Dictionary of nigerian english circulation draft roger blench 1 introduction these notes are intended to raise some issues on sources, interpretation and the definition of nigerian english. They are divided into a complex nexus of interrelated clans. The official language of nigeria is english, the former language of colonial british nigeria. Nigeria is a multilingual country comprises of different ethnic groups, which occupied geographically, a complicated landscape from its historiccultural, political, economic and educational developments. Effects of english language on national development olofin alabi olusoji principal lecturer, the federal polytechnic, adoekiti, ekiti state, nigeria. If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the faq by clicking the link above. English language teaching and learning is faced with myriads of challenges ranging from. Lets bring some examples where the english language appears to be important. In other words, there is a poor condition of living in such countries.
Although nigeria has between 250 and 400 indigenous languages ogunwale 20 none. It happened that nigeria came under british colonization and english became her lingua franca. The origin of english language in nigeria and its importance. The role english language plays in human development in nigeria.
English performs the following major roles in nigeria. The pragmatics of language use in the nigerian nollywood by taiwo o. The languages in nigerian sociopolitical domains eric. English as a second or foreign language is the use of english by speakers with different native.
The paper suggests that, the language policy can be used to foster a desirable and the real nigerianism philosophy of our forefathers. Language has conspired to undermine the local languages and rob them of their importance in national. Tackling the challenges of teaching english language as second language esl in nigeria oluwayemisi florence fatiloro department of general studies education, school of education, federal college of education sp oyo, oyo state, nigeria abstract. History of english language in nigeria english is the official language in nigeria was made so to unite the country linguistically and culturally. History of english language in nigeria and top 10 uses problems. The benefits of the english language for individuals and. Teaching and learning english language in nigerian schools. The use of english as the official language in nigeria defuses ethnic conflicts and yet questions the authenticity and identifies of the users. Ironically, it is also nigerias dominant language, with the use of english being taught at various levels of the nigerian educational system prenursery schools, nursery schools, primary schools, secondary schools and tertiary institutions of learning. The term esl has been seen by some to indicate that english would be of subordinate importance.
English language and development in nigeria african, asian and south american countries are called developing, underdeveloped or third world countries. English language is the interconnecting language amongst nigerians from different geopolitical zones and different ethnicities. With the centre for the study of nigerian languages then a research branch of. As many of the english language teaching departments at universities do not cover the course of phonetics.
All the former british colonies were left with the english language on the departure of the colonial government sapir 1921. It is being taught in schools from the prenursery down to the tertiary institutions. Tackling the challenges of teaching english language as. It is chosen to be the official language partially because people of some parts speak english because of the colonies ruled by the british which came to an end in the year 1960. Going by this historical position, it is safe to conclude that english predates colonization in nigeria. A second language is one that comes after ones primary language. The long existence of these two language varieties in nigeria draws attention to the. Meanwhile, before the coming of the colonial masters, british merchants and missionaries who arrived in africa earlier had gone a long way to introduce the english language into the area that. Grammar what is the functions of english language in nigeria. Two main modern pronouncements on language policy in nigeria merit our attention, to wit the national policy on education 1977, revised in 1981, and the 1979 constitution, which is more cited than its 1989 reincarnation. The importance of each language depends on the number of areas, social or economic, where it is used. It is hard to imagine the modern world without the english language.
The importance and the role language would play in the national development of the country. It is in the top three of the most spoken languages in the world. Cameroon and rwanda place a similar importance on english language. Pdf on jan 1, 20, oreoluwa solomon and others published history of english language in nigeria find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Introduction of problems of teaching english as a second language in nigeria secondary school background of the study statement of the problems purpose of the study. Pdf english language, the nigerian education system and. There are over 500 native languages spoken in nigeria. Since the 1990s the nigerian movie industry, sometimes called nollywood has emerged to become known, to come out of a situation as a fastgrowing cultural force anything that is able to make a big change in a person or thing all over the continent.
Why is english chosen as nigerias official language. Pdf on oct 9, 2016, ife ajepe and others published english language. The result also shows that multilingualism affects teaching and learning and general performance of students and the educational system in nigeria. What future does the english language have in nigeria. French is meanwhile the main rival language to english in cameroon, nigeria and rwanda, thanks to the colonial legacy of these countries. As a language of wider communication lwc, english is used for phatic communion, ceremonial purpose, instrument of keeping records, information dissemination, selfexperiment and embodiment of thought among the various linguistic groups in nigeria. Nigeria and pakistan the share of fdi originating from englishspeaking countries is. In the world there are many languages being spoken. After stating the many numerous functions of the english language in nigeria, the problems msilitating against the effective teaching of the language were stated to include. The multilingual problem in nigeria, the use of english a foreign language as the countrys official language and the resultant conflict over which indigenous language should replace english as the official language stemmed from british colonization of nigeria.
