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Language, Society and Culture

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 CHAPTER 1

LANGUAGE, SOCIETY AND CULTURE

Yusuf Noah And Andy Olagbemi

1. The Meaning of Language

Every social organisation requires some means through which members can
communicate with one another. It is through these means that they could transfer set of meanings
and achieve some degree of mutual understanding. They also enable people to develop consensus
(a shared set of meanings) and it is only when such consensus exists that people are able to act
together, as it is only then that they can make fairly accurate predictions about each other’s
behaviour. In other words, social interaction among human groups may be impossible without
such important means of communication.
In both human and animal societies, communication is largely carried out through the use
of signs. However, these signs have been classified into two:
Natural and Conventional. Whereas sub humans use extensively natural signs, human
beings on the other hand communicate by means of conventional signs (or symbols). Sub-
humans are therefore said to Tack both language and symbols since they cannot abstract a
concept from a particular concrete context. Language is therefore restricted to human groups.
Bollinger (1968) defined language as a system of vocal-auditory communication using
conventional signs composed of arbitrary patterned sound units and assembled according to set
when interacting with the experiences of its’ users.
According to George Mead, language is possible wherever a stimulus can affect the other
i.e. when significant symbols arouse in an individual the same responses as they explicitly arouse
or are supposed to arouse in other individuals to whom they are addressed. Language is said to
come into being when two or more persons have learnt to attach the same values or experience to
the same sound combinations.
Technically, language is not restricted to purely verb al expressions but includes any
standardised and conventionalised system of symbols. Therefore, language is not merely a
system of words, or system of symbols. Rather it is a form of behaviour involving the use and
interpretation of symbols.
2. Forms of Language

1
The major forms in which language may be expressed among human groups are:
➢ Spoken words
➢ Written words
➢ Drawings and paintings.
Besides the use of language in the three most common forms outlined above, man also
uses other ways to create and convey symbols. For instance, he symbolises through personal
gestures like hugs, handshakes, winks or nods. He also uses devices like bells, beacons, carrier
pigeons, puts of smoke in the desert air, drumbeat in the jungles, tattoos, taken poles, tantalising
perfumes to convey meanings, In short, man’s modes of communication include all the
procedures by which one organism may influence another.
However, human beings alone create symbols and combine them into systems of
language. The possession of language has therefore been described as the
most significant distinctions between human and animal societies.
3. Socio-cultural Significance of Language
1. Communication:
Language provides the human society with writing or other means of communication.
Without language, it would have been very difficult if not impossible for men to engage in
complete social interraction.
2. Socialisation
Language is the major instrument through which knowledge, values, norms and
capabilities of a social group are passed on to new members. All the agents of socialisation viz
family, school, church, industry etc require language in order to socialise” individuals in the
proper ideals ofthe society.
3. Cultural Accumulation, Development and Transmission
Major elements of culture are acquired, developed and transmitted by means of language.
Language pervades all activities involving culture.
4. Education:
Learning in society whether in a formal or informal settings is conducted through language. In
addition, the transmission of knowledge in both simple and complex societies are largely
conducted by means of language. Invariably then, language is the only means through which
education could be possible.

2
5. Cooperation
Cooperation activities in human society are made possible through language. It ensures
that human beings have understanding among themselves leading to cooperation in major
endeavours. Without such cooperation, many complex activities of man would have been
impossible.
6. Personality development
Language has been described as a potent instrument for measuring personality. The
quality of one’s voice, the speed pattern, speed and relative smoothness of articulation all
combine to determine an individual’s personality.
7. Instrument of Thought
Language is the major vehicle of thought for the philosopher as well as the teacher and
other individuals in the society. It has been argued that without language man would perhaps be
incapable of the thought function.
4. LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY
Man is constantly using language - spoken language, printed language in their everyday
social interaction. Languation also provides the means for shared norms of behaviour through
which men are constantly linked to one another.
The interest of sociologists (and other related social science disciplines) in language is in
the interaction between the use of language and the social organisation of human behaviour. In
another words, we are interested in the questions:-
➢ What is the relevance of language in human society?
➢ In what ways is language the determining factor of human social interraction?
➢ What are the consequences of language in human society i.e. if man do not possess
language how would his society look like?
➢ What role does language play in an heterogenous community?
These and similar questions constitute the dominant themes in sociological discussion
about language in Society.
5. Language Behaviour among social Groups

