Lin 172

LIN 172

Language Use and Language Attitude

Ibadan Distance Learning Centre Series
LIN 172
Language Use and Language Attitude

By
Oluwadọrọ Jacob Oludare
Department of Linguistics and African Languages
University of Ibadan
Published by
Distance Learning Centre
ii
Distance Learning Centre Series
Ibadan.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronics, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright
owner.
First Published 2008
ISBN 978-021-332-5
General Editor: Prof. Francis Egbokhare

Series Editors: Olubunmi I. Adeyemo and „K. Ogunsola
Typeset @ Distance Learning Centre, University of Ibadan
iii
Table of Contents
Vice-Chancellor‟s Message … … … … … v
Foreword … … … … … … … vi
Lecture One: General Introduction
Lecture Two: Definitions of Terms
Lecture Three: Dynamism of Language
Lecture Four: Domains of Language Use
Lecture Five Language Use in Nigeria‟s Rural and Urban Communities
Lecture Six: Factors that Influence Language Use in Nigeria
Lecture Seven: Stereotyped Notions about Language
Lecture Eight: Language Purism
Lecture Nine: Linguistic Imperialism
Lecture Ten: Linguistic Pluralism
Lecture Eleven: Methods of Language Attitude Research
Lecture Twelve: Language Shift
Lecture Thirteen: Factors that Influence Language Attitudes
Lecture Fourteen: Attributes of Language
Lecture Fifteen: English Language in Nigeria
Lecture Sixteen: Consequences of Language Attitude in Nigeria
Lecture Seventeen: The Linguistic Situation in Nigeria
Lecture Eighteen: National Development, Orientation and Language Planning
Lecture Nineteen: Language Policies and Planning
Lecture Twenty: Metalanguage
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Vice-Chancellor’s Message
I congratulate you on being part of the historic evolution of our Centre for External Studies
into a Distance Learning Centre. The reinvigorated Centre, is building on a solid tradition of
nearly twenty years of service to the Nigerian community in providing higher education to
those who had hitherto been unable to benefit from it.
Distance Learning requires an environment in which learners themselves actively
participate in constructing their own knowledge. They need to be able to access and interpret
existing knowledge and in the process, become autonomous learners.
Consequently, our major goal is to provide full multi media mode of teaching/learning in
which you will use not only print but also video, audio and electronic learning materials.
To this end, we have run two intensive workshops to produce a fresh batch of course
materials in order to increase substantially the number of texts available to you. The authors
made great efforts to include the latest information, knowledge and skills in the different
disciplines and ensure that the materials are user-friendly. It is our hope that you will put them
to the best use.
Professor Olufemi A. Bamiro, FNSE

Vice-Chancellor
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Foreword
The University of Ibadan Distance Learning Programme has a vision of providing lifelong
education for Nigerian citizens who for a variety of reasons have opted for the Distance
Learning mode. In this way, it aims at democratizing education by ensuring access and equity.
The U.I. experience in Distance Learning dates back to 1988 when the Centre for
External Studies was established to cater mainly for upgrading the knowledge and skills of
NCE teachers to a Bachelors degree in Education. Since then, it has gathered considerable
experience in preparing and producing course materials for its programmes. The recent
expansion of the programme to cover Agriculture and the need to review the existing materials
have necessitated an accelerated process of course materials production. To this end, one
major workshop was held in December 2006 which have resulted in a substantial increase in
the number of course materials. The writing of the courses by a team of experts and rigorous
peer review have ensured the maintenance of the University‟s high standards. The approach is
not only to emphasize cognitive knowledge but also skills and humane values which are at the
core of education, even in an ICT age.
The materials have had the input of experienced editors and illustrators who have ensured
that they are accurate, current and learner friendly. They are specially written with distance
learners in mind, since such people can often feel isolated from the community of learners.
Adequate supplementary reading materials as well as other information sources are suggested
in the course materials.
The Distance Learning Centre also envisages that regular students of tertiary institutions
in Nigeria who are faced with a dearth of high quality textbooks will find these books very
useful. We are therefore delighted to present these new titles to both our Distance Learning
students and the University‟s regular students. We are confident that the books will be an
invaluable resource to them.
We would like to thank all our authors, reviewers and production staff for the high quality
of work.
Best wishes.
Professor Francis O. Egbokhare

Director
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LECTURE ONE
General Introduction
In this second edition, an attempt has been made to correct the errors noted in the first
edition – typographical or grammatical. Apart from that, new topics have been
integrated, thus making this edition more encompassing than the first one. Let us take
a brief look at the outline below:
1. General Introduction
2. Definitions of Terms
3. Dynamism of Language
4. Domains of Language Use
5. Language Use in Nigeria‟s Rural and Urban Communities
6. Factors that Influence Language Use in Nigeria
7. Stereotyped Notions about Language
8. Language Purism
9. Linguistic Imperialism
10. Linguistic Pluralism
11. Methods of Language Attitude Research
12. Language Shift
13. Factors that Influence Language Attitudes
14. Attributes of Language
15. English Language in Nigeria
16. Consequences of Language Attitude in Nigeria
17. The Linguistic Situation in Nigeria
18. National Development, Orientation and Language Planning
19. Language Policies and Planning
20. Metalanguage
I wish you the very best.
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LECTURE TWO
Definitions of Terms
Introduction
Some terms are bound to occur regularly in this course book. These terms are
technical and their use may not easily make meaning to a lay-reader who is coming in
contact with linguistics for the first time. It is our aim in this unit to explain most of
these terms in lucid expressions comprehensible even to a lay reader.
Objectives
At the end of this lecture, you should be able to familiar with the following terms as
used in this course material:
1. Bilingualism
2. Codification
3. Dialect
4. Language
5. Language Contact
6. Language Death
7. Language Determination
8. Language Endangerment
9. Language Loyalty
10. Language Maintenance
11. Language Planning
12. Lingua Franca
13. Linguistics
14. Monolingualism
15. Multilingualism
16. Mutual Intelligibility
17. Sociolinguistics
18. Standard variety
19. Standardization
20. Stabilisation
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Pre-Test
Write short notes on the following terms:
1. Language
2. Linguistics
3. Language contact
4. Language Maintenance
5. Language Loyalty
6. Language Death
CONTENT
1. Language: Is not only a linguistic but also a political, cultural, social and
historical term. An Ausbau-type language is a collection of autonomous varieties
which consists of an autonomous variety, together with all the varieties that are
heterenomous (dependent) on it. Whether or not a group of varieties from an
Ausbau type of language will be doubtful, or impossible to determine, where none
of the varieties is autonomous. This will also be difficult in situations where the
nature of direction of heteronomy is a matter of political or cultural dispute. There
are thus disagreements as to whether SerboCroat is one or two languages; whether
Macedonian is a language in its own right or a dialect of Bulgarian; whether Sani
(Lappish) is one language or six; etc. Abstand-type languages can be considered
languages for purely linguistic reasons. Simply put, language is the systematic,
conventional use of sounds, signs, or written symbols in a human society for
communication and self-expression.
2. Linguistics: In simple term, is the scientific way of studying language in which

scientific principles of explicitness, systematicity and objectivity are employed?
All the procedures employed in the empirical sciences, such as : observation,
reports of observation, statement of hypothesis, calculations, predictions and
testing of predictions by further observations are meticulously and fastidiously
applied in the study of languages in general to provide answers to such questions
as:
i. What is language?
ii. How does language work?
iii. How does human language differ from animal communication?
iv. How does a child learn to speak?
v. How does one write down and analyse an unwritten language?
vi. Why do languages change? etc.
3. Language Contact: A term used to apply to situations where two or more groups
of speakers who do not have a native language in common are in social contact
with one another or come into such contact. Communication between the groups
may be difficult in the short term, and may in the long term lead to the different
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languages influencing one another, as a result of bilingualism on the part of
(some of) the speakers involved. Language contact may lead to or involve
phenomena such as borrowing, code-switching, language shift, lingua franca,
multilingualism and pidginization.
4. Language Maintenance: The continued use and support for a language in a

bilingual or multilingual community. It is the opposite of language shift and
language death. Where language maintenance occurs, a community of speakers
continues speaking its original language, rather than shift to some other more
powerful and prestigious language. Many minority language communities attempt
to secure language maintenance through various language planning activities, such
as obtaining a role for the minority language in education.
5. Language Loyalty: The personal attachment to a language that leads to its

continued use in a country where other languages are dominant.
6. Language Death: in a situation of multilingualism and language contact,

language shift may take place, particularly on the part of linguistic minority
groups. If the entire community shifts totally to a new language, the original
language will eventually have no speakers left in the community in question, and
the end point of the process of language shift will be language death. Some writers
distinguish between situations of language loss, where total shift occurs in only
one of the communities speaking the language such as the loss of Dutch in
immigrant communities in Australia; and language death, which is the total loss of
a language from the world, when all the speakers of a language die, as with the
loss of Manx on the Isle of Man. We can also distinguish language murder, when
a language dies out as a result of genocide, as in the case of Tasmanian.
7. Language Endangerment: A situation in which a language is in danger of

undergoing language death or extinction.
8. Lingua Franca: A medium of communication for people who speak different first
languages. A language which is used in communication between speakers who do
not have one native language in common. For example, if English is used in
communication between native speakers of Hausa and Yoruba, then, it is
functioning as a lingua franca. Lingua franca which are used in a large-scale
institutionalized way in different parts of the world include Swahili in East Africa,
French & English in West Africa, Hausa in Northern Nigeria and some West
African countries – a Pidgin language is a particular form of lingua franca.
9. Monolingualism: A sociolinguistic situation in which only one language is

involved is said to be a monolingual situation. An individual who speaks only one
language is said to be monolingual, and is called a monoglot.
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10. Bilingualism: The ability of an individual to speak two or more languages. In the
usage of some writers, bilingualism refers only to individuals who have native
command of more than one language. Other writers use the term to refer to any
speaker who has a reasonable degree of competence in some language other than
their mother tongue. Sociolinguists agreed that bilingualism is so widespread in
the world that there are probably more people who are bilingual, at least in the
second sense, than there are monolinguals. Many sociolinguists use the term
„bilingualism‟ to refer to individuals, even if they are trilingual, quadrilingual, etc.
and reserve the term multilingualism for nations or societies, even if only two
languages are involved.
11. Multilingualism: The opposite of monolingualism. A sociolinguistic situation in

which more than one language is involved, usually involving also language
contact and individual bilingualism.
12. Mutual Intelligibility: The extent to which speakers of one variety of language
are able to understand speakers of another variety. Mutual intelligibility may be a
matter of degree – Swedish speakers can understand Norwegian more readily than
they can Danish. Note too that the degree of Intelligibility may not be entirely
mutual-speakers of variety. A may be able to understand speaker of variety B
more easily than vice versa. And mutual intelligibility can also be acquired –
speaker can learn to understand a variety that they initially had considerable
difficulty with.
13. Dialect: A variety of language which differs grammatically, phonologically and

lexically from other varieties and which is associated with a particular geographic
area and /or with a particular social class or status group. Varieties which differ
from one another only in pronunciation are known as accents. Varieties which are
associated only with particular social situations are known as styles. Neither of
these should be confused with dialect.
14. Standard Variety: A variety of language which has undergone standardization

and which has acquired autonomy.
15. Standardization: The process by which a particular variety of a language is

subject to language determination codification and stabilization. These processes
may be the result of deliberate language planning activities, as with the
standardization of Indonesian, or not, as with the standardization of English.
16. Language Determination: A term from language planning not significantly

different in its usage from status planning.
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17. Codification: The process whereby a variety of a language, often as part of a
standardization process, acquires a publicly recognized and fixed form, in which
norms are laid down for “correct” usage as far as grammar, vocabulary, spelling
and may be pronunciation are concerned. This codification can take place over
time without the involvement of official bodies, as happened with standard
English, or it can take place quite rapidly, as a result of conscious decisions by
governmental or other official planning agencies, as happened with Swahili in
Tanzania, Yoruba in Nigeria and languages in Rivers State of Nigeria. The results
of codification are usually enshrined in dictionaries and grammar books, as well
as, sometimes, in government publications.
18. Language Planning: Activities carried out by governmental, official or other

