Since 1990, all new information was either collected in the field by roger blench or resulted from personal communications with him, hence his sole authorship of the present version. Nigeria is known for being a large country, and one of the richest in africa. 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. While some of these phrases are creative coinages or semantic extensions based on the sociocultural uniqueness of nigerian cultural expressions which the. The english language is the official language in nigeria.
Pdf the identification of standard nigerian english usage oko. English performs the following major roles in nigeria. The spectrum of english in nigeria ranges from standard english through a more general english whose structures are influenced by the mother tongues, by the indian english of many traders and teachers, and by wape west african pidgin english, which is sometimes acquired as a mother tongue in such urban areas as calabar and port harcourt, usually along with one or more local languages. Both names derive from anglia, a peninsula in the baltic sea. Roles of english language in nigeria english language is the interconnecting language amongst nigerians from different geopolitical zones and different ethnicities. Nigeria, as a country of mixture of cultures and ethnic groups, has varieties of native languages which vary from tribes and races to the other. English is the official language in nigeria was made so to unite the country linguistically and culturally. Over 100,000 english translations of italian words and phrases. English translation of nigeria the official collins italianenglish dictionary online. Pdf the use of the english language in nigeria dates back to the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century when british merchants and christian. Geographical, historical and political profiles of nigeria. The identification of standard nigerian english usage by oko okoro, phd associate professor department of english university of lagos, nigeria tel.
Digital library for online resource sharing among the. Daily star, daily sun, new age, financial express, the independent and many more. The business of the national assembly shall be conducted in english language, and in hausa, igbo and yoruba when adequate arrangements have been made paragraphs 51. English language is a worldwide language, and its the means of communication in over. There are many language, like er yoroba, igbo, er hausa, many, many. This article examines the role of english in nigeria as a medium of. This must have been at some period before the atlantic slave trade. Nigeria is a country located in west africa with a coast on the gulf of guinea and the atlantic ocean. The acquisition and use of english as a second language in nigeria tope omoniyi.
Geographical, historical and political profiles of nigeria 1. The place of english language in the development of nigeria. Still, stylistic devices are painted with all bright national and cultural specifics. Effects of english language on national development. However, it is believed that the first intimate contact between the british and some ethnic groupings in nigeria was in southern nigeria. The result also shows that multilingualism affects teaching and learning and general performance of students and the educational system in nigeria.
Tackling the challenges of teaching english language as second language esl in nigeria doi. It also has a manufacturing industry which includes leather and textiles, car manufacturing, tshirts, plastics and processed food. 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. The british empire lead to nigeria being exposed to the english language and the need to communicate resulted in it being infused it in their culture today independence was achieved from the u. English file fourth edition oxford university press. Tackling the challenges of teaching english language as. Being an integral feature of every human, practically everybody the language specialist and the layman alike has something to say about language and language use. English is a west germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval england and eventually became a global lingua franca. Nigeria also has a wide array of underexploited mineral resources. D department of language and communication studies, federal university dutsinma, katsina state, nigeria. New sound bank videos linked to the sound bank chart now give students the opportunity to watch a clear model of how to pronounce the sound, focusing on the movement of the mouth and vocal cords watch an example of a new sound bank video below. Others have serious difficulties in learning and speaking the language. This is a brief history of english language in nigeria. Here, lets discuss the problems facing learners of english in nigeria.
The difference between nigeria and italy is that nigeria claims to be an english speaking country while italy is not. English translation of nigeria collins italianenglish. The english language is the language of formal education in nigeria. Unfortunately, many nigerians cant speak english correctly. A dictionary of nigerian english draft circulated for comment roger blench mallam dendo 8, guest road cambridge cb1 2al united kingdom voiceanswerphonefax.
The english language and sustainable development in nigeria. This dictionary of nigerian english was stimulated by some enquiries from the oxford english dictionary on words of putative west african origin. Nigerian english, also known as nigerian standard english, is a dialect of english spoken in. Status of the english language in nigeria nnamdi azikiwe. Nigeria, for instance, these are supposed to trickle down to the local levels through an inefficient process dominated by a corrupt, ineffective and narcissistic bureaucracy spawned and condoned by a broken public and political infrastructure one must have lived in nigeria to appreciate this remark. Problematic coexistence of english language and nigerian pidgin oreoluwa abraham solomon, ph. It was essential to make english the lingua franca of the country and a second language. It is named after the angles, one of the germanic tribes that migrated to the area of great britain that later took their name, as england. 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. The use of english in the nigerian educational system and society. Institute of political studies, faculty of political studies, charles university in prague, czech republic. Linguistic groups in nigeria and neighbor countries source. Nigeria is the most populous cou ntry in africa, the second biggest economy, the third largest military power and the biggest oil producer 10th oil producer in the world. Language plays different roles such as officialdom, legislature, mass media.
