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(Nnamdi Azikiwe University Faculty of Arts International Conference, 2010, page 623-627) 

Odinye & Odinye                                                                                                          623 

 

GLOBALIZATION, ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND MULTILINGUAL NIGERIA 

 

 

Ifeanyi Sunny Odinye 

Department Igbo, African and Chinese Studies, 

Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. 

Email:ifeanyiodinye@gmail.com 

& 

Ifeoma Ezinne Odinye 

Department of English Language & Literature, 

Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. 

Email:ifeomaodinye@gmail.com 

 

 

Abstract 

Globalization, in relation to language, portends “a global common language” which offers 

unprecedented possibilities for mutual understanding and thus enables us to find fresh 

opportunities for international co-operation (Crystal, 1999). Multilingualism refers to a linguistic 

state where numerous languages are in use by one individual or in the same nation. The spread of 

international languages like English, French, Chinese, etc as language of political and economic 

strength attracts the non speakers of these languages to learn to speak them. This paper discusses 

the globalization of English Language and its effects on multilingual nation like Nigeria. 

 

Introduction   

One of the dominant and pervasive problems in Nigeria and in Africa at large is the language 

question. Language, being a potent vehicle of transmitting cultures, values, norms and beliefs 

from generation to generation, remains a central factor in determining the status or nature of any 

nation. This informs the submissions of Isayev (1977:1992) that ‘Language is a nation’s most 

obvious and most important attribute. There is no such thing as a nation without a common 

linguistic basis’. The dominant inference from Isayev’s observation is that for national 

integration, cohesion and development, there must be a language acceptable to all in running 

nation’s affairs. 

 

Nigeria is a West African black nation with a population of about 140 million people. It covers an 

area of 923,766 square kilometers, with over 200 different ethnic groups. Presently, the country is 

politically composed of 36 states and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. It is estimated that 

over 400 languages are spoken in Nigeria (cf. Crozier and Blench (1992), Grimes (2000), Heine 

and Nurse (2000)). The linguistic situation in Nigeria is such that in many states of the federation, 

more than one language is spoken or used. Thus multilingualism exists at the federal, state and 

local levels. Multilingualism at the federal level is  seen in the fact that recognition is accorded to 

four languages (English, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba) (see the 1999 constitution of the Federal 

Republic of Nigeria (hereafter constitution), chapter V, section 55); at the state level 

multilingualism is  clearly depicted in  the media languages for each state. The situation in 

Degema local government is an example of multilingualism at the local level. 

  

Out of the more than 400 languages spoken in the country, only three so-called major languages 

are accorded recognition as indigenous national languages are Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba. English, 

which is also one of the languages spoken in the country, an inheritance from Britain, its 

colonizer, is accorded the status of official language. Linguistic diversity in Nigeria has 

occasioned widespread bilingualism and multilingualism. Some people in the country speak at 



THE HUMANITIES & GLOBALISATION IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM 

(Nnamdi Azikiwe University Faculty of Arts International Conference, 2010, page 623-627) 

Odinye & Odinye                                                                                                          624 

 

least one language in addition to their mother tongue; some speak as many as four; still some 

more than four languages. 

  

In Nigeria, like many other African nations, multilingualism is a rule, rather than an exemption, 

the problem of ‘foregoing ahead’ is of crucial importance. Among the competing language that 

compete for national recognition or official status, whether indigenous or foreign, one must 

emerge as the official language (the language of administration and education at some levels), the 

language of relevance from the competitors for the purpose of uniting the nation. Fortunately or 

unfortunately, English has emerged as that privileged language.   

 

Globalization  

The term ‘globalization’ has in recent times been described as both a misnomer and a euphemism. 

It is universally acknowledged that globalization requires as well as produces new channels, 

networks and practices of communication which are not dependent on geographical proximity 

(Toolan, 2000). By a strange paradox, these channels, networks and practices of communication 

depend heavily on language, yet language still remains a relatively neglected aspect of current 

scholarly and politically debate on globalization. 

 

Globalization no doubt is producing new ways of not only the role played in language. Linguists 

are expected to be concerned with not only the role played in globalization processes by 

language, but also the effects of globalization process on language. The growing awareness of the 

challenge that globalization poses to language has moved scholars around the world, from the 

socio-linguistic standpoint, ask many of the same questions that dominate discussion on 

globalization in other areas. Prominent among these questions is the issue of linguistic diversity. 

Scholars are beginning to wonder whether globalization means ‘Englishization’ for example or 

whether it is more likely to lead to an increase in individual and societal multilingualism, and the 

preservation or revival of currently ‘endangered’ languages (Crystal 1997, 2000). 