influential bodies that are aimed at establishing which language varieties are used
in a particular community, and subsequently directing or influencing which
language varieties are to be used for which purposes in that particular community,
and what the linguistic characteristics of those varieties are to be. Language
planning is normally undertaken in order to improve communications and
education, and /or achieve language maintenance. Language planning can be
divided into two main types of activities, often labeled respectively language
determination or status planning, and language development or corpus planning.
19. Sociolinguistics: A term used to describe all areas of the study of the relationship
between language and society which are purely social scientific in their objectives.
Sociolinguistic research intends to achieve a better understanding of the nature of
human language by studying language in its social context.
20. Stabilization: A process whereby a formerly diffuse language variety that has
been in a state of flux undergoes focusing and takes on a more fixed and stable
form that is shared by all its speakers. Pidginized jargons become pidgins through
the process of stabilization. Dialect mixtures may become Koines as a result of
stabilization which is also a component of language standardization.
Summary
Twenty terms associated with Sociolinguistics are explained in this
unit. This will definitely facilitate easy –reading for students who are
coming across linguistics for the first time in life, as a lay- reader.
Whenever, they come across these terms in subsequent chapters of
this course material, all they need to do is to check their meanings in
this lecture.
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Post –Test
Discuss the following terms briefly:
1. Language Contact
2. Bilingualism/ multilingualism
3. Dialect
4. Lingua franca
5. Mutual intelligibility
References
Trudgill, P. (1992) Introducing Language and Society Penguin Books Ltd.
Crystal, D. (1987) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language Cambridge
University Press.
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LECTURE TWO
Dynamism of Language
Introduction
When we talk about language, we do so as if it were entirely uniform; this is not so,
because language is by no means MONOLITHIC (UNCHANGING). It changes
tremendously with regards to different circumstances of its use. We do not speak the
same way all the time. The way we speak to our parents, will be different from the
way we speak to our colleagues, and the way we speak in one place will be different
from the way we speak at the other, therefore, language use is the study of
variation in language. it seeks to identify, describe and explain the systematic
difference in the different circumstances in which language is employed. Thus the
study of language use can focus on changes or variations that occur within a single
language or a dialect and this variation (changes) can be differences in
pronunciations, grammar or vocabulary. It can be changes between different
languages or dialects.
Objectives
At the end of this lecture, you should be able to:
1. realize the fact that language is not monolithic;
2. explain the different factors that bring about changes in the form of language; and
3. give instances of variations in language as a result of these factors
Pre-Test
What do you understand by the phrase dynamism of language?
CONTENT
Against this background, it is essential for us to examine different dimensions along
which language varies and the changes that are associated with them.
1. Time: The first one is time; language varies with time and that gives us temporary
variation. That language varies with time can be easily demonstrated with languages
that have a long history. In this regard, we shall examine English. English can be
categorized into three on the basis of its time of development.
(OE) Old English – 500-1100 AD
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(ME) Middle English- 1100-1500AD
(NE) New English – 1500 –till present time
The present day English can still be divided into three namely:
 Latter English –16th century –17th century
 Modern English – 18th –19th
 Contemporary English 19th – till date
The English we speak today is called contemporary English. The speaker of Modern
English will find old English totally unintelligible e.g.
NU Sculon herian- Now we must praise
Meotodes Meahte- The creator‟s might
Weorc wuldor fader- The work of the glorious father
This is an example of old English, it is not only unintelligible, it is also unreadable,
and we can see that it changed with time. 400 years later, we have the middle English
which can be understood easily by our present day users of English e.g. from the
„Canterbury Tales‟
“When that Aprille with its shoures sootes. The droughte of March hath perced to the
roote.
This is middle English; it is closer to the new English than the first example. It is
translated into new English thus:
“When April with its sweet showers the drought of March has pierced to the root.”
Examples of Latter English are “take heed to what ye hear; with the same measure ye
mete, it shall be measured to you again.” who art thou?
Take heed - be careful

Ye - (plural) you
Mete - measure
Art - are
Thou - (singular) you
With all these examples, we notice that changes take place in vocabulary and syntax
over time.
2. Space: the forms of language are not the same in all geographical areas in which
the language is found. This implies that people who speak the same language use it
differently when found in different locations (living in different areas). The form of
language is not the same in a region. It varies as one move from one place to the
other. These changes or variations as a result of different geographical area are known
as REGIONAL DIALECT. (A language spoken in a different linguistic and cultural
environment). It is characterized by the possession of entirely distinctive features).
We can also demonstrate this regional dialect with English. There are two major
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varieties of English which can be separated from each other considering their
geographical location- these are BRITISH ENGLISH & AMERICAN ENGLISH.
The difference between these two varieties can be noticed in pronunciation,
vocabulary, and grammatical function of the two varieties. When the difference
between two dialects or more is in term of pronunciations that difference is known as
ACCENT.
It is not only in English that language varies, it also varies in other languages. For
example, the present spoken Yoruba is quite different from that which was used
during the days of Bishop Ajayi Crowther. As we have different languages so we
have ACCENT e.g. we have YORUBA- ACCENT, IRISH, AMERICAN &BRITISH
ACCENTS. English has two major regional varieties- British & American English;
each of them – in turn has its own varieties e.g. Black English as opposed to standard
American English; so also, we have Cockney as the variety spoken in London and
Yorkshire as the one spoken in America. There are variations according to vocabulary
in British and American English e.g.
Examples:
British English American English
Petrol Gas/ Gasoline
Apartment flat
Sweet Candy
Pavement Sidewalk
Cooker Stove
Lift Elevator
NIGERIAN ENGLISH BRITISH ENGLISH

Globe Electric bulb
Minerals soft drinks
Gallop pot holes
Go-slow Traffic- hold up/ Jam
Free slope
Corner bend
Garrage motor park
Gutter drainage
Nigerian English has been domesticated, for example “cut your coat according to
your size” instead of “cut your coat according to your cloth.”
At the level of grammar, American English is different from British English;
some irregular verbs are regularized in American English e.g.
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B. E – Burn burnt burnt spell spelt spelt
A. E – Burn burned burned spell spelled spelled
B.E – Dwell dwelt dwelt spoil spoilt spoilt
A.E – Dwell dwelled dwelled spoil spoiled spoiled
B.E – Learn learnt learnt get got got
A.E- Learn learned learned get got gotten
Apart from space, language also varies within the same society; this kind of
variation reflects the background or social status of the speaker, people who belong to
the same social group show: some similarities in the pattern of language use as
opposed to those who belong to another – this variation is called SOCIAL DIALECT
OR SOCIO-LECT in short. In Britain, we have three different classes namely: the
upper, middle and lower classes, each of these groups has a unique variety of English,
which is peculiar to it. In America also, there is difference between standard
American English and Black English as can be seen from these examples.
Standard American English Black American English

AFFIRMATIVE He knows something He know something
NEGATIVE He doesn‟t know anything He don‟t know nothing
or or He know nothing
He knows nothing
AFFIRMATIVE He likes somebody He like somebody
He doesn‟t like anybody He don‟t like nobody
or or
He likes nobody He like nobody
Language use also varies with regard to situation; we don‟t speak in the some
way all the time. One talks differently with his friend from the way he talks to his
parents or bosses in the office. So also, the way we speak with the people that are
familiar to us is different from the way we speak to strangers. All these varieties due
to different social situations are called STYLES. A speaker of a language is capable
of shifting from one style of communication to another, depending on the social
circumstances in which he finds himself. There are FORMAL and INFORMAL
STYLES and other types of styles in communication. One American linguist, by
name;
Martin Joos in his book titled “the five clocks” described a hierarchy of styles
and he distinguished five levels and gave examples which are similar to the CASUAL
and INTIMATE styles.
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Styles Examples
1. Frozen style (highest level of formality} Participants should remain seated
throughout the ceremony
2. Formal style 4 Those taking part should sit during the
proceedings
3. Consultative style 3 would you please stay in your seats
4 Casual style 2 Don‟t get up
5. Intimate style 1 Sit tight
These examples illustrate how we vary our language to suit a particular situation,
particular media or particular relationship.
1. Frozen Style: It is the most formal style of language; and it could normally occur
in the written form. It is characterized by the following:
(i) The use of third person as a means of address
(ii) The choice of more formal items of vocabulary e.g. remain & throughout.
2. The Formal Style: It is less formal than frozen style but it still shares certain
degree of formality with the frozen style by the use of the third person as a means of
address e.g. “those taking part”; but “should sit” is less formal than. “remain seated”
used in frozen style. Formal Style is more common in the written medium too, but it is
likely to occur in speech than frozen variety.
3. Consultative Style: It is the neutral kind of language used in polite conversation

between adult strangers. It is common in both speech and writing as a form of address
e.g. “would you please…”
4. Casual Style: It is the type used between acquaintances or members of similar

sociological sub- groups who feel they share a common background with the other.
5. Intimate Style: It is used between close friends or within the members of the same
family. The sentences tend to be shorter as we go toward intimate style.
The consultative style is most unlikely to give offence in most situations; this is why
it is adopted by adult strangers in their first conversation. It is neither too formal nor
too intimate. After the first few exchange of conversation, the people may shift their
language from consultative style to a more casual style or even to a more formal style
depending on the assessment of each other; we constantly adapt our language- along
this scale i.e.
Frozen Formal Consultative Casual Intimate, we can deliberately use

a style out of annoyance or to offend. So when we say that a person has FACILITY in
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language it is not only the knowledge of grammar and phonology but he can
manipulate different styles to suit different situations. The choice of a particular style
is guided by certain aspects of situational context namely:
i. Subject matter of the conversation
ii. The speaker‟s intention
iii. The relative social status
iv. The feed-back from the addressee
v. Rules of social Behaviour and Culture
1. The Subject Matter: It is not difficult to see how different subject matters affect
the choice of styles. Serious subject matters such as religion, ethics, philosophy
etc. often calls for a more formal expressions. On the other hand, certain subject
matters are regarded as taboo and may then not be spoken about in formal
conversation except euphemistically. Euphemism or circumlocution is used for
taboo or forbidden words. In Yoruba, when somebody wants to go to toilet he
says; mo fęę şe ga, mo fęę jawe ję n ję mii
2. The Speakers Intention: This influences the choice since a style is chosen to suit
a particular intention based on the speaker‟s assessment of the whole situation. If
the speaker wishes to persuade, he will avoid the style that offends e.g the sales
girls of a shop will always want to convince a customer about her products for
him to buy. If he wishes to stand aloof, he will not use a casual or an intimate
style.
3. The Relative Social Status: This has to do with the position of superior versus
inferior. Master- servant, husband – wife. This influences the choice of style
particularly in the early encounters in conversation. After this, the speaker may
choose to a certain extent unconsciously whether or not to maintain social
distance in language.
4. The Feed- back from the Addressee: This is important because all conversation
is a question of give and take and we can modify our language according to its
effect upon the person we are speaking to. We gather information about the effect
of our language. From the listeners facial expressions, gestures, nods of
agreement etc and we use this information to adopt our language.
5. Style is also dependent on the rules of social behaviour and culture of the
people e.g. in formal meetings you have to give respect to the chairman
regardless of the fact that he is your colleague or your husband. In conversing
with someone you must be consciously or unconsciously guided by the rules of
social behaviour and culture of users of the language. You don‟t call him by name
or talk when you are not called. So also, in many African languages, the culture
of the people is reflected in the languages in that the elders are respected and
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respect is reflected in the choice of words when speaking with them e.g. in
Yoruba, honorific pronouns (or pronouns of respect) are used for one‟s superiors
e.g. “mo fe ba yin soro” (I want to speak to you) “Eyin ni mo n ba soro” (it‟s you
I am taking to).
Also in certain societies there are taboo words, i.e. words that are forbidden from
being used. Again these reflect the particular custom and views of societies.
In these societies, certain words may be used in certain circumstances but not in
others. For example, among the Zani Indians, it is improper to use the word „takka‟
which means frog during a religious ceremony instead of this, another word is used.
In Yoruba we say „alafia‟ for peace when referring to “left” because „left‟ is
associated with “bad omen” or bad luck” so, when giving direction or location of a
place; we just say the place is on the side of peace (O wa ni apa alafia) instead of
saying it is on the left ( o wa ni apa osi).
Similarly, words relating to sex organs and natural body functions make up a
large part of the set of taboo words of many cultures. In Yoruba, when a king dies in
Yorubaland instead of saying „Oba ku‟ they say “Oba waja”. We don‟t refer to our
sex organs openly. Similarly, an unpleasant thing like death is referred to in a
euphemistic way. Just as language varies according to different situations, it also
varies with regard to occupation.
6. Occupation
Every occupation, profession or trade has its own JARGONS OR ARGOT or a set of
words. In linguistics for example we have jargons like phonemes, lexicon, morpheme
etc. which are also known as ARGOT. In Law, we have specialized language
intelligible to legal practitioners e.g. plaintif, defendant, jury, complainant, habbis
corpus etc.
The people of the underworld also have their own slang (which is peculiar to
them). Youths, academics, etc, also have their own jargons or slangs expressions.
Jargons can spread from a narrow point to the whole society until it is used and
understood by a large segment of the population. Eventually it may lose its status as
either jargon or slang and gain entrance into the respectable circle of formal everyday
usage.
7. Language also varies at the level of the individual

This implies that no two speakers of a language speak exactly alike. There will be
certain things which will reflect particular idiosyncratic features peculiar to individual
in his language. These differences may be due to age, sex, state of health, personality,
emotional status, etc. From the foregoing, it should be observed that language use is
very broad and it must be described in a systematic way the variations that occur
when language is used in different circumstances. Changes occur in any given
language even though it may not be immediately noticed.
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Summary
This lecture discussed the fact that language is not „monolithic‟, it
changes from time to time, place to place, person to person, subject
to subject, situation to situation and from occupation to occupation.
These different factors that affect the form of language are
explained briefly in this lecture.
Post-Test
1. Write short notes on each of the following terms
i. Dynamism of language
ii. Dialect
iii. Accent
iv. Styles
2. Discuss four different dimensions along which language varies.
References
Joos, M. (1961): The five clocks New York: Harcourt, Brace, and World.
Oyetade, S.O. (1994) Class lecture notes for linguistic 172.
15
LECTURE THREE
Domains of Language Use in Nigeria
Preamble
It is something of a norm that certain languages are intimately
bound to a particular domain. With regard to the Nigerian
situation, the polarity between indigenous Languages and foreign
languages comes to the fore when the various domains of language
use are examined. The two types of languages are mutually
exclusive such that the high domains are marked for the foreign
languages, notably English, while the primary domains are
reserved for the indigenous languages numbering up to four
hundred or a little above.
(Oyetade, 2001:15)
Introduction
The concept of domain is employed particularly in studies of language in multilingual
contexts and in the study of other situations where different languages, dialects or
styles are used in social contexts. A domain is a combination of factors which are
believed to influence choice of language by speakers. Such factors might include
participants (in a conversation), topic and location.
Objectives
1. explain the concept „domain‟;
2. identify the different domains of Language Use in Nigeria; and
3. discuss the use of language in the different domains identified
Pre-Test
What do you understand by the concept „domains of language use in Nigeria?
16
CONTENT
Domains of Language Use
Fishman (1972a) opines that there are certain institutional contexts, called domains, in
which one language or language variety is more likely to be appropriate than another.
Domain therefore refers to the spheres of activities where specific languages or
language varieties are used. Domains vary from one scholar to the other and it is
doubtful whether their number can be exhausted. Scholars have made distinctions
between primary and secondary domains. Primary domain refers to the soft sectors of
life such as family and friends, local markets and domestic services, traditional social
institutions and religion, cultural life, kinship etc. Secondary domain has to do with
advanced areas of life such as education, science, and technology, administration/
government, law-making. In Nigeria, the primary domains of life are marked for
Nigerian languages while the secondary domains of life are marked for English.
In this section, we shall discuss the following domains in relation to language use
in Nigeria:
1. Public Administration/ government
2. Commerce and industry
3. Education
4. Judiciary
5. Mass media
6. Religion
7. Entertainment
1. Public Administration
In every part of Nigeria, English Language remains officially dominant in all
administrations above the local level. At the state government level, even in a
linguistically homogenous state( such as Oyo, Osun, Ekiti etc), all edicts, policy
decisions, formal discussions among government official of all status and discussions
on behalf of the government are carried out in English. Because of the dominant
position of English in this domain, high standard of attainment is required of all
government employees above the level of clerical assistants. Even at the lower cadre,
a fair knowledge of English is required.
2. Commerce and Industry

