This is exactly the situation in nigeria, india, kenya. Mothertongue interference on english language pronunciation of senior primary school pupils in nigeria. Everything official in nigeria is been done with the use of english language, it is nigeria s official language. Nigerian english, also known as nigerian standard english, is a dialect of english spoken in nigeria. At the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th centuries, laws were issued in the country affirming english as nigeria s official language. Nigerian english, also known as nigerian standard english, is a dialect of english spoken in. What future does the english language have in nigeria. The benefits of the english language for individuals and societies. In nigeria, english is the second language for many students and also the language of instruction beginning from grade 3. This is underpinned by strong historical and cultural. At the university level, the use of english course is also poorly taught iatefl esp sig 20, issue41, p. English was, is and will always remain one of the most popular languages spoken and taught practically everywhere around the world. English is the lingua franca used in nigerian schools and society. History and importance of english language in nigeria.
Nigeria, grains such as millet, corn and sorghum are boiled into porridge like dish that form the basis of their diets. The paper suggests that, the language policy can be used to foster a desirable and the real nigerianism philosophy of our forefathers. Additionally, loanwords and collocations have emerged from the native languages of nigeria, which come from the need to express concepts specific. The monolingual approach suggests that the target language ought to be the sole medium of communication, implying the prohibition of the native language would maximize the effectiveness of learning the target language. The study of languages is becoming more and more popular every day. Most of the electronic media operating in nigeria are english based. Challenges associated with teaching and learning of english grammar in nigerian secondary schools akinbode, j. Igbo english in nigerian literature article pdf available in multilingua 204. Quantitative indicators from cameroon, nigeria, rwanda, bangladesh and pakistan the findings of this study were developed through primary source interviews across a wide cross section of. Without the knowledge and communication of english, one cannot successfully go into this area of interest. In addition, some fraction of the population is made up of other languages that are nevertheless able to speak at least one of the major languages as an additional.
Why are more african countries adopting english as an. 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. Part of that percentage can also include people who use it primarily but it is not their native language. The benefits of the english language for individuals and. English is an indoeuropean language and belongs to the west germanic group of the germanic languages. It is only a language which the peoples of nigeria can use to relate with one another that can be used to build the nation. When christian missionaries arrived from the uk a long time ago, they introduced western education to nigerians. The use of the english language in nigeria dates back to the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century when british merchants and christian missionaries settled in the coastal towns called.
Importance of english language in nigeria free essays. Having been colonised by the british, the future of english language is 100% guaranteed in nigeria. 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 domestication of the english language for literary. That is, the major language used in many of nigerian electronic media is english. The need to measure the vocabulary size and also encourage vocabulary instruction is not only necessary but paramount for student achievement in school. The importance of english language is spreading geographically in the world there are many languages being spoken. Also, apart from the level of educational attainment the mother tongue is another factor that interferes or influences competency in the use of the english language. This role falls on the english language which is the nations official and second language, as well as her lingua franca. Achebe says that if he was to write for the people of nigeria, he had to write in the one language they all understood, english.
However, this dichotomy becomes dubious when a minority. Implications for pedagogy 283 the population of the country. The use of audiovisual materials in the teaching and. Some people learn them for work, others simply because they receive immense pleasure from the learning process, thus turning this activity into their hobby. Language is used to defining the characteristics of every nation. What are the uses of english language in nigeria answers. Levels of english use in nigeria and pakistan, for example, are high. Different cultures have different names for their food which involves the use of languages. In things fall apart, the first method achebe used to create a new english is the introduction of igbo words and phrases directly into the text without translation. In such a potpourri, language conflict is, if not the norm, inevitable. Development in nigeria contains an analysis of the place of english in nigeria. English on the rise in africa today, 26 countries in subsaharan africa use english either as an official language exclusively like nigeria and ghana or as an official language alongside another african language like in kenya or south africa negash, 2011. The history of english language in nigeria has started many years ago. Going by this historical position, it is safe to conclude that english predates colonization in nigeria.
The language is used in a peculiar fashion to suit nigerians purpose and in such a way that as a domestic servant does what the master requires english in. Oluwole abstract this paper discussed the challenges which are associated with the teaching and learning of english grammar in nigeria secondary schools. English especially the variety known as nigerian pidgin english functions as a lingua franca in this multilingual country. The absence of a lingua franca, and the lack of mutual intelligibility of most of the indigenous languages, has given room for the english language to. Nigerian pidgin, a pidgin derived from english, is mostly used in informal.