 

Multilingualism  

Multilingualism is a sociolinguistic phenomenon that arises as a result of language contact. It is a 

situation in which three or more languages operate within the same context. Factors such as 

political annexation, marital relation, economic transaction, cultural association, educational 

acquisition and religious affliction bring about multilingualism. All those factors underpin the 

socio-political landscape of Nigeria today even though the combination of political annexation 

and economic transaction or exploitation originally brought the people referred to as Nigerians 

today in contact with the English people. 

 

Crystal describes multilingualism as an alternative fundamental principal to the concept of shared 

global language. Multilingualism presents us with different perspectives and insights, and thus 

enables us to reach a more profound understanding of the nature of human mind. With 

multilingualism comes diversity and depth  of field made possible where one language calibrates 

the world, one way, while another language calibrates it differently, to the point where the first 

way’s strangeness is grasped. 

 

The multilingual nature of the Nigerian society does not permit the use of a single indigenous 

language in government or education across the nation.  Any attempt to do so will probably be 

met with resistance. Nigerians seem to prefer that English be used at all levels of government or 

education (as English is seen not only as the official language but also as a neutral language) 

rather than concede to the use of any one of the indigenous languages across the country. The 

1999 constitution approves of the use of three major indigenous languages in government, in 

addition to English, at the federal level. This is in recognition of the contention that the choice of 



THE HUMANITIES & GLOBALISATION IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM 

(Nnamdi Azikiwe University Faculty of Arts International Conference, 2010, page 623-627) 

Odinye & Odinye                                                                                                          625 

 

any one of the three major indigenous languages would generate. Except English, the constitution 

is not rigid as regards which language(s) that the state governments should use in their day-to-day 

businesses. 

 

English Language and Nigeria  

Over the past two or three decades, English has come to occupy a singular position among 

languages. Previously only one among several dominant European languages, on a par with 

French or Spanish, it is today a world language, the language people use whenever they wish to 

communicate with others outside their own linguistic community. English has become the lingua 

franca of the global network; where there TCP/IP protocol secures technical communication 

between computers via the internet. English is the “protocol” for oral and written communication 

across national frontiers.  

 

Through overt and covert means such as trade and commerce, educational policies and 

ordinances, missionary activities, schools, literature, constitutions, job opportunities and political 

might, English has successfully entrenched in Nigeria. With the amalgamation of the Northern 

and Southern protectorates in 1914 came the need, in a more crucial dimension, to have a 

common tongue for the country. With the promotion of English in every stratum of national life, 

including nationalist activities, about 400 Nigerian languages are being subjugated. 

 

When Nigeria attained her political independence, “linguistic imperialism” had to be sustained in 

the interest of the nation. This is because there was no indigenous language that could perform 

the function of English because of the mutual suspicion of, and ethic consciousness among, 

virtually all Nigerians. 

 

At the risk of being alleged to be aiding and abetting “linguistic imperialism” in some quarters, 

the incontrovertible truth about the state of the nation today, as it was in the past, is that no 

indigenous language is acceptable to all Nigerians. The view presented by Nida and Wonderly 

(1971:65) is prevalent and correct till today. They contend that:  

In Nigeria, there is simply no politically neutral language. In fact, the 

division into three major regions reflects the three language poles: 

Hausa, Yorba and Ibo. The political survival of Nigeria as a country 

would even be more seriously threatened than it is if any of these three 

languages were promoted by the government as being the one national 

language.  

 

Enahoro (2002:18-19), a foremost nationalist and prominent Nigerian, contends that such official 

recognition of three major languages is tantamount to brazen-faced discrimination and ipso facto 

is unacceptable.  

To quote Enahoro at length is not unnecessary:  

       All the languages of Nigeria have equal validity, or if  

       you please equal lack of validity, before the law  

       and under the constitution. No linguistic group has  

       the right - the moral or constitutional right to impose  

       his (sic) language on any other linguistic group in the  

       country.  

  

This shows that whether we like it or not, call it ‘linguistic imperialism’, ‘colonial mentality’, 

‘inferiority complex’ or ‘pessimistic prognosis’, the fact remains that the English language will 

continue to triumph, and the language policy will continue to be a paper affair.  



THE HUMANITIES & GLOBALISATION IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM 

(Nnamdi Azikiwe University Faculty of Arts International Conference, 2010, page 623-627) 

Odinye & Odinye                                                                                                          626 

 

Empirically, the study of Igboanusi and Ohia (2001:125-142) involving one thousand respondents 

(who include doctors, lawyers, teachers, politicians, civil servants an students) in four minority 

languages zones in the country shows that 743 or 74.3% of respondents dislike speakers of 

Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba and 49.6% of then feel that the speakers of the three Nigerian languages 

do not think well of the minority language groups (Igboanusi and Ohia, 2001:130). Ultimately, 

the researchers report that most of the respondents (65.7%) showed preference for English as 

Nigeria’s lingua franca. Only 19.3% of the respondents desired that their local languages become 

Nigeria’s future lingua franca, while 5.3%, 3.6% and 6.1% of them want either Yoruba, Igbo or 

Hausa in the respective order, to emerge as Nigeria’s future lingua franca (Igboanusi and Ohia, 

2001:134).  