The situation here is similar to that of public administration. From the management
down to the clerical level, English is the language of formal transaction in
employment, negotiations, especially in application and interview, business
consultations (between suppliers and buyers). Even when company employees speak
a common language, English formalizes their official relationships. However, there is
a division of commerce and industry where knowledge and skills in the indigenous
languages is often required. This division is sale canvassing and advertisement.
Consumer articles, such as drugs, beverages, cosmetics, etc are introduced into
the market on posters, written or printed in indigenous languages, English and Pidgin
17
English. In addition to this, bilingual advertisements are predominant on radio and
television Nigerian pidgin (NP) is recently becoming popular in this aspect.
3. Education
In Nigeria, English Language is the dominant medium of instruction at all levels of
education from pre-primary to tertiary institutions. The reason for this is not far
fetched, English is regarded as the language of education, science and technology in
Nigeria as well as internationally.
Nevertheless, indigenous languages are used in the early stages of primary
education in varying degree. There is fee- paying nursery and primary schools owned
by private proprietors and proprietresses where English language is used exclusively
as the language of teaching for all subjects to the detriment of Nigerian languages.
However, some Nigerian languages like Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Fulfulde (spoken by
the Fulanis), etc are taught as subjects to varying degrees in the school curriculum
right from primary school to the university level.
4. Judiciary
The judiciary can be broadly divided into two- higher and lower judiciary. In Nigeria,
the higher judiciary consists of the Magistrate, high courts, court of appeal and the
supreme courts. Proceedings in these courts are patterned after the English legal
system and as such they operate mainly in English. Even though, magistrates and
judges may be able to speak their respective native languages fluently, they are
presumed not to understand indigenous languages, so they operate strictly in English.
Where a party in the suit is monolingual (in his native language), his statements are
meticulously translated to English by the court registrar and recorded by the judges.
The verdict of the judge is delivered in English while the paraphrase is given by the
registrar into any language (when necessary).
The lower judiciary has three grades of customary courts, namely A, B and C. The
suits heard in such courts are those in which customary laws and traditions are
applied, such as divorce of marriages contracted by customary courts, land disputes
etc. Most of the time litigants (people involved in cases) in these courts are
monolinguals, so judgments are delivered in indigenous languages, but the court clerk
makes his records in English because such cases may be referred to a higher court.
The grade C court is presided over by a local traditional chief; he and the jury may not
necessarily be literate in English.
5. Mass Media
The media is divided into two broad groups- electronic and print. There are many
English medium papers in circulation at present in the country. Examples are The
Tribune, The Guardian, Vanguard, Comet, This Day, etc which are printed daily and
magazines, such as Tell, Newswatch, etc which circulate monthly. There are others in
indigenous languages e.g. Yoruba,such as Iwe Iroyin, Alaroye, Omo Odua, Alawiye,
Alukoro, Bojuri, Obalonile, Eleti –Ofę etc. In the East, the first newspaper produced
was „Anyawu‟ in the mid-1950s, this was followed around the same period by
18
„Onuora‟, these two newspapers remained in circulation until independence.
However, they both went out of circulation during the Civil War (1968-1970). Others
emerged in the 70s- „Ogene‟, Udoka‟, „Oku Ekwe‟. In 1991, Ohu Umu Igbo (a bi-
monthly bilingual newsletter) published by Igbo indigenes resident in the United
States. In 2001, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri introduced Ozisa, a
quarterly religious newspaper edited by Rev. Father Longinus C. Chinagoron Akuko
Uwa, another Igbo weekly newspaper appeared on Thursday, December, 6, 2001.
This was followed by Ozi, a bi-weekly publication of Sunrise Communications
Limited, Lagos. In Northern Nigeria, we have the following examples- „Jarida,
Nigeriya Ta Arewa‟ (meaning Northern Province News), a trilingual (Hausa, English,
Arabic) newspaper (1932), Gaskiya Tafi Kwabo (Meaning “truth is worth more than a
penny”) January 1939 till date. The paper began as a monthly newspaper, later it
became a weekly publication, now it circulates thrice weekly. Others are Albishir,
Alfurkan, Gamzaki, Zabi Sonka, Inidiyana, etc. it should be noted however that “Iwe
Iroyin” was the first indigenous newspaper in Nigeria. It appeared first in 1859.
Electronic Media
There is multiplicity of state owned radio and television in Nigeria. They are owned
by all the states in Nigeria which attract the listening attention of their local audience
in bringing to them a wide spectrum of programmes ranging from public
enlightenment, news and broadcasts, etc. these stations operate in English and the
local language(s) of the state. A comparison of the use of English and indigenous
Nigerian languages in the series of programmes on radio and television reveals that
English programmes are relatively more numerous than programmes in Nigerian
languages.
6. Religion
There are three religions in Nigeria – Christianity, Islam and traditional religion.
Language use in these religions varies considerably as each of them has typical
languages associated with it. Christianity is an open religion, there is no rigid
adherence to a language and so the Bible has been translated into many Nigerian
Languages. In this aspect, the activities of the Bible society of Nigeria are notable.
They are still busy translating the Bible to other Nigerian languages. There is a fair
balance in the use of Nigerian languages and English in conducting services. In the
rural areas, services are conducted in the native languages. In urban cities, services are
conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation to indigenous languages
spoken in the areas. In the Roman Catholic Churches, regardless of whatever
language being used, the preachers sometimes revert to the use of expressions in
Latin.
The dominant language of Islam is Arabic and it is believed to be the best
language for conveying religious message to Allah. There are many religious
literatures written in Arabic. The preacher sometimes uses Arabic and the indigenous
languages together but the use of Arabic is still predominant because it is the language
of the Holy Quran. It is only relatively recently that the Quran was translated to local
languages. For the traditional religion, the languages used are indigenous languages
19
mostly; sometimes cultic languages which are believed to be efficacious in controlling
the supernatural are used by the priests.
7. Entertainment
Indigenous languages are also used in story telling, drama and in music. In different
ethnic groups, moonlight folktales, local festivals and social gatherings are conducted
in Nigerian languages which are sometimes translated to English for others to
understand. In the entertainment industry, English does not seem to enjoy dominance
over the indigenous languages. Language does not enjoy the kind of monopoly it has
always enjoyed elsewhere. Indigenous languages are widely used. In many traditional
societies in Nigeria, moral and social values are inculcated to children through the use
of story telling, songs, poetry and drama in indigenous languages. Pidgin is also
sparingly used in this domain.
Summary
In this lecture, you have been exposed to the concept of domains of
language use in Nigeria. You have been told that language choice in
each domain (sphere or aspect of life) is determined by a
combination of factors such as participants in conversation topic and
location. A distinction has also been made between primary and
secondary domains. Finally seven domains have been discussed.
Post-Test
1. Comment briefly on the use of language in religion and entertainment in Nigeria.
2. Critically examine the role of English in the domains of education, judiciary and
mass media in Nigeria.
3. Compare the use of language in the domain of education with that of judiciary in
Nigeria.
References
Oyetade, S.O (2001) “Attitude to Foreign Languages and Indigenous
Language Use in Nigeria” in Igboanusi, H. (2001) (Ed.) Language Attitude and
Language Conflict in West Africa, Enicrownfit Publishers.
Taiwo Olunlade (2006) “Yoruba Newspapers” Motto: A Literary Analysis in
Abiodun Salawu (2006) (ed) Indigenous Languages Media in Africa.
Guasu Ahmad (2006) “Gaskiya Ta Fi Kwabo: From Colonial Service to
community Beacon in Abiodun Salawu (2006) (ed.) Indigenous Language Media in
Africa.
20
LECTURE FOUR
Language Use in Nigeria’s Rural and Urban

Communities
Preamble
Charles V of Germany (who ruled from 1558) is said to have
spoken French to men, Italian to women, Spanish to God, and
German to horses!
Introduction
Every culture which has been investigated, no matter how „primitive‟ it may be in
cultural terms, turns out to have a language comparable to those of the so-called
„civilized‟ nations. Anthropologically speaking, the human race can be said to have
evolved from primitive to civilized states, but there is no sign of language having
gone through the same kind of evolution. No language has been found to be
monolithic‟. Every language has the ability to manifest variation- in terms of style,
structure and use in different contexts. It is our aim in this lecture to discuss language
use in Nigeria‟s Rural and Urban Communities.
Objectives
1. explain what a speech community is;
2. discuss vividly the use of language in Nigeria‟s rural and urban centers; and
3. compare and contrast the two.
Pre-Test
Discuss the use of language in Nigeria‟s rural and urban communities
CONTENT
Every community is built and held together by people. Inhabitants of a particular
community spend much of their energies communicating with one another, and
sharing common ideas about a peaceful and productive existence. An urban or rural
21
center is a speech community. A speech community, in its idealized sense, is a group
of people who:
i. are linked by some form of social organization
ii. talk to each other, and
iii. all speak alike (Halliday, 1978:154)
A critical look at the above definition of speech community in a Nigerian context
shows, for instance, that our urban and rural communities may be linked by some
form of social organization. They may also have ways of talking to each other. But
they certainly do not all speak alike. Language use in a typical Nigerian village is
bound to be different from language use in the cities. In most Nigerian villages, ethnic
Nigerian languages are likely used. This is because villages do not often attract
people from other ethnic groups who speak different languages. Both pidgin and
English are less likely used in rural areas because of the absence of the young
educated people who may prefer their use. Village values, topics of discussion and
rural situations are often better discussed / expressed in ethnic languages.
On the contrary, the urban speech community is a heterogeneous unit, showing
diversity not only between one individual and the other, but also within one
individual. While only one ethnic language may often be used in a village, several
languages- English, pidgin, major and minority languages may all be in use in a
particular city in Nigeria. Several educational institutions and industries are
concentrated in the urban centers. Consequently, cities attract many educated people,
foreigners and people from other ethnic groups. This factor is responsible for the
complexity in urban communication.
Whereas, many people residing in the rural areas may be monolingual, many
urban dwellers are bilinguals. And so, the use of more than one language as well as
the use of code-mixing or code switching will be more commonly noticed in the cities
than in the villages. Even in using the same language, people in cities are more likely
to speak the standard varieties of a Nigerian language than rural dwellers. While it is
possible for most people in a particular village to use the same dialect, it is more
likely that urban dwellers speak different dialects of the same language; as a result,
they are likely to speak the standard variety to facilitate communication and
understanding.
Rural Urban
Ethnic languages English pidgin
The same dialect Different dialects (standard variety)
Local languages English pidgin
Simplicity Complexity in urban cities
Bilingualism Bi/multilingualism, code mixing
22
Summary
This lecture has discussed the use of language in urban and rural
communities with specific reference to Nigeria. The concept of
speech community has been discussed. If this definition given above
by Halliday will be applied to Nigeria, then our urban and rural
centers are not qualified to be individual speech communities
because they certainly do not speak alike.
Post-Test
1. What is a speech community?
2. Discuss concisely the use of language in Nigeria‟s rural and urban societies.
References
University Press.
Igboanusi, H. (2007) Lecture notes for LIN 172 Language Use and Language
Attitude.
23
LECTURE FIVE
Factors that Influence Language Use in Nigeria
Preamble
When someone sneezes, the English stock response is „Bless you‟…
In German, one says Gesundheit? (health), in Mende (Siera Leone)
the word to use is „biseh‟ ( thank you), in Bembe (Congo), it is
„kuma‟ (be well), in Malagasy , it is „velona‟ (alive), in Yoruba it is
„e rora‟ or „ e pele‟( roughly meaning „sorry) adapted from Crystal
D.1987:10.
Introduction
It is never possible to make a simple statement about language variation and social class
because other influential factors are involved such as the sex of the speaker, and the
formality of the situation. The choice of language is determined by different factors.
Some of these factors are the speaker, the addressee, the place, the topic, ethnicity
(tribal background), the mode of discourse, the situation at hand etc. These factors are
the focus of our discussion in this lecture.
Objectives
1. identify the different factors that influence the choice of code in any community;
and
2. discuss these factors briefly
Pre- Test
Mention some factors that influence the choice of language in different communities.
CONTENT
1. The speaker: the most important factor in the choice of language in different
communities is the personality of the speaker. Is he a man or a woman? Is he old
or young? Is he monolingual, bilingual or a polyglot? Is he educated or
uneducated? Where does he come from (ethnicity)? Etc. questions like these will
influence his choice of language or style.
24
2. The Addressee(s): The person being addressed is equally important in the choice
of language or style. Questions such as who is he? What is his status? Is he
educated or not? Monolingual or bilingual? Is he a friend or a stranger? Is he
older or younger to the speaker? What role does he perform in relation to the
speaker- Is he a boss or a subordinate? A priest or an ordinary person? Etc.
3. The Place: Language choice varies depending on the place – urban or rural area,
within the home or outside the home, in the school, on the sport field, in the
market or in the church, etc. The use of English or Pidgin is more likely in the
urban center, than in the rural areas. In the family (home), Nigerian mother
tongues are likely to be used, except in ethnically mixed homes where English or
Pidgin may be used. Outside the home, Nigerian lingua francas (major Nigerian
languages- Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba) and Pidgin become more appropriate. In
administrative or business offices English is more likely to dominate. In schools
and hospitals, English is usually heard (or at least a mixture of English with the
indigenous languages) because of technical vocabulary needed which may not be
available in Nigerian languages.
4. The Topic: Whereas, news and politics are the domain of Nigerian languages,
economics, natural sciences and even literature are discussed at least partly in
English. The language an individual will use when teaching will be different from
the one he will use when preaching.
5. Ethnicity (Tribal background): In ethnically homogenous groups, the mother

tongue is used, whereas in mixed tribal groups, pidgin (among the less educated)
or English will be used.
6. Mode of Discourse: (i.e. whether written or spoken): In oral communication,

