The Practice of Bilingualism in Nigeria: Factors That Encourage Bilingualism – Before, During and After the Colonial Era
A Term Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of the Course:
ENG 503: Bilingualism and Multilingualism
June 2010
By
Emmanuel U. Dimike
2009026016F
Dimike, 2
INTRODUCTION
In the world today, the number of people who use more than one language is greater than the number of people who use only one language. This study focuses on these people with more than one language, especially in Nigeria – Do such people exist in Nigeria? What factors encourage the use of more than one language by individuals in Nigeria?
BILINGUALISM
People who use more than one language are said to be “bilinguals”. Where such people
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In the same vein, virtually all Nigerians, educated or not, who dwell in cities speak at least two languages – their mother tongue and Nigerian Pidgin English. In the north, one finds some people who can speak as many as four languages – none of them English or Nigerian Pidgin English!
As has been noted earlier, bilingualism exists at both individual and societal levels. In Nigeria, the constitution allows for bilingualism on regional levels. Before 1997, French was an optional second foreign language in the Nigerian educational system. In 1997, the Nigerian government gave French a new status, declaring it Nigeria‟s second official language. This officially made Nigeria an English/French bilingual country and this was documented in the National Policy on Education (NPE) in 1998 (Ogunkeye 4). Even though
Dimike, 5 very few Nigerians speak French, it is one of the two official languages in Nigeria. Reasons for the adoption of French as a second official language in Nigeria include:
Nigeria is surrounded by francophone countries; therefore French as an official language will facilitate communication and interaction with the country‟s neighbours.
The headquarters of ECOWAS is in Nigeria. Since there are nine francophone and five Anglophone countries in ECOWAS, French is therefore the natural choice, being the language of the majority.
There will be access to foreign materials and other opportunities available in terms of
In America, there is a predominant growth in multiple ethnicities and cultural backgrounds; leading to the usage of multiple languages in the American culture. There is a growing need for many people to learn and utilize multiple languages within the workplace and within one 's own personal life. The importance of bilingualism and the knowledge of multiple languages is ever increasing, and therefore becoming more important for the younger generations. The push for knowing multiple languages and becoming bilingual has many potential negative and positive effects.
Although the main language in Canada is English there is a lot of people who are french and speak french there. English and French by the Constitution of Canada are the official languages. Which would be a challenge to do business in Canada because I only know English. There are French language requirements for any company wanting the do business in the province Quebec, which is monitored by the office québécois de la langue française. So we would all have
French is a non-official language that are spoken in the country that these immigrants are coming
Canada is one of many countries today that speak French. One of the provinces in Canada, Québec, though there can be some people who speak English, mainly speak French. Where the official language is French, many citizens, typically those of which that live in the metropolitan region of Montréal, become bilingual and learn both French and English.
Before we begin, it is very important to understand the difference between an official language and a standard language. An official languages is one that is adopted by the government for document and business purposes, this would be most native people’s second language; one that the government sees as advantageous and necessary. Most of the time a standard language could also be referred to as the native language; a common language that the high majority of citizens use to converse outside of the government. Currently there is a major push to be bilingual, to the point where countries are adding or changing the official language(s). Countries that were presented and are using English because of government ordained laws are Kenya, Zambia, The Bahamas, Jamaica, New Zealand, Ireland; an extremely minimalistic representation the total amount of countries with English as an official language. Almost every other country, especially China and India, have their students studying English. It is advantageous for further education, business, and
This nation is a place where different cultures come together and learn to coexist. From native America, Latinos, Asians and probably other nations that are not well known; they all have something in common which they all are bilinguals. Authors Cisneros, Agosin, Dumas and Tan clearly illustrate that being bilingual has both advantages and disadvantages.
Bilingualism and multilingualism are well practiced through the World. Despite it being well accepted on other parts of the globe, many areas in the United States tends to turn a cold shoulder to it.. Most education policies concerning bilingual or not based on scientific evidence and research (which has discovered the advantages and disadvantages of bilingualism) but rather pre conceived notions and stigmas when it comes to the practice. After some brief research, I believe we should embrace the "new wave" practices and policies, which are more well informed rather than the past. Researches also need to explore new ways in which the brain retains, recognizes and organizes language learning. Now is the tome to put evidence based practices and
It is true that in the last 150 years alone, bilingual education has come a long way and has been changed presumably for the better. Though, despite all of the good that has come from this evolution of education, there is still much more to be done. Bilingual education has quite a bit of improvement to be made in order to better benefit ELL students and help guide them through acculturation, rather than force them to assimilate to American society and bear the weight of racism and discriminatory
Language is used every day in our everyday lives all over the world. Marian and Shook state that “language is used to communicate our thoughts and feelings, connect with others, identify culture, and understand the world around us” (Marian & Shook ,2012,para.1) There are many languages all over the world and some people understand more than one language such as understanding both English and Spanish. People that are Bilingual are exceptional in a way that they are intelligent, helpful, and have advantage openers.
I speak a bit of French, because you are required to learn that in my country (Canada).
The world has become a global village and that has brought a lot of changes and new work positions into the market. Almost everywhere around the globe, bilingual professionals are in high demand. Also, bilingualism opens up two worlds of experience, job opportunities, literature, resources, and cultural heritage. Bilinguals have the privilege of getting their information from a wider variety of resources. Besides, research has shown that it’s easier for bilingual children to acquire other languages later in life. A study conducted by professors of the Department of Special Education of the University of Haifa, Israel showed that “students who know two languages would have an easier time gaining command of a third language than would students who are fluent in only one language.”
No I am not fluent in French but I do have a tendency to mix the bit of French I’m familiar with with English every now and then in a silly effort to impress people, so bare with me. Now A bit about myself, I speak 2 languages (soon to be 3) English and Akan. You have probably never heard of Akan it is the main Language of Ghana the country of my birth.
The French Immersion Program is a program that was started because parents in Canada wanted
These days there are more and more people who live in a country where other language than their home language is spoken. This could be due to different reasons, like immigration of the whole family or having married a person from another country. When children are involved most parents would like them to be bilingual, but this does not happen automatically. Some effort is required.
The states has every paper (every law) make in both languages and it costs money. Maybe it is easier for tourists from France to communicate there, but I think children in Canada know both languages well or as a basic skill. I think in the future French will be deleted from the official languages in Canada, because it would be forgotten. I couldn’t image if in Slovak Republic we had two official languages. 6.