 

The Effect of Globalization and English on Multilingual Nigeria  

Globalization has, however, acted solely to homogenize language and promote use of English. 

We also find example of heightened political activity to gain recognition of, and to generally 

promote regional languages like Scots, Gaelic, Welsh, Catalan and Kurdish. Most of these 

movements have not identified their adversary as globalization per se (or for that matter, English 

when used as an international lingua franca), but rather the dominant language of the dominant 

national culture, like for example, Turkish in Turkey.  

 

The negative impact of globalization on multilingualism is a more visible phenomenon. 

According to Wurm (1995:67), it has been predicted that by the end of the 21st century, some 

90% of languages spoken today may disappear. Montviloff (2002:87) warms that with the 

introduction of multimedia technologies of communication, this phenomenon is increasing 

exponentially. He describes each of the 6,700 languages spoken today as a reflection of traditions, 

thoughts and cultures all unique in their essence. Any loss of language is a disappearance of a 

pool of knowledge and an impoverishment of our cultural heritage and research capacities.  

 

Most of the information displayed on the web is in foreign languages. UNESCO questions the 

diversity of the content on the web and warns that children, forced to use a foreign language on 

the net, are at risk, as some studies have shown, of losing their mother tongue. UNESCO further 

describes lack of diversity of content as absence of multilingual information which in turn may 

lead to the loss of native cultures.  

 

The word wide web “www” is another realm which English predominates. A tally of the 

languages used on the web in 2000 found that 68.4 per cent of all websites were in English. 

Unfortunately, the introduction of multilingualism on the intent has to contend with some 

technical difficulties. One of them is the fact that hardware and software were first designed to 

process the English text. This obviously has posed some difficulties in the processing of 

programmes in other languages.  

 

In a situation like this, it is obvious that English becomes increasingly important. Though, one is 

uncomfortable with the negative sides of English as it ‘masterminds’ the relegation of the 

Nigerian languages to the extent that we do not have a real language policy, instantiates the 

systematic loss of Nigerian cultural identity among the younger generation and ensures the 

consolidation of colonial legacy.  

 

Conclusion  

It is clear from what we have discussed so far that Nigeria is not a nation where only three 

languages (Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba) are spoken. These languages are among the more than 400 

languages spoken in the country. Also pointed out is the fact that multilingualism exists at the 

federal, state and local governments levels.  



THE HUMANITIES & GLOBALISATION IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM 

(Nnamdi Azikiwe University Faculty of Arts International Conference, 2010, page 623-627) 

Odinye & Odinye                                                                                                          627 

 

Like all multilingual nations, Nigeria is faced with the language questions. Globalization is 

helping the English language to dominate local languages. Like many other African nations, as 

the colonial language of English still remains dominant as the language of virtually all aspects of 

national life, polities, administration, business, sports, diplomacy, communication, media, 

education, constitution and others. 

 

REFERENCES 

Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria. Abuja: Federal Republic of Nigeria. 1999. 

 

Crozier, Blench R. An Index of Nigerian Languages. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics, Inc. 

1992.  

 

Crystal, D. English as a Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1997. 

 

Enachoro, A. “Towards a New Constitutional Order” Vanguard.  5 July, 2002. 

 

Grimes, B. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. New York: SL International. 2000. 

 

Heine, Nurse D. African languages: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

2000. 

 

Igboanusi, Ohia I. “Language Conflict in Nigeria: The Perspective of Linguistic Minorities”. 

Language Attitude and Language Conflict in West Africa. Ibadan: Enicrownfit 

Publishers. 2001. 

 

Isayev, M. National Language is the USSR: Problems and Solutions. Moscow: Progress 

Publications. 1977. 

 

Mentviloff, V. “Meeting the Challenges of Language Diversity in the Information Society”. 

Report Submitted to the Sector for Communication and Information (CI/INF). Paris: 

UNESCO. 2002. 

 

Nida, Wonderly W. “Communication Roles of Languages in Multilingual Societies”. Language 

Use and Social Change. London: OUP for International African Institute. 1971. 

 

Toolan, M. “Recentering English: New English and Global”. English Today. 8May, 2000. 

 

Wurm, S. “Endangered Language of the World”. Report Submitted to the Perez de Cuellar 

Commission. Paris: UNESCO. 1995. 

 

 