3
 One basis insight about language and social organisations is that members of social
networks and communities do riot always display either the same language usage or the same
behaviour towards language. In another words, the display of language behaviour varies between
linguistic groups and between different social situations. For instance, government functionaries
in Nigeria who are of Hausa ethnic origin quite often may not speak English to each other
thought they all can speak the language very well. Rather they tend to speak their native
language (Hausa) at occassions which bring them together. There are few occassions when they
speak English instead of Hausa. On the other hand, a Yoruba- speaking government official may
tend to adopt English while relating to another Yoruba man both during official assignment and
at social functions.
People also use different varieties of their language. For instance one variety may be
particularly loaded with government officialese (official language) conversational style of highly
educated circles while still another may be commonly used by the ordinary people.
Apart from the multi-lingual speech communities who utilise a sort of language varieties
as discussed above, in monolingual speech communities the language pattern may also consist of
several social class varieties or of social class and regional varieties of the same language, Thus,
monolingual native-born Yomba- speaking individuals speak differently to each other on
different occasions.
These differences can be identified in the ways words are pronounced ( in the words that
are used (lexically) and in the system at relationship between words (grammatically). For
instance, the san individual who ways “make una close that door” may also utter “please ensure
that you close the door”., The important question here is when to say the one and when the other,
when the individual is interacting with persons who could understand both equally well but who
would consider use of the one when the other is called for as a serious social error. hi most
societies in Africa, there is the existence of a “royal language” reserved exclusively for the king
and his households. Again a variety of language is equally reserved for the slaves and the
commoners. To mistake one for the other would be regarded by the linguistic community as a
serious mistake.
Another important factor which could determine variation in language usage in the
context of the social network is the situation in which the encounter takes place. A situation is
defined by the co-occurrence of two or more individuals who are related to each other in a

4
particular way, communicating about a particular topic and in a particular setting. The situation
determine the pattern of language variety - whether in terms of a different language or a different
social, occupational, regional pattern in which language is used. It could also be in the style of
phonological, lexical or grammatical usage. For instance, a beer-party between lecturers and
students maybe viewed as quite a different situation from a lecture class involving the same
people. The topic of talk in the two situations are likely to be different, their location and time
are also likely to be different while the relationship or roles of the participants vis - a - vis each
other are likely to be different, In general, any of these differences may determine the use of a
different language variety in each case. However it is essential for members of a social networks
who share a common language to know when to shift from one variety (situation or language) to
another.
For instance, there are occasions when a shift in situation may require a shift in language
variety. A shift in language variety may also signal a shift in the relationship between members
of a social network or a shift in the topic and purpose of their interaction or a shift in the privacy
or location of their interaction.
6. Language and Interpersonal Communication
One important feature of social interaction is that individuals adopt to each other’s speech
patterns on a number of linguistic levels. Thus, for instance, when two people meet there is a
tendency (though unconscious)for them to modify their speech in such a way that they become
more alike in accent, speech rate, loudness, and so forth. This convergent behaviour is referred to
as interpersonal accommodation. This often occur, for example, when an adult uses less complex
grammatical structures when speaking with children and when people use more prestigious
pronunciations with others of higher status or when they speak more slowly to strangers or
foreigners. In all these cases, people are adjust their speech to how they believe others in the
situation would like to receive it.
In an attempt to deal with such phenomena three linguistic scholars Giles Ho, Taylor, D.
M., and Bourhis R.Y. (1973) in their book “Towards a theory of Interpersonal accommodation
through language “proposed a model which considers accommodation to be a means of
facilitating social interactions. They suggested that as A becomes more similar to B, this
increases the likelihood that B will favourably evaluate A. Thus interpersonal accommodation
through speech is one of the many devices that an individual may adopt in order to become more

5
similar to another. Specifically, accommodation process involves the reduction of linguistic
dissimilarities between members of a duyad (a group consisting of two persons). For instance, as
when A matches B is dialect, length of speech or loudness, thereby increasing interpersonal
attraction as well as mutual understanding. Therefore, speech accommodation reflects a
speaker’s desire for social approval. It follows then that the greater the speaker’s need to gain
another approval or attraction the greater the magnitude of accommodation that will occur.
However, it should be pointed out that it is possible for an individual to accommodate
another by means of speech; if only he has the sufficient words which will enable him to
communicate realistically with the other person. For example, a person who attended an elitist
private school where high prestige pronunciations were enforced may not have enough verbal
and vocal flexibility to allow him to accommodate linguistically to another person who belongs
to the working class and who lacks prestigious education. ll however, he desires the latter’s
approval he may accommodate him in some other non-linguistic respect e.g. by honouring his
invitation to a social function.
Linguistic accommodation model relies upon the notion of social exchange theory in that
an accomodation act should attract more potential rewards than cost to the speaker. Example of
such rewards is when the speaker gains the listener’s approval, on the other hand, the costs may
include-such factors as expended efforts and a loss of personal or cultural identity.
7. Perterns of Linguistic Accomodation
The situation in which a speaker found himself would largely determine the dimension of
speech accomodation. We shall use three situations to illustrate these patterns.
In the first example, let us imagine the context of a job interview in which a candidate has
a less prestigious accent than his interviewer. It could be expected that the prospective employee
in this case would shift his speech more in the direction of his interviewer than vice versa since it
is the applicant who desires the approval of the interviewer In this respect, studies have indicated
that the more prestigious the speech of an individual the more favourable he would be perceived
on a number of personality - related traits (e.g. intelligence, self-confidence). In addition, what
you actually have to say will be considered to be of better quality than the same content spoken
in a less prestigious accent.
Therefore, as for the applicant, who is adjusting to the interviewer (upward convergence)
his rewards would be in terms of his being more comprehensible to the interviews, more

