In fact, we use language in many different ways, some of these are, the informational, the expressive, the directive, the phatic, the aesthetic. Effects of english language on national development olofin alabi olusoji principal lecturer, the federal polytechnic, adoekiti, ekiti state, nigeria. The result also shows that multilingualism affects teaching and learning and general performance of students and the educational system in nigeria. The study recommends that media stations like sunrise fm and radio nigeria enugu and by extension other radio stations in nigeria to urgently allot more of their airtime to programmes that could provide respite to sexual recklessness among the teenage youths in the rural communities in nigeria. Linguistic change, growth and development lyons 1987 posits that linguistics is the scientific study of language. Grammar what is the functions of english language in.
English has been one of the major languages in the world. The acquisition and use of english as a second language in nigeria tope omoniyi. But nigerias relationship to the english language, like that of all englishspeaking african nations, is a complicated one. September, 2011 page 17 journal of the nigeria english studies association jnesa 14. English performs the following major roles in nigeria. Effects of english language on national development. The christian missionaries who came from great britain introduced formal western education to nigeria, just before the middle of the 19 th century. Use of english in the nigerian educational system toscany. Status of the english language in nigeria nnamdi azikiwe. Aug 10, 2019 in accordance with the nigeria constitution first written in 1963 when nigeria became a republic was heavily based on the us constitution.
Varieties of english language in nigeria iosr journal. For example, where nigerians would say i requested for a loan from my bank, native speakers of the english language would write i requested a loan from my bank. English versus nigerian languages funso akere university of lagos abstract the language contact situation in nigeria in which english co exists with many of nigerias indigenous languages provides the context for the study of language interaction, that is, the reciprocal influences which the english language and nigerias indigenous. What are the functions of english language in nigeria. It is being taught in schools from the prenursery down to. 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. Project muse literary usage in english as a second language.
Language profile of five idp sites in maiduguri final. To examine the obstacles in learning english as second language among the intermediate collegiate students of the two districts, mianwali and bhakkar, the remotest regions of pakistan. Speaking english language is not easy but learning to speak is easy. English is the official language in nigeria was made so to unite the country linguistically and culturally. The functions of nigerian english in relation to other nigerian languages v. To present the ways to improve the declining condition of learning english as second language. This demand for the language generally encourages individuals to focus their educational requirements primarily on the learning of english. Tackling the challenges of teaching english language as. Sources1 one of the most difficult issues in lexicography is documenting usages in a semiwritten language.
This article examines the role of english in nigeria as a medium of communication, political activitiessocial and academic guidance from its historical perspective, and the duration of gradual transition to the present status of bilingualism and its democratization of language in conformity with national unification. Nigerian english, also known as nigerian standard english, is a dialect of english spoken in nigeria. In some areas of nigeria, ethnic groups speak more than one language. Apr 03, 2017 nigeria is a multilingual country comprises of different ethnic groups, which occupied geographically, a complicated landscape from its historiccultural, political, economic and educational developments. 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. But nigerias relationship to the english language, like that of all english speaking african nations, is a complicated one. Chapter 10 curriculum development and implementation. Languages in nigeria education, universal basic education, national policy on education, english language, indigenous languages, implementation. Reflections on linguistic interference and the impact of language policy and politics on minority languages emmanuel aito university of regina introduction known for its extreme linguistic diversity elugbe 1994, nigeria is home to languages numbering about 400. The effectiveness of visual formats merits further investigation. The 3 dominant indigenous languages hausa, igbo and yoruba had an almost equal number of speakers so english was retained as the official language falola and heaton, 2008 all these events paved the way for the recent and ongoing development of the english language in nigeria 8. 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. Prepositional and collocational abuse in nigerian english. 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.
Quantitative indicators from cameroon, nigeria, rwanda, bangladesh and pakistan. If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the faq by clicking the link above. English language, being a borrowed language so to say, is a language worth speaking. There are over 500 native languages spoken in nigeria. Obstacles in learning english as a second language among. Federal republic of nigeria 20 realizing the positive impact of using the language of the immediate environment as medium of instruction at the early stage of education, states that it should be used as language of instruction, while english language should be taught as a subject. We are also advocating that as well as english language and mathematics being the precondition for admission into the nigerias higher institutions, the local languages should also be made a precondition for admission into the nigerian higher institutions to save our.
