Don Laments Diminishing Value of English Language

 A professor of English at the Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Olatunde Ayodabo, has expressed concern over thriving of street variety of Nigerian English, saying the language should be used in a way that brings out messages, without altering it to the extent of losing its value as a medium of international exchange.

Ayodabo gave the advice in Oyo  town. 

He said no matter the efforts put in place street variety of English cannot be eradicated because various Nigerians of different ethnic,
educational, socio-economic and political backgrounds and persuasions will need English as a cross-border language to fulfil different functional needs.

‘’What of our hip-hop mmusicians and Nollyhood industry practitioners that produce what they desire and  not what experts vet,in terms of llinguistic standard? The rural/urban drift does not help matters, as well, since te urban areas hold the promise of the elite variety of any language. That drift has further increased the utility value of Nigerian English [whatever the qualty]."

The don asserted that no Nigerian possesses ninety-percent competence and efficiency in both the spoken and written English, simply because contrastive linguistics has taught  thatwhere differences exist in the systems of two or more languages, such differences will inhibit the proficiency and mastery of a target language.

‘’Here, the most proficient target language in Nigeria, today is English. English as a second language in Nigeria  will continue to be
a phenomenon that is examined and re-examined continually, due to the
historical , political and social contexts of its use, apart from its indispensable utility value.

Ayodabo further explained that a language may be  defined as 'vehicular’ when it is adopted for communication between members of different linguistic groups ,adding that the prevalence of the use of certain vehicular languages over others, at a given time or in a given field, depends on linguistic, cultural and economic factors of predominance.

English in Nigeria, the don said, is therefore a vehicular language, given the multi-lingual nature of the country and the dynamics of our
daily life in several fields.

 

By  Bode Durojaiye.