| Content | CHAPTER ONE
1.1 INTRODUCTION
According to Cambridge dictionary, society is defined as a particular community of people who share the same customs, law etc. It is also defined as the state of being with other people. 1129.
A girl child is described as a female child between infancy and early adulthood. During this period of the development of the girl child, she is under the custody and supervision of adults who may be her parents or guardians and siblings who are older and more mature than she is. The girl child is easily influenced by her experiences as she develops. She models her behaviour during this development process though observations and imitations of those she depends on, and her physical, mental and emotional development start and reach their peak within this stage.
In attempting to establish the relationship between the society and the girl child, we ask certain pertinent questions relating to how she child is received and related with in her contemporary society. What are the struggles, challenges and oppression faced by the girl child What are the factors that foist on the girl child such challenges and oppression
From the family circle to the public sphere, the girl child has suffered much hardship and has been greatly dehumanized. This is due to the fact that she is regarded as inferior to her brother. She is devalued and as Buchi Emecheta portrays her, she is a second class citizen in a society ruled by male chauvinism. In especially most African societies, the girl child has been consigned to an inferior status for which she constantly wears a daunted image. This inferiority is as a result of the patriarchal ideology in the society which bestows undue self importance on the male child. The result of this is that, men do everything to undermine the women in order to arbitrarily institute value and ideologies in the society. The African society and the diaspora is a society with a tradition that bestows importance to the male folk, neglecting the female folks. This patriarchal ideology has influenced the way the girl characters are projected by male writers in their literary texts. In most literary works, female characters always wear one of these images: prostitute, girlfriend, courtesans, and workers and are evident in these novels: Clara is Obis lover in Chinua Achebes No long at Ease: Elsie in A Man of the People by Achebe is Odilis girlfriend and later becomes chief Nangas girlfriend; and also in ChimamandasHalf of a Yellow Sun, we see Olama as Odenigbos lover. These images of female character credits Chukwummas assertion.
The female character in African fiction is a facile lack luster human being, the quiet member of a household only to bear children, unfulfilled if she does not, and handicapped if she bears only daughters Docility and complete submission of will is demanded and enacted from her. Chukwumma 1990; 131
They construct the girl character as a passive and inconsequential object. The male writers communicated a picture of the girl child as one whose destiny is subject to the whims of her male folk.
Our primary source will be used in carrying out this research. Attention will be paid to the womanist tenet that throws some light in the oppression of the girl child as portrayed in African literature. Womanism is referred to as the blacks concept of feminism. Coined by Alice walker, it is meant to account for the survival of the black people. Walker 1984;89 Womanism upholds respect for the family units by Africans both in the continent and in the diaspora. Womanism is communal in its orientation and goes beyond the husband and wife context. This ideology of womanism caused Africans and AfricanAmericans to present the struggle of the black woman in her society. This is presented through the text of Toni Morrison and KaineAgary: The Bluest Eye and Yellow Yellow respectively.
Writers are mostly influenced by their environment and circumstance in history which helped to shape their society. We should agree that Toni Morrison and KaineAgary portray their society through their work. With reference to Morrisons The Bluest Eye and KaineAgarys Yellow Yellow, it will be just to state that the oppression and hardship faced by the girl child is as a result of the dreadful and traumatizing encounter between Africans and the white racists. It is believed that the encounter between the whites and Africans has left Africans in the continent and the diaspora with disconcerting problems. These issues are as a result of the dreadful means in which the encounter occurred: Slavery, colonialism. A short detailed review on the historical background of both authors will be the peg to tie the goat as Achebe would put it. Toni Morrison is the preeminent AfricanAmerican female writer, while KaineAgary is one of Nigerias leading contemporary writers.
Toni Morrison: Biography and Historical Background
Toni Morrison was born Chloe Anthony Wofford in Lorain, Ohio in 1931. Her father, George Wofford, was a shipyard wielder and her mother, Ramah Willis Wofford, raised the family. Her family migration from the south amp; North is much like the migration of the Breedloves in The Bluest Eye. Morrison was the second of four children. She grew up listening to folktale in her family and community: tales of slave times, emancipation tales dealing with racism of the white majority and tales of supernatural elements. Morrison married a Jamaican architect, Harold Morrison.
