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A Study of Igbo Language ∗ Nnagbo, Ijeoma Uchechukwu1

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JOURNAL OF ADVANCES IN SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES JOURNAL OF ADVANCES IN SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES DOI: https://doi.org/10.15520/jassh.v7i4.600 JASSH 7 (4), 1737−1746 (2021) Received 17 Mar 2021 | Revised 30 Mar 2021 | Accepted 20 Apr 2021 | Online Available 27 Apr 2021 OPEN ACCESS ISSN (O) 2395-6542 RESEARCH ARTICLE Influence of English Language; a Study of Igbo Language ∗ Nnagbo, Ijeoma Uchechukwu1 Abstract English Language is recognized as a world language, so it performs international functions and also serves as the official language in the country, while the indigenous language (Igbo) is one of the three major languages in Nigeria. It is seen that the English Language has influenced the indigenous Language (Igbo) to the extent that some of the Igbo do not know how to speak and write their language. English language, being a second language remains dominant posing as a problem currently facing the effective communication in the use of the Igbo language. This work was effectively and efficiently carried out and data collected from the questionnaires were analyzed in frequency tables using simple percentage. It was discovered that the English Language exerts significant influence on our indigenous language. Finally, the researcher suggests solution to help tackle the problem which includes a compulsory study of indigenous languages as a course in different levels of learning. 1 INTRODUCTION tions. In recent times, English is used in almost every sphere of life in Nigeria; it still comes in contact with t is a well-established fact that English Lan- practically all indigenous languages. Thus, English guage has established itself firmly in Nigeria language is the language spoken by the citizens of Ithus, it importance cannot be over emphasized. Britain, Ireland, Australia, North America and many Apart from being an official language, English Lan- countries in Africa which use it as official language guage is the rope that ties members of the different of transaction. speech communities together in continuing interrela- On the other hand, indigenous language can be tionships. ascribed to a particular place or area which one is Language is said to be a human specific mode of talking about or with the place where one lives. Lan- expressing our thought through the verbal (i.e. spo- guages, therefore, means a way of preserving the ken and written) and non-verbal means. With this people’s culture; language and culture are insepara- we will agree that English Language necessarily ble. Although there are about four hundred indige- serves humans in a multitude of ways. It is said to nous languages in Nigeria, yet English is used for have a great impact on the cognitive development all official purposes and is superimposed on these of man: Man is able to express his thoughts and indigenous languages. This is largely due to the view via a language; English. The majority of world assumption that the English Language is a more English speakers use English either as a second or effective medium of communication between Nige- third language. In many countries, including Nige- rians from different linguistic backgrounds. It is ria, English is the main language of instruction in used by those people who Hugh Smythe (1960, p.69) schools and also used in official business transac- described as the elite and the marginal elite class, 1Department of English Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe. Address correspondence to: Nnagbo, Ijeoma Uchechukwu, Department of English Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe, Supplementary information The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.15520/jassh.v7i4.600) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Nnagbo, Ijeoma Uchechukwu 2021; Published by Innovative Journal, Inc. This Open Access article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. INNOVATIVE JOURNAL 1737 Influence of English Language; a Study of Igbo Language by the mass media, in commerce, in governance and many Nigerians who speak no additional Nigerian nation building, in politics, in education and gener- language but speak English, and of course, many oth- ally as the basic language of communication. ers who know only their MT. It remains to be seen The issue of how English Language has influenced whether the National Policy on Education, as it con- our indigenous languages among undergraduate stu- cerns the junior secondary curriculum, will succeed dents in Nigeria is a major problem currently facing in making the Nigerian population of the future bilin- the effective communication in the use of Igbo Lan- gual in two Nigerian languages, as would appear to guage. All over Nigeria, English Language, even be the aim. though a second language, remains