English language is Nigeria’s ‘second’ language. A second language is one that comes after one’s primary language.

Ironically, it is also Nigeria’s dominant language, with the use of English being taught at various levels of the Nigerian educational system – Pre-Nursery schools, Nursery schools, Primary schools, Secondary schools and Tertiary institutions of learning. When every guiding and holding factors are scrutinized, the history and role of English language in Nigeria is something noteworthy.

History of English Language in Nigeria
The Christian Missionaries who came from Great Britain introduced formal Western education to Nigeria, just before the middle of the 19thCentury. Prior to then, education was done informally, as children were taught tradition, culture, history, and the likes by their parents who were in turn taught by their own parents. After the introduction and acceptance of the formal system of education, the entirety of it was left in the hands of the missionaries and they began teacher children and adults who cared to learn English language.

The invasion of the European colonial masters and slave trade activities along the West Coast of African in the 18th century is believed to have paved the way for their tradition, language, and culture, some of which is obvious till today. The earlier kinds of English language which were spoken were “Coastal English” and “Patua English” (Pidgin or broken English) which was a more adaptable English variant as a quick and easy means of communication.

The entry of the British who were English speaking people in 1841, to the southern and south-western parts of Nigeria, inevitably raised the question of a language to adopt for communication between the indigenous population and the guest; more so, the European guests felt the ‘native’ languages were too “extensive and not of high quality… and never likely to become of any practical use to civilization”.

In 1882, the English language which was already well spoken in Nigeria by the elites and children of the elites, was accepted and implemented as the main channel of instruction and was the generalized approved communication language in corporate environments (Schools, Post Offices, Corporate Organizations, Airports, Federal and State Parastatals, and so on).

Consequently, the education ordinance and codes of 1882, 1896, 1918 and 1926 were enacted for English language to be as the “Official Language”.

Roles of English language in Nigeria
• English language is the interconnecting language amongst Nigerians from different geopolitical zones and different ethnicities.

• English language is a worldwide language, and it’s the means of communication in over 30% of all countries in the world.

• Without a pass in English language, students can move from secondary level of education into the tertiary institutions and this is to ensure that students can at least communicate and express themselves in a multi-ethnical community.

• The inability to communicate in English language would definitely make international trade impossible.

The roles of English language in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized as it is an important (underrated) tool for national development.

Source: http://vastfinder..com/2017/01/history-and-importance-of-english.html

lalasticlala, Mynd44

i ill be back .. When it makes frontpage

Since Nigeria had birthed over hundreds of tribes with hundreds of languages spoken in different areas of the country...... i've decided to make the English language my official language......

H

Na so we see am....

G

Rubbish ...who english help? No b English we dey take deceive ourselves in this country. Y can't we use one of our languages as lingual franca or even use Pidgin English so everybody wud be able to express him/herself well.

Have u seen a Nigerian THINKING with English?

fucking country


the same Britain went to China, India, Korea, Japan etc these people don't speak english


China itself has multiple ethnic groups yet they don't speak english




9ja carry english for head
even the lawyers they wear that craze person wig for head like englishmen




Africa eh

Oyinbo o gbo Yoruba.

uhm

hmmmmmmmmm

Noted. . .

We are still slaves to the colonialist, We make fun of people who cannot speak proper English. When there are countries colonized by the British and they did not adopt English.

It seems not very important. Native tongue all the way.

For now all fvcks are freezed

I,honestly dont give a Bleep

The bleeps givers are off duty

have been waiting for such topic for a long time...
abeg!! to those girls that cannot speak expensive English stop falling awa hand!
spoke ur fadas!!! tongue or better still .. cheap English !

Good job.
But hope you know there is nothing like 'patua' but patois?


Thanks.

We kenyans use Swahili as the national language, and English as the medium of instruction in institutions of learning. I have no problem if you guys tried it out, it's an African language you see. When two or more random kenyans meet, they converse with each other in Swahili.