The setting of The Bluest Eye is Lorain, Ohio in 1941, and the rural south in the early 20th century. The novel begins after the great depression. Economic security was of importance for AfricanAmericans, who have fewer opportunities than the majority of their white counterparts. www.cliffnotes.com.
In the early 19th century, after the abolition of slavery, the blacks suffered great dehumanization. They were then the descendants of Africans captured and bundled into America as slaves. These captured slaves were forced to till the plantation of the white land owners. They farmed and produced crops such as sugar, cotton, indigo, and other tropical products. After the abolition of slavery, they were given the rural region of the society. Their environment lacked the basic amenities to survive and coupled with their slave background, life was unbearable and their region was marked by poverty. The blacks were racially discriminated upon; having no work to do in the white environment which was urban and had all the basic amenities. Competition for survival became extremely difficult and heightened, leaving their occupants with no alternative means of survival, forcing them to resort to diverse forms of crimes as over drinking prostitution, incest, wife beating, as a means for relief from the unremitting harsh condition.
KaineAgary: Biography and Historical Background
KaineAgary was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. She lived most of her life in PortHarcourt and then moved to the United States of America. She lives at present in Lagos, Nigeria, where she is the editor of Takai magazine. Agary holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in sociology and economics from Mount Holyoke College, U.S.A
The setting of Yellow Yellow is the oil region of Nigeria, Port Harcourt to be precise. In the early 19th century, Nigeria was invaded by the British under the guise of religion. They took over the traditional governing system, discarded and eclipsed our tradition, and referred to Nigerians as barbaric. They exploited both human and natural resources men and women were captured as slaves and transported to their home to cultivate and till their land, while the resources were used in developing their society. By 1937, oil exploration started in Nigeria and was pioneered by the shell development company of Nigeria limited which was based in Warri. In the course of exploration, the first well was drilled in 1951 at the North east of Warri where oil was discovered by shell in commercial quantities at Oloibiri, in the then Rivers State. Pipeline connection was constructed between Oloibiri and Port Harcourt which saw the first cargo of crude oil leave Niger Delta in 1958. Production was at 6,000 barrels per day and this implies that the oil industry was solely responsible for 95 of the nations foreign exchange earnings and shell was the major contributor.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The girl child has been consigned to a position of inferiority and she faces series of oppression and struggle as a result of societal anomalies.
The African continent is dependent on the western world today; most decisions made by African leaders are to some extent influenced by the western world and there are little or no black indigenous entrepreneurial class as compared to the whites which is evident in the Forbes world ranking or worlds richest men. The African continent is racked by affliction, disaster, macroeconomic crisis, corruption, high level illiteracy, squalor, hunger and other destabilizing conditions by the white in cahoots with a greedy, unpatriotic ruling class.
The wests describe everything black as evil, which has made blacks to hate themselves and loose their dignity and selfworth. The African continent, with so much natural resources, is still marked by poverty and disharmony and are regarded as third world countries. According to Bill Moyer:
You have seen what happen when the primitive societies are unsettled by white mans civilization, they go to pieces they disintegrate, they become deceased. The Power of Myth 1, 2
In The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, we see Pecola embarking on acquiring blue eyes as a result of the imposed standard and ideal of beauty and this imposed standard has affected how she is received by her society.
Also in Yellow Yellow by KaineAgary, we see how the activities of the western oil company destroyed the dreams of the girl Zilayefa and her entire society and have deprived them of a better life, exiting them into endless struggle as a result of political and economic marginalization ravaging the Niger Delta.
1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVE
With this project, we aim to redeem Africans from embarking on a journey to the white mans racist ideologies and values.
To redeem blacks from the internalized selfhate and loss of dignify as a result of the white ideals is our major preoccupation.
To portray that the challenges of environmental degradation, poverty, lack of amenities evident in the black society have a great impact on the female folk, especially the girls.
1.4 SCOPE OF STUDY
This research work deals with the society and the girl child. It entails textual analysis of the two text; The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and Yellow Yellow by kaineAgary.