Nigeria simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The functions of english in nigeria from the earliest times to the present day article pdf available in english today 2502. The functions of nigerian english in relation to other nigerian languages v. English files renowned sound bank has helped students with accurate pronunciation for over 20 years. Neighboring countries include benin, cameroon, chad, and niger. Pdf an appraisal of spoken english language in nigeria taiwo. Problem facing learners of english in nigeria in 2019 legit. This is the first published dictionary of the bade language, spoken in northern. Find out how 3m does this for millions of lives each day. National open university of nigeria english academia.
Whether living in the coastal city of lagos or the countrys central rural villages, teachers can expect to earn excellent benefits while teaching in vibrant and lively nigeria. English newspaper list of all english newspapers of bangladesh bangladeshi. Preface % language is the lifeblood of any human society. There is the need for an expatiation of the relevance of ethnic compartmentalization and diversity in the tongues of those who interethnically and intraethnically need to communicate with one another in different formal contexts as part of the role which the further tongue plays in nigeria. The christian missionaries who came from great britain introduced formal western education to nigeria, just before the middle of the 19 th century. The geography ranges from southern coastal swamps to tropical forests, woodlands, grasslands, and semidesert in the north. Education, especially higher education is an agent of development. Research studies by the importance of english in nigerian society cannot be linguists and discourse analysts reveal that there are overemphasized. Pdf the article deals with the features of the territorial version of the english language of nigeria. Effects of english language on national development olofin alabi olusoji principal lecturer, the federal polytechnic, adoekiti, ekiti state, nigeria. It is on record that developed countries have evolved a successful educational system. Brief history of english language in nigeria library gurus. In this chapter, the features of the pronunciation of english in nigeria as observed in the productions of selected nigerians have been isolated. From the 1500s to the 1800s, many people from the land now called nigeria and other parts of.
English newspaper list of all english newspapers of. Nigeria is the united states largest trading partner in subsaharan africa and supplies a fifth of its oil. Nigerian english is the variety of english that has been used in the region of the niger, west africa. Nigeria is a multilingual country comprises of different ethnic groups, which occupied geographically, a complicated landscape from its historiccultural, political, economic and educational developments. This paper argues from a different trajectory of diaglossic language policy such that gives functional roles to both.
Nigeria, for instance, these are supposed to trickle down to the local levels through an inefficient process dominated by a corrupt, ineffective and narcissistic bureaucracy spawned and condoned by a broken public and political infrastructure one. The relationship of nigerian pidgin english and standard english in. Nigeria is a famous country with more than one hundred and forty million population. To download problems of teaching english as a second language in nigeria secondary school complete project materials, follow the below instructions carefully read the following instructions carefully this website is please take note of this websites and the below phone numbers if you wish to order this material. The state of the english language in nigeria education.
Why is english chosen as nigerias official language. Teach in nigeria and get to know life in one of the most powerful and populated nations on the african continent. The taxonomy of nigerian varieties of spoken english. Additionally, loanwords and collocations have emerged from the native languages of nigeria, which come from the need to express concepts specific. Nigerian english has a whole host of what we call stereotyped phrases of salutations that would strike most native english speakers as curious at best and incomprehensible at worst. Its seven most populous cities each house more than one million people, and about one out of two west africans is. With the centre for the study of nigerian languages then a research branch of. It has a population of 188,500,000, more than any other country in africa.
History and importance of english language in nigeria. Statement of the problem the internal and external colonization of nigeria created the absence of national identity and integration in the country. The exact date that english language usage started in nigeria is not certain. Hundreds more free handouts at nigeria discussion student as questions do not show these to student b 1 what images spring to mind when you hear the country nigeria.
Longman nigeria, jan 1, 1991 english language 277 pages. Pdf this paper examines igbo english as a variety of nigerian english used in nigerian literature. Finally, the study identified that the use of mother tongueindigenous language should be chosen to enhance academic performances of. The study of sociolinguistics of the english language in nigeria has assumed great importance in nigerian universities. English language was the medium of instruction before the national policy on education advocated the use of indigenous languages in teaching at basic level of education. The english language in nigeria reflects the uniqueness of african reality and african mentality in its own way and, in general, the linguistic picture of the world of nigerians.
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