If our schools should adopt patois as one of our recognized language and teach with it, we Nigerians will learn very fast. Nobody is dull or can't learn fast it depends on which way we can adopt with when learning. English doesn't belong to us

petrov10:
fucking country


the same Britain went to China, India, Korea, Japan etc these people don't speak english


China itself has multiple ethnic groups yet they don't speak english




9ja carry english for head
even the lawyers they wear that craze person wig for head like englishmen




Africa eh

okay wentin we wan dey speak?,Yoruba?, Igbo?,mtceeev

donfemo:
We are still slaves to the colonialist, We make fun of people who cannot speak proper English. When there are countries colonized by the British and they did not adopt English.

i think it's high time we adopted pidgin English instead, cos even my grandmother understands that

MtuMsuper:
We kenyans use Swahili as the national language, and English as the medium of instruction in institutions of learning. I have no problem if you guys tried it out, it's an African language you see. When two or more random kenyans meet, they converse with each other in Swahili.

my brother it is going to be very difficult ,a country of 360 languages where tribalism still reign supreme,which of these 360 languages should we pick?

Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa is our major tribe.

Why not pick one of this language to serve as our official language, and let it be teach in all schools.

With that we would move forward.

Imagine if American or British want to listen to our news, they av to learn either Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa. It will be so interesting cuz dey wud av to request for our teachers to teach dem. And I bet not all of them are that patient.

Dem go jst leave to progress witout interference.

moscobabs:
Rubbish ...who english help? No b English we dey take deceive ourselves in this country. Y can't we use one of our languages as lingual franca or even use Pidgin English so everybody wud be able to express him/herself well.

Have u seen a Nigerian THINKING with English?

Don't be misguided. Many Nigerians, including myself, think in English.

You should realise that a fraction of Nigerians now speak English as a first language, rather than as second.

taiwo3489:
Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa is our major tribe.

Why not pick one of this language to serve as our official language, and let it be teach in all schools.

With that we would move forward.

Imagine if American or British want to listen to our news, they av to learn either Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa. It will be so interesting cuz dey wud av to request for our teachers to teach dem. And I bet not all of them are that patient.

Dem go jst leave to progress witout interference.

It's easier said than done. I am not Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa yet I am a Nigerian. Will I then be forced to dump my language and adopt that of another that won't even help me in any way?

As a Yoruba, assuming you are one, will you start speaking Igbo if it is made an official language?

Meanwhile, don't think this idea hasn't already been considered. Northerners have tried forcing Hausa on all of us as an official language several times but it didn't work.

It's easier said than done bro.

fratermathy:


It's easier said than done. I am not Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa yet I am a Nigerian. Will I then be forced to dump my language and adopt that of another that won't even help me in any way?

As a Yoruba, assuming you are one, will you start speaking Igbo if it is made an official language?

Meanwhile, don't think this idea hasn't already been considered. Northerners have tried forcing Hausa on all of us as an official language several times but it didn't work.

It's easier said than done bro.

It would be difficult cos of Tribalism there,but I think Pidgin has solved this problem. Cause many people from different tribes now converse in Pidgin more than English itself.So what we need is to love-vendor up the language a little and it becomes a major language

Adiwana:

It would be difficult cos of Tribalism there,but I think Pidgin has solved this problem. Cause many people from different tribes now converse in Pidgin more than English itself.So what we need is to love-vendor up the language a little and it becomes a major language

True. Pidgin has been proposed several times as a national language but the Northerners vehemently refused the proposal on the grounds that Pidgin is a southern phenomenon which is alien to them, as Hausa is the "pidgin" of the North.

If we can all come to an agreement, Pidgin won't be much of a problem to adopt.

petrov10:
fucking country


the same Britain went to China, India, Korea, Japan etc these people don't speak english


China itself has multiple ethnic groups yet they don't speak english




9ja carry english for head
even the lawyers they wear that craze person wig for head like englishmen




Africa eh

hahahahahahha even the English wig sef can be hilllarious and the fact that Nigerians seem to place an over-emphasis and personal pride on speaking big english words that some Brits don't even know the meaning of.