1.5 RESEARCH METHOD
The primary and main source of information includes articles and works on slavery, colonialism and neocolonialism, the girl child internet materials and other written research work. |
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Chinweizu and others, in their book Towards the Decolonization of African Literature said that:
The life of man being portrayed in any literary works of art, is perpetually setting goals for man to pursue. Society creates the material for art. For art, especially literature to be successful therefore, the artist has it a professional responsibility to make his work relevant to his society and its concern. The African writer is expected to perform certain functions and perhaps this accounts for the various roles which both critics and writers ascribe to him.225
Kole, Omotosho in his book, The Form of the African and the Writer in Modern Society. Writes that:
It is imperative that poverty, ignorance, disease. Are societal challenges to be confronted with the human and material resources of society, including the characteristics of the society.16
Since the emergence of the African novel, the Nigerian writers have pursued different themes which could be used to distinguish between those I call the younger writers and the older writers. An explanation of the writers that make up the younger group requires a brief reflection into the history of the Nigerian writers and what they have set out to achieve.
The older or pioneer writers are those whose works preceded the Nigerian civil war, and the common themes observed by them were cultural conflicts and the African past. Wole Soyinka at Upsala in 1968 distinguished this class of writers, when he said:
The background starts at the untold opposition by the colonized, to the external conflict. Victory of sorts came and the writer submitted his integrity to the monolithic stresses of time. For this, any manifesto seemed valid, anyism could be embraced with a clear conscience. With few exceptions the writer directed all his energy to enshrining and reaffirming his identification with the aspirations of nationalism and the stabilization of the society.
The early writings of Achebe, Soyinka, Amos Tutuola, Isidore Okphewho, Festus Iyayi, Buchi Emecheta, Osofisan, Sofola and John Munoye, belong to this phase of African Literature.
In other words, Achebe in his book: Morning Yet On Creation Day, writes that:
These writers were mostly concerned with helping the society regain belief in itself and put away the complexities of the years of denigration and selfabasement caused by the colonial masters, during the period of colonialism. 44
His Things Fall Apart, for instance is a reaction against the badly distorted image of Africa and her people portrayed by Joyce Carey, in his Novel Mr. Johnson.
The writings of some of the members, of this group went a step further by reflecting the events that took place in the African states especially after independence. The Interpreters by Wole Soyinka and Achebes A Man Of The People expose with ruthless irony and satire the moral and political corruption that permeates the postcolonial Era.
On the other hand, the younger writers adopted an alternate approach to the obsolescent, they Address the sociopolitical problems affecting Nigeria and offer alternatives for social change. These writers better called contemporary, became writers with a new vision to better the lot of the common man in an age that is growing fast in science, technology and politics. Some of the writers are: chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Sefi Atta, Ukamaka Olisakwe, Richard Ali, Emmanuel Iduma, Sylva Nze Ifedigbo and others.
These postcivil war writings in Nigeria, witnessed shifting trends in themes. Justifying this, Osofisan, A middle Age Nigerian writer, clearly distinguish this group of writers from the previous ones in his book, Western Parasthetics and the Growth of Ekwensi Tradition Vol 1. He observed that:
The works of Soyinka, Achebe and Clark being products of transition, they look more to the past and to the unknown future. But the works of today have defined their province; they focus graphically on the present alone. The works of the earlier consciously crave for Luminous area of language and metaphor, they seek to distill banal experience into crystallized visions. 2
These younger writers refrained from the rehearsal of the old cultural conflict and treated it as outmoded. They believed that apart from the problems created by this cultural conflict, Nigerians still created problems for themselves, especially the small minority who professed to be the ideal of mans inhumanity to man but held the great majority in the grip of their political machines. This aroused a kind of awareness in the younger writers and that is why their focus is on the plight of the masses.
1.2 Background of the study
Social criticism can be said to perform some functions. According to online wikipedia,
social criticism analyses social structures which are seen as flawed and aims at practical solutions by specific measures, often consensual reform but sometimes also by powerful revolution.
hltp/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/social criticism.
The younger Nigerian writers tend to be dynamic rather than static. The new urban ethos is very much in their works, with its mixture of pidgin English and plain speech styles, its crime bent, convention breaking characteristic, traffic hold ups, its elite and slum developers, its rich and poor.
