INTRODUCTION
English was not the first European language to be spoken in Nigeria. In fact, an Oba of Benin was reputed to have spoken fluent Portuguese as far back as the 16th century. But English soon displaced Portuguese in Nigeria due to reasons not yet obvious. But it can be guessed that the fact that Portuguese activities were limited to the royal courts contributed to its easy displacement by the English language.
As the Romans imposed Latin on their conquered territories, the British also imposed English on their colonies, including Nigeria. However, the imposition was rather diplomatic. Trading activities, missionary activities western education etc. contributed immensely to the introduction of English in the country. Since its introduction, in Nigeria, English has been existing alongside the numerous indigenous languages in addition to such languages as Arabic and French.
In this unit we shall talk about the interaction of English and the indigenous Languages with emphasis on the effects of English on the indigenous languages as well as the effects of the indigenous languages on the English language.
3.1 The Language Situation in Nigeria
With what you have learnt in this course, it should be clear to you by now that Nigeria is a multilingual country.
Multilingualism is a phenomenon of linguistic pluralism within a single polity. According to Stewart (1968:531), national multilingualism refers to the use of more than one language in a single polity. Multilingualism exists in varying degrees in many areas of the world, e.g. Asia, Africa, Latin America etc.
As at now, the actual number of the indigenous languages in Nigeria cannot be determined, but it has been variously put between 150 and 400. Furthermore, these indigenous languages have dialects, some of which are not even mutually intelligible. Out of these numerous languages, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba have the political recognition as ‘major languages’. The three languages can be regarded as regional lingua francas: Hausa is predominant in the North, Igbo in the East and Yoruba in the West.
In addition to the indigenous languages in Nigeria, we have such languages as English, French, Arabic, German, Russian and Pidgin English. French, German, Arabic and Russian are taught in our schools and Universities as foreign languages. Within the society, they are used for very restricted activities. But English enjoys the status of a second language; it is used extensively for the conduct of day-to-day activities. Arabic is used mostly only in religious contexts while Pidgin English flourishes mainly in commercial contexts, and spoken informal situations.
Definitely, the picture painted above is that of multilingualism and there is a movement towards a diglossic relationship; that is a functional differentiation of the languages. But in practical terms, bilingualism is predominant.
3.2 Interaction of English and the Indigenous Nigerian Languages
Languages are like human beings. Just like human beings interact with one another, languages in a multilingual setting also interact with one another. In such a situation, there will be cross-linguistic influence. Since the English language exists side by side with the indigenous languages in Nigeria, it exerts some influence on the languages. In like manner, the indigenous languages also influence the English language. So, it is atwo-way affair.
3.2.1 Effects of the Indigenous Languages on the English Language
The effects of the indigenous languages in Nigeria on the English language can be seen in terms of the colorations that have been given the English language in the country. These reflect at various levels of language description: phonology, grammar, lexis and semantics.
At the phonological level, the influence of the mother tongue is pronounced. This manifests in the treatment of the segmental and supra- segmental units. With the segmental units of vowels and consonants, for example, there is the phenomenon of sound substitution. For example, there are some vowels and consonants which are present in English but absent in Yoruba. So, when the Yoruba speakers of English encounter these sounds, they substitute them with sounds which are present in Yoruba e.g. /^/, /O/. So “come” will be rendered as /k›m/ instead of
/k^m/; “thin” will be realized as /tin/ instead of /oin/.
With the suprasegmental units of stress and intonation there is a similar tendency. Nigerian languages are said to be tonal in nature rather than stress timed. Like English in these languages, tone is used for lexical distinction. An average Yoruba speaker of English, for example, is likely to assign equal prominence to every syllable in a bi- or polysyllabic words (A polysyllabic word is that which contains many syllables). But this is not so in native English speech, where only one syllable is given the primary stress in a polysyllabic words.
Self-Assessment Exercise
If you are a speaker of Yoruba, describe two more examples of each of the situations cited above. If you speak another indigenous language, state two examples for each of the situations described above. That is, how your indigenous language affects the treatment of the segmental and the suprasegmental units of English.