6
sympathetic to him and his being rated more favourably with respect to intelligence and self-
confidence.
The second (and contrasting) example is a situation (for instance of an industrial dispute
in a small firm) where there might be a greater need on the p art of the employer to gain this
workers social acceptance than vice versa, In this case, the employer would be more prone to
shift his speech in the direction of the workers than would the workers to his. (downward
convergence).
In the last model, a situation can arise in which a speaker wishes to dissociate himself
from his listener perhaps because of his undesirable attitude, habits or appearance. In this case,
the speaker may modify his speech in such a way that it is unitelligible to be other person
(divergence).
These models have a number of implications in the consideration of the role of language
in society. For instance, studies conducted based on the model have shown that some cultural
groups are more favourably disposed towards assisting foreigners who adjust to their language
than those who do not (harms and Banding, 1973).
Secondly the model also demonstrates that accomodating individuals induces their
listeners to evaluate them more favourably
Thirdly, speech accomodation could be described as a convenient means for ensuring
healthy relationship of co-existence among different ethnic groups in multi-ethnic societies. Thus
for example ifpeople who speak one language (say Yoruba) could accornodate others who speak
a different language (i.e. Housa or Igbo) there would be mutual understanding between these
groups, thereby reducing ethnic tensions and mistrust which usually characterise the relationship
between these major ethnic groups in Nigeria.
8. Uses of Language
The obvious uses of language are the social ones. Information that one person prossesses
can be delivered to others who do not have if but could avail themselves of it. This kind of
transmission is possible between generations as well as among contemporaries, and so, with the
emergence of language, life experiences be cummulative. Some animal species are able to
transmit a small amount of lose across generations; chiefly knowledge of water holes,. feeding
places and the habits of enemies (Wyne-Edwards: 1962).

7
 Very much less obvious than the social usage of language are its uses for the mental
processes of the individual. This great subject is more easily introduced with reference to writing
and reading than to speech. Writing is a secondary linguistic system relying on speech but not
usually learned until the early school years. Of significance too is the fact that the preliterate has
no writing but he has the technology of speech.
9. The Structure of Language
Various approaches have been introduced and adopted as the framework for the structural
understanding of language in society. For our purpose and limitations as sociologist in this
present course, one predominant approach will be discussed.
Transformational Approach
Noam Chomsky (1957) introduced the transformational approach to linguistic at a time
when linguists were still working hard on descriptive and prescriptive grammars to try and
discover the structure of languages. He argues that the currently accepted theories of language
structure could not account for some of the major properties, processes and constructions of
languages. He therefore opined that linguistic theories be formulated like mathematical systems.
This, he believes will go a long way in helping us to detect their powers and defects and thus
enable us to outline a more powerful approach to the study of language structure. Briefly,
language has to be conceptualised and later converted into sound.
We can proceed further to identify major elements of a language namely:
i. Syntax
ii. Phonology
iii. Semantics
Syntax
Syntax rules are viewed as linking the surface structure of a sentence with the underlying
deep structure. This is the way in which words are arranged to form phrases and sentences. Any
normal child seems to grasp these rules intuitively. For instance, in English he says “Give me my
food” and not “my food give me” It is also interesting to note that those from literate families
combine both English and their native language so naturally without disobeying the rules of
syntax.
Phonology

8
 This deals with how sentences are mapped into sound, that is, the outer face. It is a
crucial fact of language for anthropologists, particularly while in the field
and where the language of the informant is not native to them.
Phonology deals with:
1. the distinctive sounds or phoneme of the language; and
2. the rules governing the sequence of phonemes.
A linguist will first collect a representative sample of utterances are then examined to
determine the number and nature of phonemes found in the language.
Semantics
Semantics is concerned with assigning meaning to sentences. It is the link between idea
and sounds for (Keesing), semantics is the inner face to which the deep structure of a sentence is
mapped out into conceptual structure, that is, assigning meaning.
Linguistic forms may also take emotional associations called connotation. In most cases,
connotation indicates the social status of the speaker or in Nigeria, the ethnicity of the speaker.
Consider the following in American English.” He isn’t” is regarded as superior to “He ain’t”.
Even a literarily explanation of the above response among the peoples of Nigeria has its social-
psychological connotation viewed in terms of respect. It is obvious that language exists in a
social setting, may be this is why it is often said that linguistic forms possess meanings and these
meanings are determined by the ways in which forms are used by human beings.
10. ROLE OF LANGUAGE IN SOCIALISATION AND SOCIAL ORGANISATION
The Meaning of Socialisation
When a child is born, he is purely a biological being i.e. he is not on and completely
dependent being but more importantly he is incapable of performing any functions that mature
individuals in the social group are doing. But some months later the child becomes a matLire and
independent adult who has also assumed certain roles in the society This process of transformal
of a biological being to a social being is called socialisation. It is a process by which a human
being internalises the norms of his social group. Through this process, human beings are able to
acquire the social behaviour patterns of their groups.
During this process of transformation the child must have learnt one, two or more
languages with which he communicates with others, he must have also learnt a lot of empirical
facts about his physical and social environment. Again he must have learnt a variety of special