Nigerian languages may be more often used. In written communication, the role
of English is usually much more elitist and selective. Writing letters requires
literacy in English or Nigerian languages and some familiarity with the formal
system of mailing, and as a result, English is- in absolute terms, in contrast to
Nigerian languages- chosen in writing much more often than in speaking even
when the same people are involved in the communication. Besides writing, choice
in reading is also important but here the choice is determined by the availability of
reading materials, be it from bookshops or libraries. In many countries, it is much
easier to obtain books, periodicals and even newspapers in English than in local
languages. And again, there is an increase in the volume of books written in
English, from literary, social science, economics to the natural science books, and
of course, from popular to scientific literature. However, in question of language
choice, the prestige choice should not be underestimated. In the Nigerian society
it is fashionable to read the English edition of a Newspaper if available rather than
the one in a Nigerian language, although, they may be similar in content and even
style.
25
7. The (formality of the) situation: Official matters are more likely to be conducted
in English. However, official matters involving people of the same ethnic group
may sometimes be conducted in the ethnic language.
Summary
The focus of this lecture was on the choice of language in Nigeria.
Factors, which influence language choice in different context, have
been examined. This buttresses the fact we have emphasized earlier
that language is not monolithic.
Post-Test
1. Your father teaches Geography in school, in the church he is a pastor, at home he
is a husband and a father. Which language is he likely to use in these different
contexts and why?
2. Enumerate the factors that influence language choice in Nigeria.
3. Discuss any four of them.
References
Crystal, D. (1987) “The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language” Cambridge
University Press.
Attitude.
26
LECTURE SIX
Stereotyped Notions about Language
Preamble
The American linguist, Leonard Bloomfield (1887-1949) tells the
story of visiting a doctor who was quite firm in his view that the
Amerindian language Chippewa had only a few hundred words.
When Bloomfield attempted to dispute the point, the doctor turned
away and refused to listen. Irrational responses of this kind are
unfortunately all too common; but everyone is prone to them-
linguist and non- linguist alike.
(Crystal, D 1987:2)
Introduction
Different people have expressed opinions about the „natural‟ superiority‟ of certain
languages over the others. Latin and Greek were for centuries viewed as models of
excellence in Western Europe because of the literature and thought which these
languages expressed; and the study of modern languages is still influenced by the
practices of generations of classical-linguistic scholars. The idea that one‟s own
language is superior to others is widespread, but the reasons given for the superiority
vary greatly.
A language might be viewed as the oldest, or the most logical, or the language of
gods, or simply the easiest to pronounce or the best for singing. Arabic speakers, for
example, feel that their classical language is the most „beautiful‟ and „logical‟, with an
incomparable grammatical symmetry and lexical richness. Classical Arabic is strongly
identified with religion, as the language of the Quran is held to provide miraculous
evidence of the truth of Islam. From this viewpoint, it would be self-evident that since
God chose Arabic as the vehicle of his revelation to his Prophet, this must be the
language used in heaven and this must be superior to all others. However, similar
arguments have been applied to several other languages, such as Sanskirt and
Classical Hebrew. Aramaic was the languages Jesus spoke. To Christians, the
language spoken by Christ surely must be the language of God and the original
language. Notions like the above are stereotypical and biased. It is our objective in
this lecture to examine some of them.
27
Objective
At the end of this lecture, you should be able to discuss some popularly held views
about language, which are stereotypical.
Pre-Test
The Swedish writer, Andreas Kempe (1622-89) expressed the view that in Paradise
Adam spoke Danish, God spoke Swedish, and the serpent spoke French. Do you agree
to this assertion? Support your answer with detailed discussion.
CONTENT
Stereotyped Notions about Language
Expressions of positive or negative feelings towards a language in general may reflect
impressions of linguistic difficulty or simplicity, ease or difficulty of learning, the
degree of importance or status it has in the community or even the importance of the
people who use it as a first or second language. Sometimes one hears language
described as “beautiful” or “precise”. These characteristics are to a large extent
subconscious and it is not possible to explain them fully on a purely rational basis.
They seem to be directly related neither to phonological, morphological or semantic
features of the language so described, nor to the sociolinguistic background of the
informants‟ speech community, although both must obviously contribute to the
stereotype.
Interestingly enough, English is believed, in many countries in Africa (including
Nigeria) to possess certain qualities. These are often characterized by adjectives like
“beautiful”, “rich”, “logical”, “sophisticated” or even “pleasing to the ear”. English
seems to enjoy high international prestige as an idealized world language.
The label “beautiful” seems to describe a very general aesthetic impression.
“Rich” refers to the fact that English has a very extensive vocabulary. The stereotyped
notion „precise‟ is normally taken to refer to the exactness of lexical items, which is
valued very highly by Nigerians in Science and technology and in academic teaching.
Similar to “precise” is “logical”, because this is associated with exactness at the
grammatical level.
The notions “refined”, “sophisticated” and “superior” relate to the state of
language development. This is why Nigerian languages are often ranked lower than
English in this respect. Whereas, the labels “refined” and “sophisticated” are taken to
characterize a language that can be used in scientific discourse or for academic
purposes, “superior” may be referring to a language‟s geographical range or
international communicative power. It is, however, a dangerous term, as it may be
given the undesirable interpretation of a colonial language attitude.
Other notions, such as „intimate‟ or „sacred‟ derive from particular purposes or
preferences in language use. It goes without saying that as a „sacred” language,
English cannot compete with Arabic (for Muslims) or Latin (for some Catholics), and
that as an “intimate “language, a language in which personal feelings, love, etc are
expressed and which is affectively very close to a speaker, English cannot compete
28
with Nigerian languages; although there are instances, for example, when a young
man finds it easier to propose (a modern marriage) in English.
Summary
We have examined some stereotyped notions about language in this
lecture. Some of the descriptive words popularly used in this
context, such as „beautiful‟, „precise‟ „rich‟, „logical‟,
„sophisticated‟, „refined‟, etc have been highlighted. From a
linguistic point of view, all languages are equal and there is no
„primitive‟ language. All languages are equally complex and capable
of expressing any idea in the universe. Every language can be
expanded to include new words for new concepts as they emerge.
This is one of the universal attributes of language.
Post-Test
1. The Latin language is superior to any other language in the world. Do you
agree to this view? Support your answer with detailed discussion.
2. Discuss some stereotyped notions about language
Reference
University Press.
29
LECTURE SEVEN
Language Purism
Preamble
The Latin rule is not universal. In Arabic, for example, be is
followed by the accusative. In English, me is the educated informal
norm; I is felt to be very formal. In French, only moi is possible
(c‟est moi, etc).
(Source: David Crystal 1987:3)
Introduction
All the main European Languages have been studied prescriptively, especially in the
18th century approach to the writing of grammars and dictionaries. The aims of these
early grammarians were threefold:
1. they wanted to codify the principles of their languages, to show that there was a
system beneath the apparent chaos of usage,
2. they wanted a means of settling disputes over usage ,
3. they wanted to point out what they felt to be common errors, in order to
„improve‟ the language .
The authoritarian nature of the approach is best characterized by its reliance on „rules‟
of grammar. Some usages are „prescribed‟ (or banned), to be learnt and followed
accurately; others are „prescribed‟, to be avoided. It is our objective in this section to
examine the concept of linguistic purism, which gave rise to „prescriptivism‟.
Objectives
At the end of the lecture, you should be able to:
1. discuss the concept of language purism satisfactorily; and
2. give instances of language purism in natural languages of the world
Pre-Test
What do you understand by the concept language purism?
30
CONTENT
Purism can best be described in terms of feelings and attitudes towards an ideal form
of a language, usually in a written state, and dissociated from everyday speech. This
form of language is associated with specific aesthetic and sometimes moral values
which represent the speech communities social ideal and is the norm. its mastery
ensures social recognition and is therefore promoted by social institutions such as the
educational system, or official organizations such as language academies. As a result,
deviant varieties have negative connotations, their use being discouraged in public
domains.
For example, it is in line with language purism that the French Academy prescribes
some fine for anyone who uses English loan words where their equivalents exist in the
French language. In Italy, the Accademia della Crusca was founded as early as 1582,
with the object of purifying the Italian language. In France, in 1635, Cardinal
Richelieu established the Academie francaise, which set the pattern for many
subsequent bodies. The statutes of the Academie define as its principal function:
To labour with all possible care and diligence to give definite rules
to our language, and to render it pure, eloquent and capable of
treating the arts and sciences.
The Spanish Academy was founded in 1713 by Philip V, and within 200 years
corresponding bodies had been set up in most South American Spanish countries. The
Swedish Academy was founded in 1786; the Hungrarian in 1930. There are three
Arabic academies, in Syria, Iraq and Egypt. The Hebrew Language Academy was set
up in 1953. In England, a proposal for an Academy was made in the 17th century, with
the support of such men as John Dryden and Daniel Defoe. In Defoe‟s opinion the
reputation of this academy.
“would be enough to make them the allowed judges of style and

language. No author would have the impudence to coin without
their authority. There should be no more occasions to search for
derivations and constructions, and it would be as criminal then to
coin words as money.
In the same vein, Jonathan Swift presented his proposal for correcting, improving and
ascertaining the English tongue, in which he complains to the Lord Treasurer in
England, the Earl of Oxford, that:
Our language is extremely imperfect, that its daily improvements

are by no means in proportion to its daily corruptions; that the
pretenders to polish and refine it have chiefly multiplied abuses
and absurdities; and that in many instances it offends against
every part of grammar.
31
Again, the influence of American technology and entertainment is reflected in the
languages of many countries. Mainly for that reason, the congress of the countries and
Spain in 1960 approved a resolution in which it was recommended that each academy
should create a commission on technical vocabulary. The commission of the
Columbian Academy has proposed many Spanish terms to replace English loans
which have been approved by the other Academies.
Summary
In this lecture, you have been exposed to the concept of „language
purism‟ which refers to feelings and attitudes towards an ideal form
of a language, usually in a written states and dissociated from
everyday speech. This concept is the motivating factor behind the
setting up of language academies all over the world to preserve the
language from corruption and contamination and thereby keep it
pure. Unfortunately, the nature of language does not permit this kind
of attempt, because language is not „monolithic‟ .
See LIN 101 course Material Fadoro 2007.
Post-Test
1. Discuss the term „language purism‟ in details.
2. Cite examples of language Academies around the world which have been set
up to ensure language purism.
References
University Press.
Fadoro, J.O. (2007) Course Material for LIN 101 published by Distance
Learning Centre, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.
Attitude.
32
LECTURE EIGHT
Linguistic Imperialism
Preamble
The Igbo language… has restricted ways of translating physical
phenomena; it also lacks the specificity of the English Language…
it does not have long established writing , not to talk of
metalanguage, hence it suffers a dearth of adequate vocabulary for
the generation of scientific thoughts and conceptualization….
Abstract ideas and concepts in Physics are readily written and
expressed in English,… while there may be no substitutes or
equivalents for scientific terms in the Nigerian languages, which
have not yet fully developed the terms for communicating ideas in
physics … it can be perceived that the vernacular has limitations
and lacks the semantic subtleties and nuances abundant in the
English Language in which scientific terms have been completely
categorized.
Nwokedi (1984:)
Introduction
According to Bamgbose 1985, the attitude of the Nigerian elite to indigenous
languages reflects that they are plagued by “linguistic imperialism” (Ansre 1975)- an
attitude that recognizes as normal the continued use of European languages in all
advanced sectors of life.
Objectives
1. explain in details the concept of linguistic imperialism; and
2. discuss the different manifestations of linguistic imperialism
Pre-Test
What is linguistic imperialism?
CONTENT
Imperialism is the policy of extending control or authority over foreign entities as a
means of acquisition and /or maintenance of empires, either through direct territorial
33
control or through indirect methods of exerting control on the politics or economy of
other countries. The term is used by some scholars to describe the policy of a country
in maintaining colonies and dominance over distant lands, regardless of whether the
country calls itself an empire. In other words, imperialism aims at dominating
colonies or former colonies.
Linguistic imperialism is seen as an aspect of cultural imperialism. Cultural
imperialism is the practice of promoting the culture and language of one nation in
another particularly when the former is a large powerful nation and the latter a small
poor one. Since the publication of Robert Phillipson‟s “Linguistic Imperialism” in
1992, the concept linguistic imperialism has attracted the attention of scholars in the
field of English applied linguistics. Phillipson in his book raises the point that English
Language teaching does not operate in a vacuum, that it is connected with politics and
economy. He argues that the center (i.e. the English speaking countries of the West)
has used English to suppress the people of the former colonies; and that English is
Promoted at the detriment of smaller Languages.
Different Manifestations of Linguistic Imperialism