These younger literary writers treat literature as a product of social change. Social criticism has taken and is still taking, different forms in different African novels. But these criticisms have one thing in common: they all express disillusionment with the prevailing condition in the new African nations. These new Nigerian writers and critics, in their criticism used literature as a weapon in the struggle for justice. They, highlight in very bleak terms the weakness and calumny of the society with a view to restoring the permanent values of the society: Justice, freedom, and human dignity. These sociopolitical and economic problems which affect the growth of their society has made them aware of the necessity for a change in these areas.
Thus, these writers see the morality and realistically inspired individuals, as the agents of the reaction that would cleanse and purify the society.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
This project, attempts to see two members of this group of younger writers as social critics, their zeal and determination to foresee the desired change in their society for the better, through their realistically written short stories which do not leave any contemporary issue unaddressed.
This study seeks to show the problems affecting the growth of Nigeria, the relevance of the short story genre as opposed to the novel which had taken Conner stone in literature in the past years. It seeks to find out if the efforts of these younger writers in their use of the short story genre, are impressive enough as to encourage other upcoming writers and readers so that, attention can be drawn to this genre which had received little or no attention. These are the issues the writer wishes to discuss.
1.4 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The general objectives of this study can be broken down into the following specifics. It intends to help readers develop awareness of the social, political, economic, religious problems affecting the Nigerian society and hopefully trigger a more pragmatic response. Certainly it offers hope for the future. The two young writers and their short stories seek to understand the sensitivity of recent history on contemporary affair. Their characters are aware of, and receptive to, the ebb and flow of politics as it crosses into their lives, touching families, friends and themselves. Murder, hardship, assassinations, poverty, the crippling corruption of a nation strong enough to impose its will but not powerful enough to completely suppress dissent These are the topics of the two collection of short stories used in this work.
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study is important because its result can go a long way in finding out the causes of some social problems the country is facing and the possible solutions.
This work will no doubt, contribute to ones knowledge of the younger Nigerian writers and their aims as social critics for the upcoming writers to learn. It will also be a guide for the federal government to refrain from its corrupt governance and be more alert because the masses are aware of its evil deeds.
| CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Nigerias political problems sprang from the carefree manner in which the British took over, administered, and abandoned the government and people of Nigeria. British administrators did not make an effort to weld the country together and unite the heterogeneous groups of people. Though, many things we have today is due to their enlightenment, they still left us hanging. According to Adewele Ademoyega in his book Why We Struck 1981, he said that when the British came, they forcibly rubberstamped the political state of the ethnic groups of Nigeria, and maintained that status quo until the left. According to him upon their departure nearly a hundred years later, the people resumed fighting for their political rights.
When the British came to Nigeria as an imperial nation to take over the rulership of the country from 1861 with the cession of Lagos, they met the people of the south totally free, only observing and regulating their own monarchies and institutions Adewele Ademoyega: Why We Struck. Chinua Achebe in his work or novel Things Fall Apart, 1958, tries to portray the life Africans lived before and during the arrival of the Europeans in Nigeria.
Things Fall Apart tells the tragic story of the rise and fall of Okonkwo and the equally tragic story of the disintegration of Igbo culture, symbolized by the agrarian society of Umofia, under the relentless encroachments of British Christian imperialism.
For Achebe, Mister Johnson represents the worst kind of portrayal of Africans by Europeans. To him, the portrayal was all the more disheartening because John Cary was working hard to achieve and accurate depiction, unlike many British authors during the imperial colonial period who deliberately, often cynically, exploited stereotyped of Africans and African society. It was precisely because John Cary was a liberalminded and sympathetic writer, as well as a colonial administrator that Achebe felt the record had to be set straight. Achebes purpose then is to write about and for his own people. His first novels form a continuum over one hundred years of Igbo civilization. The Europeans have not yet penetrated Umuofia, the setting of the first novel, when Things Fall Apart beings. When the novel ends colonial rule has been established. His other novels talk about the different changes that took place before independence and after it.
The British governed Nigerian indirectly through their traditional rulers, as a result, the true leader of the masses hamstrung and held down. Just because Africans were given authority to rule over her own people, they saw it as a means to maltreat those that have wronged them, extort from those that have more than them and sell his/her own brother and sister for favours from the superior leaders The British. Adewele Ademoyega: Why We Struck.
