LANGUAGES IN CONTACT: THE DEPENDENCE OF THE IGBO LANGUAGE ON ENGLISH IN IGBO SOCIO-CULTURAL SETTINGS OF NIGERIAN METROPOLIS

Back to Page Authors: Esther Chikaodi Anyanwu

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Keywords: code-mixing, codeswitching, language shift, interference, interdependence

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Abstract: The English Language has remained an asset to Nigerians ever since it was introduced by the colonial masters (Great Britain). Since its inception, it has remained the language of the mass media, education, technology, etc. Nigeria is a multilingual nation with a multiplicity of ethnic languages in addition to English. The people that makeup Nigeria come from different backgrounds and culture. Consequently, the English language has remained the official language in Nigeria. The Igbo Language which is one of the three major ethnic languages is now over-dependent on English. Its speakers have had problems in placing the language in its right domain without allowing infiltrations of lexical items from the second language which is English. This has remained a challenge to the Ibos in the area of phonology, pronunciation, and syntax. There is now the problem of whether the Igbo language can survive in the face of negligence, mutations, and infiltrations that abound in the language. Consequently, Igbo speakers of English encounter problems in their usage of English at some linguistic levels. This paper examined the dependence of the Igbo language on English and the effect of the second language (English) on Igbo vis-à-vis the diverse ways in which the Igbo language has equally come to bear heavily on the English Language.

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