How English Language came into Nigeria, its role and why English langauge is called the second language in Nigeria

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY SECOND LANGUAGE?

          Second language refers to the language a person learns on top of his first or nature language. Although in some situation, the second language may be learnt almost simultaneously with first language, generally it comes at a later stage in the process of social formation.

          Second language is the process by which people learn language in addition to their native tongue. Today most scholar use “language learning and language acquisition” interchangeable.

          In second language, there are always shuttle different official language and foreign language. For instance in Nigeria, English language is been taught and learn as a second language. It has the official status; it is an official language and lingual Franca. It is the language of business, government, medium of instruction in schools etc. on the other hand; French language is being taught and learnt as foreign language. For the fact that one has influence on the one that does not have official status and have effect on the use and proficient.

          Today, many factors may lead to the learning of secondary language. As the world is becoming a global village there is an increase in the movement of people. Cultural interaction is becoming more pronounced with the internet and other forms of modern communication, many people are forced to learn second language for instance in Nigeria the national policy on education in 1981. it is also state that the will of language as a mean of preserving culture and of the adoption of particular language as median for fostering national unity. It states that in addition to appreciating the importance of language in the educational process, and as a means of preserving the people’s culture, the government considers it to be in the interest of national unity that each child should be encouraged to learn on of the three major languages other than his own mother tongue. In this connection the three major languages in Nigeria; Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba.

          This policy has made the teaching and learning of these Nigerian language as a second language both at the formal setting:- pre-primary, Primary, secondary, and tertiary institution also at the informal scaling based on the personal interest, business interest or as necessity.

In addition to this second language is the process by which language develop.

HISTORY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN NIGERIA

          Formal Western education was introduced into the country by Christian missionaries just before the middle of the 19^th century for about four decades after the initial date, both the nature and man thrust of language. Education in the country was completely left to those missionaries to decide.

          The slave trade activities along the West Coast of African in the 18^th century is believed, led to the initial contact between the European, his language and this paved the way for the emerging missionaries and the British colonial masters. Omolewa (1975) states that “English language came into Nigeria before the advent of the missionaries in the country. The “Coastal English” spoken then according to him, was highly adulterated. It was a transactional and functional kind of English used by traders along the coast of Nigeria.

          Bamgbose, espousing to the type of English spoken during this period states that “the contract gave birth to an inter-language which he terms “Coastal English” with pidgin and broken English as its variants”

The coming of the British and English speaking missionaries in large numbers to the Southern part of Nigeria as from 1842 brought up the question of a language to adopt for communication between the indigenous population and the guest. Omolewa lending credence to the fact quotes Rev. M. Suntar, an inspector of schools as saying that the missionaries felt that the language of the native was “neither very extensive nor of a high quality…… and only interesting to the comparative philologist and never likely to become of any practical use to civilization (1975).

Baldeh (1990) continues by saying that during this period, the implementation, acceptances and the role of English in the body politic of Nigeria started with it being adopted as the channel of instruction in 1882 and vehicle for the training of the badly needed man power to man the fledging government services (1-2) both the colonial masters and their missionary counterparts realized that for effective administration and overall success, they could not do without the natives.

Consequently, the education ordinance and codes of 1882, 1896, 1918 and 1926 were enacted for the language to be used internally for these training. About the same time also, Adetugbo, citing Crowder in Uzoezie reports that freed slaves from Freetown returned to their ancestral homes in Lagos, Badagary and Abeokuta. The English language then became the language of power and success. The ascending of the language and the status it bestowed on those that acquired it made the language a prestigious one for many Nigerians then. Another strong factor for the ascendancy of the English language was the attitude towards the native language.

Regrettably, the vernacular language were rejected and relegated to the background. To further ensure this, pupils were disciplined for using them. The result was according to Baldeh “a progressively waning enthusiasm for the local language” the attitude of the native themselves to their own local language did not help matters. The English language thus became a medium of instruction in schools. By no stretch of the imagination could any of the languages rival the English language in the regard. By 1914, when Lord Luggard amalgamated the Northern and Southern protectorates into what is today called Nigeria, English language has been enthroned in the country and had permeated the different facts of the lives of the citizens.

Subsequent years saw the emergence of the language as the national lingua Franca or official language. This fact is due, first, to the multi ethno linguistic composition of Nigeria where the language is seen as neutral; and second, status of the English language as world language.

THE ROLES OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN NIGERIA

The English language plays very prominent roles in Nigeria. It pointed out the difference in “tribe and tongue” transford et al gave an approximate of the language in Nigeria. Ethnic division in Nigeria are often along linguistic lines is assumed that the existence of many languages means the existence of many basically antagonistic nationalities trying to form nation. In essence, there is mutual antagonism amongst the ethno linguistic regions of the country making the issue of the national language question a different one.

On the other hand, each of the majority language asserts is supremacy over the others. The implication adopting any Nigeria language as a national language is quite political. A resource is then made to the use of the English language to meet our national communicative needs, more because of its neutrality in the country. The adaptation of the imperial tongue as a language for wider communication dates back to 1862 when Lagos was formally established as the colony by the British invaders. The teaching of English in Nigeria is not done unjustifiably, the nascent desire for the acquisition of this metropolitan language by every Nigerian is ignited by the fact that the language had occupied an enviable and prominent position in the nation imperialistic colonial heritage and implications not withstanding.

We shall in different dimensions explore the importance or significance of English language in the country, Nigeria which consequently makes its teaching a pre-requisite at all the levels of education system. These dimensions are educational, economics socio-linguistic, mass media, legal, political dimension.

REFERENCES

*.  An introduction applied linguistic form theory to practice.

          Edited by Prof Amandi Felix Obi-Okoye

          Ph.D Professor of English language education. First published

2008.

*   Awobuluiyi O. 1966 “Towards a national language”

     Ibadan 22-18-18

*   Awobuluiyi O. 1979. The new national policy on education in

Linguistic perspective, Ilorin Nigeria. The university of Ilorin press.