These actions by the local and foreign leaders made the people to sort for independence. Many of them were not thinking straight any more. Many people now saw the need to transfer their faults to others using others as an excuse. The present leader blame the colonial masters and fore runnersforindependence for their actions for not doing what is expected of them well and also for the embezzlement and stealing of public funds. They claim that the colonial masters taught them to do so. The political elites in other to become rich and influencial in the society, steal and blame it on the economy and leaders. No one takes responsibility for his own crime and faults.
Between the politicians and the military they blame one another for a bad government no one agrees that the other is better than himself. In the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, people do all type of things just to steal from the petroleum companies they believe that it is their own right and bunkering which is a common business there is not stealing. That is why Tanure Ojaide uses his novel The Activist to enlighten the people of what is happening in the Niger Delta areas. He says those that claim to be literate in the society are the Chief Criminals sabotaging one another. Everybody in the country is in one way or the other suffering from the harms political corruption brought, we are psychosocial disordered.
Kole Omotoso in his fictions focuses on identifying the problems in Nigerian society and proposing solution. He lived his childhood and adolescence, sharing the nationalist dreams of peace, progress, and prosperity, as an adult and as a writer, he was forced to watch the systematic deferment of these dreams after independence for decades after freedom from colonial rule, Nigeria was cursed by civil strife, including a civil war 1967 1970 and incessant military coups detat. These events, together with undemocratic rule political chicanery and bureaucratic cynicism resulted in a steady decline in the quality of life in a nation that, because it is the most populous black nation on earth is often looked upon as representative of the black race. Omotoso tries to use fiction to talk about the decay and chaos in the society but he tries to make it less real like Armah did in his The Beautyful Ones are not yet Born.
1.1 Definition of Terms
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality is also considered political corruption.
Forms of corruption vary, it include: bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft and embezzlement. While corruption may facilitate criminal enterprises such as drug trafficking, money laundering and trafficking, it is not restricted to these activities. While political corruption is an illegal abuse of power, psychosocial disorder is the mental reaction one gets from it.
Psychosocial disorder is a mental illness caused or influenced by maladjusted cognitive and behavioural processes.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Due to the political dictatorship and the high rate of starvation and poverty in the country, many of the people are suffering from problems caused by the many ways they are treated and controlled.
Their manner of thinking have been blurred with the idea that if they steal or kill to survive, it is not a crime because their leader are also thieves who loot the national treasure and put is in their foreign accounts.
Again due to this, the citizens are psychosocially disordered and their minds corrupt. The key problem is the government. Because of the corrupt nature of the society, the government sells her pride and glory to foreign companies and enterprise. This people now treat the natural inhabitants of the areas where the companies are located like animals without dignity. Example is the Niger Delta area of Nigeria which is the oil producing state.
The major problem is between the people and her government. Both are psychologically and socially sick. The pain of poverty and starvation in abundant money have destroyed the peoples mind that they no longer think or reason straight.
1.3 Aim and Objectives
The objectives of this research are;
To identify the problems caused by political corruption and
To provide suggestion to the prevention of political corruption and psychosocial disorder and find a way to eliminate it completely from the society in general.
1.4 Significance of the study
Political corruption and psychosocial disorder using The Activist by Tanure Ojaide and Arrow of Rain by Oke Ndibe, will serve as a good material to students researchers.
This work will show how the government and the citizens and foreign companies helped in the corruption of the society and her environment and how the act of corruption has disordered everything.
1.5 Scope of Research
This project is restricted to the study of the political corruption and psychosocial disorder, using Tanure Ojaides The Activist and Okey Ndibes Arrow of Rain and other relevant literary work of some other Nigerian and African prose writers and commentaries on corruption.
The research is divided into five chapters, chapter one consist of the introduction, definition of term, statement of the problem, aims and objectives, significance of the study, scope of research and research methodology. Chapter two is the review of related literature, chapter three is textual analysis of the novel The Activist by Tanure Ojaide, Chapter four is textual analysis of the novel Arrows of Rain Arrow of Rain by Okey Ndibe and chapter five is the summary and conclusion.
1.6 Research Methodology
The main source of this research work is textual analysis of The main source of this research work is textual analysis of The Activist by Tanue Ojaide and Arrow of Rain by Okey Ndibe.
