Language Attitudes and the Issue of Dominance: The Nigerian Experience

Tajudeen Afolabi Alebiosu

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.12

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Language Attitudes and the Issue of Dominance: The Nigerian Experience

Tajudeen Afolabi Alebiosu

Published in English Language, Literature & Culture (Volume 1, Issue 3)

Received: 18 August 2016 Accepted: 30 August 2016 Published: 18 September 2016

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Abstract

Globalization is affecting all facets of life. With eco-tourism and telecommunication technology providing information for all and sundry, our attitudes are bound to be affected linguistically. Ranging from the linguistic bias of an English woman who objected to the checking of a pronouncing dictionary because “the way I speak is English” Hayakawa (1964) to “ there has never been a language spoken by so many people in so many places” (Crystal 1997) the English language seems set to dominate the world as ‘an only language’. Fishman (1996) Kachru (1997) Bamgbose (2004) and Daramola (2004) have all expressed concern about the dominant status of the English language with a threat towards other languages in diaspora. This paper appraises the attitudes of the Nigerian elites vis–a- vis the dominating figure of the English language over the indigenous languages. It remarks the love-hate relationship stemming from the conflicting sentimental and instrumental attachment to the use of English in Nigerian education. The paper concludes that Nigeria as the largest black democracy in the world should evolve a more robust language planning policy towards the functional expansion and revalorization of the indigenous languages as extolled by LICCA.

Published in	English Language, Literature & Culture (Volume 1, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.12
Page(s)	21-29
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Language Attitudes, Dominance, Indigenous Languages

References

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[2]	Ajulo, S. B (2000) Language, Education and Society. Lagos: University of Lagos Press.
[3]	Adegbija, E. E. (2004). The Domestication of English in Nigeria. Lagos: University of Lagos Press.
[4]	Adegbija, E. E. (1992). Language Attitudes in Nigeria: A Panoramic View by Adegbija. Germany: University of Duisburg.
[5]	Adekunle, M. (1976). National Language Policy and Planning: The Nigerian Situation. In C. M. B. Brann (ed.) West African Journal of Modern Language. No 1. Pp 23-29.
[6]	Adeosun, O. (2005, September 15). Why Candidates Fail English Language. The Punch (p 3).
[7]	Adeyanju, T. (1987). Sociolinguistics and Language Education: An African Perspective. Zaria, ABU.
[8]	Bamgbose, A. (1983). Education in Indigenous Languages. Journal of Negro Education, 52 (1), 57-64.
[9]	(1995). New English: A West African Perspective. Ibadan: British Council.
[10]	(2004). “English and Inequality: An African Perspective”. In Adegbija, E, (ed.) The Domestication of English in Nigeria. Lagos: University of Lagos Press.
[11]	(2005). Language and Good Governance. A paper presented at the convocation ceremony of the Nigerian Academy of Letters, Lagos cited in The Guardian Newspaper of August 25, 2005.
[12]	Brann, C. M. B. (1978) Multilingualisme et Education Nigeriann (B737) p 101 Quebec: Universite Laval.
[13]	Crystal, D. (1997). English as a Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[14]	Daramola, A. (2004). An Exploration in Critical and Interventory Linguistics. In The Domestication of English in Nigeria. Pp 139-160.
[15]	Fafunwa, A. B. (1975). Education in the Mother Tongue. WAJE, 19 (2), 213-227.
[16]	Fishman, J. (1996). Post-imperial English. Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
[17]	Hayakawa, S. (1964). Language in thought and action. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World Inc.
[18]	Ikara, B. (1982). Nigerian languages and cultural development. Lagos: National Language Centre.
[19]	Kachru, Braj. (1997). Resources for Research and Teaching. In L. E. Smith and M. L. Forman (eds.) World Englishes 2000. Honolulu: University of Hawaii. Pp 209-251.
[20]	Lamb, O. (1981). Nigeria’s Rough Road to Freedom. In M. Randolf (ed.) Readers’Digest. Bristol: The Readers Digest Association.
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[23]	Obinabo, D. (1980). Science Texts in Nigerian Languages, Lagos: Nigerian Languages Centre.
[24]	Oloruntoba-Oju, Taiwo. (1993). Communication and the Colonial Legacy in Nigeria. In O. Obafemi & B. Lawal (Eds.). Issues in contemporary African social and political thought II. Lagos: Academia Publications.
[25]	Onwubu, C. (1976) West African Education and Challenges of a Lingua Franca. In C. M. B. Brann (ed.). West African Journal of Modern Language No. 1 p 41-45.
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Tajudeen Afolabi Alebiosu. (2016). Language Attitudes and the Issue of Dominance: The Nigerian Experience. English Language, Literature & Culture, 1(3), 21-29. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.12

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Tajudeen Afolabi Alebiosu. Language Attitudes and the Issue of Dominance: The Nigerian Experience. Engl. Lang. Lit. Cult. 2016, 1(3), 21-29. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.12

