The New Language Policy of the Nigerian Army: National Integration or Linguistic Imperialism?

Abstract

I argue in this paper that the new language policy of the Nigerian Army recognizes and promotes the dominant languages as resources for military training, intelligence gathering and peace building, while the dominated languages are marginalized, alienated and relegated, thus the policy infringes on the fundamental linguistic rights of speakers of minoritized languages in the army. I further maintain that the Nigerian Army’s exclusive language policy is harmful to the army as a national institution and call for explicit status planning of the Nigerian Pidgin to serve as the language of wider communication in the army in response to its emerging sociolinguistic challenges.

It's better to die before dishonour: Linguistic creativity and the negotiation of meaning in the Nigerian Army community of practice

“…The language situation in the Nigerian Army's sociolinguistic landscape has received little attention in the literature. Mensah (2019a) critiques the compulsory introduction of Nigeria's major spoken languages, Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba as the official languages in army training, intelligence and peacekeeping at the expense of minority languages. It is also argued that such a policy will deny speakers of the lesser-known languages their fundamental linguistic rights and compromise the unity of the deeply heterogeneous composition of Nigeria.…”

“…There is extensive degree of borrowing from Nigerian English, Nigerian Pidgin and sparsely in Hausa as we can see in the following words: idiot, problem, halt (Nigerian English), wetin, Oga, chop (Nigerian Pidgin), nyarinya, and walahi (Hausa). These languages in addition to Igbo and Yoruba also form the main linguistic repertoire of most army barracks in Nigeria (Mensah, 2019a). These loan words have been used to enrich the linguistic resources and vocabulary of the army sociolect.…”

“…In the Nigerian Army's informal spaces, linguistic tools such as jargon and slang play significant roles in the creation of meaning and enactment of conversational style which are used in meeting different communicative functions. These are colloquial terms or expressions which are unique to the military community of practice (Mensah, 2019a). They evolved over time with the involvement of the military in different missions and operations.…”

A critical analysis of Igbo-English translations in social media posts: A study of Twitter and Facebook

“…Nigeria, a country with over 500 languages (Oyebade, 2015), is an example of one such multilingual community that interacts not only in person but also through social media platforms. This interaction has prompted social media platforms to make improvements to accommodate cultural diversities.…”

“…As Nigeria grapples with issues of linguistic diversity and inclusivity, particularly with the translation of social media posts into English, there is a need for rigorous research to better understand the nuances of language use and translation in this context and how to improve these platforms to better translate posts. As argued by scholars such as Oyebade (2015), multilingual education and communication are crucial for promoting linguistic diversity and social inclusion in Nigeria. A study on Igbo-English translations on social media can provide valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities of multilingual communication in Nigeria, and promote more effective and inclusive language policies.…”