The Possibility of Selecting One Indigenous Nigerian Language As A
National Language
Abstract
The need for
a national lingual franca that indexes the national identity of Nigeria is one
that has been theorized and debated
through different lenses under language policy with the conflicting themes
being the asymmetric relationship between
an exogenous language
English and the local languages. The gap that has not been given the needed attention is the
intra-indigenous language dichotomy that exists between minority languages and the major languages Hausa, Igbo and
Yoruba in the formulation of a more
inclusive language policy for Nigeria.
This paper argues for a multilingual language policy that takes into account
the different tiers of languages
in Nigeria, particularly, languages with lesser number of speakers than the major languages.
Introduction
It is creativity and beauty based upon ethnic and linguistic
diversity that makes man human. The absence of this diversity would lead to the
dehumanization, and utter impoverishment of man Nigeria is an example of a
multilingual, pluralistic and heterogeneous African state with a history of
British colonization. The natural
implication of these diversities is that language becomes a principal source of
individual identity and also a
social-political capital for interaction across different cultural and
political borders. To further complicate
this milieu is the colonial language bequeathed to the nation by the
imperialist (Adetugbo 1979). The debate
therefore has been what language(s) should function in the lives of the people
given the various political, cultural,
cognitive and economical role language plays in the socio-political
architecture of nation. Different scholars
have taken different contentious and contestable positions on this polemics. Earlier debates on the language policy in Nigeria had centered on
the conflicting importance of indigenous and exogenous languages in Nigeria (Adekunle 1972, Bamgbose 1992,
2005, Aito 2005, Akinnaso 1992, Banjo 1995 and Oyetade 2003). This paper argues from a different trajectory
of diaglossic language policy such that gives functional roles to both exogenous
and indigenous languages. To achieve the stated goal, the paper delves into the historical and sociolinguistic
factors that forged Nigeria’s linguistic situation. The thesis demonstrates
that ethnic diversity has always been
a part of the people living around the Niger; that being the case, ethnicity
and ethnic diversity is not the
problem of the nation but the politicizing of ethnicity along linguistic
parameters. Finally, a proposal for a more
inclusive language policy that recognizes the importance of the local languages
in special domains of the lives of the people
concludes the argument
advanced in this paper.
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. Hence English became the language of administration (Bamgbose
1991, Lawal 2004). It was the
language to be used in official domains of the lives of the colonized. Also, as
the missionaries established more
schools and propagated the gospel message and western education, the language
became the prestigious language of
the educated. Finally in 1882, the colonial government intervened in the system
of education by promulgating a law that made English
the language of instruction at schools and as a subject that must be taught in at all stages of educational growth
(Adetugbo 1979). This was necessarily
so as the major goal of the colonial powers was to make the
colonized assimilate into their culture
and way of life. However,
the indigenous languages
were allowed to be taught in schools
alongside English (but not as the primary
medium of communication). However, the attitude of people to English particularly in the
southern part of the country was more
positive than in the North. People readily sent their children to schools to be
educated in English. The religious
proselytes had their baptismal names in
English. Thus English assumed another economic
function in that it became a ladder
to attaining social mobility under the imperial government. Hence, English
became not only the language of
administration and religion; it was immediately dignified as the language of
the upper class and the elites.
In the northern region, the response and
attitude to English was quite different from the southerners. For one, the Christian mission was not as
successful in the north as it did with the south. For this reason, the western education that was projected along
with the gospel message could not diffuse easily through the north. The use of English was restricted only to
the traditional Hausa/Fulani feudal class. The Hausas took to their Arabo-Asiatic language and their Islamic
religion while a very small percentage of them embraced Christianity.
Language Situation at the Post-Colonial Era
The linguistic
situation in the post-colonial Nigeria is so complex that it has been described
as the biblical tower of Babel. The first tier of language
found in Nigeria is the exogenous (English) language bequeathed to the nation by the Colonial
rulers. Today, English has grown to become the official national
language of Nigeria and continues to play important roles in the nation as
the language of education, media, religion (especially the
Pentecostal Christian faith), and the language of politics, governance and
law. It is the language of the elites and also the first language for some Nigerians. Also, the basilectal variety of
the English language in Nigeria called the Nigerian Pidgin is a neutral language spoken across every ethnic and
social boundary in the nation. Other
exogenous languages with less influence
are Arabic and French
. A
classification of this sort smacks of ethnic consciousness and polarity with
language as the symbol. Nigeria is
now defined along a linguistic line of major languages and minority languages.
Given that Nigeria as a polity is an
amalgamation of diverse ethnic groups; the larger part of these ethnic groups
has the pejorative status of “the
minority”. However from a linguistic standpoint, the government has
conveniently recognized three major languages
- Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba - because they all have over twenty million speakers
(Oyetade 2003). Other languages such
as Tiv, Istekiri, Urhobo, Esan, Fulfude, Ebira, Nupe, Kanuri, Ibibio, Efik and
Gwari to mention a few with over one
million speakers are considered the minority languages (Bamgbose 1992).One must
speak of some other languages smaller
than the minority languages with speakers ranging between a hundred to five hundred thousand speakers. These smaller
minority languages have the linguistic importance in their respective local communities.