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Tajudeen Afolabi Alebiosu. Language Attitudes and the Issue of Dominance: The Nigerian Experience. Engl Lang Lit Cult. 2016;1(3):21-29. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.12,
  author = {Tajudeen Afolabi Alebiosu},
  title = {Language Attitudes and the Issue of Dominance: The Nigerian Experience},
  journal = {English Language, Literature & Culture},
  volume = {1},
  number = {3},
  pages = {21-29},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ellc.20160103.12},
  abstract = {Globalization is affecting all facets of life. With eco-tourism and telecommunication technology providing information for all and sundry, our attitudes are bound to be affected linguistically. Ranging from the linguistic bias of an English woman who objected to the checking of a pronouncing dictionary because “the way I speak is English” Hayakawa (1964) to “ there has never been a language spoken by so many people in so many places” (Crystal 1997) the English language seems set to dominate the world as ‘an only language’. Fishman (1996) Kachru (1997) Bamgbose (2004) and Daramola (2004) have all expressed concern about the dominant status of the English language with a threat towards other languages in diaspora. This paper appraises the attitudes of the Nigerian elites vis–a- vis the dominating figure of the English language over the indigenous languages. It remarks the love-hate relationship stemming from the conflicting sentimental and instrumental attachment to the use of English in Nigerian education. The paper concludes that Nigeria as the largest black democracy in the world should evolve a more robust language planning policy towards the functional expansion and revalorization of the indigenous languages as extolled by LICCA.},
 year = {2016}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Language Attitudes and the Issue of Dominance: The Nigerian Experience
AU  - Tajudeen Afolabi Alebiosu
Y1  - 2016/09/18
PY  - 2016
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.12
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VL  - 1
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Tajudeen Afolabi Alebiosu

Department of English, University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria

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Tajudeen Afolabi Alebiosu. (2016). Language Attitudes and the Issue of Dominance: The Nigerian Experience. English Language, Literature & Culture, 1(3), 21-29. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.12

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ACS Style

Tajudeen Afolabi Alebiosu. Language Attitudes and the Issue of Dominance: The Nigerian Experience. Engl. Lang. Lit. Cult. 2016, 1(3), 21-29. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.12

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AMA Style

Tajudeen Afolabi Alebiosu. Language Attitudes and the Issue of Dominance: The Nigerian Experience. Engl Lang Lit Cult. 2016;1(3):21-29. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.12,
  author = {Tajudeen Afolabi Alebiosu},
  title = {Language Attitudes and the Issue of Dominance: The Nigerian Experience},
  journal = {English Language, Literature & Culture},
  volume = {1},
  number = {3},
  pages = {21-29},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ellc.20160103.12},
  abstract = {Globalization is affecting all facets of life. With eco-tourism and telecommunication technology providing information for all and sundry, our attitudes are bound to be affected linguistically. Ranging from the linguistic bias of an English woman who objected to the checking of a pronouncing dictionary because “the way I speak is English” Hayakawa (1964) to “ there has never been a language spoken by so many people in so many places” (Crystal 1997) the English language seems set to dominate the world as ‘an only language’. Fishman (1996) Kachru (1997) Bamgbose (2004) and Daramola (2004) have all expressed concern about the dominant status of the English language with a threat towards other languages in diaspora. This paper appraises the attitudes of the Nigerian elites vis–a- vis the dominating figure of the English language over the indigenous languages. It remarks the love-hate relationship stemming from the conflicting sentimental and instrumental attachment to the use of English in Nigerian education. The paper concludes that Nigeria as the largest black democracy in the world should evolve a more robust language planning policy towards the functional expansion and revalorization of the indigenous languages as extolled by LICCA.},
 year = {2016}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Language Attitudes and the Issue of Dominance: The Nigerian Experience
AU  - Tajudeen Afolabi Alebiosu
Y1  - 2016/09/18
PY  - 2016
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.12
T2  - English Language, Literature & Culture
JF  - English Language, Literature & Culture
JO  - English Language, Literature & Culture
SP  - 21
EP  - 29
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-2413
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.12
AB  - Globalization is affecting all facets of life. With eco-tourism and telecommunication technology providing information for all and sundry, our attitudes are bound to be affected linguistically. Ranging from the linguistic bias of an English woman who objected to the checking of a pronouncing dictionary because “the way I speak is English” Hayakawa (1964) to “ there has never been a language spoken by so many people in so many places” (Crystal 1997) the English language seems set to dominate the world as ‘an only language’. Fishman (1996) Kachru (1997) Bamgbose (2004) and Daramola (2004) have all expressed concern about the dominant status of the English language with a threat towards other languages in diaspora. This paper appraises the attitudes of the Nigerian elites vis–a- vis the dominating figure of the English language over the indigenous languages. It remarks the love-hate relationship stemming from the conflicting sentimental and instrumental attachment to the use of English in Nigerian education. The paper concludes that Nigeria as the largest black democracy in the world should evolve a more robust language planning policy towards the functional expansion and revalorization of the indigenous languages as extolled by LICCA.
VL  - 1
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download