Linguistic imperialism is a pandemic which manifests in many ways. Some of the
different manifestations are highlighted below:
i. Many parents, especially the elite send their wards to fee- paying nursery and
primary schools where the medium of instruction is English. According to
Oyetade (2001) this is predicated on the belief that the earlier a child begins
learning English the higher his chances of better mastery of the language. This
will ultimately guarantee good performance at the subsequent levels of
education and eventually a good job.
ii. Some parents ban their children from using their mother tongue at home even
though both parents speak the same language.
iii. In certain schools, particularly the indigenous languages are described as

vernaculars‟, pejoratively used to refer to the indigenous languages as local,
primitive and non- standard. Therefore in such schools, the moment you get to
the compound, you will see an inscription boldly written in a conspicuous
place: “Vernacular speaking is highly prohibited”. This is in preference for
English and any student caught speaking any language but English or French
is heavily punished by beating or fining.
iv. Proprietors of Nursery and primary schools disregard the provision in the
National policy on Education with impunity.
v. Indigenous languages are accorded an inferior status on the curriculum
34
vi. There is a great disparity in the amount of time devoted to the study of
indigenous languages compared with English at school. For example in
secondary schools in the Yoruba- speaking states, Yoruba is taught for three
periods of 40 minutes each per week, whereas English language and literature
are taught for five and three periods respectively, making eight periods per
week, regardless of the fact that English has only two components whereas
Yoruba has three components- language, literature and culture, altogether
share three periods, this is lopsided.
vii. In the recruitment of teachers and allocation of teachers to schools, English

and science teachers are given priority by the Ministry of Education and
school principals. Even when the schools‟ Board or the Ministry of Education
cannot immediately provide such teachers, they are appointed and paid under
the auspices of Parents Teachers‟ Association.
viii. In some cases graduates of other courses like History, Political Science,
Sociology, Religious Studies, etc who are native speakers of Yoruba are asked
to teach Yoruba to make up their periods. This is predicated upon the
erroneous belief that anybody who is a native speaker of a language can teach
it regardless of his area of specialization
Summary
This lecture has discussed the concept „linguistic imperialism‟ by
explaining it comprehensively. You have also been shown different
instances of the manifestation of this „epidemic‟. It is an epidemic
because it is responsible for the high rate of language death we can
safely conclude that linguistic imperialism is to language what
HIV/AIDS is to men.
Post-Test
1. Linguistic imperialism is to language what HIV/AIDs is to the human race.
Discuss.
2. Discuss five manifestations of linguistic imperialism in Nigeria
References
Crystal, D.(1987) “The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language” Cambridge:
University Press.
Attitude.
35
LECTURE NINE
Linguistic Pluralism
Preamble
People brought up within a western society often think that
monolingualism that forms a routine part of their existence is the
normal way of life for all but a few special people. They are
wrong. Multilingualism is the natural way of life for hundreds of
millions all over the world. There are no official statistics, but with
around 5,000 languages co-existing in fewer than 200 countries,
… it is obvious that an enormous amount of language contact must
be taking place; and the inevitable result of languages in contact is
multilingualism , which is most commonly found in an individual
as bilingualism.
(crystal, D.1987:360)
Introduction
There is no clear indication as to whether there is a limit to human multilingual
ability. Cardinal Giuseppe Mezzofanti (1971-1849) a librarian at the Vatican, is
reputed to have been able to speak 50 languages (most with great fluency), to
understand a further 20, and to translate 114. The Victorian diplomat Sir John
Bowring (1792-1872) was said to have spoken 100 languages and read another 100.
There was a Hungarian who learnt seven languages during his life, but five became
dormant. His mother tongue was Hungarian. At the age of 4, he moved to Poland,
learned polish, and stopped using Hungarian. When he was 6 he returned to Hungary,
and had to relearn Hungarian. At the age of 10, he moved to Romania, using
Romainian in school and Yiddish socially. Two years later he returned to Hungary
where in school he learnt German, English and Hebrew. This was followed by six
years in Germany, during which time German became his dominant language. At 25,
he moved to the US where English became dominant. This lecture examines the
concept of linguistic pluralism, a situation whereby the co-existence of different
language groups and their right to maintain and cultivate their language on an
equitable basis are promoted by the government.
36
Objectives
1. explain the concept of linguistic pluralism vividly; and
2. cite instances of countries where linguistic pluralism is practiced
Pre-Test
What do you understand by „linguistic pluralism”?
CONTENT
Linguistic pluralism is a deliberate attempt to promote and encourage the coexistence
of different language groups and their right to maintain and cultivate their languages
on an equitable basis. In Belgium, for example, French is officially recognized in the
South Flemish in the North, German in the east, while Brussels forms a bilingual
French –Flemish district.
The United States has also promoted some forms of pluralism at different times
in its history. Louisiana was granted official bilingual status prior to its statehood. Let
us now come down to our immediate constituency- Nigeria. Nigeria language policy
promotes linguistic pluralism. This has been done through the government policy that
states that at the pre-primary level of education the medium of instruction will be
principally the mother tongue or the language of the immediate community.
At the primary level, the medium of instruction at the initial level i.e. primary 1-3
is the mother tongue or the language of the immediate community and at a later stage
e.g. primary 4-6 English. At the secondary level, the medium of instruction is
principally English while the government also recommends that in order to appreciate
the importance of language in the educational process and as a means of preserving
the people‟s culture, and in the interest of national unity, each child should learn one
of the three major languages, other than his own mother tongue. This policy tends
towards trilingualism/ multilingualism. At least an average Nigeria is expected to
know three languages by this policy statement.
In India, Hindi, English and 14 regional languages are officially recognized as
official languages. Most of the Arabic speaking countries of the world recognized
Arabic and English officially and most African countries officially recognize English,
French and other national languages, depending on whether they are Anglophone or
Francophone (English-speaking or French speaking Countries).
Although a policy based on a linguistic pluralism appears to be a democratic way
of dealing with co-existing linguistic varieties, it nevertheless has its own
weaknesses. Canada for example, has a language policy based on both territorial and
individual rights. Both French and English are recognized as official languages and
speakers of both languages have access to public services in their own languages.
Yet, this policy has failed to reduce the rate of discrimination against and assimilation
of French-speaking minorities living in Western Canada where the overwhelming
majority is English –speaking. In New Brunswick, the only officially bilingual
province of Canada (since 1969), French speakers find it difficult to assert their rights
even though they make up 34.5 percent of the provincial population.
37
Summary
This lecture focused on the concept of linguistic pluralism. It cited
several examples of countries where government policies promote
linguistic pluralism, these are Belgium, USA, Nigeria, Canada etc.
the lecture also emphasizes clearly that multilingualism is the norm,
while monolingualism is the exception in the world.
Post-Test
1. What is „linguistic pluralism‟?
2. Many countries of the world officially promote the co-existence of different
language groups and their right to maintain and cultivate their languages on an
equitable basis. Discuss
References
University Press.
Attitude.
38
LECTURE TEN
Methods of Language Attitude Research
Preamble
Why does language provide such a fascinating object of study?

Perhaps because of its unique role in capturing the breadth of
human thought and endeavour. We look around us, and are awed
by the variety of several thousand languages and dialects,
expressing a multiplicity of world views, literatures, and ways of
life.
(crystal, D.1987:1)
Introduction
Every man or every group of people reacts in quite different ways to different things,
ideas, events etc. not excepting language. By broad classification, such attitude or
reactions are either negative or positive. A reaction or attitude of a kind is believed to
be dependent on, and informed by, a number of factors- historical, political,
economic, ethnic, educational or religious. And, at times, an attitude can be a product
of an unexplainable phobia or love for a given phenomenon (see Babajide 2001). Just
like any other sensitive academic issues, language attitude has been studied by
scholars through different methods. It is our goal in this lecture to examine some of
the methods of determining attitudes towards language.
Objectives
1. identify different methods of language attitude research;
2. discuss the direct and indirect methods of language attitude research; and
3. illustrate the methodological problems associated with language attitude
research and how to overcome them.
Pre-Test
Enumerate the three best – known methods of language attitude research associated
with the direct method
39
CONTENT
Attitudes towards language are often the reflection of attitudes towards members of
various ethnic groups (Fasold, 1984:148)
Methods of Language Attitude Research

Methods for determining attitudes about language can be either direct or indirect.
A. Direct: There are 3 best – known methods of language attitude research. They are
questionnaire, interviews, and observation
i. Questionnaire: This can have one of two types of questions – open or closed.
Open questions give the respondent maximum freedom to present her views,
but also allow her to stray from the subject and are very difficult to score. In
an open –question questionnaire, respondents may be asked: “Describe your
reactions to this speaker” after they have heard a taped sample. In a closed
question, the respondent is given a particular format to use in recording
responses. Most closed question formats involve Yes-No answers, multiple
choice, or ranking schemes. Closed questions are much easier for
respondents to deal with and are easy to score, but they force respondents to
answer in the researcher‟s terms instead of their own.
ii. Interviews: Interviews are like open-question questionnaire but without the
questionnaire. A fieldworker personally asks attitude questions and records
the responses orally. The burden of recording open questions is removed
from the subject, making it easier to elicit open responses, and the
interviewer can guide the conversation if the subject – tends to stray from
the point. The major disadvantage in interviewing is that it is extremely
time-consuming and expensive. It takes a fieldworker longer time to conduct
one interview than to administer 50 or 100 questionnaires in a group session.
iii. Observation: This is the least obtrusive method and the one designed to
collect the most naturalistic data. A favoured method for anthropological or
ethnographic research, observation refers to the recording of people‟s
activities by the researcher as he watches them. Attitudes must either be
assumed to be the same thing as overt behaviour, or be inferred from
observed behaviour Agheyisi and Fishman (1970:50) fault observation for
its “excessive subjectivity and privacy”, but believe that “such data can be
subjected to the same rigorous standards of scoring, counting and rating as
data collected through more formal methods.
B. Indirect: A totally indirect method would be designed to keep the subject from
knowing that her language attitudes are being investigated. One example of this
kind of approach is described by Cooper and Fishman (1974:16-17). They were
interested in testing the hypothesis that attitudes towards Hebrew in Israel make
it more effective as a language for scientific arguments. Arabic on the other
hand, would be more effective for conveying traditional Islamic arguments. To
40
test the hypothesis, a group of Muslim adults who were bilingual in Arabic &
Hebrew were asked to listen to four one- minute passages recorded by a fluent
speaker of both languages one passage decried the evils of tobacco and gave
scientific evidence in support of that position. It was recorded once in each
language. The other passage, also recorded once in each language, argued against
the use of liquor, and used traditional Islamic arguments for support. The
respondents were divided into two groups, one of which listened to the tobacco
passage in Hebrew and the liquor passage in Arabic, and the other group listened
to the reverse combination. Respondents were then asked if they would support
increased taxes on tobacco or liquor to discourage their use.
The differences were dramatic. The respondents who had heard the scientific
tobacco passage in Hebrew said they supported the text on tobacco by a two–to-one
ratio over those who had heard the same kind of argument in Arabic. The reverse
results were obtained in the case of the traditional arguments against liquor; twice as
many of the respondents who heard the argument in Arabic said they supported the
tax increase than those who heard it in Hebrew. The hypothesis appears to be
supported, but the subjects had no idea that their language attitudes were being
investigated at all. Their attention had been diverted to the issues of the evils of
tobacco and liquor.
Methodological Problem of Language Attitude Research

Attitudes are sometimes felt to be a sensitive personal or even a sensitive political
matter. As a result there is often a marked difference between attitudes uttered in
public and those uttered privately – as well as those uttered in an interview situation.
For this reason, the relationship between the interviewer and the informant is of
crucial importance. Informants must be assured of the interviewer‟s good intentions
and solidarity with the speech community, if they are to express their opinions freely
and openly.
Summary
This lecture has discussed the methods of language attitude research.
The lecture identified two basic methods of language attitude
research- Direct and indirect. The direct method has three
approaches, these are: questionnaire, interviews and observation. All
these have been comprehensively discussed. The lecture is rounded
off with a brief discussion on methodological problems of language
attitude research.
Post–Test
1. A totally indirect method of language attitude research is designed to keep the
subject from knowing that her language attitude s being investigated. Discuss.
2. The direct method of language attitude research has three approaches, what are
they? Discuss each of them briefly
41
References
Agheyisi, Rebecca and Fishman, Joshua (1970) Language Attitude Studies: A
Brief Survey of Methodological Approaches, Anthropological Linguistics, 12(5): 137-
154.
Crystal, D. (1987) “The Encyclopedia of Language” Cambridge University
Press.
42
LECTURE ELEVEN
Language Shift
Introduction
Language shift is a process whereby a community (often a linguistic minority)
gradually abandons its original language and shifts to another language. For example,
between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries, Ireland shifted from being almost
entirely Irish- speaking to being almost entirely English speaking. Shift, most often,
takes place gradually and domain by domain, with the original language being
retained longest in informal family-type contexts. The ultimate end-point of language
shift is language death. It is our aim in this lecture to discuss the factors that occasion
language shift.
Objectives
1. explain the concept of language shift; and
2. discuss the factors that cause language shift
Pre-Test
What do you understand by language shift?
CONTENT
Language shift simply means that a community gives up a language completely in
favour of another one. The members of the community, where the shift has taken
place, have collectively chosen a new language, where an old one was in use before.
Usually, language shift concerns the shift of small, low- status linguistic groups who
shift to the language of a larger, higher- status linguistic groups.
Causes of Language Shift

