Towards a Delimitation of the Status and Functions of English in Nigeria
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Date
2004
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Group Publishers
Abstract
This paper addressed four main questions: (i) How has Nigerian English been characterized? (ii) What status does English have and what functions does it serve in an English-dominant multilingual society, Nigeria: (iii) What status and functions of English are relevant in a complementary=English plus indigenous mother tongues bilingual Nigerian context? (iv) What effects can a change from an English-dominant multilingual perspective to complementary English - mother tongues bilingual perspective have on the character and characterization of English in Nigeria? While the first question prepares the ground for a review of the perception of scholars about the numerous varieties of English in Nigeria, as recorded in the existing literature on the subject, the second and third questions prompt a discussion of the need to reassess the status and functions of both English and other Nigerian languages, within a restricted macro-social context. The last question then invites a discussion of the effect of changes in status and functions of English on the characterization of the language.
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Keywords
Societal Bilingualism, English in the context of societal bilingualism, Characterization of English in Nigeria, Delimitation of the status of Nigeria English, Functions of Nigerian English
Citation
Adegbite, Wale (2004). Towards a Delimitation of the Status and Functions of English in Nigeria. In Owolabi, Kola and Dasylva, Ademola (eds.) Forms and Functions of English and Indigenous Languages in Nigeria: A Festschrift in Honour of Ayo Banjo. Ibadan: Group Publishers.