The secondary materials are from the library, texts, magazine and some works on African prose writers. | ABSTRACT
Acquiring sociolinguistic competence in another language is a slow and difficult process, since it involves understanding the culture and social values of that underlies the community's way of using language. Many rules for polite interaction depend on an understanding of the social distance norms of the community. Despite the domestication of English and the view of communicative competence from Nigerian sociocultural perspective, the ESL undergraduates exhibit sociopragmatic inadequacies in the use of the English as a means of communication. The purpose of this work is to find out how sociopragmatic competence improves communicative competence in English in a second language situation. This study explores the sociopragmatic theory of language use since it claims that language in use is governed by and can be interpreted by sociocultural norms and values of a speech community. Hence, the following social variables were manipulated: social distance, power distance, setting and politeness strategy. This investigation was carried through a DCT Discourse Completion Test on request expressions which was used as a pilot study and MCDCT Multi choice Discourse Completion Test on apology expressions. Apology and request expressions are two expressive speech acts which are culturespecific. Blumkulka and Olshtain study on English culture served as a model for this enquiry. These tests were administered to sixty 60 first year students who were randomly selected from three universities in Anambra State. A general questionnaire was given to lecturers from the select institutions based on the research questions. The data collected were analyzed using the sociopragmatic theory of language use. The results of the finding reveals that some lecturers are not familiar with the term, sociopragmatics and ESL learners are not adequately exposed to the L2 sociopragmatics. This, to a large extent, affects their social use of English. This work proffered workable strategies to be adopted to promote sociopragmatic competence in English since it is a prerequisite for appropriacy, politeness, mutual understanding and communicative competence.
Table of Contents
Title Page i
Approval Page ii
Certification iii
Acknowledgments iv
Dedication v
Abstract vi
Table of Contents vii
Chapter One: Introduction
1.1 Background to the Study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 11
1.3 Purpose of the Study 11
1.4 Scope of the Study 12
1.5 Significance of the Study 13
1.6 Research Questions 14
1.7 Definition of Terms 15
Chapter Two: Review of Relevant Scholarship
2.1 Conceptual Framework 17
2.1.1 Language and Communication 19
2.1.2 Language and Culture 20
2.1.3 Language Use in Nigerian Multilingual Environment 26
2.1.4 Linguistic and Communicative Competence: An Overview 27
2.1.5 An Overview of the Concepts of Pragmatics and SocioPragmatics 31
2.1.6 Speech Acts 37
2.1.7 The Relationship between SocioPragmatics and Communicative Competence 48
2.1.8 Factors Affecting SocioPragmatic Competence in ESL Situation 49
2.1.9 Strategies for Developing SocioPragmatic Competence in ESL 62
2.2 Theoretical Framework 70
2.3 Empirical Studies 73
Chapter Three: Methodology
3.1 Research Design 78
3.2 Population 78
3.3 Sample and Sampling Technique 78
3.4 Method of Data Collection 79
3.5 Tests for Reliability and Validity of Research Instruments 79
3.6 Method of Data Analysis 80
Chapter Four: Data Analysis
4.1 Research Question One 93
4.2 Research Question Two 94
4.3 Research Question Three 96
4.4 Research Question Four 97
Chapter Five: Discussion of Results, Recommendations and Conclusions
5.1 Discussion of Results 98
5.2 Conclusion 100
5.3 Recommendation 101
5.4 Suggestions for Further Studies 102
Work Cited 103
Appendix I 115
Appendix II 116
Appendix III 117
Appendix IV 121
Appendix V 125
Appendix VI 130 | Abstract
Language does not exist in a vacuum. For this reason, a proper study of language cannot be divorced from the study of language use/users. Any given language is used in different ways by different people for different reasons. For a bilingual/multilingual individual in a multilingual society such as Nigeria, things are a bit complex. The individual has to determine which particular code or codes are appropriate in any given discourse situation, and where necessary, how to switch codes midway. The presence of more than one language in the repertoire of an individual is of linguistic import. Languages in contact, it is said, are languages in conflict. This is especially true where there is a different level of proficiency for each of the languages. In the Nigerian context, virtually everyone learns English after the acquisition of a native language. This often results in a poor mastery of English, as it has to compete with an entrenched mother tongue. The aim of this study is to investigate language use among Nigerian secondary students from a sociolinguistic perspective. Research questions such as; to what degree do learners encounter problems in learning the second language and to what degree does the speech community of ESL learners affect their language use were formulated and examined by the researcher. The population for the study is made up of secondary school teachers and students in Awka South LGA. A total of 40 teachers and 120 students from four different schools were selected to take part in the study. Three research instruments namely: a questionnaire, a blankfilling test and a multiplechoice test were used and the data obtained were analysed using frequency table and percentage. From the data analysis, the researcher observed that: second language learners in Nigeria face enormous problems in learning the target language; speech community and contexts influence the selection of code from the repertoire of respondents; language learners improve in their target language proficiency as they progress in class. These observations indicate the need for parents to encourage the use of native languages by their children; and the need for government to make serious efforts to arrest the declining standard of spoken and written English.
