An Inquiry into the State of Language Education and Translation in Niger State: The Situation of Arabic, English, French and the Major Languages of Niger State

Amos A. Ihenacho
  • Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Niger State, Nigeria.
  • Keywords:
  • Language, Arabic, English, Translation, French
  • Abstract:
  • An Inquiry into the State of Language Education and Translation in Niger State is a study of the status of the languages studied in Niger State, Njgeria, viz: Arabic, English, French and the three major indigenous languages (Gbagyi, Hausa and Nupe). It is thought that the enhancement of language education in these six languages, and in particular, the improvement of literacy education in at least the three major indigenous languages, Gbagyi, Hausa and Nupe (among the 38 languages of the State) will help in the State’s implementation of Nigeria’s National Policy on Education (NPE) and, consequently, in the improvement of education in Niger State. This study is on language education and translation in Niger State, Nigeria. However, it would be useful to consider first what the subject has to do with education in general. In a broad sense, education is the acquisition of knowledge, culture and civilization. Such acquisition may be formal, non-formal or informal. Whether education, as defined here simply, is formal, non-formal or informal, it is a sine qua non for self development, community development and national development. Language education, for its part, is the teaching and learning of a language or languages. It goes beyond “learning” to understand and speak a language; it involves learning to read and write in that language. In other words, it involves the acquisition of literacy in that language, with a view to acquiring knowledge, culture and civilization (that is, education) through that medium. Language is the most important pillar that supports education in all societies everywhere in the world. That is why language education is paramount in the education policies of all societies all over the world. In monolingual societies or nations where only one language is spoken or used, language education plays a primordial role in education. In countries that have more than one language, or a multiplicity of languages, this role is doubly paramount. This is the case with Nigeria which has about 500 languages, but which has had to adopt English as its lingua franca and official language since its colonisation by the British. In such societies, the recourse to translation is a sine qua non. In this regard, translation (which is the transfer of a message or information from one language, the source language, to another language, the target language) will be indispensable at two levels: (a) at the level of the codification, development and promotion of the indigenous languages, and (b) for synergy between the languages in contact for the transmission of information.
  1. Aliyu, M.J. (2007). “The West and Contribution of Arabic Language to the Development of Nigerian Society”. PGDE Project, University of Maiduguri.
  2. Ashituabe, Justina L. (2006). “A Contrastive Analysis of the Morpho-Syntactic Verb System in Gbagyi and English: Implications for Second Language Learning”. M. A. Dissertation, University of Abuja.
  3. (2012). “A Survey of Phonological Problems of Gbagyi Learners of English as a Second Language: Implications for Teaching and Learning”. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Abuja.
  4. Baker, M., K. Malankjaer. (Eds),(1998). The Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. London and New York: Routledge.
  5. Banfield, A.W. (1916). Dictionary of the Nupe Language, Vols. I & II.
  6. Bala, A.D. (1990). “Some Aspects of Gbagyi Morphology”. M.A. Dissertation, Bayero University, Kano.
  7. Bawa, S.G. (1999). Gbagyi and the Nigerian Nation. Minna: Turadd Ventures.
  8. Eberhard, D. M., Gary, F. S., and Fennig, C. D. (Eds) (2019). Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 22nd edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International.
  9. Ebine, S.A. (2008). “The future of French Language in Northern Nigeria”. Education and Development in Northern Nigeria, Faculty of Education and Arts, IBB University, Lapai. Pp: 339-347.
  10. (2015). “ French Language and the Nigerian Labour Market”. Katsina Journal of Linguistics and Literary Studies, Vol. 2, No. 1. Pp: 85-93.
  11. Ebine, S.A. and Houenon, C.E. (2013). « Les Fonctionnements Phonologiques du Français et du Yoruba: Une Analyse Comparée des Composants Segmentaux et Suprasegmentaux ». Eureka Journal of Humanistic Studies, University of Lagos, Vol. 3, No. 1. Pp: 135-146.
  12. Emenanjo, E.N. (1988). “Languages and the National Policy on Education: Implications and Prospects”. Fafunwa Foundation Internet Journal of Education. http://fafunwafoundation.tripod.com/fafunwa-foundation/idl.html.
  13. Evans, H.G.J. (1972). “Does Everybody Need French?”. Le Français au Nigeria, 7.2. Pp: 18-22.
  14. Federal College of Education. (2013). “An Appraisal of Language Teachers and Materials in Public Senior Secondary Schools in Niger State”. FCE, Kontagora.
  15. Igbo, R.O., Ojuola, M.O. and Olojede, A.A. et al. (2018). “Improving Youth and Adult Multilingual Literacy Education in the North Central Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria”. Research Report, IBBUL
  16. Ihenacho, A.A. (1979). “The Role of Translation and Interpretation in West Africa”. In Babel. No. 2. Vol. XXV, pp: 59-71.
  17. (1995). “Planning Translation Studies in Nigeria”. In E.O. Anyachie and Ihenacho, A.A. (eds). Language Studies and Relevance. Uturu: ABSU Language Centre Publications. Pp: 70-91
  18. Ihenacho, A.A., Ebine, S.A., Jamiu, A.M. et al. (2019). “Babel of Niger State”, In International Journal of Language, Literature and Gender Studies (LALIGENS). Vol. 8 (2). Pp:1-12.
  19. Indagi, M.U. (2000). “The phonetics of Nupe Language and its Transcription with Arabic Symbols”. Unedited work.
  20. Mohammed, A.U. (2016). “A Comparative Morphology of Nupe and English Language”. In Lapai Research in Humanities. Vol. 3. No. 2.
  21. NERDC (2004). National Policy on Education, 4th edition. Abuja: NERDC.
  22. NMEC (2012). Policy Guidelines for Adult and Non-Formal Education in Nigeria. Abuja: NMEC.
  23. Obi, E.F. (2018). “National Policy of Education on French Language: Challenges of Implementation”. Nkoro and Okeogu (eds). Translation and Language Studies in Nigeria (A Festschrift in Honour of Prof. A.A. Ihenacho). Enugu: Rhyce Korex Publishers.
  24. Offorma, G. C. (2015). “French Language Education in Nigeria”. https//:www.researchgate.net/publication/280554230.
  25. Ogungbe, E.O. and Oyedeji, G.A.O. (2018). “Forms and Functions of Verbs in English and Nupe”. In Ogungbe E.O and Agu M.N. (eds). New Explorations in Apply Linguistics and Literature: A Festschrift for Professor Samuel Kolo Tswanya. Ibadan: Yenfash Prints and Co. Limited. Pp: 175- 184.
  26. Simpson, E. (2007). Translation: Principles and Applications. Lagos: Interlingua.
  27.  
An Inquiry into the State of Language Education and Translation in Niger State: The Situation of Arabic, English, French and the Major Languages of Niger State
PDF
Published
  • August 20, 2020
Categories
Copyright
  • Copyright (c) 2020 ‪Amos A. Ihenacho
License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.