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Title:The politics of national language policy in Nigeria: a critical evaluation
Author:Udoidem, S. Iniobong
Year:1988
Periodical:Nigeria Magazine
Volume:56
Issue:1-2
Pages:1-8
Language:English
Geographic term:Nigeria
Subject:language policy
Abstract:This paper is an analytical interpretation of the politics of Nigeria's national language policy. It takes issue with the policy of adopting three indigenous languages - Ibo, Hausa and Yoruba - as national languages and questions the rationale of choosing three languages out of 400 and not one out of three. The paper begins with an overview of the historical evolution of Nigeria's language policy. Then it raises the question of whether there is or is not a national language policy. It argues that there is indeed a language policy in Nigeria but that it is not nationalistic. Ethnic politics is seen as the underlying impediment to the possibility of formulating a language policy that seeks the national interest. Reflecting on the present language policy, the paper finds it not only politically victimizing and culturally genocidal, but also morally debasing and linguistically obtrusive. Bibliogr.
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