9
skills and bodies of knowledge and as well acquired certain attitudes and values pertaining to the
moral standards and ways of relating to people in his society.

10
Language and Socialisation
Socialisation basically involves the induction of new recruits into the on going adult
system. This process ultimately involves the interplay of speech or language. The first level of
socialisation takes place in the family when the child learn to acquire the speech pattern of his
group. The child’s acquisition of speech in interaction with adults has been considered as
fundamental to the child’s development of control over his own behaviour and of the picture
about the world.
Language also play a prominent role in the transmission of skills and social roles amongst
men in the society, Knowledge and skills as well as role play are acquired by means of requisite
speech. Speech is also a source of pleasure or oral or erotic gratifications. The fact that some
languages are extremely rich in vocabulary while some are quite poor suggest differential
enjoyment of the phonic substance of language.
From the standpoint of the social system of the group, speech or language influences the
roles that are acquired by children. On the other hand, this also determines or reflects how speech
is acquired. For instance, speaking in aggressive roles such as that of a warrior or a priest
influences corresponding speech in interaction with other members of the society. The child
learns to acquire language in the context of the household or the immediate nuclear family. The
composition of this household is determined largely by resident rules, marriage rules etc. By and
large, the speech pattern of the child would be structured by the composition of the household -
the number of members who constitute the household.
Speech development of the child is dependent on maturity through the socialisation
process. Thus as the child expands his interaction with other men in the society he learns how to
use more complex speech to describe new events and phenomena.
Furthermore, verbal behaviour among individuals in society differs depending on the
level of education and differences in adult life. For instance, individuals differ greatly in the
control of intonation patterns. In daily verbal behaviours, variations in individual mastery is even
more apparent. The consequences of such faulty mastery of verbal control include social
discomfort, exclusion from or failure in significant areas of activity.
The pattern of social organisation has been seen to affect the rate of mastery of adult
patterns including the mastery of language. For instance, there are evidence that singletons
(Children born in single) master speech more rapidly while twins do so more slowly.

11
 In a multi-lingual society the roles and settings of the language must necessarily be kept
apart. Through this, the child probably will acquire the language without confusion but if not
there may be personality difficulties. For example, there are some situations and roles in which it
is necessary to translate between languages. Such external factors have much to do with the
effect of multi lingualism on personality.
In other subtle ways personality type and speech pattern are determined by the
socialisation experience. The personality of an individual is largely the total sum of his
experience during the process of socialisation pressures encountered by some individuals during
socialisation leads to the incidence of stuttering arid other speech defects.
The influence of socialisation and social organisation on language could also be seen in
one other way. Some cultures, specify the social setting in which children are permitted to speak.
For instance, in some societies children are not permitted to speak whenever adults are around,
or when they are on the dinning table etc. In other societies, children are encouraged to take part
in discussion with guests or elders. For example, among the Yoruba, children are not permitted
to stay around while elders are discussing voting issues. In other words. instances when young
people are allowed to witness discussion by adults, they are not permitted to contribute to the
discussion. Thus, the values and beliefs of the group have important role to play in the
permissibility of speech. For ii the beliefs regarding children as participants in speech differ from
society to society. Some people believe that small children are incapable of understanding
speech. Other people ascribe significance to the speech behaviour of children. The outing people
believed that the cries of infants is meaningful. Consequently, there are some individuals in the
social group who are specialists in the interpretation of these cries. The Itingt believed that the
talk of women is the source of conflict among men and amulets are sometimes placed in baby
girls’ mouths to make them taciturn.
There is also variation between cultures in their attitude towards speech or language. In
some, interest in speech are rewarded while in others the same are ignored and even repressed.
For example the Ngoni in Nyasaland emphasise skill in speech believing it is a part of what
constitutes a true Ngoni. Therefore, they take the pains to instil it in children and maintain it in
adults. The polyglot abilities of Ghanaians have been explained by the encouragement for speech
ability in their cultures.