The pragmatics of language use in the nigerian nollywood by. The importance of english language is spreading geographically. They are characterized by hunger, diseases, poverty, and a high death rate. Nigerian english, also known as nigerian standard english, is a dialect of english spoken in nigeria. It is the language of authenticity in nigeria today. In addition to english, hausa, yoruba, igbo, fula, and english creole are widely spoken. Effects of english language on national development. He scrutinizes the scholarly contentions on the subject and to what extent are divergent opinions true. For instance, the english language is used in formal situations, in the media, in education, etc. Discover the captivating history, language and culture of nigeria. Various languages in nigeria have distinct functional manifestations at several hierarchical. Finally, the study identified that the use of mother tongueindigenous language should be chosen to enhance academic performances of. Linguistic groups in nigeria and neighbor countries source.
The difference between nigeria and italy is that nigeria claims to be an english speaking country while italy is not. Abstract in the present day nigeria, the quality of the english language spoken by nigerians, is perceived to have been deteriorating and needs urgent attention. English language is a worldwide language, and its the means of communication in over 30% of all countries in the world. The english language was given an official status in nigeria. Hausa was an official language of the northern states from 1951 to 1967. The functions of english in nigeria from the earliest times to the present day article pdf available in english today 2502. Pdf on jan 15, 2015, nawar alsaadi and others published importance of english language in the development of tourism management find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Features and functions ayeomoni, moses omoniyi1 1 department of english, obafemi awolowo university, ileife, nigeria correspondence.
Each part has five 5 questions four 4 of which were in a yes, no, and not sure scale the fifth question in each part was openended, mainly to allow the respondents to express themselves appropriately. Abstractalthough english language is now the language of government, business and commerce, education, the mass media, literature and internal as well as external communication, there are still problems in the teaching of english as a second language in secondary schools. Aug 10, 2017 having been colonised by the british, the future of english language is 100% guaranteed in nigeria. This paper discussed the importance of english language as official language of communication in nigeria.
Ehineni 2007, examines the existence or nonexistence of a distinct variety of english known as nigerian english. Each part has five 5 questions four 4 of which were in a yes, no, and not sure scale the fifth question in each part was openended, mainly to allow the respondents to express themselves. Sources1 one of the most difficult issues in lexicography is documenting usages in a semiwritten language. This is the first published dictionary of the bade language, spoken in northern. By sunday adejimola amuseghan abstract determining the success or otherwise of the english curriculum aims, goals, objectives, methods and materials, which bother on the mass and accumulation of the four language skills listening. English has been one of the major languages in the world. The english language is used in the better part of economic and social areas. Pdf teaching and learning of english language in a multilingual. The functions of nigerian english in relation to other nigerian languages v. English language is termed as nigeria second language, it is being used as a communication tool by everyone in the country. Ironically, it is also nigerias dominant language, with the use of english being taught at various levels of the nigerian educational system prenursery schools, nurser. Pdf the functions of english in nigeria from the earliest. It is the most widely spoken language, although english is the official language of nigeria. Nigeria, characterized by cultural diversity, language problems exist which.
Students presume that english language is a difficult language to learn and so do not make effort to learn it. What is the functions of english language in nigeria. The english language and sustainable development in nigeria. The target of every responsible government is to improve the living condition of the citizenry. The common denominator among these studies appears to be the linguistic hegemony of the english language as a global language and the survival of the other languages of the world. Quantitative indicators from cameroon, nigeria, rwanda, bangladesh and pakistan. The english language is perhaps the united kingdoms greatest and. Nigeria is famous for its english language literature and its popular music. Pdf this book chapter examines the teaching and learning of. Ironically, it is also nigeria s dominant language, with the use of english being taught at various levels of the nigerian educational system prenursery schools, nursery schools, primary schools, secondary schools and tertiary institutions of learning. Foreign language learners views on the importance of learning the target language. English is one of them which become international language.
The benefits of the english language for individuals and societies. In fact, nigeria is ranked 4th among countries with the highest population of english speakers. The english language of the nigeria police udo victoria chinwe general studies unit, tansian university, umunya, anambra state, nigeria. The functions assigned to a language or languages enhance the prestige of such languages like yoruba, igbo, hausa and english. This paper stresses the importance of english language, as a world language, and. The place of english language in the development of nigeria. Issues and challenges towards communicative competence. Of the five countries, cameroon, pakistan, nigeria and rwanda have adopted english as an official language. As reported in 2003, nigerian english and nigerian pidgin were spoken as a second language by 60 million people in nigeria. The states of kanem and borno, which flourished on the shores of lake chad from about ad 10 onwards, were the first imperial states in the region, founded on control of transsaharan trade routes. The instrument was divided into four parts to cater for four variables.
Importance of english language in nigeria free essays. The relationship of nigerian pidgin english and standard english in. Importance of english language in nigerian schools legit. Nigeria history, language and culture history of nigeria. Pdf english language dominance and the fate of indigenous. The acquisition and use of english as a second language in nigeria tope omoniyi. Policies on the ground perpetuate domination, neglect, and a. The linguistic insecurity endured by the less described languages stems from the insouciance of an insensitive political and administrative system. The state of the english language in nigeria education 2. English has become the lingua franca of travel, business, and international communications. Institute seminar in london in 2012 on the importance of english for development. Language situation at the colonia era when britain took over as the colonial power in nigeria, english became the tool with which the new territory would be administered. Language and education in nigeria british council nigeria. Nigerian pidgin and nigerian english by choosing an approach opposite to deubers.
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