The
Awori and Eegun languages spoken in
Lagos region are endangered by the regional lingual franca-Yoruba. The
linguistic situation of the
post-colonial Nigeria is thus a complex-multilayered mosaic of exogenous
and indigenous languages
of varying linguistic importance.
The Nationalist Orientation
It is
the opinion of some writers that the nation should adopt one of her indigenous
languages as the national lingual
Franca. By this, they claim that the nation will have a total emancipation from
her colonial legacy. This position
appears beneficial when one thinks of the fact that Nigeria has over five hundred languages none of which is used at any national capacity.
Proponents of this orientation posit that the adoption of an indigenous language
would obliterate the elitism created
by English and engender a level playing
ground for equal intellectual,
political and economical participation by the masses. This view generally holds that the suppression of English will be the promotion of
indigenous languages and culture. While the nationalist ideal may be well intended, there are some socio-political
factors that are drawbacks to this proposal. The question that immediately arises is which indigenous language should
be chosen and accorded the preferred status of a national language? Some have argued that one of the three
majority languages should be chosen given that they have a considerable number of speakers. That however has a
divisive capacity to steer ethnic consciousness and defeat the sense of nationhood that the nationalist agenda
seek to project. Akinnaso (1994) observes that Nigerians are religiously loyal to their mother tongues and are
contemptuous of other local languages. That observation is correct if the argument of language loyalty is
constructed within a locus of intra-ethnic language choice, what seems to be
the case however, is that Nigerian
people are likely to privilege an exogenous/foreign but dominant language over their mother tongue that serves the local
functions of identity and cultural authenticity marking. But not to stray away from the point made by Akinnaso
(1994), a language, beyond serving communicative purposes, carries indexical attributes marking social,
cultural and political identity. This ethnic attachment to language is a major reason why the choice of one indigenous
language as the official language will forever be a mirage. There is the salient fear of domination of the minority languages by the majority ones.
To empower an indigenous language, as the national language is to by
extension, empower the ethnicity of that chosen language above others. This
will definitely do more harm than
good in a system where ethnic tension is visible as manifested in the creation
of ethnic militia groups and the politics
of federal character.
The Possibility of Selecting One Indigenous Nigerian Language As A National Language
Wazobia
The word wazobia is an amalgam of the various words for come in Yoruba, Hausa
and lbo. In the wazobia option, Nigerian children would pick up minimal
communicative skills in each of the three major languages. This option is a
symbolic compromise solution, which appeases the major tribes, but ignores the
minor ones. It is basically a sentimentalist solution, and fails to consider
how an indigenous language can be extended to cope with the demands of the
modern world. This option was intensively promoted in the early 1980s. A
variant of the wazobia solution in official quadrilingualism, mooted by
Ogundipeleslie, who suggests that the Nigerian child learn his mother tongue,
one other major Nigerian language, English and then French. This option suffers
from the same drawbacks as the wazobia option. Many Nigerian children grow up
acquiring at least three languages with varying degrees of proficiency, and
usually they have some contact with French at secondary school level. This
makes them practically, though informally, quadrilingual. However,
formalisation of this individual multilinguality is hardly the solution to the
nation's language problems. It exposes the Nigerian child to four
geopolitically significant languages, but does not necessarily provide mastery
of any.
Swahili, a
hybrid regional lingua franca, has also been proposed by Nigerians with
Panafricanist aspirations, notably Soyinka. They see this choice as taking the
unifying potential of language beyond Nigerian borders, while dispensing with
the language relics of the former European colonies. Swahili has the merit of
being non-tribal, and, like Hausa, is considered easy to learn. There is a
basic feelira. However, that Wgeria does not need to import any foreign language
for her own national purposes. Esperanto and Guosa Like Esperanto, Guosa is an
artifical language, an attempt by Peter Igbinokwe to construct an indigenous
language for a united Nigeria, by borrowing elements and structures from both
major and minor Nigerian languages. Esperanto, proposed by Farukuoye 1983,
seems unsuitable Lecause of its typological distance from the language families
in Nigeria. Both Guosa and Esperanto possess a socio-historico-cultural void
that cannot easily be filled, and makes it difficult for these codes to operate
fully as languages, rather than as simple means of communication.
Conclusion
The language
situation in Nigeria Nigeria can most appropriately be regarded as a
multinational exoglossic state, and should be categorised under Group C of
Fishman's (1968) classification, i.e., a state made up of diverse nations in
the process of forging a nationality by emphasising political-operational
integration. Nigeria's indigenous languages fall into two groups: Niger-Congo
in the south, and Tchado-Semitic and Sudanic in the north. Apart from English,
Hausa, lbo and Yoruba are considered the three major indigenous languages of
Nigeria. These languages enjoy national language status - the 1979 Federal
Constitution recognised their use in the national legislative assemblies while
all other languages are regarded as minor languages. Hausa, lbo and Yoruba
would not qualify as major languages if Ferguson's (1966) criteria for national
language profile formulae are strictly applied. It is more likely that they
have been elevated to this status in recognition of the "Great
Traditions" they represent, in recognition of the numbers of people who
speak them, and as a hesitant move in the direction of greater cultural
authenticity.
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