dominant. This The Igbo Language has invariably relegated the indigenous languages of The Igbo language is one of the eight major lan- Nigeria to the back burners. This situation, as many guages in the Benue-Congo Group of African lan- have observed, does not bode well for our indige- guages, Echeruo (1971,p.1). The Benue-Congo fam- nous languages. Therefore, this work tries to find ily of languages is itself a sub-group of the major out how English influenced our indigenous language Niger-Congo family of languages. The Igbo lan- (Igbo),with a view to determining its possible ame- guage is estimated to be about 6,000 years old. This lioration and/or remedy. view is traced to glottochronologies who say that the Indigenous Language languages of the kwa sub family of which Igbo is a Determining the exact number of languages indige- member, started assuming distinct forms from about nous to Nigeria is a daunting task. Estimates have 6,000 years ago. The Igbo’s are assumed to have ranged from 200 to over 400. But there can be no started emerging as a distinct cultural group around doubt that the number of native speakers of three that time. of Nigeria’s dominant languages, Hausa, Igbo and The Igbo language has to its credit a number of Yoruba, run to several millions, and each of these is dialects, distinguished by accent which are almost a Mother tongue (MT) in at least three of the thirty- always mutually intelligible. It is one of the three six states of the federation. Of the other languages, official Nigeria Languages (the other being Yoruba Kanuri, Fulfulde, Tiv, Efik (or rather, Efik, Ibibio- and Hausa) in the Nigerian Constitution (Constitu- Annang), and the Edo group each undoubtedly has tion of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999). more than one million native speakers. Ijaw (Izon) In addition, the Igbo community occupies the South- is spoken in three states and Nupe, Gwari, Igala, and Eastern region of Nigeria. These groups of peo- Idoma have substantial number of speakers. Bendor ple speak the Igbo Language, and thus, constitute a – Samule and Stanford (1976,p.9). speech community. A speech community, as Trudg- Indigenous languages have gained ground in the ill (1994, p.100) defines it, is a totality of linguis- school curriculum in recent years. David Jowitt, tic varieties used by a particular community, or a (1991), citing the National Policy on Education group of people who do not have the same language. (1977, p.10) stipulates that the MT should be used Romaine (1994, p.22) however, describes a speech as the medium of instruction in the first two years community as a group fo people who do not nec- of primary school, the National Policy on Education essarily have the same language but share a set of requires that at junior secondary level, one of the norms and rules for the use of language. three main languages be studied in addition to the The Igbo people are a culturally homogenous peo- MT, and arrangements were made to see that teachers ple whose orthography was set down by Onwu in who are native speakers of the additional languages 1961 – Anozie (2003, p.63). Their rich culturally become available. heritage is reflected in their proverb, songs, music, All levels of Nigerian society are replete with indi- dance, drama, paintings, drawings, marriage cere- viduals who can speak more than one Nigerian lan- monies, festivals, chieftaincy installations, and oth- guage, often fluently. This is surely the rule rather ers. Through the use of language, all these aspects of than the exception in the old North (excluding Benue culture which bind the Igbo people are meaningful, and Kwara. There also exist, at the same time, expressible and operational. JASSH 7 (4), 1737−1746 (2021) INNOVATIVE JOURNAL 1738 Nnagbo, Ijeoma Uchechukwu INNOVATIVE JOURNAL The current Igbo orthography was produced by it is not just competing for prominence with the Onwu, in 1961 Anozie (2003, p.63). The Igbo lan- indigenous languages, but incontestibly taking over guage is a unifying factor of the Igbo culture and has the functions of the indigenous languages, thereby proven an efficient and useful tool for the dissemina- prematurely pushing our indigenous languages into tion of the Igbo culture from generation to generation extinction. Omego (2007, p.168). Surprisingly, in the words of Effects of English on Igbo Language Obinna (2002, p. 30) majority of the Igbo are gen- erally not good speakers of Igbo nor good readers Some scholars have drawn attention to the fact that of Igbo, and of course, hardly do they listen to Igbo Igbo is a language in danger for instance, Kuju (1999, language programs on radio nor view same on tele- p. 55) makes the following observations: vision. Nwadike (2002, p.97) notes “The greatest It is not only the so-called minority or small lan- problem that has faced Igbo from all times is the apa- guages that are endangered in Nigeria.
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