12
 The last consideration on our discussion of socialisation and language relates to the
values that are held and transmitted with regards to the language or languages spoken. For
instance, some languages comprise of pride in the culture of the people speaking it. Thus in a
bilingual society people who speak the minority language may have sense of inferiority
associated with their language.
11. LANGUAGE AND ITS NEAR RELATIONS
We have so far taken the concept of language for granted. Let us now give an explicit
account of the nature of language and of what distinguishes it from more or less similar matters.
We can best do this by looking at the relation between linguistic elements on the one hand and
various more or less similar items such as signs, signals, diagrams, pictures, and religious
symbols, on the other hand.
When a child looks at the large morsel of cassava flour in a bowl and heard it named
fufu, we can guess that his mother probably ate part of it; when a ball is named bal1 it is also
likely to be bounced; just as a cat will be petted when it is named kitty Eating, bouncing and
petting are actions distinctively liked to certain categories, because they function as symbols of
these categories. If there are non-linguistic actions that are distinctively linked with the cognitive
categories of a culture why should the child not learn his categories from these actions, rather
than from the articulatory actions called speech?
It is often, but not always the case that a category which is distinctively named is also
treated to a distinctive action. Flowers are marked by sniffing actions but there are no actions
that distinguish one species of flower from another. The first names given to things seem to fall
at the level of distinctive action but names go on to code the world at ever level; non linguistic
actions do not.
Parents simply give each referent the name by which it is called in their language. 50k,
for instance, is called 50k because that is the Nigerian name for that object. It can also be
correctly tagged a “coin “, “money “, an “art a “thing” and more narrowly” 1992 50k or even “a
1992 50k that is quite dull with all the lettering worn down “.
Each name of a referent assigns it to some category. The 50k category is larger than the
1992 50k category but smaller than the coin, the money, or the thing categories. Parents do not
consistently assign referents to the narrowest possible category and they do not consistently
assign referents to the broadest possible category. The linguistic equivalence is matched by some

13
sort of non- linguistic equivalence. For example, 50k can be exchange for other materials, while
flowers can be smalled. There is an isomorphism between naming behaviour and other sorts of
behaviour, When the sorts of behaviour are diverse, as in the case of the 50k, it is not easy to
make a comprehensible
Before we can accept the idea that words are to be regarded as one kind of “sign”, it must
be shown that all facts with the usage of “sign” have something important in common. It is not
obvious that there is any evidence of signs in all the sentences where sign is used, for example,
what would it mean to say” ‘plune’ is a sign of pens or “This diagram is a sign of an 80-watt
amplifier”? (And the same is true of’ symbol’, ‘signal’, or any other semiotic term, which one
might try to apply generally to all times). Thus, the general sign theorist must be using ‘sign’ in
technical sense and it is up to him to tell us what that is. Pierce’s typical definition is instinctive:
“sign is something that stands to somebody for something in some respect or capacity”
In this definition, the wright is being placed on the term “stand for” (other definitions rest
on similar terms like “represent”). The term “stand for” may also be replaced by “call to mind”.
It should be clear that language belongs somewhere within the category of symbols, in
pierce’s sense of the term. Language is often defined as a system of symbols, and this can be
accepted as a summary statement.
We could keep in mind the often repeated, but seldom consistently observed - distinction
between language and speech. Speech comprises the totality of verbal behaviour that goes on in a
community whereas language is the abstract system of identifiable elements and the rules of their
combinations, which is exemplified in this behaviour and which is discovered by an analysis of
two behaviour. It is still more impossible to identify a language with a series of events or
aggregate of verbal behaviours. Every time we speak we add to the sum total of verbal behaviour
that has gone on in the communities within the language we speak, but we do not thereby add to
the language. It is also noteworthy that the language is something that might change over a
period of time, whereas a sum total of acts of speech is not the kind of entity that can either
change or remain unchanged; it is something to which new components may or may not be
added.

14
Linguistic divergence
The linguist is mainly concerned with the investigation and explanation of the possible
causes of Linguistic Variation. Some authorities maintain that divergence in language follows
the evolutionary process which involves Cladogenesis and anagenesis.
Cladogenesis is the process of branching out into newer and newer species. Just as it is the case
in human evolution, man originally started with one language but as migration to various parts of
the world takes place, new languages emerged. Physical and Social separation of a people with
the same language brings about loss of communication and consequently, accumulation of
changes in Phonology, syntax and semantics Persistence of such a separation may bring about
the emergence of a new language.
The process by which an entire species graduating undergoes change over a period of
time is known as ANAGENESIS or phylectic exolusion. This process also takes place in
language, once we talk of “old” and modern forms of a particular language.
Physical and social isolation as indicated may bring about devergences between speech
communities. (A speech community has all its members sharing at least a single speech variety
and the norms for its appropriate use).
Contact brings about greater resemblance or even harmonization This accounts for the
existence of standard or central Yoruba (Oyo Yoruba)v superiority over other forms of Yoruba
dialect has some historical, political or socio economic connections It similarly occurs in Hausa
and Igbo languages.
We can conclude that there will develop, with time, a greater harmonization of Nigerian
and West-African Languages in general. Based on greater contact and socio-psychological
factors, particularly in view of political-economic realities, most language in West-Africa will
eventually disappear. For now, we can talk of the emergence of regional languages in Nigeria.
Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo in the West, North and East respectively.
There is also the factor of enthusive borrowing in language variation. English language is
easily combined with every Nigeria language We also have the pidgin (or broken) English
predominating in most Nigerian cities and Educational Institutions. Also, words like egusi
(melon), gari (cassava flour), Iyan (pounded yarn), asewo (prostitute), barika (congratulations)
can hardly be traced to any particular culture, they are found in the vocabulary of almost every
known language in Nigeria.