1. Migration: When people move from their original habitation to another place, they
encounter a new language, as a result of their need to communicate with the people
they meet in the new environment; they may have to learn the language of the new
place. After learning the new language, they may voluntarily give up their former
43
language in favour of the new language. A typical example here is the Turks in
Germany and Bulgaria.
2. Industrialization: Urbanization and other economic reasons can cause language

shift. Industrialization and urbanization attract people from different linguistic
backgrounds. When this happens, there is language contact which results in language
conflict and competition. This may eventually result in language shift.
3. Higher Prestige of the language being shifted to: When a small, low- prestige
language is in contact with a big, high- prestige language, the former gradually yields
to the latter. The obvious example is English and many African languages. Also, in
Northern Nigeria, many languages (for instance Kanuri) are losing their speakers to
Hausa which is a language of high –prestige in Nigeria.
4. Conquest: With the Arab conquest of Egypt in the 17th century, the process
began which finalized the displacement of Coptic. Before then, Coptic had been the
spoken language of Egypt. The decline of Coptic as a spoken language was caused by
heavy discrimination from the new Arab rulers. Soon after the conquest, Arabic
became the only language used in administration and the pressure to convert to Islam
increased.
5. Religion: people may wish to learn a language because of its significance as a

language of religion. A typical example here is Arabic (the language of Islam) which
is spreading by leaps and bounds in Sudan, Tunisia, Algeria, Northern Nigeria, etc.
6. Government Policy: When government policy favours a language, that language

attracts speakers from different linguistic background. For example, Nigerian policy
recognizes English as the official language and medium of instruction in schools. As a
result, many of the elite have completely shifted from the use of their native Nigerian
languages to the use of English. This has brought about a new generation of Nigerians
who are monolingual in English.
7. Natural disaster such as floods, volcanic eruptions, famine and other such events
can be the cause of major movements of population. New language contact situations
then emerge as people are resettled. This may eventually force the people affected to
shift completely to the use of the new language.
Summary
This lecture explained the concept of language shift expositorily and
cites examples of communities that have collectively abandoned
their language and acquired a new one. Seven factors which can
cause language shift are highlighted.
44
Post- Test
1. What is language shift?
2. What are the factors responsible for language shift?
References
Peter Trudgill (1992) “Introducing Language and Society” Pengium Books
Limited
Crystal, D. (1987): “The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language” Cambridge
University Press.
45
LECTURE TWELVE
Factors that influence Language Attitude
Introduction
Language attitude refers to the predispositions, reactions or feelings of people towards
a particular language. It may be positive or negative, favourable or unfavourable.
People tend to be more favourably and positively disposed to a language that has:
i. a considerable national/ international coverage of users;
ii. a metropolitan or cosmopolitan status
iii. a considerable numerical strength and some measure of economic or political
power; and
iv. a sufficiently reliable codified form (orthography).
On the other hand, people‟s attitude towards a language will be negative if the
language is:
i. restricted in use to a few native speakers;
ii. a mere vernacular; not yet codified
iii. associated with rurality
iv. irrelevant to the socio-economic and political needs of the people.
Our goal in this lecture is to examine factors that influence language attitude.
Objectives
1. identify the factors that influence language attitude; and
2. discuss them convincingly
Pre-Test
Discuss five factors that influence language attitude.
CONTENT
Factors that influence language Attitude
1. Historical Factor: Questions of history may influence language attitude either
positively or negatively
46
2. Socio-cultural Factor: A language associated with rich cultural practices may
attract positive attitude. Examples are Greek and Latin in the 19th Century and English
in the present dispensation.
3. Economic Reasons: A Language that offers benefits capable of empowering

individuals will attract a positive attitude. English language attracts positive attitude
from Nigerians because it is seen as a language that offers economic benefits, people
regard it as a language of upward mobility.
4. Political Reasons: political domination can attract hatred towards a particular

language, in the same vein, language associated with power is more likely to attract
positive attitude. In Nigeria and other Anglophone (English-speaking countries) in
West Africa, English language is regarded as a language that is associated with
power. In the North, many languages have succumbed to the influence of Hausa
language, a similar thing has happened in the South Western Nigeria.
5. Ethnicity: Attitude towards a particular ethnic group may also affect attitude
towards the language of that group. Hausa has assumed the status of a lingua franca in
Northern Nigeria as a result of positive attitude towards the Hausas.
6. Religion: A language that is associated with a particular religion may attract

positive attitude from people. For this reason Latin attracts a positive attitude from
Roman Catholic and Arabic attracts positive attitude from Muslims
7. Rivalry/ competition: Rivalry leads to mutual suspicion which often results in

prejudice, stereotypes and subtle linguistic hostility. This is the kind of situation
among the different ethnic groups in Nigeria. No Nigerian language has been able to
assume the status of national language „as a result of unhealthy rivalry and
competition among the different ethnic groups.
8. Language Policy: When the policy of the government of a particular country

recognizes a language and confers a specific status upon it, such language attracts
positive attitude from people. English and the three major languages of Nigeria-
Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo continue to attract positive attitude from Nigerians because
of the recognition given them in the constitution of Nigeria.
9. Education: In many countries of the world, English language has continued to

attract a positive attitude from many people as a result of the fact that people regard it
as the medium of instruction in schools.
10. Inexplicable love or hatred for a particular language: People may have negative
or positive attitude towards a language for reasons unknown to them.
47
Summary
This lecture explained the concept of language attitude. It looks at
factors that can confer positive attitude on a language and at the
same time explores factors that may attract a negative attitude to a
language. Finally, it examines ten factors which influence people‟s
attitude (either positive or negative) towards a language.
Post-Test
1. What do you understand by language attitude?
2. Discuss seven factors that influence people‟s attitude towards a language
References
Peter Trudgill (1992) “Introducing Language and Society” Pengium Books
Limited
Crystal, D. (1987): “The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language” Cambridge
University Press.
48
LECTURE THIRTEEN
Attributes of Language
Introduction
It is customary to hear people commenting about a language or its dialects. Such
comments do not only tell us about the language or the dialect in question, but they
reflect the people‟s attitude and prejudices to the language and its speakers because
attitude towards a particular language is a reflection of attitude to its speakers. It is
this comment and statement of prejudices that constitute attitude. Language attitude is
distinguished from other attitudes by the fact that they are precisely about language.
Language attitude studies that are current in sociolinguistic are categorized into
three:
1. Those which are about language itself. Under this kind of study, people are asked
if they consider a given variety of language or the language itself as rich or poor,
beautiful or ugly, harsh, etc.
2. Those which deal with community –wide stereotyped impressions towards a

particular language or variety i.e. how the community as a whole regards the
language. This kind of study reflects the value attached to particular language in a
community i.e. the Received Pronunciation of B.B.C. English spoken in Southern
England is regarded as the Queen‟s English, (the standard variety), Oyo variety of
Yoruba which is the closest among the dialects to the standard variety is
prestigious as a result of the group of people who speak it.
3. Studies about all kinds of language behaviour towards a language as a result of

specific attitude or beliefs. Under this, topics like language usage and choice,
language planning and reinforcement, language learning and views about
interdialectal mutual intelligibility. It is our aim in this unit to examine four
attributes highlighted by Stewart (1968) which contribute to language attitudes.
Objectives
1. identify three types of language attitude studies that are current in sociolinguistic;
and
49
2. highlight four attributes of language which contribute to language attitudes as
identified by Stewart (1968).
Pre-Test
List and discuss the four attributes of language which according to Stewart (1968)
contribute to language attitude.
CONTENT
Stewart (1968) highlights four attributes which contribute to language attitudes. The
attitude of a speech community towards their language will be favourable or
unfavourable depending on whether their language itself satisfies the requirements of
these elements. These are standardization, autonomy, historicity and vitality.
1. Standardization is associated with codification and acceptance within a
community of users of a norm defining correct usage. The two operative words in
this definition are: codification and acceptance. Codification involves postulation
of rules as to how a language should be written or spoken. It could be a
specialized endeavour on the part of government or privates who are actively
interested e.g. writers and teachers. Having codified a language, it must satisfy
people‟s acceptability. For example, an agent can codify and undertake to make it
acceptable to people, it can be an educational system or mass media.
Standardization facilitates a positive attitude towards a language because it makes
the language accessible to many people. Standardization is of particular
importance in situations where there are several dialects of a language. For
example, in the Yoruba speaking areas, people are favourably disposed towards
the Standard Yoruba because it brings people of various dialect backgrounds
together. It also enables teachers to reach out to a wide spectrum of students who
speak different dialects. The general attitude towards a standard language is
favourable. While some are willing to learn it, others will be willing to perfect
their knowledge in it.
2. Another factor which engenders a positive attitude towards a language is

AUTONOMY. It refers to the status of linguistic system as an independent one,
one that does not have to be referred to in connection with another language. It is
unique. The issue of autonomy borders on some questions: Is the language a
complete whole or an entity on its own? Is it a dialect of a bigger language? In
relation to these questions, two types of relationship are usually established
between languages. They could be ABSTAND or AUSBAU relationship.
i. ABSTAND: Refers to languages that are logically different and that the
relationship between them hardly needs to be proved. For instance English and
Yoruba or English and Igbo are distinct autonomous languages.
ii. In ASBAU relationship, the languages are similar enough to make people
think one may likely be a dialect of the other. For example, Yoruba, Isekiri
and Igala are closely related languages as to suggest that they are dialects of
50
the same language. Other examples are: French and Italian, Cantonese and
Mandarene, Isoko and Urhobo, Ibibio and Efik.
3. The third input to language attitude is HISTORICITY. This is closely related to

autonomy. This is the effort to establish a certain history for the language. This
again relates more to language in AUSBAU relationship. For languages in
AUSBAU relationship there is need to prove that each developed normally over
time, that they existed in the distant past and not recent development. The
speakers may defend their language by saying it belongs to their progenitors and
any attempt to subjugate the language is usually rebuffed or frowned at.
4. Another factor which provides motivation for positive attitude towards a