We use the term language contact to refer to situations where groups of. Communication engenders language and not the other way round. Some of those works are discussed here to show the direction of past research and to affirm the need for the present work. Consequently, this paper sought to highlight the roles the english language performs in the building. Therefore, language, the food we eat and culture have a great significance in the human society. I implore you to remember these 19 significant and simple rules every time you put pen to paper or finger to keyboard. English is the official language of nigeria, a former british protectorate. It began to be used in corporate organizations, schools, malls and airports.
A second language is one that comes after ones primary language. English was chosen to reconcile cultural and linguistic differences. Pdf the article deals with the features of the territorial version of the. So without further ado, lets talk about errors in the english language that you should avoid.
A second language learner thinks in his language, tires to express himself in the second language which results to conflicts, and this conflict is as a result of mothertongue interference. As reported in 2003, nigerian english and nigerian pidgin were spoken as a second language by 60 million people in nigeria. Whereas the latter has largely been anchored to the past, invoking images and symbols of our rich heritage, literature in english has aligned itself more forcefully and with greater artistic profit. Pdf the use of the english language in nigeria dates back to the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century when british merchants and christian. It became the main educational channel, thereby receiving a public status. Aspects of the citizens lives that have been affected by poor use of the. Human communication assumes the presence of language and the presence of language assumes the existence of communication.
Improving english language skills and ict one area of difficulty for nigerian students is the technology of the english language. Pdf the functions of english in nigeria from the earliest times to. Religion and language in nigeria a rich literature exists on the use and role of language in religion, and in sermons in particular. English is one of them which become international language. However, communication is the evidence of language in motion, from. English language dominance and the fate of indigenous. Marcos koffi ngoran has noted that in nigeria english language is extremely badly taught in nigerian schools as evidenced by the poor examination results. English is the official language of nigeria although there are literally hundreds of spoken language in the country. 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. We have different uses of english language, below here are the top 10 uses of english language in nigeria. Today, in many parts of the world the english language is used as a second language.
In addition, in most nigerian classrooms, there are. There are over 500 native languages spoken in nigeria. This study, therefore, is an attempt to examine the perception of the people on the use of english and mother tongue in national development in nigeria. Grammar is the spinal cord of any language and the users.
But it managed to affect the nigerian culture so much that people can still see its influence. The korean government does not use english as an official language, but it provides english service on the web. Challenges associated with teaching and learning of. Even if you can speak only a little english, you can be assured you will not get lost in whatever corner of the world you find yourself. Definitions of language, the english language, communication, discourse and development are provided in order to explicate development in the aspects of the nigerian education, and religion. Attempts to reduce the use of english as the official language have not.
The use of english in the nigerian educational system and society. Nigerian english is the variety of english that has been used in the region of the niger, west africa, for purposes. Top 10 important uses of english language for nigerians. Nigerian english became a nativized language that functions uniquely within its. As of october 2008, the official government website for foreigners the provides 8 foreign language services including english, french, spanish, arabic, vietnamese, russian, chinese, and japanese.
Old english originated from a germanic tribal and linguistic continuum along the frisian north sea coast, whose languages gradually evolved into the anglic languages in the british isles, and into the frisian languages and low germanlow saxon on the continent. The english language is used in the ict industries, the internet, medicine and others. The instrument was divided into four parts to cater for four variables. The use of audiovisual materials in the teaching and learning processes in colleges of education in benue state nigeria doosuur ashaver1, sandra mwuese igyuve2 benue state university, makurdi nigeria abstract. History of english language in nigeria and top 10 uses.
Different programmes in the computer can be used to teach oral english for instance, the microsoft word office 2003 can be used to teach the speech sounds of english and prosody. The use of indigenous language in radio broadcasting. Currently, english is the official language in most african countries, which are the former colonies of great britain. 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. The causes of poor performance in english language among. Chinua achebes new english in things fall apart neh. The work is the use of audiovisual resources in colleges of education in benue state. Using l1 in the english classroom for english language. The official language of nigeria is english, the former language of colonial british nigeria.
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