Language and the Nigerian Environment: The Indigenous Language Situation
Keywords:
Language, Sociolinguistic, Indigenous Language, Nigerian Environment, Language DeclineAbstract
Language is an indispensable endowment of creation on man which makes him distinct from every other creature. Man needs it to communicate his ideas and experiences; it therefore plays a very crucial role in man’s environment and cannot be extricated from man’s culture, a symbol of his identity. Relying on secondary data and qualitative analysis, this paper explored language and the Nigerian environment with a focus on the Nigerian indigenous language decline. It made some clarifications on the current state of indigenous languages in Nigeria; the objectives were to highlight the sociolinguistic importance of indigenous languages in Nigeria, the challenges faced in sustaining these languages and the sociolinguistic impact of the decline of these languages on the Nigerian society. The study also explained the factors influencing the decline of indigenous languages, suggesting the way forward. It concluded that indeed the Nigerian indigenous languages are nose diving to extinction if nothing drastic is done about revitalizing them. More also, the attitude, preference and high status accorded to the English language in Nigeria weakens the very foundations of our indigenous languages. It therefore, suggested that language development agencies and societies should make conscientious effort to ensure that our indigenous languages are revitalized and preserved in order not to lose our cultural heritage and other natural benefits embedded in them.
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