Implementation Challenges of National Language Policy in Nigeria: The Roles of the Indigenous Languages

Abstract

The administration and maintenance of linguistic plurality and multilingualism in Nigeria seem to come with a lot of challenges, given a setting within which English is still being assigned dominant functional roles. Language policy which is a deliberate effort to mandate specific language behaviours in particular contexts is characterized by many obvious implementation defects in Nigeria. Such defects revolve around lack of decisive policy guidelines being implemented about language development and allocation, language use, language rights, and a host of other important issues. This paper examines the detrimental effects that poor implementation of national language policy initiatives in Nigeria has had on the development and survival of indigenous languages in the immediate past. It reveals the unhealthy attitude of many Nigerians elite groups towards the sustainability of indigenous languages, the inability of successive government to select a single viable national language from the indigenous languages, non-codification of many minority languages, and inadequate definition of roles for indigenous languages in governance. The study found that the lack of adequate implementation of the language policy initiatives has given prominence to English which is consequently endangering the indigenous languages in Nigeria.