15
The Comparative Method In Linguistics
This is a tool for reconstructing pre-historic Linguistic. The approach makes it possible
for historical linguists to the notion that certain languages are related.
Once corresponding semantic values are established, it becomes easy for all other
linguistic correspondence to be explored, so that no sound (phonology) correspondence to be
possibly discovered between languages that are understood. It is the sound corresponding,
however that creates the evidence of relationship with the result that no semantic correspondence
can be used to prove anything if it is not accompanied by sound correspondence. Using this
approach, the probable derivation of many modern languages has been hypothensised.
Using the English language as an example, the Embers reported that in 1786, Sir William
Jones noticed similarities between, Sanskirt, Greek and Latin, and suggested that they must be
derived from a single source. Jacob Grimn (1822) formulated rules to descrine the sequences of
phonetic, change from Sankrit to later languages such as Greekilatin, German and English. Using
samcl and semantic correspondences, he observed changes like the one from P to P, Sanskirt -
Piter; English-father, Sanskirt-Pat; English-foot from this analysis he derived laws of phonetic
changes for the language family.
Linguists have followed from this to reveal that all the languages of West, Central and
Souther African and those of some parts of East Africa derive from the Same source or belong to
the same family; the Niger-Congo family (Otherberg, 1960-66). It is believed that with the
emergence of more data some light will be thrown on the riddle of the numerous languages in
West Africa.
Time is a very crucial dimension in the development of families of languages between
which genetic relation can be known to exist. This is to come in the reconstruction of all
common sentences. Nevertheless, historical linguists now realizes that language changes that
have occurred were due to differential interaction and contact processes rather than the mere
passing of time perse.
As a result, linguists have interacted closely with historians, particularly archaelogists
and arthropologists and with other scholars who can provide information concerning co-
territorial influences between population (Fishman, 1972). Currently, linguists are working with
social-sciences concepts and methods of data collection and analysis in their investigation of the
fluctuating interaction between language and parole. Thus, the ties between comparative

16
linguistics and the social sciences becomes stronger as more emphasis is put on the dynamics of
language change.
Glottochronology
A major objective of the comparative method is to establish the common parent of
several languages. Once this is done, the linguist is also interested in dating the time of
divergence between the daughter – languages Glotto chronology is the method for establishing
such data.
The underlying assumption, here, is that a language replaces about 19 percent of its basic
vocabulary every language thousand years. The basic vocabulary of a language consists of a list
of words for things like parts of the body, which are included in the list because, although the
basic vocabulary like the rest of the vocabulary is subject in time to replacement, those items are
universal in human experience and are not likely to be replaced in responses to more changes in
geographical location or culture.
Glottochronologv is generally applicable to modem languages of the same stock;
nervertheless we can apply it to languages, such as those of West African countries. Statistically,
the percentage of item (words) shared between 2 languages that originate from a parent language
would be roughly 81 percent, of the 81 percent or 66 percent, after a thousand years of
divergence. We can then conclude that the 2 languages separated from the parent language about
a thousand years age. If, for instance, they share about 70 percent of the items, we would suggest
that the 2 languages separated less than a thousand years ago. 1f on the other hand they share
about 50 percent of the items, we would conclude that they separated a number of centuries
earlier, This approach, plus historical documents on anthropologists’ findings help to gain
more knowledge and understanding of the origin and ... of a given people.

17
For Further Readings
Agbaje, A.A.B. (1992) The Nigerian Press, Hegemany and the Social construction of
Legistimacy: The Edwin Melien Press Ltd. Lamp eter (uic).
Adewumi, F. (1994) “Government - Media Relations in nigeria: A general Overview” Workshop
Paper.
Crokhire, G., Communication and Awareness Philippines: Conimngs Pub. Co. Inc. 1976.
McQuall, D. (1969); Towards A Sociology ofMass Communication, Cotlier: Maomollian Press.
Marx & Engels (1976) The German Ideology Moscow: Progress Publishers: PP.65. - 71.
Silberman, A. “The Sociology of Mass-Media and Mass Communication” in ISST Vol XIX No.
4 1967 and Vo1XX No.4. 1969

