ATTENTION:
BEFORE YOU READ THE CHAPTER ONE
OF THE PROJECT TOPIC BELOW, PLEASE READ THE INFORMATION BELOW.THANK YOU!
INFORMATION:
YOU CAN GET THE COMPLETE
PROJECT OF THE TOPIC BELOW. THE FULL PROJECT COSTS N5,000 ONLY. THE FULL
INFORMATION ON HOW TO PAY AND GET THE COMPLETE PROJECT IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS
PAGE. OR YOU CAN CALL: 08068231953, 08168759420
RETAINING
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AS NIGERIA’S OFFICIAL LANGUAGE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background to the Study
English is
Germanic language of the Indo-European family. It is the second most spoken
language in the world. It is estimated that there are 300 million native
speakers and 300 million people who use English as a second language and a
further 100 million who use it is a foreign language. It is the language of
science, aviation, computing and internet, diplomacy, and tourism. It is listed
as the official or co-official language of over 45 countries and is spoken
extensively in other countries where it has no official status. English plays a
part in the cultural, political or economic life of many countries today
(http//www.enlishforums.com rint.htm).
This compares
to 27 for French, 20 for Spanish and 17 for Arabic. This domination is unique /
in history .Speakers of languages like French, Spanish and Arabic may disagree,
but English is on its way to becoming the world’s unofficial international
language.
Mandarin
(Chinese) is spoken by more people, but English is now the most widespread of
the world’s languages. Half of all business deals are conducted in English. Two
thirds of all scientific papers are written in English. Over 70% of all
post/mail is written and addressed in English. Most international tourism,
aviation and diplomacy are conducted in English.
The history
of the language can be traced back to the arrival of three Germanic tribes to
the British Isles during the 5th Century AD. Angles, Saxons and Jutes crossed
the North Sea from what is the present day Denmark and northern Germany. The
inhabitants of Britain previously spoke a Celtic language. This was quickly
displaced. Most of the Celtic speakers were pushed into Wales, Cornwall and
Scotland. One group migrated to the Brittany Coast of France where their
descendants still speak the Celtic Language of Breton today. The Angles were
named from Engle,’ their lane of origin. Their language was called Englisc from
which the word, English derives. An Anglo-Saxon inscription dated between 450
and 80 A.D is the oldest sample of the English language. During the next few
centuries four dialects of English developed: Northumbrian in Northumbria,
north of the Humber Mercian in the Kingdom of Mercia, West Saxon in the Kingdom
of Wessex and Kentish in Kent.
During the
7th and 8th Centuries, Northumbrian’s culture and language dominated Britain.
The Viking invasions of the 9th Century brought this domination to an end
(along with the destruction of Mercia). Only Wessex’ remained as an independent
kingdom. By the 10th Century, the West, Saxon dialect became the official
language of Britain. Written Old English is mainly known from this period. It
was written in an alphabet called Runic, derived from the Scandinavian
languages. The Latin alphabet was brought over from Ireland by Christian
missionaries. This has remained the writing system of English. At this time,
the vocabulary of Old English consisted of an Anglo Saxon base with borrowed
words from the Scandinavian languages (Danish and Norse) and Latin. Latin gave
English words like street, kitchen, kettle, cup, cheese, wine, angel, bishop,
martyr, candle, etc. The Vikings added many Norse words: sky, egg, cake, skin,
leg, window (wind eye), husband, fellow, skill, anger, flat, odd, ugly, get,
give, take, raise, call, die, they, their, them. Celt words also survived
mainly in place and river names (Devon, Dover, Kent, Trent, Severn, Avon,
Thames). Many pairs of English and Norse words coexisted giving us two words
with the same of slightly differing meanings.
Essentially,
the domains of usage of English in Nigeria tend to be formal. It is the
official language which in essence means it serves as the language of
government, education, commerce, and to a limited extent, social interaction,
especially among the educational elite. Within Nigeria alone, it is estimated
that nearly 400 languages are spoken (Agheyisi, 1984: Bamgbose, 1971); in
Ghana, 47 (Dolphyne 1995) and in Sierra Leone, 16. In the context of such
complex multilingualism it is expedient for government to stick to a neutral
language, such as English, as official language. English has the additional
advantage of long association, being the language of the colonial rulers. It is
also a world language with all the advantages accruing to an individual who
speaks such a language both nationally and internationally. To quote Kachru:
“Competence
in English and the use of this language signify a transmutation: and added
potential for material and social gain and advantages. One sees this attitude
in what the symbol stands for; for English is considered a symbol of
linguistically complex and pluralistic societies” (Kachru 1986).
English
enjoys a wider geographical spread than any of the indigenous languages within
Nigeria. Whatever the language of discussion, a serious business transaction is
sealed up in written English. The same goes for political campaigns which can
be carried out in the language of the immediate environment, but manifestos and
other documents are produced in English.
In
education, English is introduced as a subject from the first year in primary
schools and used as a medium and subject of instruction from the third year
through secondary and tertiary education. In private schools, especially in
cosmopolitan areas, children are taught in English from kindergarten. To gain
admission – into any University Faculty, a credit at O’levels in English is a
prerequisite. It is only in very rare cases that a pass is considered. English
is the country’s lingua franca spoken in every national, academic and official
gathering in the country.
But with the
case of high level of illiteracy in the country and its attendant problem of
making communication in English with most villagers difficult, because much
useful information communicated or written in English could not be assessed by
these villagers/illiterates and as such, they seem to exist in abstraction in a
country of their own.
Consequently,
many had argued against the continuous usage of English as the official
language of Nigeria (considering the low literate level of the country), and
favoured the use the three major native languages (Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa
languages). Though the argument over which of the three native languages would
be held supreme in the country frustrated the acceptance of the above argument
among the Nigeria people, the critical question remains whether English
language should still be used as the only official language of the country. It
is against this background that this study was designed to examine the case of
retaining English language as Nigeria’s lingua franca.
HOW TO GET THE FULL PROJECT
WORK
PLEASE, print the following
instructions and information if you will like to order/buy our complete written
material(s).
HOW TO RECEIVE PROJECT
MATERIAL(S)
After paying the appropriate
amount (#5,000) into our bank Account below, send the following information to
08068231953 or 08168759420
(1)
Your project topics
(2)
Email Address
(3)
Payment Name
(4)
Teller Number
We
will send your material(s) after we receive bank alert
BANK ACCOUNTS
Account
Name: AMUTAH DANIEL CHUKWUDI
Account
Number: 0046579864
Bank:
GTBank.
OR
Account
Name: AMUTAH DANIEL CHUKWUDI
Account
Number: 2023350498
Bank:
UBA.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL:
08068231953 or 08168759420
AFFILIATE
Comments
Post a Comment