language is VITALITY. It refers to the existence of native speakers of a language.
It also refers to the use a particular language is put within a speech community.
For instance, it may be used for vital purposes e.g. official and educational
purposes, apart from the day to day use.
Summary
In this lecture, we have examined four attributes of a language
which according to Stewart (1968) can attract positive attitude to a
language. These are:
i. standardization
ii. autonomy
iii. historicity, and
iv. vitality
Post-Test
1. Mention the four attributes (identified by Stewart) of a language that attract a
positive attitude to it.
2. Discuss any three of them
References
Stewart, W.(1968): “A Sociolinguistic Typology for Describing National
Multilingualism.” In Joshua Fishman (ed.) Readings in the Sociology of Language.
The Hague Mouton 531-45.
Trudgill,P. (1992): “Introducing Language and Society” Penguin Books Ltd.
51
LECTURE FOURTEEN
English Language in Nigeria
Preamble
English is used as an official or semi- official language in over 60
countries, and has a prominent place in a further 20. It is either
dominant or well established in all six continents. It is the main
language of books, newspapers, airports and air-traffic control,
international business and academic conferences, science,
technology, medicine, diplomacy, sports, international
competitions, pop music, and advertising.
(Crystal,D. 1987:358)
Introduction
Over two- thirds of the world‟s scientists write in English. Three- quarters of the
world‟s mail is written in English. Of all the information in the world‟s electronic
retrieval systems, 80% is stored in English. English radio programmes are received by
over 150 million in over 120 countries. Over 50 million children study English as an
additional language at primary level; over 80 million study it at secondary level (these
figures exclude China). In any one year, the British council helps a quarter of a
million foreign students to learn English, in various parts of the world. In the USA
alone, 337,000 foreign students were registered in 1983. It is our aim in this chapter to
explore the role of English language in Nigeria.
Objective
At the end of this lecture, you should be able to discuss the role of English language
as a linguistic asset in Nigeria.
Pre-Test
What role does English language play in Nigeria?
CONTENT
Historical Background
Hook (1975) opines that English language began from being spoken by a relatively
few thousands Anglo-Saxon invaders in the fifth century. Between that time and now,
52
the language has experienced some „invasions‟ which rather than lead to its death
resulted in making it a global language. Broughton et al (1980) stressed that of the
four or five thousand living languages, English is by far the most widely used because
it is either used as a mother tongue in some countries or as a second language in
others.
English language penetrated Nigeria as early as the 15th century through the
Europeans who came for the purpose of trading, explorations, evangelizing and
colonizing Nigeria in particular, and Africans in general (Baugh and Cable 1978). In
this same way, the language has spread to other parts of the world and has become a
permanent linguistic feature of the people with whom it has had contact. English
language as an international language is spoken in all the continents of the world
today, although, the degree of usage as well as functionality differs from place to
place. In Nigeria, a country which is linguistically fragmented, the English language
is today playing a messianic role because it facilitates inter- ethnic communication
among the multi-faceted, multilingual and multi-cultural people of Nigeria. But for
the language, it would have been impossibility for the people of Nigeria to live, trade
and interact meaningfully among themselves irrespective of the variants of the
English language used in the country (Kolawole, 2004).
The role of English language in Nigeria can be summarized as follows:
i. English language is the legacy of colonialism in Nigeria
ii. It is Nigeria‟s second language
iii. It is taught as a subject from pre-primary to tertiary level of education in
Nigeria.
iv. It is the medium of instruction in schools (language of teaching).
v. It is a restricted lingua franca in Nigeria (among the educated Nigerians).
vi. It is predominant in all domains; public administration, education, commerce,
industry, mass media, religion, law, entertainment etc.
vii. It is regarded as the language of upward mobility for Nigerians; therefore,
people have a positive attitude towards it.
viii. It is the official language of Nigeria
ix. Nigerians study it in higher institutions more than any other language.
x. It is the language of politics, legislation, law, literature, romance, science and
technology.
Summary
This lecture discussed the role of English language in Nigeria. It
traced its origin to the 15th century when the Europeans had contact
with the country. The conclusion we can draw from the important
roles played by English in Nigeria is that it is no more a foreign
language in the country. It is our second language which plays more
important role than any of our indigenous language.
53
Post-Test
1. English language is not a foreign language in Nigeria. Discuss
2. Discuss the roles played by English language as a linguistic asset in Nigeria.
References
Baugh, A.C. and Cable, T.(1978) “A History of English language” 3rd (ed.)
London Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Broughton et al (1980) “Teaching English as a Foreign language”. London
Routledge & Kegan Paul
Fadoro J.O (2006): “A Survey into the Problems Encountered by Teachers of
Oral English in Secondary Schools” An unpublished PGDE Project.
Hook, J.N. (1975) “Education in Nigeria” 1842-1939: A Historical Analysis,
Nigeria Longman.
Kolawole C.O. (2004): “Teaching the English Language in Nigerian
Secondary Schools: The Teacher‟s Dilemma.
54
LECTURE FIFTEEN
Consequences of Language Attitude in Nigeria
Preamble
Because of the heterogeneous multiplicity and cultures in Nigeria
and because English language is the unifying tongue with great
instrumental significance, the attitude of Nigerians to English is
strongly positive… Nigerians are more favourably disposed in
attitudes to French than other European languages and the
Muslim majority in Northern Nigeria has positive attitudes
towards the use of Arabic. As far as Nigerian indigenous
languages are concerned, they draw positive attitudes only from
their native speakers and a few non-native speakers who were born
or have lived long enough among the native speakers of such
language in their land as to have fallen in love with it.
(Babajide, 2001:11-12).
Introduction
The extent to which one language or type of language is favoured or preferred
depends on the community‟s perception of the role or status of that language type in
the context of the prevailing linguistic attitude in the society. English and other
European languages will continue to have a favourable attitude…. With the upsurge
in nationalism, however, one wonders whether the status of indigenous language will
remain the same in the near future. (see Oyetade, 2001:25).
Every decision that is taken in life has a consequence, likewise, every attitude one
manifests towards a thing, a person, or a language has a definite consequence. It is our
aim in this unit to discuss the possible consequences of language attitude.
Objective
At the end of this lecture, you should be able to expatiate the consequences of
language attitude.
55
Pre- Test
What do you think are the likely consequences of language attitude?
CONTENT
Negative or positive attitudes towards a language can have a profound effect on the
users of the language. one effect concerns the learning of that language, in situations
of language contact between major and minor languages, the majority language is
often regarded with positive attitude and it is often learned both by the majority and
minority language speakers. Hausa is the major language of Northern Nigeria. It is
officially recognized as one of the three major languages in the country. As a result of
this many other languages are giving way to it. Although, the Fulanis conquered the
Hausas during the Fulani Jihad ( ) yet, Fufulde is bowing to Hausa language
because of its perceived prestige.
French is not the only language spoken in France, but French is being encouraged
at the expense of other smaller languages and that is why the interest for French is
looming. Some of the other languages spoken in France are Breton and Alsatian. In
Canada, the majority are English speakers while the minorities are French speakers,
but we discover that the French speakers understand and are able to speak both
English and French; while the English speaking Canadians are not able to speak
French but English alone. There are two sets of language speakers in Belgium, the
Waloons and the Flemish the former speaks Dutch and the latter French. One
observes that those that speak Dutch also understand French but the other cannot
speak Dutch with French. In United States of America, English is not the only
language spoken. Other languages that are spoken are Haitian Greole, Armenian,
Portuguese, Italian, Chinese, Spanish, etc (see Crystal 1987:361).
Language attitude also influences the learning of first language. In her study of
German Hungarian bilingualism in Oberwert, Gal reports that because German is the
national language and symbolizes the urban feature- oriented society, it is preferred
over Hungarian, the language of the old way of life of the peasant community.
Therefore, children of monolingual German or bilingual German- Hungarian virtually
never learn Hungarian. In fact, parents make sure their children speak faultless
German, so that they can pass as monolingual and dissociate themselves from the
stigmatized Hungarian peasant identity.
Negative attitude towards language can affect its everyday use. e.g. speakers of a
language may refuse to speak it in public. John J. Gumperz reports that in an
Australian village, on the Dustnian-Yugoslav border, where both sloven and German
are spoken, it is considered impolite to speak Sloven in the presence of German
speakers, whether they are from within or outside the village. He noted that the
injunction against speaking Sloven is so strong to the extent that tourists can live in
this village for weeks without noticing that any other language is spoken apart from
German.
However, the stigmatization of any language may engender a positive attitude
towards the language. It may help its speakers to reinforce the solidarity and loyalty
of their group to the language. Even though, the use of a stigmatized language may
be associated with a less prestigious group, at least in the eyes of the majority group,
56
it may reinforce the groups‟ quality and symbolize solidarity for them. In summary,
language attitude can lead to language loyalty, language maintenance, language shift,
language deprivation and language extinction (death).
Summary
Language attitude either positive or negative has a sure consequence.
If positive, it can lead to language learning, language loyalty and
language maintenance. If negative, it can lead to language
stigmatization, language shift and eventually language death, which
is the final stage.
Post-Test
1. What are the effects of positive attitude towards a language?
2. What are the possible consequences of negative attitude towards a language?
3. What is your attitude towards your mother tongue?
References
Crystal,D.(1987): “The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language” Cambridge
University Press.
Babajide A.O. (2001) “Language Attitude Patterns of Nigerians” in Herbert
Igbanusi (2001) (Ed.) Language Attitude and Language Conflict in West Africa.
Oyetade,S.O. (2001) “Attitude to Foreign Language and Indigenous Language
Use in Nigeria” in Herbert Igboanusi (2001) (Ed.) Language Attitude and Language
Conflict in West Africa.
57
LECTURE SIXTEEN
Linguistic Situation in Nigeria
Introduction
LIN 271: The Linguistic Situation in Nigeria aptly captures what the language
situation in the country looks like. Unfortunately, the course material for this course is
not yet ready as a result of logistics. However, this unit briefly discusses the situation
of things in Nigeria. Suffice it to say that it is just a kind of preliminary.
Objectives
(i) Give an estimation of the number of languages that are spoken in Nigeria.
(ii) Discuss the language situation in the country.
Pre-Test
What is the linguistic situation in Nigeria?
The Languages of Nigeria

That Nigeria is extremely linguistically diverse is evident from the number cited in
each classification done on the number of languages in Nigeria. To Bamgbose
(1971:35-48) there are about 450 indigenous languages in Nigeria.
However, the recent 2005 Ethnologic Data listed 521 languages for Nigeria, of these,
510 are living languages, 2 are second languages without mother tongue speakers, and
9 are extinct.
The five hundred and ten indigenous living Nigerian languages, as expected, cannot
all function as the official language of Nigeria. Nigeria, just like any other African
nation, is not like most modern European nations that are linguistically homogenous.
These Nigerian languages have been variously categorized and recategorized as major
or minor or class I, class II or class III, etc., using a number of factors such as the
Population of speakers, range of functions/domains of use, level of linguistic analysis,
etc. (Adekunle, 1976; Bamgbose, 1985; Agheyisi, 1981; Odumuh, 1993; Oyetade
2002 among others). For instance, Brann (1992) classifies Nigerian languages, based
on their status as dominant languages, their territorial spread and the population that
speaks them. With this categorization, there are three major languages in Nigeria,
58
thirteen state languages and over forty-four local languages while those languages
considered as either too small or non-dominant speech forms in any existing political
or administrative territory were unlisted.
Indeed, going by the Ethnologic Data report for Nigeria, some of these five hundred
and ten living Nigerian languages have as low as 100 – 400 speakers. Examples
include: Janji, Benue-Congo language spoken in Bassa LG, Plateau State; Jilbe, Afro-
Asiatic language spoken in Borno State, Ndunda, Niger-Congo language spoken in
Taraba State, etc. Thus, such languages can be rightly categorized without sounding
derogatory anyway as minor languages used mainly at home, village and local
community levels. About 75 percent of the total figures of the Nigerian indigenous
languages belong to this core.
Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo are the three major languages in Nigeria. The 1979 and 1999
constitutions recognize them as national languages. They are used as regional
languages or lingua francas in Nigeria with the Hausa language in use in the North,
the Yoruba language is in use in the West and the Igbo language is in use in the
South-eastern Nigeria. They are however no restricted to intra-group communication.
„Although the exact population of mother tongue speakers of the major languages is
not known, the population of each of the three languages, is probably over 20 million
people‟ (Igboanusi & Peter 2005:5). Hence, they are the mother tongues of about half
of Nigeria‟s population, acquired at home but also taught in schools as subjects.
It is interesting to note that apart from the many indigenous languages, which are of
course the mother tongues of Nigerians, non-indigenous languages such as English,
French, Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Russian and German also exist. Spanish,
Italian, Russian and German have limited roles compared with English, French and
Arabic. The first set is commonly found among the elite and university students while
the last set occurs as a medium of communication within learned and unlearned
circles. Indeed, Arabic is highly associated with the Islamic religion, although, it
exists as a school subject especially in the Northern part of the country. Today,
English has become a second language in Nigeria, while Pidgin English, with
probably the largest number of speakers, has also emerged as a result of the contact of
English and the indigenous languages. The linguistic situation described above proves
that Nigeria is a multilingual country par excellence.
Summary
Even though, it is very difficult to give an accurate number of languages that
are spoken in Nigeria as a country, it is easy to approximate going by the
figures given by previous scholars. We can categorically assert that over 500
languages are spoken in the country. The English language towers above all
the languages in terms of its use and the attitude of Nigerians towards it.
This is closely followed by the three major languages – Hausa, Yoruba and
Igbo as recognized in the constitution of the country. The other languages
are in different categories.
59
Post-Test
Critically discuss the linguistic situation of Nigeria as a multilingual nation.
References
Dada, S.A. (2011). Language Planning in Nigeria: Issues and Perspectives in Ozo-
Mekuri Ndimele (ed.) Journal of the Linguistic Association of Nigeria. Vol. 14,
Number 1.
Oyetade, S.O. (1995). Course Material for LIN 271.
60
LECTURE SEVENTEEN
National Development, Orientation and Language

Planning
Introduction
Language is one social phenomenon that cannot be ignored in the life of man and in
the development of a nation. It is one unifying factor without which there cannot be
social harmony. Language is a major tool of development from man‟s primordial
state. The incident in Babel calls to mind what linguistic mutual intelligibility can
achieve. In Babel, the people were almost reaching up to heaven because they were in
one accord through linguistic unison. Their purpose was defeated the moment their
tongues were no longer one. But then, that was in the Old Testament. In the New
Testament on the other hand, the diversity of tongues in the days of the Apostles
became a blessing rather than the destruction that it brought the people building the
tower to heaven in Babel.
Objectives
(i) Identify multilingualism as a blessing and not a curse.
(ii) Explain how Nigeria‟s Linguistic resources can be harmonized for national
development.
Pre-Test
Is multilingualism a curse or a blessing?
CONTENT
The Nigerian linguistic situation is akin to the days of Babel after God had confused
their tongues. Nigeria today parades about 410 different languages (Crozier & Blench,
1992) supported by about 250 divergent cultures. This is a situation that casts doubts
on the nationhood of Nigeria, because ordinarily, a nation is a human community that
is united by language and culture‟ and Nigeria, like many sovereign states in the
world today, „are for the most part multi-national, polyglot in language and plural in
culture‟ (Afigbo, 2000:81). What does this portend for Nigeria? A blessing or a curse?
61
Scholars are now divided as to the benefits or otherwise of monolingualism and
multilingualism. Some believe that linguistic differences which reinforce and
accentuate cultural differences (Age, et al, 2007) are part of the causes of many inter-
tribal strifes in the world today. These supporters of monolingualism are also quick to
point out that monolingual nations develop more and faster than multilingual ones.
This may be so as most of the world‟s super powers are monolingual and most
African nations which are multilingual are bogged down by linguistic multiplicity.
Canada, a bilingual nation and Belgium a multilingual one, though not as
linguistically pluralized as Nigeria, however, stand out as examples of developed
multilingual states. Supporters of multilingualism believe that the over 4000
languages in use in the world today (Comrie, 1987) cannot possibly be fused into one
for whatever reason. Even God at Pentecost made divergent tongues a source of
blessing. To this extent, the many languages in the world today should not be seen as
a curse but God‟s own gift to humanity because God Himself is a polyglot.
If God is indeed a polyglot, as we know Him to be, and Nigeria has one of the largest
numbers of languages in the world today, it will not be an overstatement to say that
God is a Nigerian. The vast economic resources with which Nigeria is endowed are a
further indication to show the Nigerianness‟ of God. Very few nations in the world
today can boast of the abundant resources with which Nigeria is favoured: both
human and material. Nigeria‟s linguistic diversity is one of the blessing of God and
should not be the bane of her development.
Languages and Language Community in Nigeria

Nigeria is usually compartmentalized into three by Rivers Niger and Benue; the north,
the West and the East. Within these compartments, however, there are also
geopolitical subdivisions which have seen the country portioned into six geopolitical
zones of North Central, North East, North West, South West, South East and South
South. Each of these divisions is identified by its linguistic affinity. In the north
generally they are mainly identified with Hausa, in the East with Igbo and in the West
it is Yoruba. Besides these major popular languages is a plethora of other minor but
no less significant languages. Apart from the West, which is to a large extent
homogenous, the other divisions are multilingual. While in the North the Hausa
language is a lingua franca, it is Yoruba in the West, the East can only boast of Pidgin
as the lingua franca. Whereas no Yoruba person can be lost linguistically in any of the
West as long as (s)he can speak Yoruba, the same can be said of a Northerner as long
as (s)he can speak Hausa, it is the Pidgin, that is the saving grace in the East. So apart
from the three major languages recognized in the Constitution, hundreds of other
languages abound with their Budding cultures, which some of the speakers see as
their identity and are not willing to trade off.
The Concept of Social Integration, National Orientation and Development

