LANGUAGE PROBLEMS IN NIGERIA BROADCAST MEDIA
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
This study was prompted by the prevailing circumstances surrounding the contemporary Nigerians concerning language and communication (broadcasting) broadcasting media since. Its inception has been serving as a means of communication through which an individual shares in the world around him and beyond his immediate environment. By this if means that with broadcasting Nigeria has to partake of ideas them to adjust to the challenges of industrialization and adopted of innovation. What then is the language that is appropriate far this challenges a head of us? Can this 250 languages spoken in Nigeria make a headway or are we to adopt one and only languages since we claim to be a developed nation far effectiveness for our broadcasters. One appreciates that this topic has many dimensions. It could be looked at from the purely linguistic, the communication (both mass and inter personal) from the political the economic, the social as well as the cultural. An attempt will also be made to examine as many of this factors as possible under the following sub titles.
The problem of multilingual society. The origin and nature of language The language experiments in other part of the world and the language for Nigeria. The key variables language and “broadcasting have provoked very any discusses in the past to make this one not too necessary. The very crucial role of language in broadcasting and consequently the great impact of the turn variables to human communication makes the study of language and its relationship to better communication an essential condition. Both language and broadcasting serve as means to communicate ends. While language serves as means of broadcasting both radio and television, serves as a medium mass communication. When we think of language, we think of syutax and of course attach conventional sense and usage to our expression.
For the development of the elements of human communication, these is need for language acquisition of language and its proper use call for the marriage of roles between the linguist and the grammarian. There is a value immediately suggested in the fact that the current grammar of a language focuses upon actual language behavour instead of “paper language” as Havens (1965) calls ordinary linguistic material. In addition, as for as the study of language is concerned there is a distinct advantage in stressing actual acquisition of responses of speaking and reading. When we think of the language acquisition, we do not think of the acquisition of just words and ideas in solution. We should think of the acquisition in a wider centext of the district ability to express attention using language as a means of modifying behavlour as a means of discovery and proper adjustment to our environment. We should think of the acquisition in a wider context of the district ability to express intention, using language as a means of modifying behavour, as a means of modifying behaviour, as a means of discovery and proper adjustment to our environment.
Language thus generated function to communicate general attitudes towards life, creating what the anthologist Bronislour malinowish call “ a phatic communion” a type of speech in which these types of union are created by a more exchange of words. Attaining this state envisaged by malinewise calls for skill a still borne out of good grip on the means of achieving this end. Acquisition of this special skill call for the ideas of been “Jack of all trade but mastery of none” far this skills to be established and maintained we have to adopt and maintain one language only. To be more precise, the broadcast communicator because the deals in more instantaneous way with this cliff tool, language, should not only be skilled on the control of all his resources, he should be a linguist and in fact, a grammarian. If is obvious that how adjustments are made is conditioned by the speech techniques that have been imposed upon the individual by the cultural circumstances in which he is reared. Just as he is made to act in a way, so is he required to speak in a certain manner. The fact that language is an important key to verbal human communication goes to stress the vital role assigned to linguistics.
Jesperson notes that the desence of language human activities on the part of are individual to make him understood by another and an activity on the part of the other to understand what was in the mind of the first. Wards and forms are treated as if they were things or natural objects with an existence of their own. When a doctor fails to cure his patient, it is after because he has arred in his diagnosis. His treats tuberculosis when the object of the attract is really, pernicious anemia. This is the same case when it comes to language as a problem to broadcasting media in Nigeria today. Instead of adopting are and only language we went as far as obtaining about 250 languages there by creating a serious problem as far as communication is concerned . As William Shakepeare put it in king Lear “ mend your speech as a little lest it mar your fortune” I believe that is the first insurance against our chaotic language situation and to promote national integration we must head Shakespeare’s advice to “mend our speech a little”.
Further more, our ethnic language limit the economic range of the individual, particular, as explained earlier, the illustrate members of our society who do not understand the English language. With bare home education by her father, herself as one of the greatest writes of the English language. Her success, apart from the innate factor, has been attributed to her being convenient with the language in her day to day life. She was bore in it, lived in it and works it. But in this country if anyone does not have at least a credit in English language at the school certificate or its equivalent, he is doomed. Apart from religicn, it is generally agreed that the greatest causes of wares is perhaps language differences. Language is what mainly distinguishes are tribes from other. Because there are many languages in a country there is tribalism. These and some other dangers on language as far as communication ( broadcasting) is concerned as could be seen in the literature review. An appraisal of the above will put are in no doubt that the researcher’s decision to delve into this problem is rational, justified and worthy, if the statement of Jane Austen is deemed to be true because if the nation will be mindful enough to choose are and only language I feel every one not only broadcasting media will be like Jane Austen. This is because everybody will be conversant with the language in her to day life and as a result there will be effectiveness in all ramifications.
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