Intercultural Influences of Neighboring Communities on Olùkùmí Speakers: A Case Study of Ugbódu

UNIUYO Journal of Humanities, 2021

Igbo language, one of the three major natio nal languages in Nigeria, entered the UNESCO endangerment list in 2012. The factors leading to the decline of the language of forty million Igbo people are puzzling, hence this study. The endangered state of the language indicts urban-migration as a critical factor. The loss of language is potentially a cultural setback and an irrecoverable loss of unique historical experience. To achieve the research purpose, a mixed methodology of discourse analysis & survey were used. To collect relevant data for the study, the purposive & snowball sampling of 100 respondents in Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria was done. Findings revealed endangerment factors as a failure in the transgenerational transmission of language, beyond urban migration and environmental acculturation. Therefore, individual and institutional consciousness of language speaking in families is recommended towards curbing language endangerment. Also, policy enactments by the government to stop language extinction were recommended.

GLOBAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED, MANAGEMENT AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, 2015

There is always a positive and negative tendency in every growth. As a writer once said, the growth of water is at the expense of fire and vice versa. The more complex a society becomes, the more socially and technologically advanced it gets and the more communication problems it is confronted inescapably with. It is no longer a story that the language of the Igbo nation is rapidly tilting towards extinction. An average Igbo family prefers borrowed languages to its own Igbo language. It is not a story to hear that it is becoming a taboo to hear Igbo language in many Igbo families. This study x-rays language as an agent of societal transformation, using the Igbo language as a case study.The introductory section, the definition of bilingualism and some of the causes of underutilization of Igbo language are also carefully examined.

Page 1449 www.rsisinternational.org INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS), 2025

Nigeria is home to a rich linguistic diversity, with different dialects at risk of extinction. Indoctrinated language like English is at the verge of side-lining major languages such as the Nigerian Pidgin, and other major ethnic dialects like Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo which is leading to their gradual decline. This language shift is driven by social, economic, and educational factors, as well as urbanization. Local dialect extinct would result in the loss of cultural identity, traditions, and historical ecological knowledge tied to these dialects. This study uses language shift theory and ecological linguistics to understand the causes and consequences. These theories explain how younger generations adopt dominant languages, leading to the abandonment of indigenous dialects; as well as show how the loss of dialect also mean the loss of cultural and environmental knowledge tied to it. The causes include globalization, migration, colonial legacies, and educational policies that marginalize indigenous dialects. The consequences of language loss are weighty, contributing to social inequality, decrease in ethnocentrism, cultural erosion, loss of valuable local knowledge, among others. To address this, solutions like documentation, revitalization through the inclusion of dialects into formal education setting, and community-driven initiatives are essential. Government policies and public awareness campaigns should promote the use of indigenous dialects and support language preservation ideas. Protecting Nigeria's linguistic heritage is vital to preserving its cultural identity and ensuring its diversity for future generations.

Studies of the Department of African Languages and Cultures 39, 2006

This paper presents the results of investigation on Hausa spoken in two cities of southern Nigeria, Ilorin and Ibadan, in which there are large Hausa communities and the Hausa language is widely used in communication. These cities are originally inhabited by Yoruba people. The linguistic analysis is supported by history of Hausa settlement in these areas which led to the establishment of Hausa neighborhoods or camps in these cities. The analysis focuses more on the changes that the language is facing as a result of new conditions of social interaction. The two patterns of linguistic behavior which reflect two different strategies of social functioning within multinational and multilingual community have been distinguished: co-existence in a multilingual society (as in the case of Hausa in Ilorin) and exclusiveness (Hausa in Ibadan). Language choice and language patterns are illustration of the ties that exist between the members of multilingual societies and determine their participation in the development of the city.

US-China Foreign Language, 2016

This paper discusses an attempt to revive and rescue Igbomina, a dialect of Yoruba, from the language shift process evident in many mother tongues spoken in Nigeria. Igbomina is spoken in two local governments in Kwara state, one local government each in Osun and Ekiti states of Nigeria. Two episodes each of a 30 minute programme "Omo Igbomina" on Radio Lagos were critically analyzed to find out if the goals of reviving Igbomina and preventing it from language shift towards the standard Oyo dialect, were being achieved. Many Igbomina youths, ages 15-30, who live outside Igbomina land, can hardly speak Igbomina nor understand it when spoken. A descriptive survey approach to investigate the impact of a peculiar and interesting programme, "Omo Igbomina", on this class of Igbominas was carried out with the following aims: (1) to discover if the intended audience are aware of the programme and if they are at all interested in such a programme; (2) to evaluate the sociolinguistic worth of the programme; (3) to discover the discourse and pragmatic features of the programme which are peculiarly Igbomina; and (4) to discover the positive effects of the programme or otherwise in revitalizing Igbomina dialect amongst indigenes of Igbomina land, as well as stopping the language shift process from Igbomina dialect to the standard Oyo dialect. A qualitative approach, employing purposive random sampling, with a sample size of 10 Igbomina youths was used. Questionnaires were administered to the informants. The questionnaire had both open-ended and close-ended questions and was tested for validity and reliability through a pilot study using three respondents. The results show that the programme is achieving its goals of encouraging language loyalty, preventing language shift and is a potential trigger of coordinate bilinguals-in English and Yoruba/Igbomina languages.