18
PART 2 OF CHAPTER 2

LANGUAGE PROBLEMS IN MULTI ETHNIC SOCIETY

In many countries of the world today, a unique characteristic feature is the existence of
several linguistic groups who share the same physical and social spaces. Most countries in Asia,
Africa and South America are multi-lingual with each ethnolinguistic group maintaining its
cultural identity including language.
The experience in Africa showed that the multi-lingual composition of most of the
countries within the continent is a by-product of colonialistic. In the pre-colonial period,
distinctive ethnic groups organised themselves into self-sustained (sovereign) political
groupings. In this way each ethnic group retains native language and had little influence of other
languages. However, there are situations in which through conquest, weaker ethnic groups were
brought under the political control of the powerful groups. In such cases the survival of the
linguistic identify of the conquered groups depended on the conqueror’s external relations policy
For instance, there are cases in which the weaker groups are removed physically from their
original territory and settled in the conqueror’s cities and towns. In this type of situation, the aim
was to erase the cultural (as well as linguistic) identity of the weaker nations.
In other instances, the conqueror’s policy is limited to security and economic purposes. In
these cases little or no attempt would be made to forcibly “colonise” the weaker groups so as to
lead to the loss of their linguistic identity. At the time of colonial administration, there was no
pronounced language problem in most of the territories. This was largely due to the fact that
deliberate efforts were made by the Colonial Administrators to establish separate political
machineries for each of the dominant linguistic groups. For instance, the British Colonial
Administration in Nigeria divided the country into three administrative units corresponding to
the three major ethnic groups in the territory. The result of this was that there was no basis for
ethnic conflicts between the dominant group sin the colonial territory.
On another plane, the French policy of assimilation was aimed at converting the
indigenous population into the French culture (Frenchification). This policy could be described
as helping to foster monolingual identity among the various indigenous ethnic groups within the
French colonial territories in Africa. Thus rather than identifying with multi-various linguistic
affinities, these people were encouraged to adopt a single language (French) for the purposes of
every day social interaction as well as for education, government and external relations. At the

19
attainment of independence, the language problem in many of these African nations became well
pronounced as many ersthwhile antagonist ethnic groups were brought under the same political
arrangement. Thus, Nigeria consisted of more than 120 distinctive linguistic groups while Ghana
has over 21 major ethnic groups.
Empirical Findings
Interesting studies have been conducted on cross-cultural interaction between linguistic
groups. In their findings Donald Taylor and his associates they found that in every structured
communication tasks, members of different ethnic groups were just as efficient at
communication with each other as members of the same group. Likewise, in the unstructured
situation, of a free interaction, individuals from different ethnic groups showed the same pattern
of conversational topics, did not take longer to begin communicating and did not ta less than
when they were interacting with people from the same ethnic groups.
These findings would tend to suggest that communication between groups can be
objectively as successful as within a group. In spite of this evidence, however, it has been found
that not only do subjects enter these inter-group encounter with negative expectations but they
also leave them with an unfavourable impression of has been achieved. Such negative
expectation no doubt serve as an important deterrent to amiable interaction between different
groups in a society.
In addition to this, it has also been found that each group brings to the social interaction
encounter a system of non-verbal message forms which the other is often likely to misinterprete
e.g. the stereotype about the other ethnic group.
MEASURES FOR ALLEVIATING INTER-ETHNIC CONFLICTS:
1. Accommodating Strategies
A useful tactic for alleviating inter-ethtnic sension and facilitating positive attitude in
inter-group relations is the adoption of accommodating strategies. According to studies by Giles,
Taylor and Bourhisin 1973 the more effort in speech accomodation a bilingual speaker of one
ethnic group was perceived to put into his message the more favourably he would be perceived
by listeners from another ethnic group and also the more effort they would put into
accommodating him in return. Accommodation through language then is likely to facilitate
positive feelings between members of different ethnic groups.

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2. Positive Evaluation of Others Culture
It has been observed in several studies that a major factor responsible for inter-ethnic
conflict in a multi lingual society is negative perception about another’s culture, This attitude
often create barrier against mutual understanding between the various ethnic groups. Positive,
evaluation of other’s culture would imply that individuals who belong to one ethnic group would
be ready to accomodate the other’s view thus creating mutual understanding and over all inter-
ethnic harmonious relationship.
3. Promotion of National Rather Than Ethnic Identity
In many multi-lingual societies, non-accomodative language is often used by a group as a
symbolic tactic for maintaining or even emphasising its ethnic identity, culture pride and
distinctiveness. The situation could become even more complex in the context of severe inter
group tension. When valid and reliable information about another group’s true intentions is often
lacking, negative steretypes about the other group becomes well pronounced. To these situations,
emphasising common values which bound together the distinctive ethnic groups is a sure way
towards fostering inter-ethnic relations.
4. Acceptable National Language
Taylor, Bassili and Aboue (1973) using a multi-dimensional scaling procedure found that
language as compared to ethnic background and geographical residence appeared to be the most
important determinant of a group’s identity. The implication of this finding is that individuals
tend to define their personal and group identity in terms of their language. Thus people who
belong to different language groups would tend to have multi-focussed loyalties each to its
distinctive linguistic group. This situation does not present a conclusive environment for national
integration and development.
Many multi-lingua nations today have devised a national language for official and other
collective usages. In most of these countries the degree of relative inter-ethnic co-existence
would depend on the acceptance of the national language. For instance, in Nigeria suggestions
have been put forward for the adoption of WA-SO-BIA as the country’s national language. WA-
SO-BIA is a language derived from the three dominant languages in Nigeria Yoruba, Hausa, and
Igbo.
Critics ofthe adoption ofWA-SO-BIA as Nigerian’s national language have based their
argurnent on its neglect of other languages which are spoken equally by millions of Nigerians.