Table of Contents
Title Page i
Approval Page ii
Certification iii
Acknowledgements iv
Dedication v
Abstract vi
Table of Contents vii
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 5
1.3 Purpose of the Study 6
1.4 Significance of the Study 7
1.5 Scope/Limitation of the Study 8
1.6 Research Questions 8
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE
2.1 Conceptual Framework 9
2.1.1. The Meaning of Sociolinguistics 10
2.1.2. The Concept of Speech Community 13
2.1.3. Language Variation 14
2.1.3.1. Types of Language Variation 14
2.1.3.2. Language Variation: Focus on the Users 16
2.1.3.3. Language Variation: Focus on the Uses 20
2.1.3.3.1. The Meaning of Style 20
2.1.3.3.2. Classification of Style 21
2.1.4. The Place of Error in a Multilingual Society 23
2.1.4.1. The Concept of Errors 23
2.1.4.2. Errors versus Mistakes 24
2.1.5. Multilingual Conversation and the Place of Codeswitching 26
2.1.6. The Notion of Accent 28
2.1.7. Languages in Nigeria and their Domains of Use 30
2.2. Theoretical Framework 31
2.3. Empirical Studies 36
2.4. Summary 46
CHAPTER THREE
METHODS AND PROCEDURES
3.1 Research Design 48
3.2 Areas of Study 49
3.3 Population and Sample of the Study 49
3.4 Research Instrument 50
3.5 Validation of Instrument 52
3.6 Administration Procedure 53
3.7 Method of Data Collection 53
3.8 Method of Data Analysis 53
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
4.1 Data Presentation and Analysis 54
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS AND CONCLUSION
5.1 Summary and Observations 72
5.2 Implication of the Study 73
5.3 Recommendations 74
5.4 Suggestions for Further Research 75
Works Cited 77
Appendix A: Questionnaire 82
Appendix B: Blank Filling Test 90
Appendix C: Multiple Choice Test 92 | CHAPTER 1
Introduction:
One of the most important differences between man and animal is mans ability to speak and make others understand him. Language is only possible because within each society, people agree to understand a particular pattern of sound in a particular way. For instance, all English speaking countries understand the meaning of the word water. According to Akindele and Adegbije, language is:
A human phenomenon that has form which can be described in terms of units of sound phonemes, word, morphemes, phrases, sentences and paragraphs or discourse 1.
This definition shows that language has often been identified as the most unique attribute of man. It is through language that human beings grasp and understand reality and transmit it from one generation to another. This view is buttressed by Blakar who asserts that we actually live and behave in a world of language 4. Victoria Fromkin and Robert Rodman quoted Noam Chomoky as saying that:
When we study human language, we are approaching what some might call the human essence. The distributive qualities of mind that are so far as we know unique to man. 1.
Language, which Oyewo Yinka describe as the medium or vehicle for conveying ideas, a system of arbitrary vocal symbol based on social cooperation; the totality of meaningful utterance in any given society 15 is by far the most important means of human communication.
The effects of Nigerian Pidgin English on students is the focus of this research work. Pidgin has their different histories about language contact and subsequent borrowing and codemixing. The origin of Nigerian pidgin can be traced to the contact which was established between multilingual coastal communities and Portuguese merchants, who were joined later by the Dutch and the English. Nigerian Pidgin English is in fact becoming very popular in the country, especially in the secondary schools and in the universities; even at public function as well as in the offices. It is a lingua franca for social integration among diverse ethnic groups in the country.