At the grammatical level, the influences of the indigenous languages are minimal, but they are nonetheless present. For example, there is the use of the plural pronoun “they” for a single person among the Yoruba speakers of English. There may also be a translation of Yoruba structure into English e.g. “I am coming” said by somebody taking an excuse to leave.
At the lexical level, some words from the indigenous languages have entered the English language e.g. “Oba” (King), “dodo” (Friend plantain), “iroko” (a type of tree) etc. from Yoruba; “Obi” (a title), “Ogbono” (a type of soup) etc. from Igbo; “Emir” (a title), “seriki” (a title) etc. from Hausa. These are regarded as loan words from the indigenous languages.
In the area of semantics (that is, meaning), the influence of indigenous languages and cultures can also be noted on the English language, especially in the aspect of kinship terms. Such kinship terms as father, mother, brother, sister etc. have been broadened in meaning in Nigerian English. “Father” in Nigerian English means more than one’s male biological parent, so also the word “mummy” .
3.2.2 Effects of English on the Indigenous Nigerian Languages
The English language has significant linguistic influence on the indigenous languages in Nigeria. According to Bamgbose (1995:11), one clear linguistic influence of English on the Nigerian languages relates to the presence of a large vocabulary of English in these languages. Such items in Yoruba include “titi (street), “diga” (digger), “sibi” (spoon), “buredi” (bread), “redio” (radio) and so on. All these words can be regarded as loan translations with phonological modification. Through this process, the vocabulary of the Yoruba language is expanded. The same thing goes for all the other indigenous languages in Nigeria.
Self-Assessment Exercises
If your indigenous language is Yoruba, cite more examples of the process described above.
If you speak another indigenous Nigerian language, give some examples in your language of the process.
It should also be noted that the interaction of English and the indigenous languages in Nigeria has led to the emergence of Nigerian Pidgin. Nigerian Pidgin draws its vocabulary from English and the indigenous languages. From the indigenous languages come such items as “wahala”, “katakata”, “ogogoro”,megida” etc. in Nigerian pidgin.
The sociolinguistic phenomena of code mixing and code-switching are also another effect of the interaction of English and the indigenous languages. An educated Nigerian can hardly undertake an extensive discourse in his mother tongue without code-mixing English items or
switching completely to English at the end of a complete utterance.
Examples are:
“Mi ori manyen lana” (code-mixing), meaning “I didn’t see the man yesterday”
“O pari. Let’s go” (code-switching) (That’s all, Let’s go)
Self-Assessment Exercises
1. Cite more examples of code-mixing and code-switching involving English and your indigenous language.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Language interaction is a common feature in bi or multilingual settings. Nigeria is a multilingual country in which many indigenous languages exist and some foreign languages as well. Although foreign to Nigeria, English has become a second language in the country, which is extensively used in addition to the mother tongues. Since its inception in Nigeria, English has been existing side by side with the indigenous languages and this has led to some cross-linguistic influence.
5.0 SUMMARY
The language situation in Nigeria which we have described in this unit is that of multilingualism. In this multilingual situation, English enjoys a great prominence as the language of government, education, commerce and industry, international diplomacy and so on. If placed in a diglossic relationship with the indigenous Nigerian languages, there is no doubt that English will be regarded as “H” language (that is, High language-a language that enjoys dominance over its rivals). Both English on the one hand and the indigenous languages on the other have continued to influence each other (socio linguistically).
6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENTS
1. Describe the language situation in Nigeria
2. Illustrate clearly the cross-linguistic influence between English and the indigenous Nigerian Languages.
7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS
Bamgbose, A (1995) English in the Nigerian Environment” In Bamgbose, A; Banjo, A and Thomas, A (eds) New Englishes: A
West AFRICAN Perspective. Ibadan: Mosuropp 9–26.
Jowitt, D (1991) Nigerian English Usage. Zaria: Longman.
Stewart, W (1968). “A Socio-linguistic Typology for Describing National Multilingualism”. In Fishman, J (ed) Readings in the Sociology of Language. The Hague: Moutons and Co. pp 531- 545.
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