21
Again it is being contesses that it would take a long time before such language could attain the
standard already reached by other national languages.
LANGUAGE PLANNING
Concern about language planning has been brought about by the awareness that progress
in modern society depends to a large extent upon sufficiently widespread as well as sufficiently
advanced literacy However, such literacy is often impossible because writing systems have not
yet been devised for many native languages of various large and smaller ethnic communities in
many societies. More importantly it is one thing to devise a simple and technically exact system
of written language it is quite another to get it accepted by its intended members.
Language planning often begins with felt need for reading and writing among native
people. This may however have some actual or implied benefits for the intended users and major
status loss to some other who have hither to been the elite ofthe society. In many societies, in
Africa several native languages have undergone structural planning leading to the translation of
such language into written forms.
Language Policy in Nigeria
Problems encountered in Nigeria’s educational system has been viewed in terms of
language policy. The issues that have been raised involve the arguments that lack of scholastic
success by many young people is attributable to:
a) inability to cope with complex linguistic and conceptual activities;
b) communication gap between pupil and teacher and
c) faculty educational therapy
The implication of this argument have been to initiate a reversal in previous educational
policies. The emphasis has been to advocate for early instruction for children in their native
tongue.
Arguments In Favour of “Mother Tongue”
Proponents of the adoption of native language as medium of teaching of children in their
early education have advanced a number of reasons to justify their position, these are:
1. The adoption of a foreign language as a means of instruction in a child’s early education
may result in inadequate comprehension of some basic concepts which obviously would
have been understood in the native language.

22
 2. The first language of the child is the mother tongue or native language. Consequently, an
effective early education may be possible only with the use of the child’s first language.
3. Children who are trained through the use of their native language would tend to be more
relevant or useful to their social group in terms of the socio-cultural context than others
whose early education was through the medium of a foreign language.
4. Employing one’s native language as a medium of educational instruction would help in
the development of the language with respect to its grammar phonetic structures etc.
5. Adoption of native language would reduce the communication gap between teachers and
learners which could result if a foreign language is employed.
6. The adoption of a native language for children’s education is a manifestation of a group’s
pride and cultural identity. Studies have shown that in multi-lingual society, groups
whose language are not used for the purpose of formal learning tend to feel inferior
(Wrighterman, 1972, Labov, 1973).
Arguments Against
The major argument against the use of native language as a medium of instruction for
children in their early education are:
1. Lack of uniformity in education system: In a multi-ethnic society (like Nigeria) training
of children through the use of their native language would imply that they are used to
quite different languages. ‘This lack of uniformity may lead to problem in their post-
elementary educational levels.
2. Some native languages are known to lack “words” for certain basic concept. In such a
culture, using the language as a medium of learning would result in deficiency in the
educational system
3. Some individuals who belong to certain social class within the society may decide to train
their children with a language different from the local speech. Children of these people
may find it hard to adopt to arm educational system where the medium of instruction is
the native language.
4. The idea of’ tongue” could be seen as taking no cognisance of the educational needs of
children of non-natives (i.e. immigrants). Since these individuals have their own native
languages different from the language of the native people their children may find it very
difficult to cope with the speech demands of the mode of instruction (native language).

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 For Further Readings
C.D. H.R (1997) Nigeria Non-Governmental Organisations and Democracy, Fredriech Ebert
Foundation, Lagos.
Gboyega, A. (1980) ed. Corruption and Democratisation in Nigeria, Agbo Areo Publishers,
Ibadan.
Nwoneli, 0. 919850 Mass Communication in Society: A book of Reading Forth Dimension
Publishing Ltd. Enugu, Nigeria.
Kiesier, J. et al. (1969) Attitude change: Review of Critical Approaches, John Wiley.
Kiapper, J.T. (1960) The Effects of Mass Communication (New York: Free Press).
Ribeaux, P. et al. (1982) Psychology and work: Ai introduction the macmillan Press Ltd.,
London pp: 137- 151.

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