The National Language in a Multilingual Society
Abolaji S. Mustapha (ed.)
Lagos State University
This book attempts to answer one of the germane language questions that many multilingual societies struggle to answer. For example, does a multilingual society require a national language to develop? If yes, the question of language choice from their myriad of language pool that will serve as a symbol of unity and sovereign entity together with the criteria for selecting a national language will arise. Tied to these questions is the need to consider the advantages and disadvantages in choosing a former colonial master’s language, a local language (whether minority or majority), a Pidgin, one or more than one language. The next challenge would be how to contain the problems and constraints for selecting a national language. Finding answers to these questions with its attendant consequences is the main preoccupation of this volume.
Some local and international researchers have provided answers to some of these questions. Part of what this book has done is to collate some of these scattered submissions and present them in a very lucid, concise and scholarly manner that will serve as a must read for linguists and stakeholders in language policy and planning in multilingual societies not only in Nigeria but also in Africa and in other parts of the world.
In addition, there are new contributions in this book who have injected fresh insights into what has been submitted earlier. It is anticipated that students, researchers and policy makers on language matters with particular reference to the national language question in multilingual societies would find this volume a rich resource and a reference book on linguistic happenings in multilingual societies, with particular focus on Nigeria.
Contents
Abolaji S. Mustapha
The National Language
Adeyemi O. Babajide
Nigeria’s National Language(s) Question: A Fantasy?
Emmanuel N. Emenanjo
National Language and National Development
David Jowitt
Nigeria’s National Language: Choice and Constraints
Abolaji S. Mustapha
The Candidature of Nigerian English
Joseph O. Friday-Otun
Nigerian Pidgin: A Viable National Language
Abdul-Hafeez Adeniyi Ahmad Adedimeji
Arabic as a Viable National Language
Ejike Eze
The Candidature of a Majority Language
Michael A. Oyebola
The National Language Policy: The Candidature of a Minority Language
Abolaji S. Mustapha
A Plurilingual Approach to the National Language Question
ISBN 9783969390146. LINCOM Studies in Sociolinguistics 18. 192pp. 2020.
