on. Because the relevant sections of the National Policy on Education has not been properly implemented, the aspect that relates to learning and using the local languages has been largely ignored by most schools in Nigeria. Without statistics, this sounds alarming. Naturally, the Nigerian masses have adopted Nigerian Pidgin to cope with the multilingual nature of their metropolis. This is because there is the tendency for its speakers to abandon it as a result of their preference for a more prestigious language such as an official second language or as result of a deliberate policy of the colonial masters to discourage the development and the use of indigenous languages for their selfish reasons as well as the unwholesome adoption of the colonial master’s language as official language after independence. The fact that language is primarily oral makes it naturally susceptible to extinction or death. ![]()
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