CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Recent developments in the world today have made it possible for people of diverse cultures and ethno-lingual backgrounds to intermingle and co-exist in a single environment. As a result of this, several linguistic phenomena such as language contacts came to be subjects of research interests. This is because, it has given birth to other phenomena like ‘domestication’ and the likes.

Language contact have become evident in most countries and societies of the world today. “Language contact occurs when speakers of different languages interact and their languages influence each other” (Online Marketing excerpt of Yaron Mantra’s language contact). Language contact is a linguistic situation where two or more languages co-exist as a result of either colonization or globalization, commercialization or adventure, and even still, as a result of religion, particularly in the case of Latin, promoted by catholic missionary activities and worship, as well as Arabic that go with Islamic activities and education. Moreso, language contact can be as a result of the combination of any two or more of the above mentioned situations, if not all of the situations.

William is of the view that “languages in contact are often languages in competition” (4) and “there is no language in contact without language conflict” (Nelde:5). No language exists in a social vacuum, but it exists for the fundamental purpose of human interaction and communication. By ‘contact’, language is not conceived as a concrete entity that it should come in contact with each other, rather, it is the speakers or users of the different languages that come in contact with each other, most especially as a result of the aforementioned reasons.

Several linguistic phenomena have been employed over the years to account for where language contact occurs. These phenomena include: language convergence, borrowing, relixification, language shift, etc. (Wikipedia). When contact occurs, innovations (lexical and syntactic) are realised and the foreign language may be domesticated, or the indigenous language foreignised. But our concern here is with the former (domesticated), particularly in the case of the English language in Nigeria and its resultant innovations- lexical, syntactic and pragmatic. This study examines the concept of Nigerian English with a view to investigating its lexical and grammatical features, as well as greetings and leave taking norms.

       According to Ogunsiyi (2011), Nigeria which is the most populous nation in Africa, is an ex-British colony in West Africa, with about 150-400 indigenous languages. The 2006 census figures placed Nigeria to be 140,033,542 people of diverse ethnic nationalities (Wikipedia).

History has it that the area currently known as Nigeria was allotted to Britain as its colony at the Berlin conference of 1883-1885, where Africa was partitioned among the colonial super powers. Although historical records did not show or give the exact date of the contact between the English language and indigenous Nigerian languages, its incursion in Nigeria according to unpublished lecture of Richard M. (2014), can be said to have coincided with the outset of the British activities, which ranged from adventure, commerce, gospel propagation to colonization of Nigeria in the 16th century. Spencer (17) credited support to the above, when he submits that “the language (English) sneaked into the shores of Nigeria through English traders who visited the West Africa coast, dating back to the 16th century” (Igbeyi:92). Historically, as at the 18th century, the English traders had established their presence in places like Bonny and Calabar (David: 21-25).

The enthronement or implantation of the English language in the Nigerian polity or linguistic environment become chiefly necessary by its colonial power and policies, especially those bordering on education or literacy, and administration. It therefore suffice to note that this contact between the English language and indigenous Nigerian languages has been sustained, as against other European languages that might have come in contact with these languages (Nigerian languages) as a result of its being the language of colonial administration, learning, and now, language of globalization which has eventually become an “eternal legacy of the British colonial rule in Nigeria” (Akindele and Adegbite:56). Having been introduced and left behind by the colonial masters (the original owners), it therefore have to adapt itself to the new users in the Nigerian linguistic environment for its growth and sustainability. It is this process of adaptation and sustainability that is here referred to as domestication.

The concept ‘Domestication’ is from the Latin word ‘domesticus’: (of the home) is the cultivating or taming…to accentuate traits that are desirable to the cultivator or tamer (Wikipedia). But as it relates to language, it is a situation where an exoghosic (foreign) language is made to adapt or possess the local colouring of the immediate speech community. Hence, Adetugbo (2004) posites “…the domestication of English in Nigeria certainly has social linguistic values” (Adetugbo:36). The standard British English (SBE) now reflect Nigerian elements, as it has assumed and assimilated characteristics of the Nigerian socio-cultural and sociolinguistic environment. Lateefah lend support to this view when he states that “the English language in Nigeria today has shifted beyond the language of the colonialist. It has assumed a dimension that even the original owners could not have conceived of” (221). Though the English language in Nigeria was characterised by the formality associated with standard British English (SBE), the 19th century witnessed what Adetugbo (128), calls “a primary language hybridization” because of the emergent multilingual culture, and the existence of an English different from its ancestral home, and the traits of language inference from the native Nigerian language. Hence, Awonusi declares “English language has been domesticated in Nigeria” (40). This, according to Igbeyi, gives “the impression that it is ‘home grown’, it has been made ‘native’ and also adapted and ‘tamed’ to suit the Nigerian environment” (94). It is in agreement with the above that Adegbija declares: “we have adapted it for home use and made it applicable to our numerous conveniences, experiences, nuances and sensibilities” (13). It is with the understanding of the above that one could actually concur with Jowitt (44) that we now have a distinct Nigerian discourse with some stylistic innovations. As a matter of fact, the English language has indeed acquired a lot of local features and colouring in Nigeria, though, it is yet to be accorded international recognition by linguists and lexicographers as an independent variety.

The English language no doubt has travelled far and wide from its ancestral home of the British isle to pitch its tent with the Nigerian linguistic society, but this Nigerian (variety) English is yet to be accorded international recognition by linguistics and lexicographers like other non-native Englishes, New Zealand, Australian, south African, etc. also, it has suffered general public acceptance, hence, this study is set to delve deep in investigating the usage (how it is used), the yardstick for international acceptance and comprehension.

This research is intended to accord recognition to the Nigerian English usage exemplified in the selected Nigerian literary texts, with the view to:

1. Paying attention to lexical and syntactic innovations, as well as greetings and leave taking norms as used in the selected texts,
2. Highlighting the domains, where the English language has been domesticated
3. Adding to the existing body of literature on the subject
4. Highlighting some peculiarities and distinctions between the SBE and Nigerian English
5. Highlighting the creativity and beauty of the Nigerian variety of the English language.

This research will be of significance to the entire English speaking world, as it is centred on a new or emerging variety of the English language, peculiarities of the variety and process(es) of creating and realising this variety. It will also be of benefit to literary or creative writers of Nigerian descent who find it difficult in expressing themselves with strict conformity to the standard British English as well as the literate Nigerians who read and comprehend the Nigerian English as something not far away, but find the concepts and syntactic structures closer to their native languages than the SBE. It will also benefit the pedagogy of English in Nigeria. Linguistics, especially lexicographers and syntacticians will be enabled to recognise and judge the Nigerian English with its peculiar intelligibility and local characteristics.  

This research is limited to selected literary texts by Nigerian authors- Wole Soyinka, Sam Ukala and Ebi yaibo, since literature is a frontier of socio-cultural civilization, of which language is an embodiment. The selected texts- The Lion and the Jewel, Iredi Wars and The Fourth Masquerade will be the basis or primary source of data with which we will examine and show how the English language in Nigeria has been nativised, and with focus on aspects of syntax, greetings, and leave-taking norms, as well as lexical items.

The research methodology will be analytical that is, textual analysis. The three (3) selected texts will be the primary sources of data. The data consists of excerpts, randomly selected from each of the texts which will be analysed to explicate peculiar Nigerian English characteristics. While the data from Soyinka’s Lion and the Jewel will look at syntactic innovations, data from Iredi War will be focus on greetings and leave-taking norms, and Yeibo’s The Fourth Masquerade will be used to investigate lexical innovations. Also, journals and textbooks, articles as well as other research works will be consulted as secondary data.

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