Impact of Yoruba on the Spoken English of Students (Indigen) of Ilorin
Chapter One
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The main objective of the study is to ascertain the impact of Yoruba on the spoken English of student in Illorin, but to aid the successful completion of the study, the researcher intend to achieve the following objective;
- To ascertain the impact of Yoruba on the spoken English of student in Illorin
- To evaluate the effect of Yoruba on the eloquence level of student in spoken English
- To investigate the role of Yoruba language on the unity
- To suggest possible solution to the identified problem
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
Different nations of the world have different experiences regarding the story of languages in contact. In Nigeria, it is a chequered history; traumatic socio- psychologically, politically and economically, though it is a natural sociolinguistic development which societies must contend with. Nigeria is a multilingual nation where English language has acquired the status of a second language. English languagewas implanted in Nigeria through some crucial aspects of European contact. These aspects, according to Ogunsiji (1994), which had a serious impact, include missionary activities and colonial rule. The Nigerian languages thus had contact with the English language through colonization. Writing on languages in contact, Comrie (2009) asserts that while much change takes place in a given language without outside interference, many changes can result from contact with other languages. When two or more languages come in contact, some socio- linguistic phenomena take place, among which are bilingualism, multilingualism, codeswitching, code- mixing, calquing, borrowing, language interference and, perhaps, creolisation and pidginisation (Olaoye, 2007). Some Nigerian languages also had contact with Arabic and French. English, as Nigeria‟s Lingua Franca, is a British colonial legacy which eventually became a major player in Nigerian education, politics, administration, economy and legislation. English today can be regarded as the lamp with which the Nigerian youth travel through the education tunnel. It is now being referred to as one of the major Nigerian languages (Ogundare, 2004). It is a compromise language of communication in Nigeria‟s multi- lingual and multi- cultural setting. The reason being that the orchestrated political resistance to the choice of an indigenous language, as a national official language (NOL), has foreclosed choosing any of the three major Nigerian languages (Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba) as a Lingua Franca. English is thus seen as the socio- linguistic and symbolic embodiment of political power and authority (Adekunle, 1974). English is a vehicle of globalization through which came information and communication technology (ICT), which has a pervasive influence on education delivery. Through English, western democracy has become a popular and regular news menu on the nation‟s political agenda. Through ICT many exoglossic languages have had close contact with some Nigerian languages. The influence of these foreign languages has been overwhelming, contributing to the growth and development of the Nigerian ethnolects. Through language borrowing, vocabulary expansion is made possible by lexical modernization. Yoruba language in particular has become superbly enriched. This enrichment takes place in almost all aspects of Yoruba language. The three major Nigerian languages, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba borrowed from English. Some of the characteristics of those borrowed words are that they are integrated into the borrowing Nigerian languages, and that consonant clusters in these words are broken with epenthetic vowels. This is an incidence of linguistic symbiosis. According to Brann (2008) the in road so exoglossic languages have brought a shift from monolingualism to multilingualism, and has thus created a class of polyglots in urban cities from the monoglots of the rural areas.
THE PLACE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN NIGERIA
The introduction of English was a product of evangelical expediency, in which missionaries passed the language baton to colonial administrators until English became the official language of the country. It is noted that even after political independence from the colonial masters, English still occupies pride of place in Nigeria, especially in the formal school system. The fact that Nigeria is a multilingual country with many local languages stated above, with the constitution and National Policy on Education laying emphasis on three major Nigerian languages, the importance of English language in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized being the official language. It is the language of the mass media, judiciary, administration and commerce; it is the language of science and education. For example, it is extensively used in the electronic and print media, police administration, and in the armed forces, legislature and so on, and as a lingua franca in political mobilization, ethical orientation and population education. This confirms the entrenchment of English as a dominant language of Nigeria (Oluwole, 2008). Amuseghan (2007) summed up the place of English language that for most learners, English is a second language. It becomes expedient to provide conducive environment for them at each educational level to make a way of improvement in the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing). To determine the success or otherwise of the aims, goals, objectives methods and materials of English curriculum, a study of the mass accumulation of the four skills as well as different levels (phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, lexis and semantics) is an evitable task. Most ESL curriculum reforms over the years have sought to balance between linguistic competence and communicative competence. Contrary to this expectation, communicative competence is lacking in most Nigerian school children.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This chapter deals with the method used in collecting data required in carrying out this research work it explains the procedures that were followed and the instrument used in collecting data.
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment, the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in getting information from for the study impact of Yoruba on the spoken English of student in Illorin. 200 staff and student of the department of linguistic in Uni Illorin was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain the impact of Yoruba on the spoken English of students in Illorin.
In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges Yoruba language and eloquence in English language.
Summary
Language contact is a sociolinguistic phenomenon which has both positive and negative consequences. In Nigeria its salutary effects are seen in people‟s bilingualism, multilingualism, and could also be seen as the pathway to good job opportunities. Proficiency in English has become a status symbol. Through English came globalization which also brought advancement in Science andTechnology. Democracy became a regular news menu on the world‟s political programmes, thus opening our eyes to democratic cultures and best practices. Nigerian languages got expanded and enriched in all their aspects through borrowing. Nigerian cultures also got enriched. These are, certainly, wonderful blessings. However, the negative consequences of languages in contact seem to be more pervasive. Yoruba ethnography of greetings is facing threat of extinction, as the rich culture of greetings is being overtaken by English greetings. The Yoruba are experiencing language interference challenges, language endangerment and threat of extinction. Linguistic suicide and murder are taking their tolls on Nigerian languages. Cultural endangerment is also being faced. Neocolonialism is now the order of the day. In this respect, “languages in contact” is not a blessing but a scourge. Effective language planning and language documentation may be the panacea to language and cultural endangerment, occasioned or caused by languages in contact.
Conclusion
We have been able to show that the areas of differences between the two languages are veritable sources of confusion that are identified distinctly with the spoken Yoruba/ English bilinguals. Some notable areas of differences covered in this study further confirmed that most of the inadequacies found in the speaking of the Yoruba/ English bilinguals are traceable to the fact that this category of students has already mastered the use of their own language before they start to learn the English language formally in the school.
Recommendations
From the results of this research, the following recommendations were made. It is advisable that parents encourage their children to strive harder to learn and speak English language both within and outside the home. The parents should also assist the schools to equip their language laboratories, libraries either in cash or in kind because the Government alone cannot do this. Furthermore, the students need to be enlightened on why they should be able to use English language fluently. They should use their leisure hours to read novels, newspapers and magazines at home. Students should be exposed to English language earlier in life so that they would master the pronunciation pattern better. The number of students per teacher that is (in the English class) should be kept smaller, say between ten and twenty students per class so that the teacher will be able to monitor individual students’ performance. Over-crowded class should be avoided in oral English classes.
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