Nigerian Pidgin English has developed to the extent that it is utilized for literary communication. Some of the works which Nigerian pidgin is employed as a medium of expression are Dis Nigeria Sef a poem written by Ken SaroWiwa, No Food No Country a play by Tunde Fatunde, and Grip Am a play by Ola Rotimi; though some people consider it to be a low social status. Nigerian Pidgin has come to stay as the major lingua franca adopted for communication among the many different speakers in Nigeria. According to Jowitt:
The situation today is that pidgin flourishes as a medium of interethnic communication, especially in the south, and especially in the large cities with many nonindigenous residents Bendel, Benin, Port Harcourt, etc or throughout States with small many ethnic groups13
Nigerian Pidgin in this case is a situation where normal language pattern is altered, but generally accepted to convey meaning. The language does not only evolve but also has its origin from a mixture of other languages. Experiences have shown that among the students for which this work was conceived, Nigerian Pidgin English has gained a wider audience in all sectors of the economy, especially the educational sector.
Background to The Study:
The term pidgin is used to refer to a language which develops in a situation where speakers of different languages have a need to communicate but do not share a common language. Once a pidgin has emerged, it is generally learned as a second language and used for communication among people who speak differently.
Language is the most creative and unlimited instrument for social communication and it helps us to understand the deep seated social relevance, culture involvement and the human relatedness of language. Having said this, we can therefore agree that pidgin is a language of its own and not just a supplementary tongue as some people see it, since it serves as an unlimited instrument of social communication especially in a multilingual community as Caritas University.
According to R. Linton he states that the culture of a society is the way of life of its members, the collection of ideas and habits which they learn, share and transmit from generation to generation 12. These cultures, ideas and habits can only be transmitted from generation to generation through language. In linguistic, every language is considered adequate to represent the communicative needs of its people and as such should not be made to suffer any biases.
This cannot be said of Nigerian Pidgin even though it is a language because various attempts have been made by different faction to eradicate the use of Nigerian Pidgin English. These attempts have however been unsuccessful because of the significant value the language has to its users. It is a language that has brought people together in spite of their differences in ancestral culture and language by creating a local culture for itself which blends ideas from different cultures.
Statement of Research Problem:
Nigerian Pidgin is a language just as English and there is enough room for both language to coexist and be mutually enriching. Despite this and the fact that Nigerian Pidgin English appears to be the most popular means of communication among diverse groups and is easier to learn than any other language in the country today it is generally asserted that it is not the suitable language for use in formal setting and its use in such setting is usually frowned at.
This research work will explore the potentials of Nigerian Pidgin English as a language. If Nigerian Pidgin English does have this potential, why is its usage and status denigrated Also, does the speaking of Nigerian Pidgin affect the students academic performance Answers to these questions will enable us make useful recommendations for future studies.
Purpose of the Study:
This work intends to look into the effectiveness and status of Nigerian Pidgin English. It is inherent that for a long period of time that Nigerian Pidgin English has been the means of communication among students in the higher institutions. This research will bring into light if the use of Nigeria Pidgin English has any effect on the students and their academic performance in Caritas University. The finding will be regarded to be generic, affecting also students in other institutions who equally exalt Nigerian Pidgin English above standard English.
Significance of the Study:
This study is important because its results can go a long way to finding out the causes of students negative or positive academic performance. If Nigerian Pidgin English has contributed negatively or positively to the students.
This work will in no doubt contribute to ones knowledge especially in the department of English, Caritas University, Enugu as it will highlight some issues in educational planning. It will be a guide for the federal government in planning for effective educational system.
Scope and Limitations:
The scope of this project is on the effects of Nigerian Pidgin English in university community. An assessment of its use in various forms will be carried out. This research is limited to Caritas University, Enugu even though the findings might be generic.
Research Methodology:
Questionnaires were distributed to hundred 100 students in Caritas University, Enugu State which is my case study and these questionnaires were filled and collected and the hundred questionnaires were returned.
The result/total of responses from the respondents is tabled in the yes/no format. The collection of data was done in two parts. The secondary and primary source. The primary source is the questionnaire; the secondary source includes textbooks, journals and so on. The materials were researched upon in libraries: Benue State University and Caritas University libraries.
The total number of hundred 100 questionnaires were distributed and the percentage system is the method used in calculating the different responses. |
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