Nahna James, 2024

Limits of Language in Nigeria: Hatred based on Igbo Language, attempts to delve deeply into different sociolinguistic issues faced by the Igbo language within Nigerian context. In doing so, the study has used a mixed-methods approach wherein demographic data, public attitudes and socioeconomic factors that have brought about the status quote of this language are thoroughly assessed. The research establishes some historical and current reasons why there is increased resentment towards Igbo language among Nigerians. This includes last impact caused by colonialism and traumatic experiences during Biafran Civil War which greatly redefined Nigerian social-political life. Political disinterest and economic inequities worsen marginalization of Igbo spoken by majority, but freely bypassed in spheres where English, Hausa or Yoruba languages dominate Nigeria. Also, the article highlights huge educational and institutional barriers that stand in the way of developing and maintaining Igbo language. The barriers are insufficient support for teaching Igbo language and few African Studies courses which do not encourage students to learn African languages such as Igbo. Henceforth, many students prefer not to learn Igbo considering it less useful for their future professions because it is rarely used in professional circles after study completion. Moreover, the research reveals language bias affects how one relates to their culture and society as an Igbo. So much more is lost in not speaking the Igbo language other than communication, including cultural heritage and moral imperatives. This exclusion weakens the social glue that holds the community together and hence fuels feelings of being left out in some way or another. To combat these challenges, this research demands immediate actions to enhance diversity in language as well as safeguard cultural heritage. It therefore proposes for more assistance on the issue of Igbo language education, Igbo language being taught in schools and embracing linguistic pluralism in Nigeria. Hence, this research seeks to create conditions that foster national unity and inclusiveness where the Igbo language and culture in Nigeria is valued and preserved. The study thus aims at finding sustainable solutions to overcome the linguistic and cultural problems facing Igbo speakers as it seeks to understand what could be done to stop the decline of its population among native speakers.

Language & Communication. Special Issue: Language Ideologies in Music: Emergent Socialities in the Age of Transnationalism. Eeva Sippola, Britta Schneider & Carsten Levisen (eds) , 2017

Ajégúnlè is a suburb in southern mainland Lagos, near the international harbor of Àpápá. In Ajégúnlè, the PMAN (Performing Musicians Employers’ Association of Nigeria) meetings are reunions of the young Reggae artists of the area and are held in Nigerian Pidgin. I recorded and analyzed around eight hours of speech produced during the meetings and interviewed 17 PMAN members. In this paper I deal with language shift occurring among the young PMAN members who are abandoning the heritage African languages of their parents and concurrently show ideological investment in the Nigerian Pidgin language. I also claim that solid sociolinguistic evidence of the emergence of a creole variety of Nigerian Pidgin exists in this area. The emerging identity of this community of practice is shaped through the discourse patterns elaborated in their regular meetings, where clearly Nigerian Pidgin serves as the main symbol of community membership and engagement. In fact, the expansion of the language is consciously conceived by some leading members of the PMAN collective as a means of elaborating a positive Ajégúnlè history and identity, with the concurrent aims of rooting this identity within the Yorùbá territory and waving ties to the global market of black and diasporic music.

The aim of this research paper is to appraise the influence of English language's infiltration in the national languages spoken among, and by the border communities in Benin Republic. Of course, the contact and coexistence of English with indigenous languages have resulted into an inter-linguistic contact phenomenon, mainly among the border communities. This is having significant impact on language dynamics in those areas in terms of speaking of Pure Goungbé, εdέ Anago, and Bằằtᴐnú, on the one hand, and/or Mixed Goungbé-English, Mixed εdέ Anago-English, Mixed Bằằtᴐnú-English varieties. Such a sociolinguistic dynamics among speech communities culminates with, and leads gradually to the natural phenomenon of language hybridization in the study areas. The data collection for the purpose of this research work was carried out based on the mixed qualitative and quantitative research methods which allow for iterative procedure. This includes a sample size of 183 respondents selected from various socio-professional layers, focusing mainly on age groups, gender and educational backgrounds. Those participants have offered opportunities of observation and interviews in all the settings like households, streets, shops, markets, entertainment centers, and among the travelers crossing the borders. The findings discussion enables to come up with some conclusions on English interference in the local languages and thereby, its indigenization. This results in an emerging hybridization of border communities languages in Benin. Such a situation has become a striking sociolinguistic reality which results from the topical business, communicative and developmental needs and purposes.

Cambridge Anthropology, 7,3:19-30., 1982