Man is by nature gregarious. He is willing to mix with other beings, knowing full well
that no man is an island entire unto himself. The major means of interaction with
other beings is language, and linguistic affinity is one of the strongest bonds in life.
62
This is why people who share the same language are more emotionally attached to
one another than people who are linguistically contrasting to one another. Boundaries
are usually delineated by linguistic considerations, more than any other thing. Even
people, who are separated by natural boundaries like rivers and some other physical
things, but share the same language, still share the same fellow feelings. Basher &
Anthony (2002), for instance, believe that a community remains in existence for as
long as they still have a particular language which makes co-existence possible; a
situation that makes languages a live wire of a community in which it operates. This
shows the significance of language in human relationship and existence. Each
language group therefore has its own identity that cannot be easily wished away for
whatever reason and by whatever circumstances. It is a unique identity with deep
cultural heritage that is usually not easy to obliterate. Linguistic diversity usually
breeds disintegration in a multilingual nation, and the people need to be properly
oriented to be socially integrated into the larger society.
Summary
Whether multilingualism will be a curse or a blessing to a nation depends on
how the nation is able to manage its linguistic resources effectively. A nation
like Nigeria prides itself in the fact that it has over five hundred languages, yet
English is a lingua franca of a kind which has made communication possible
among the citizens. The only problem is that it is a restricted one because the
illiterates are cut off. However, with effective language planning, Nigerian
pidgin can be developed to be an unrestricted lingua franca. There will be the
need to make it acceptable to the elite.
Post-Test
English language is a restricted lingual franca. Discuss
References
Dare Owolabi (2010). Nigerian Languages and Social Integration in Oyebade, F.O.
and Olumuyiwa, T. (eds.) New Findings in the Study of Nigerian Languages and
Literature (A festschrift in honour of Oladele Awobuluyi Akure: Moutem Paperbacks.
63
LECTURE EIGHTEEN
Language Policies and Planning
Introduction
Language planning refers to activities carried out by governmental or other influential
bodies that are aimed at establishing which language varieties are used in a particular
community, and subsequently at directing or influencing which varieties are to be
used for which purposes in that particular community, and what the linguistic
characteristics of those varieties are to be. Language planning is usually undertaken in
order to improve communications, education, and/or influence nationism and achieve
language maintenance. (Trudgill, P.1992: 47). Our goal in this lecture is to examine
the concept of language planning in some details.
Objectives
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
1. define language planning
2. discuss the two types of language planning
3. highlight the different stages involved in language planning.
Pre - Test
1. What is language planning?
2. Discuss the stages involved in language planning
CONTENT
Language Planning involves the creation and implementation of an official policy
about how the languages and linguistic varieties of a country are to be used. Decisions
of a fundamental nature may need to be made, especially in the developing countries.
Planning issues are found in all countries, people debate over such topics as the place
of minority languages, the role of an academy in safeguarding standards, the influence
of the media on language usage, the value of spelling reform, the avoidance of sexist
language, the modernization of religious language, the need for stylistic standards in
publishing, and the maintenance of oracy and literacy levels in schools. All these
activities are different aspects of language planning.
64
Classification of Language Planning
Researchers on language planning have identified two categories of planning. These
are status planning and corpus planning. We present this briefly in a tree diagram
below:
Language Planning
Status Planning Corpus Planning
Status Planning
This refers to decisions which have to be taken concerning the selection of particular
languages or varieties (dialects) of a language for particular purposes in the society or
nation in question. Decisions about which language(s) is/are to be the national or
official languages of particular nation/state are among the more important of status
planning issues. Some scholars prefer to refer to status planning as language
determination. Under status planning, changes are proposed in the way a
language/variety is to be used in the society which alter the status of the language or
dialect in question.
Corpus Planning
This aspect of language planning and codification refers to decisions taken about the
linguistic characteristics of the variety of language in question. Typical corpus issues
involve questions concerning which pronunciation to use of those available, which
syntactic structures and morphological forms are to be permitted, which of a number
of regionally based words of identical meaning is to be favoured and what is to be
done about expansion of the vocabulary if necessary. Some scholars refer to it as
language development. Corpus planning involves the linguistic structure, changes
such as spelling, pronunciation, grammar or vocabulary.
Planning in Practice
The different stages involved in language planning are briefly discussed below:
Selection of Norm: When there are several languages that are spoken in a country, it
will be necessary to choose a single language as a norm for official, educational and
other purposes. It may be possible to select one of the indigenous languages, e.g.
Hindi in India or this may not be possible because of ethnic rivalry in which case a
neutral language will be selected e.g. English in Ghana and Nigeria. It may be
necessary to select a particular variety as the standard or to construct a new variety,
65
bearing in mind factors such as formality, social class, regional dialect and previous
literary use.
Codification: The need to develop the form that is chosen to meet the demands
placed on it as a medium of national or international communication arises after the
selection has been done. If the language does not have an orthography, it will be
necessary to devise an alphabet, along with rules of spelling, punctuation and
pronunciation. The priority should be the codification of the pronunciation, grammar
and vocabulary to provide a set of norms for standard use, especially if there is a great
deal of local variations.
Modernization: The need also arises to develop metalanguage for specific areas e.g.
science, technology, medicine, consumer goods, law, etc. This process is referred to
as intellectualization. It may be done through different morphological processes, such
as translation, borrowing or coining. Principles will have to be agreed upon for the
introduction of new terms e.g. should they be loan words or coinages based on native
roots? New styles of discourse may need to be developed for use on radio or in the
press generally. Decisions will have to be made about new or uncertain usages,
especially technical in contexts e.g. abbreviation of scientific terms.
Implementation: The chosen standard needs to be officially implemented through

use by government publication media in schools, etc. It must attract a positive attitude
from the users as the „best‟ or standard variety in the speech community because it
will be associated with educational progress or social status. It will provide the norm
for literary style and may be associated with factors of a naturalistic, cultural or
religious kind. Eventually, it may be promulgated as a norm through an official body,
such as an academy or through prescriptive grammars, dictionaries and manuals for
usage.
Evaluation: At this stage, the success or failure of the planning is assessed. If the
changes effected are generally accepted by the populace and are put into use, then the
process is considered successful. If on the other hand people protest or ignore the
changes, then the process has failed.
Summary
This unit focused on the concept of language planning. The two types
of language planning and the different stages involved in them have
been comprehensively discussed.
Post - Test
1. What is Language Planning? Mention and discuss the two types of language
planning
2. Enumerate and discuss the different stages involved in language planning.
66
References
University Press.
Trudgill, P. (1992) “Introducing Language and Society Penguin Books
Limited”.
Fadoro, J.O. (2008) Language in Education. Ibadan Distance Learning Centre.
67
LECTURE NINETEEN
Metalanguage
Introduction
Every field of specialization (the arts, the sciences and the social sciences) has its
technical terms and/or jargons by means of which it is understood. It is the whole
range of such technical vocabulary in any given field, which happens to be relatively
new to the Nigerian environment. A brief survey of the potentialities of Nigerian
languages that serve as media of instruction in sciences, reveals that at the moment,
the wealth of technical jargons and symbols by which the fields of science are
recognised is simply lacking (Nwokedi, 1984).
Our goal in this unit is to examine the concept of metalanguage and to look at
different possible ways of expanding the vocabulary of a language to meet the
challenges of contemporary civilization.
Objectives
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
1. explain the concept ”metalanguage”.
2. discuss the various ways by which a language's vocabulary items can be
increased.
Pre-Test
What is metalanguage?
Discussion
The indigenous technical terms required for teaching and discussing the different
disciplines and subject matters of practical and intellectual interest is broadly referred
to as metalanguage.
In literature and classical sociolinguistic literature, 'metalanguage' i.e. language used

to describe, analyse or define a language is a comprehensive phenomenon which takes
68
its time to build up, with or without planning. In Nigeria, metalanguage is the name
given to a definite project which was fully funded by the former Nigerian Educational
Research Council (NERC) and jointly organized by the respective language
association of the three majority languages, between 1981 and 1983. The thrust of the
project was „finding‟ Nigerian language equivalents for key concepts in some 8,000
words in language, linguistics, oral and written literature and education.
Devices for formulating terms

Among the devices proposed by linguists for formulating Yoruba terms which are
manifest in the Quadrilingual Glossary of Legislative Terms (QGLT) (English,
Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo) compiled in 1991 under the auspices of the Nigerian
Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) are (i) composition (ii)
semantic extension (iii) explication (iv) idiomatization, and (v) loanwords.
i. Composition: This involves two or more items (e.g. morphemes, words,
phrases, etc.) for the purpose of expressing foreign concepts or objects based on the
qualities or features such concepts manifest.
Examples:
English Terms
Terms
1. Bill -ofin Literally – suggestions
2. Constituency Electoral district
3. Legislate - Make/enact laws.
–
„law‟
ii. Explication: This involves providing explicit information about foreign objects
or concept in Yoruba. Examples:
• National development – -
• Authorized expenditure – -
• Imprisonment –
English Terms Yoruba Terms Meaning of Yoruba Terms

1. Import licence Lit. paper of permission to
bring in goods from other
- countries?
2. National Lit. money that comes in for

income - a country
69
Semantic Extension: This involves extending the meaning of a given word in Yoruba
for the purpose of expressing or describing foreign concepts or objects.
70
Examples:
English Yoruba Original Meaning of word in Extended Meaning
Term Terms Yoruba
1. President Aare A Chief, first rank, an official The President of the Federal
title of the war Chief. Republic of Nigeria or of an
association
2. Incantation O Incantation Discourse
3. Definition Family name, an attribute Definition of concept or an item.
name connoting heroism or
endearment
iv. Idiomatization: This involves using Yoruba idioms for the purpose of
expressing or describing foreign concepts or objects.
Examples:
English Yoruba Terms Meaning of Yoruba Terms
Terms
1. Veto - Lit. act of putting leg on (something)
2. Compensation - - Lit, act of giving 'take, don't be

-ma a - annoyed'.
v. Loanwords: This involves the adoption or borrowing of words from a foreign

language (mainly English) for the purpose of expressing concepts or objects for which
either there are no equivalent Yoruba terms or the available Yoruba terms are
inappropriate. Examples:
English Term Yoruba Term

1. Budget Bo
2. Bail
3. Committee
Such loanwords are normally assimilated or integrated into the phonological structure
of the Yoruba language.
71
Summary
This unit has examined 'metalanguage' as a concept. A careful look at the word
reveals that two components are merged, these are: „meta‟ which means 'higher'
or 'beyond', and 'language'.
The combination simply refers to the technical words and phrases used to
describe a particular language.
The process involves the ability to expand the vocabulary of a language to
accommodate new concepts, ideas and inventions so that the language can
compete favourably with a language like English. In this unit, five methods were
discussed and exemplified. These are (i) composition (ii) semantic extension (in)
explication (iv) idiomatisation.
Post-Test
1. How would you define metalanguage'?
2. Discuss some methods that can be used to expand the vocabulary of a
language.
References
Holmes, J. (1998). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (Third Edition).

Pearson Longman.
Fadoro, J.O. (2008) Language in Education. Ibadan Distance Learning Centre,
Ibadan.
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Language Use and Language Attitude

First Published 2008

General Editor: Prof. Francis Egbokhare

Typeset @ Distance Learning Centre, University of Ibadan

Professor Olufemi A. Bamiro, FNSE

Professor Francis O. Egbokhare

I wish you the very best.

2. Linguistics: In simple term, is the scientific way of studying language in which

4. Language Maintenance: The continued use and support for a language in a

5. Language Loyalty: The personal attachment to a language that leads to its

6. Language Death: in a situation of multilingualism and language contact,

7. Language Endangerment: A situation in which a language is in danger of

9. Monolingualism: A sociolinguistic situation in which only one language is

11. Multilingualism: The opposite of monolingualism. A sociolinguistic situation in

13. Dialect: A variety of language which differs grammatically, phonologically and

14. Standard Variety: A variety of language which has undergone standardization

15. Standardization: The process by which a particular variety of a language is

16. Language Determination: A term from language planning not significantly

18. Language Planning: Activities carried out by governmental, official or other

Take heed - be careful

NIGERIAN ENGLISH BRITISH ENGLISH

Standard American English Black American English

3. Consultative Style: It is the neutral kind of language used in polite conversation

4. Casual Style: It is the type used between acquaintances or members of similar

Frozen Formal Consultative Casual Intimate, we can deliberately use

7. Language also varies at the level of the individual

Domains of Language Use in Nigeria

2. Commerce and Industry

Language Use in Nigeria’s Rural and Urban

Factors that Influence Language Use in Nigeria

5. Ethnicity (Tribal background): In ethnically homogenous groups, the mother

6. Mode of Discourse: (i.e. whether written or spoken): In oral communication,

Stereotyped Notions about Language

“would be enough to make them the allowed judges of style and

Our language is extremely imperfect, that its daily improvements

Different Manifestations of Linguistic Imperialism

iii. In certain schools, particularly the indigenous languages are described as

v. Indigenous languages are accorded an inferior status on the curriculum

vii. In the recruitment of teachers and allocation of teachers to schools, English

Methods of Language Attitude Research

Why does language provide such a fascinating object of study?

Methods of Language Attitude Research

Methodological Problem of Language Attitude Research

Causes of Language Shift

2. Industrialization: Urbanization and other economic reasons can cause language

5. Religion: people may wish to learn a language because of its significance as a

6. Government Policy: When government policy favours a language, that language

Factors that influence Language Attitude

3. Economic Reasons: A Language that offers benefits capable of empowering

4. Political Reasons: political domination can attract hatred towards a particular

6. Religion: A language that is associated with a particular religion may attract

7. Rivalry/ competition: Rivalry leads to mutual suspicion which often results in

8. Language Policy: When the policy of the government of a particular country

9. Education: In many countries of the world, English language has continued to

2. Those which deal with community –wide stereotyped impressions towards a

3. Studies about all kinds of language behaviour towards a language as a result of

2. Another factor which engenders a positive attitude towards a language is

3. The third input to language attitude is HISTORICITY. This is closely related to