Impact Of Yoruba On The Spoken English Of Students
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Impact Of Yoruba On The Spoken English Of Students
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Nigeria’s multilingualism has recently emerged as one of its most significant concerns. The crisis is exacerbated by inconsistent language policies, inability of governments to select indigenous languages as national languages, non-codification of minority languages, and inadequate definition of indigenous language roles in governance.
Although Nigeria possesses between 250 and 400 indigenous languages (Ogunwale 2013), none of them have been deemed worthy of adoption as the national language.
In the 1990s, an attempt was made to popularise an artificial language similar to East African Swahili, but it was also unsuccessful because it contained mostly bits of words and vocabularies found only in the three major languages, namely WA (Yoruba), ZO (Hausa), and BIA (Igbo), while ignoring the other languages.
Since then, English has grown to such prominence in the country that it has hampered the growth (and even caused the extinction of several) of Nigeria’s 529 indigenous languages.
As far as can be determined, the dominance is not imposed, but rather the result of the language’s natural indispensability as it is used in various aspects of the nation.
However, given that the linguistic environment in Nigeria prior to colonialism was one in which indigenous languages thrived and promoted people’s cultural values, it is important to understand why indigenous languages have suddenly taken a back seat.
During colonisation, Nigerian indigenous languages came into contact with colonialist languages, and the latter were preferred over the former. The English language eventually became the language of colonial government.
At independence, the language was bestowed upon Nigeria as a nation, particularly because it was the only language utilised for administration, missionary activity, and subsequently education.
Even after gaining independence, Nigeria has been unable to establish language regulations that may provide functions for indigenous languages. The current policy, which is a component of the Education Policy of 1977, has only loosely defined tasks that have proven difficult to implement successfully.
The status of these three languages as main languages is recognised in the 1977 National Education Policy (which was later updated in 1981, 1989, 1998, and 2004). The Nigerian Language Policy is a document issued by the Federal Government of Nigeria that outlines legislative standards for the official usage of various languages in the country.
Although the policy outlines and emphasises the importance of language to national development as a way of boosting social interaction and national cohesion, as well as maintaining the country’s rich cultural history, its implementation has not been meticulously carried out.
The Yoruba language is mostly spoken in West Africa, with millions of speakers concentrated in Nigeria and Benin, as well as some in other African countries.
The traditional monarch is known as the TimiAgbale, and the most renowned Timi in recent history is Oba John AdetoyeseLaoye, who popularised the “talking drum”. He was said to have entertained the Queen of England with his band of expert drummers and poets when she first visited Nigeria and again in her palace in England before dying in 1975.
The current King of the town is Oba MunirudeenAdesolaLawal (Laminisa 1). The Ede speech community, which is mostly made up of indigenous Yoruba people, speaks Standard Yoruba, also known as the Oyo dialect. The Yoruba language has been designated as one of Nigeria’s major languages only because of the population that speaks it.
In recent years, factors such as the economy and the location of schools have brought people into touch with various languages. The town boasts a variety of elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as a federal polytechnic and two universities. One of them, Adeleke University, already has faculty and students, while the second, The Redeemers University, is complete.
With so many educational institutions in Yoruba town, indigenes who primarily speak Yoruba have frequent contact with students and personnel from the various institutions, who are typically bilingual in Yoruba and English.
A linguistic contact situation is described, with a greater influence on indigenous peoples who must utilise English words and expressions to offer their goods and services to the personnel and students of the various institutions mentioned above.
Oluga (2006) defines language as a systemic way of expressing ideas, facts, perspectives, thoughts, and opinions, as well as a means of delivering meaningful messages or information, through the use of appropriate signs, sounds, symbols, and gestures that are commonly understood by all users within a speech community.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Nigeria, a multilingual culture, has chosen English as its official language, resulting in bilingualism and multilingualism even in largely indigenous communities such as Yoruba. It is true that when more than one language is regularly used in a community, certain things occur linguistically, sociologically, educationally, and politically in that society.
Thus, the coexistence of English and Yoruba languages in the Yoruba society has resulted in numerous hybrid forms of native or domesticated English, characterised by interference, code-mixing, and code-switching on the side of second language speakers (L2). Given this, the researcher intends to explore the impact of Yoruba on the spoken English of Illorin students.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The major purpose of the study is to determine the impact of Yoruba on the spoken English of students in Illorin, however to aid in the successful completion of the study, the researcher intends to achieve the following objectives:
i) Determine the effect of Yoruba on the spoken English of students in Illorin.
ii) To assess the impact of Yoruba on the eloquence level of students in spoken English.
iii) To study the function of Yoruba language in the unification.
iv) T
iv) Suggest possible solutions to the identified problem.
1.4 Research Hypotheses
To facilitate the successful completion of the study, the researcher developed the following research hypotheses:
H0: Yoruba language has no substantial impact on the spoken English of students in Illorin.
H1: The Yoruba language has a considerable impact on the spoken English of students in Illorin
H02: The Yoruba language has no effect on the eloquence level of students in English.
H2: The Yoruba language has a considerable effect on pupils’ eloquence levels in English.
1.5 Significance of the Study
It is expected that the study’s findings will benefit lecturers and English language students by guiding them to create a synergy between both English and Yoruba languages, because Nigeria is a multilingual nation, there will undoubtedly be conflict between these languages given the impact of language on Nigerian unity.
The study will also be very important to the department of linguistics because it will contribute to the current literature. The study will also be very useful for students who plan to conduct research on a similar topic, as the study’s findings will serve as a guide for them.
Finally, the study will be extremely beneficial to students, teachers, and the general public because the findings will add to the body of existing material.
1.6 Scope and Limitations of the Study
The scope of the study covers the impact of the Yoruba language on the spoken English of students in Illorin. During the course of the investigation, the researcher encountered various constraints that limited the scope of the study.
(a) Research material availability: The researcher has insufficient research material, which limits the investigation.
(b) Time: The study’s time frame does not allow for broader coverage because the researcher must balance other academic activities and examinations with the investigation.
(c) Finance: The funding available for the research does not allow for broader coverage because the researcher’s resources are constrained due to other academic obligations.
1.7 Definition of Terms
Language
Language is the ability to acquire and use sophisticated communication systems, notably in humans, and a language is a specific example of such a system. Linguistics is the scientific study of language.
Questions about the philosophy of language, such as whether words can describe experience, have been disputed since Gorgias and Plato in ancient Greece.
Spoken English
English is the primary language of the global business community. Knowing how to speak English properly is critical to your professional success.
Yoruba language
Yoruba (Èdè Yorùbá). Yoruba belongs to the Volta-Niger branch of the Niger-Congo family of languages. It is spoken by around 28 million people in southwest Nigeria, Benin, Togo, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and the United States. It is one of four official languages in Nigeria, alongside English, Hausa, and Igbo.
1.8 Organisation of the Study
This research effort is organised into five chapters for simple understanding, as follows. The first chapter is concerned with the introduction, which includes the (overview of the study), statement of problem, aims of the investigation, research question, significance of the study, research methods, term definitions, and historical backdrop of the study.
The second chapter is on the theoretical framework that underpins the study, as well as a review of relevant literature. Chapter three discusses the research design and technique used in the study.
Chapter four focusses on data gathering, analysis, and presenting of findings. Chapter five provides a summary of the study’s findings, conclusions, and suggestions.
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