Aug 01, 2019 society what languages are spoken in nigeria. The place of english language in the development of nigeria. Secondary schools in aniocha south local government area of delta state nigeria augustine o evue school of general studies delta state polytechnic delta state abstract this study examines the challenges facing the teaching of english language in secondary schools in aniocha south local government area of delta state nigeria. There is no doubt that we have multiplicity of languages among different ethnic groups in nigeria with each group guarding its language jealously, yet there has not been a separate language policy, rather the bits and fragments in the national policy on education 1977 revised in 1981. 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. Another source says, the method of human communication, either in spoken or written. History and importance of english language in nigeria.
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. Language attitude patterns of nigerians introduction according to longmans english dictionary, language is a system of communication by writing or spoken words which is used by the people of a particular country or area. The number of languages currently estimated in nigeria is 521. Oct 14, 2019 for example, where nigerians would say i requested for a loan from my bank, native speakers of the english language would write i requested a loan from my bank. Nigerian english, also known as nigerian standard english, is a dialect of english spoken in. In accordance with the nigeria constitution first written in 1963 when nigeria became a republic was heavily based on the us constitution. Finally, it suggests that despite politically driven forces behind the use of indigenous languages in nigerian society, the prospects for the english language in. Institute of political studies, faculty of political studies, charles university in prague, czech republic. The state of the english language in nigeria education 2. Problems and prospects of english language in nigeria. The difference between nigeria and italy is that nigeria claims to be an english speaking country while italy is not.
English language is termed as nigeria second language, it is being used as a communication tool by everyone in the country. The official language of nigeria is english, the former language of colonial british nigeria. We use language and that language is a part of society. Although 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. 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. Prospect for national unity dare williams omotoyinbo1a abstract various studies on the national policy on education npe have concentrated on the cognitive value of pedagogy and learning of the language aspect but few have viewed its importance on the togetherness of the nation nigeria. English language, as one of the recognized ligua franqer in the world over, is nigerias official language, and a means of communication, even while one is outside the country. Student performance english language nigeria pdf problematic co existence of and nigerian pidgin worksheet ideas. Prior to then, education was done informally, as children were taught tradition, culture, history, and the likes by their parents who were in turn taught by their own parents.
Language teaching and language policy in nigeria by david. History of english language in nigeria and top 10 uses. Finally, the study identified that the use of mother tongueindigenous language should be chosen to enhance academic performances of. Pdf the functions of english in nigeria from the earliest. Language acquisition and learning in nigerian english adeyemi daramola. What is the functions of english language in nigeria. It underlines the fact that literary use of language in nonnative settings in everyday communication, either among nonnative speakers of english or between native users and nonnative users of english, is often fraught with misunderstanding, difficulty in communication, and dislocation of the structure of figurative expressions, either out of. The english language is perhaps the united kingdoms greatest and. The instrument was divided into four parts to cater for four variables. Nigeria history, language and culture world travel guide. English language teaching and learning is faced with myriads of challenges ranging from. They are divided into a complex nexus of interrelated clans.
Nigeria is a multilingual nation with over 520 languages being spoken in the country. Nigerian english usage and the tyranny of faulty analogy iii. Despite the low comprehension of english in other formats, 48 percent of respondents understood the english text accompanied by a picture more than understood content in that format for hausa. 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. Key to leadership todays school administrators face one of the most challenging and exciting times in the educational. 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. As reported in 2003, nigerian english and nigerian pidgin were spoken as a second language by 60 million people in nigeria. History of english language in nigeria and top 10 uses problems. This number includes 510 living languages, two second languages without native speakers and nine extinct languages. The main aim is to identify the various causes of linguistic variations. Africas colonisation of the english language continues apace afua. Department of general studies education college of education, ikereekiti, ekiti state, nigeria abstract the paper examined teachers education in relation to english language. A second language is one that comes after ones primary language. Prospect for national unity dare williams omotoyinbo1a abstract various studies on the national policy on education npe have concentrated on the cognitive value of pedagogy and learning of the language aspect but few have viewed its importance on the togetherness of the nation.
Implications for english language teaching and learning in nigeria. The functions of english in nigeria from the earliest times to the present day article pdf available in english today 2502. This article examines the role of english in nigeria as a medium of. Nigerian english became a nativized language that functions uniquely within its own cultural context. 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. The procedure for developing a districtwide english language arts ela program philosophy and rationale statement and examples of the declarations follow. A person uses his language to many different purposes for example, to express his feelings, to ask for help and to apologize.
Nigeria is a multilingual country comprises of different ethnic groups, which occupied geographically, a complicated landscape from its historiccultural, political, economic and. Going by this historical position, it is safe to conclude that english predates colonization in nigeria. Mother tongue is the language in which the bilingual has more intuitive knowledge. Table from students english language proficiency and academic table2 worksheet ideas student performance.
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